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!

Ben Hogan's 30's record, Tiger Woods 30's future

When Ben Hogan was in his 30's immediately after WWII he became Mr. Golf. He was winning almost every tournament he entered during this prime time of his career. Hogan is mostly remembered for his comeback from the horrible accident with a Greyhound bus in 1949 and his incredible majors run in 1953.

According to Hogan himself he was a better overall player after the war. The Ben Hogan Collection dvd set highlights some film taken during this period that shows that remarkable golf swing. The film came from the Alex Morrison portfolio of films and photos owned by McTee's Champions LLC. Golfers can see and learn from watching Hogan at his peak in these unique films. No other dvd set on the market has these films.

Tiger Woods is now entering that same period in his life as a professional golfer where Hogan was in the late 40's. With the credentials and records Tiger brings to this period of time one can surely expect some really terrific golf from him. Records will fall or be totally smashed. Tiger should finally shoot his 59 or better in competition. Hopefully he has taken it upon himself to continue his quest for a better swing, one that keeps him in the fairways and yields more birdies. Tiger has a great short game and is the best putter I have seen on tour. He will be putting for more birdies and eagles if he can approach the greens from the fairways and not the rough. Maybe he could learn to swing more like Hogan? What a nightmare it would be for competitors if Tiger could hit all 14 fairways most rounds like Hogan used to.

I wish Tiger all the best. Hogan would be proud of his dedication and perserverence to the grand game of golf.

Tom McCarthy

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.