The Masters - Link for live broadcast

If you want to watch the Masters during the day and have some sort of internet connection you can watch it live using the link below.  The clarity is stunning and there are several options for different cameras placed on the course for this purpose.  I am amazed at how far technology has advanced and been used by Augusta National to bring the crown jewel of golf championships to golfers and sports lovers around the world.  Thank you members of Augusta National Golf Club and your Chairman Billy Payne and staff.

http://www.masters.com/en_US/live/index.html

Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer at the Masters

Ben Hogan Apparel at The Masters with Marc Leishman

Marc Leishman will be sporting the Masters Tournament clothing selections for the new Ben Hogan Apparel from Perry Ellis.  Below is a picture of what he will be wearing each day of the tournament.  This is the performance apparel category with other lines forthcoming in the coming months according to sources.  Looking forward to watching the Masters and seeing Marc out trying to win it from all the other major contenders like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Keegan Bradley, Bubba Watson, all those South African players, and the 14 year old prodigy from China!

Ben Hogan Golf Swing - Early 1950's

A great picture by Life Magazine photographers of Ben Hogan's swing at the transition point.  The position of the right arm and hands on the club are perfect.  The location I is Tamarisk CC. 

The Complete Hogan will help you have more fun smashing the golf ball

We all love to smash the golf ball.  Some folks do it with better swings than others and the result is a great big thrill from hitting hit far and under control.  This book, The Complete Hogan, simply shows you how Ben Hogan hit the golf ball with power and precision.  There are plenty of photos to show details of his swing and exceptional analysis by Jim McLean to help direct your attention to the details.  Its one of those must haves for your golf library. 

Ben Hogan's 5 Lessons iPad and Tablet app

Here is Ben Hogan's backswing as shown in the 5 Lessons application.  For the life of me I don't know why so many golfers listen to TV golf announcers instead of golf teaching professional instructors.  I am certain most would agree that the fundamentals and the drawings Hogan introduced in 1957 are still valid and a terrific standard to accomplish.  It makes golf FUN to hit the ball better. 

Announcing 'The Complete Hogan' by Jim McLean

The new 'The Complete Hogan' by Jim McLean from Wiley and Sons is now available in Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, etc.  The hard copy is terrific and it is also available for digital downloads on the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook.  The instruction emphasis is descriptive of Mr. Hogan's prime swing motion from the late 1940's when he was winning everything and called Mr. Golf by the press.  There is well over 100 photos taken as stills from actual film from that time period.  Its the best swing photo sequencing of Mr. Hogan's classic legendary swing.  It took over two hears from concept to completion of the work. 

Anyone who has ever swung a golf club will enjoy this photo sequence analysis of Ben Hogan's golf swing.  Whether its wishful thinking, nastalgia, or part of an effort to improve a golf swing I think the book will provide lasting benefits, enjoyment, and appreciation.

This is the cover and back cover slides.  It should be on the shelves in bookstores by now and can be downloaded digitally at any time.

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 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

Golf Swing Fundamentals for Tiger Woods: See Ben Hogan

I am really stumped. For the life of me I cannot see why our golf announcers/writers/teaching professionals simple defy common sense about golf swing fundamentals as demonstrated by Ben Hogan. Too often I hear or read that Hogan was the best ball striker ever. Ask Butch Harmon. Ask Gary Player. Ask Jim McLean. Ask Tiger Woods.

Then, in the same sentence/breath I hear or read that a golfer cannot copy his swing; his grip and his 'secret' would only work for him and would only 'confuse' a golfer and/or simply create a really big slice. The fact is that Hogan went from a very strong grip in the evolution of his swing to a more neutral grip and finally into a weak grip that he used to hit his power fade. A shot that went left to right only a few yards and started off on line.

It should be relatively easy. There is new technology in the instructional arena. There is a perfect model. There is video analysis. There is biomechanical analysis and instant feedback. There are excellent instructors that advertise that they teach the 'Hogan' swing. There are motivated students of the golf swing who are willing to put in long hours of practice and dig it out of the dirt for themselves. There is video. There are excellent instructional books from Ben Hogan himself, 'Power Golf' and 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf'. There are detailed photo swing sequences.

So, the question is where and who has an exact replica copy of Ben Hogan's golf swing? If you have it or see it, let me know!

Hogan Swing from 'The Ben Hogan Collection' on YouTube

I have seen many of the swing clips we used in 'The Ben Hogan Collection' set appear in YouTube.com over the past couple of years. We produced the dvd in order for all golfers to enjoy Mr. Hogan's swing. Here is a link to one of the postings that actually did some justice to our original and copyrighted production.

This posting does not condone the illegality of the postings on YouTube of copyrighted material.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNgMNK3CtWU

Check it out. It is a really good sequence of swings by the legendary Mr. Hogan.

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.