Swing Tips from the Ben Hogan Collection

Moving forward in addition to news and information about the Ben Hogan Legacy and current events we will be bringing you a variety of swing tips and related images from our analysis of Ben Hogan's golf swing.  Since these are generally true fundamentals of a good swing we will be referencing Mr. Hogan's books such as 'Power Golf' and 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf' as well as 'The Complete Hogan'.  We will also try to include photo images and video images that support the swing tip and fundamentals discussed.

A great resource of videos for those interested in maintaining their own study materials is 'The Ben Hogan Collection' DVD set that we produced and released in 2006.  Along with Jim McLean we completed the new book 'The Complete Hogan' in 2012 that gives a good description of Mr. Hogan's swing from the period before the 1949 accident and after he found his 'secret' that led to his domination of the professional tour in the late 1940's and his crowning achievements in the 1950's.

This effort is for everyone that is working on improving their golf swing and who wants to play better golf.  So, here is a quote from Ben Hogan's Five Lessons:

'The correct hitting motion is one unbroken thrust from the beginning of the downswing to the end of the follow through.'

Sports Talent Agencies engaged for Ben Hogan swing model casting call

The original casting call has become more official and organized.  Our Michigan production company, Pixofactor, has engaged sports talent agencies to conduct the casting call to enhance the talent search for an accomplished golfer.  One agency is based in Michigan, Sports Studio Casting.  Here is their link.
http://sportsstudiocasting.com/

The other agency is in Los Angeles, Athlete Source Casting.  Here is their link:
http://www.athletesourcecasting.com/


Details of the casting call can be accessed from either agency.  The Michigan agency has an online signup and video upload system (free) which is convenient.

The LA agency is both local to LA but does cater to out of state talent.

Generally, the what is being searched for are accomplished male and female golfers who can demonstrate/imitate Ben Hogan's golf swing from 1948.  Samples swings can be found on YouTube and some links are found in this blog in earlier posts.  The physical characteristics of the golfer is also very important due to the nature of the data to be used from the motion capture process.  Height range from 5'5" to 5'10" and weight no greater than about 160 lbs. 

Currently, the motion shoot in the studio is scheduled for mid-December and will run about 4 days with prepratation and studio time involved.  This is the same technology used to develop graphic action in movies and for realistic video games. 

All of this is part of the development and production process for the modern evolution of Ben Hogan's 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf'.  A lifelike 'avatar' of Ben Hogan will star in the dvd version of the golf instructional book, on the interactive instructional website, and in the Wii game as well as mobile device applications (Iphone,iPad, Droid, etc.). 

If you are interested, you should contact these two casting agencies directly.  I know we attempted to manage this a few weeks ago but this new method is certainly much better for all involved.

Ben Hogan Swing Model Casting Call for 5 Lessons Project

Well we are finally at the beginning of the projection phase of the 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf' by Ben Hogan avatar project.  A schedule is now under development for the production activities and one of the first things we need to do is select a swing model for the motion capture shoot.  The location will be in California and should occur within about a month from now.  The shoot will take most of a day in the motion capture studio. 

We are looking for:

o Male: 5' 7" tall +/- 1" 150 lbs. +/- 10 lbs
o Age: 18 to 45 years old and very flexible
o Amateur or professional
o Able to demonstrate via video clip an 'exact' replica of Ben Hogan's golf swing circa 1947. Need two views, down the line and face on.
The golfer should contact me directly. If you want you can forward this contact information if you think someone would be interested.

My contact information is: mcctee@aol.com or by cell at 305-297-6276.

The data from the shoot will produce a 'wire frame' or 'bones model' showing the motion of the golf swing.  The data will later be supplemented with laid on CG artwork to perfectly resemble Ben Hogan circa 1940-1950.  This moving lifelike avatar will be the basis for the new Five Lessons DVD, interactive website, and Wii instructional golf application. 

Ben Hogan Life Magazine Photo Gallery from 1955 'Secret' Photo Shoot

Life Magazine has a great archive of photos from all aspects of life on this planet including some great shots of Ben Hogan. There are some out takes from the shoot they did for their August 8 article on Ben Hogan's secret that did not make it in the magazine. Browse their archives and see some really rare photos. I am sure they will be glad to sell copies to you if you are interested.

If you browse their archive you will find photos of Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Jack Nicklaus, and other champions.

http://www.life.com/image/79157952/in-gallery/23641/golf-magazine-10-great-golf-pics

Ben Hogan Trophy

As promised here are some more photos of the amazing trophy presented to the winner Dave Schultz and Colt Knost of the inaugural Ben Hogan Invitational in Fort Worth last month. The detail in the crystal is quite fine and duplicates the original casting very well.

The Ben Hogan Foundation is in the process of creating some new castings in bronze as well. The first photo is from an exhibit at Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth where the original casting was shown to the public. Ben Hogan felt so strongly about the importance of a good grip on the golf club that he dedicated 17 pages in his book, 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf''. We should should take note of this precision when we put our hands on the golf club. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods use an interlocking grip while the rest of their grip fundaments are the same as presented by Mr. Hogan.

There is a nice video clip on YouTube showing an older Mr. Hogan demonstrating the key points in setting his grip into place as well as some of the actual feelings he gets when its properly done.

Ben Hogan on the Ed Sullivan Show

I just found this terrific old clip that was posted on YouTube a few weeks ago. It is from the Ed Sullivan Show that originally broadcast in the 1950's and 60's. I actually watched this show when it was originally shown but was not a big golf fan at that time. I was just a kid then.

Hogan beats on Ed Sullivan a little by doing an impersonation of Sullivan's golf swing. It is very funny and shows a side of Hogan that was never really appreciated by the public or the golf writers of his time. This was a comedian Ben Hogan, a role he enjoyed with his close friends.

Also, and another really great part of this is a swing drill Hogan used and demonstrates here. It is similar to the one shown in the 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf' and is a good way to get rhythm and a sense of what a good golf swing should feel like before all the technical swing thoughts jump into it.

This is the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr-b7OsZjF0

Ben Hogan Collection Swing Revealed Interactive Software

We at McTee's Champions LLC have received so much praise for The Swing Revealed Interactive Software that is part of the package for the 'Ben Hogan Collection' 3 DVD set (plus software CD) that we wanted to share some information about it. The software has been called 'brilliant' and 'magnificant' by a consumers that purchased the product.

Often, the purchaser has watched the 'Legacy DVD' and the two instructional DVD's (Swing Revealed 1 & 2) and installed the software on their Windows based computers much later. To their suprise they really enjoyed using the software as it allows them select any of the 4 swings demonstrated by Ben Hogan and choose either: 1) slow motion 2) continuous repetition 3) frame by frame 4) full screen - with a right click on the screen. They can even back up frame by frame and then go forward again. The four swings include a face on view of a 3 wood from 1949 when Hogan was at his absolute best, a down the line view of a mid iron, a right hip pocket back view of a short iron, and face on view that is slightly angled back from the target (the last 3 swings are from the 1967 Masters practice area).

The continuous replay mode is simply mesmerizing. The slow motion and frame by frame advance views really gives the viewer a good look at what Ben Hogan did with his golf swing. There are some differences between the swing in 1949 and 1967 due to his age and long term effects of the accident he had in 1949.

In our next production the Five Lessons DVD we will expand on the software component. This project is still in pre-production and in discussion with potential sponsors for funding and applications.

As always, keep them in the fairway.

Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan

Tiger's winning percentage is just plain hard to believe. He is better than the rest of the field but does not win all of them. No one does, never did, and never will. The broadcast fellows on the Golf Channel, NBC Sports and CBS Sports and print journalists from Golf World, Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, Golfweek and others keep very good statistics on Tiger and the data is stunning. It really is history in the making and we are fortunate to be living in such a great chapter of the game.

I did a little math myself just to see what Ben Hogan's winning percentage was during his prime years between 1945 and 1949 before being derailed by the accident with the Greyhound Bus. Hogan's golf swing and golf instruction books help to describe how he dit it. The video clips in 'The Ben Hogan Collection' 3 dvd set and interactive software shows you what he did.

1945 - 5 wins in 18 starts = 27.8%

1946 - 13 wins in 32 starts = 40.6%

1947 - 7 wins in 25 starts = 28%

1948 - 11 wins in 25 starts = 44%

1949 - 2 wins in 4 starts = 50%

Total - 38 wins in 104 starts = 36.5%

During those years he had to bead Sam Snead, Jimmy Demaret, and other top notch players of the time. Pretty impressive stats. And we don't even have to address his fairways hit and greens in regulation stats. Tiger and others only wish they could come close on a regular basis in tournament play. Hogan not only 'owned his swing' he also 'owned' the flight of the ball and what the ball did after it landed.

Tiger Woods Should Play in the Inaugural Ben Hogan Invitational

The photo above is from a swing sequence taken back in the late 1940's. I am not sure of the venue and it could have been from an exhibition that Ben Hogan participated in during that time period. Hogan played in quite a few exhibitions for corporate outings and local fund raising events without seeking a lot of attention for these charitable contributions of his time and fame. Professional golfers today, both Tour players and members of the PGA, do the same thing with a lot of good publicity attached to the events.

I know this is wishful thinking. But it would make for an outstanding story. I would love to see Tiger play at the inaugural Ben Hogan Invitational Tournament in September at Shady Oaks CC in Fort Worth. It just seems to really fit well when I do a simple gut check on the idea. Tiger just recently attached his participation to an event his fellow professional and friend Notah Begay has for his charity. It is really wonderful to see generosity from those players.

The event is for charity and supports several organizations including The First Tee, The Ben Hogan Foundation, and Henry House. Again, the value of golf in our communities goes well beyond recreation and entertainment as the PGA Tour tournaments and local fund raising golf events throughout the country provides much needed support for important charities.

The prize for the professionals is a crystal trophy of Mr. Hogan's hands holding a golf club. The trophy will be one of a kind as it is the first event. I would bet on Tiger to win. His golf swing is getting better and he would have a lot of fun playing the Shady Oaks Championship Course where Mr. Hogan played in his later years.

Maybe Mark Steinberg of IMG will see this and whisper in Tiger's ear.... or maybe Tiger will hear of it some other way and want to play. If there was just a little room on his busy schedule!

Ben Hogan - Long Drive Contest Winner

Another amazing bit of golf swing lore comes to us from the 1952 Masters Tournament. Ben Hogan who was known for his excellent ball striking and course management expertise is also the winner of the long drive contest at this Masters. Hogan often won long driving contests in his earlier years on tour against all takers during exhibitions prior to tournaments but this was the grand stage at the Masters!

Hogan's flawless technique translates into both distance and accuracy. I really do recommend that new golfers and established players study Mr. Hogan's golf swing and try to emulate the fundamentals of the swing as he displayed them on film. The analysis provided by Jim McLean in 'The Ben Hogan Collection" is the best to date and far surpasses what has been published in various golf books on the subject. You can see Hogan and learn from Hogan by viewing the dvd's as they are programmed to give the golfer the best instructional presentation available. There are repetitive clips, various angles presented, and detailed guidance on what to look for and use in the golf swing from McLean.

Hogan hit it straight and liked to use the fade as his go to finesse shot. He could also drive it past other professionals on tour on a regular basis. Golfers should be learning Hogan's techniques, not trying to figure out what some of the modern swing gurus are selling. Even the pros seem to fall for this nonsense. Its a good thing they can putt and chip or their scores would be like the rest of us amateurs.

Tiger Woods is constantly trying to improve his swing and my hunch is it will look different when he gets back on tour after rehab. I am also confident it will look more like Hogan's!

Tom McCarthy

Ben Hogan Collection stories

One of the best stories I heard about Ben Hogan had to do with his mastery of the pitching wedge. We are well aware that he could hit all 18 greens and hit all the fairways in a typical round. We are also aware thanks to HBO that Mr. Hogan's wedge shot in 1960 at the US Open came up short by 3 feet and ended up in the water, costing him the Championship.

But this is a better story, one that dares to be tested. Jody Vasquez in his book, 'Afternoons with Mr. Hogan' told this story about how Mr. Hogan could make his ball spin back uphill on the green. During practice sessions tended to by Vasquez he would watch Mr. Hogan practice from behind the green, down the slope of a green that sloped away from him. He would hit a crisp wedge shot up and towards the hole and make the ball back up - uphill! Vasquez said that he had never to this day seen anybody do that.

In fact, he told the story to Nick Faldo who promptly tried to match this feat. He tried and failed, repeatedly.

Ah, the Mystique lives on. I wonder who wll try to match this shot? Could Phil Mickelson do it? After all, he is the master of the present day wedge, showing off with Dave Pelz on one occasion on film and on another hitting a wedge that went backwards from where he was aiming at back on to the green. Pretty cool stuff.

The Ben Hogan Coat of Arms, The Ben Hogan Collection

In our pre-production work for the 'Ben Hogan Collection' 3 DVD set we managed to find the actual Coat of Arms for the Hogan Family. It is quite interesting and we will be using it in the future for some of our products.

For those readers that have a sense for the information included in the picture I would like to hear from you about it. Your comments will be posted and shared with others.

I am currently doing research on Mr. Hogan's history from the time of birth to his passing away. If you have some interesting tid bits that you can share I will be glad to post. This information is for our new project 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, by Ben Hogan with Herbert Warren Wind and illustrations by Anthony Ravielli. We are transforming this classic into a modern classic using high definition 3D computer animation and motion capture technology. We should have a 3D animated trailer available for marketing purposes around January 2009 with a launch date of June 2009 at the US Open at Bethpage Black in NY.

We are currently reviewing potential vendors for production of the 'Five Lessons' dvd project.

McTee's Champions, the company that produced The Ben Hogan Collection and Classic Sports Brands, producers of sports and golf related products including a new wine label are partnering together for the project.

Cordially,

Tom

Ben Hogan Collection Video Vault

The Ben Hogan Collection has a video vault on its website. The vault is open for inspection on a free two week trial basis before a reguest for payment of a subscription fee is sent to the customer. The vault is competing with YouTube for containing the most viewable film clip images of Mr. Hogan swinging various golf clubs in various settings from differerent years in his career. Many of the clips are also found the in the 3 DVD pack 'The Ben Hogan Collection' that includes the Swing Interactive Software that features Mr. Hogan.

Web traffic is consistent at the site and there are a significant number of customers of the vault that signed on over the past year since it went active on the website.

The idea of getting a site sponsorship has been discussed. The producers are open to turning the video vault into a free web service when sponsorship arrangements can be made allowing extensive enhancements to the content of the site. Contact should be made with the producer at sales@thebenhogancollection.com.

Currently the producers are in the pre-production phase of developing the new dvd from 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf', by Ben Hogan and Anthony Ravielli and Herbert Warren Wind. The 3D computer graphics to be employed in the production will include motion capture technology for a truly exciting, instructional, and entertaining experience. A Ben Hogan Avatar will be created that demonstrates Mr. Hogan's golf swing from unlimited points of view using Ravielli's pen and ink drawings as a basis for the renderings. Additional high definition art work on some renderings will make the various renderings truly life-like.

Mr. Hogan's Avatar will be able to show in detail his 'Secret' and all the fundamentals he describes in his book. Production will begin once a suitable production company is selected by the parent companies, Classic Sports Brands and McTee's Champions LLC.

More on these topics later.