"Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf" by Ben Hogan

[lynchjo]

I like Hogan's five lessons because he stressed the secret to consistent golf is to build a simple golf swing – a swing without a lot of moving parts and one you can repeat time and time again – even under pressure.

[Borf]

Currently Reading it, Great instruction.

I am learning so much about the fundamentals. Althought I have a tough time following when he goes into great detail b/c I am a lefty and get SUPER confused when hes talking about right and left, hips, shoulders, hands etc...

I have grasped the important things he is stressing, which is the most important part, but I usually just skim over the sections that get too much in detail about the left and right like I said.

For those who have read it you know what Im talking about and Im sure its a much easier read for those righties of the world.

Cheers!

[hjacknicklaus]

excellent post......its like nicklaus golf my way.....not teaching , just showing how HE plays the game.......interesting enough as we all know...hogan was left handed and switched......but hogan is hogan.......he said.."i hit about 3 great shots a round"...............

[Borf]

excellent post......its like nicklaus golf my way.....not teaching , just showing how HE plays the game.......interesting enough as we all know...hogan was left handed and switched......but hogan is hogan.......he said.."i hit about 3 great shots a round"...............

Thank you! This book is so great though, I am only through 3 chapters so far.

It helped so much on my grip, stance and posture already, I have been practicing it. I have a swing speed around 110mph and am hoping to improve on that with these great tips. I was able to get to a low handicap without any teaching, hopefully this book will unlock some secrets for me and I can take my game to a higher level.

[Chas]

Not too sure about the bit about swing plane and sheets of glass though,seems a bit restrictive

It's one of the best images for me, even though of course some lattitude is allowable. But the novice should be striving to stay perfectly on plane, because most of them are nowhere near it and it just kills them.

One of my other favorite images is the two arms strapped together rather tightly, i.e. keep the elbows fairly close together on the backswing and the arms in a tight triangle. Tiger has his drill where he pushes his right elbow to his left at "address" using the BACK of his left hand (no club in his hands of course), to get that feeling of a tight triangle going back. You see him do it on the course sometimes. Dunno if this makes any sense to readers, not so easy to explain but easy enough to do. Hogan was all about simplicity and close replication of a really tight swing. Makes for great consistency as well as longevity.

[Borf]

What was Hogan's swing speed?

I am hoping this book will help me achieve a higher swing speed and ball speed.

[Release]

What was Hogan's swing speed?

I don't think his swing speed was ever measured.

For a guy around 5'7" and less than 140 Ib. his controlled driver distance was 260-270 yards with a 43 1/4 " steel shafted persimmon driver, he could get it close to 300 yards if he wants to. I had read that Hogan had often out on exhibition show and many were to see him hit one over the back fence at 300 yards + . Hogan was one of the longer hitter in his time and age, but his accuracy and shot making was more known by others.

[Prodigy]

This is a must have. Every high profile instructor's concepts are derived from Mr. Hogans book. My grandfather taught me how to play golf and this book is his bible. I belive it was givin me a soild foundation and solid efficient swing(at least i like to thing so haha). Everything is simplified beautifly using modern concepts and insight from the best ball striker of all time. And Mr. Hogan's five lessons IMO is the biggest contribution to golf litterature at this moment in time

..Chris

[lynchjo]

This is a must have. Every high profile instructor's concepts are derived from Mr. Hogans book. My grandfather taught me how to play golf and this book is his bible. I belive it was givin me a soild foundation and solid efficient swing(at least i like to thing so haha). Everything is simplified beautifly using modern concepts and insight from the best ball striker of all time. And Mr. Hogan's five lessons IMO is the biggest contribution to golf litterature at this moment in time

Well said Chris..arguably the best golf instruction book ever written!

Even though 'Hogan's 5 Lessons' was written in 1959 by Hogan himself, the principals still hold today almost 50 years later. The illustrations are beautifully crafted and the book is an easy read. A must read for ANY golfer! --John

[mike93]

just bought this book based on these recommendations, so it better be good haha !

[Prodigy]

just bought this book based on these recommendations, so it better be good haha !

you wont be disappointed

[RC]

This time tested book is still one of the great contributions to golf instruction, in my opinion. The Hogan "secret" about coiling into a braced right leg is a timeless tip for most swings.

[lynchjo]

Ben Hogan has created in 'five lessons' arguably the best mental image ever when he developed his famous 'pane of glass' theory. Hogan spends a whole chapter in this book on the swing plane using this 'pane of glass' imagery. This tells you the importance Hogan put on swinging the club on plane...



A must read for the serious golfer...

--John

[Ben]

just bought this book based on these recommendations, so it better be good haha !

I've been playing for about 22 years now, and have owned and read this book many times over. My latest dip into the book was just last week. I've been having a little trouble with impact and pulling the ball, so I reread part of Lesson 4, The Second Part of the Swing and wouldn't you know it, just a little review of his theory and I've straightened out my shots and am hitting them a lot more solid. Ben Hogan, I Love You!

[ks8829]

I love his detail description on how to hold the club in your hands.

[wachesawgolfer]

[QUOTE=lynchjo;232736]Ben Hogan has created in 'five lessons' arguably the best mental image ever when he developed his famous 'pane of glass' theory. Hogan spends a whole chapter in this book on the swing plane using this 'pane of glass' imagery. This tells you the importance Hogan put on swinging the club on plane...



A must read for the serious golfer...


As I stopped to reconsider this book for maybe the tenth time, I have decided the swing plane idea is probably the most detrimental swing thought for the average golfer and it probably originated with Mr. Hogan, but a close reading of the book you will see that Hogan does not rely on Swingplane per se but only describes it as an after thought as where the club ends up. The problem is correct swing plane for a given person is the combination of the lifting motion of the arms and the turn. These two separate and distinct motions form the swing plane. The backswing is a torso turn with the arms reacting and rising to the top, with no independent arm move. The downswing is a downward move straight down to the ground while the shoulders are still turned. When the arms swing down the body turns such that the hands meet the right hip with the left arm still close on the chest, there the turn completes the swing.

If you conceptualize, the ultimate swing plane and try to swing along that plane (or plate of glass), the problems begin. In the backswing the arms will dominate the move rather than the body causing a poor position at the top. In the downswing the player will SWING OUT along the plane of glass, which cause the right shoulder to lead at the top and the left arm come off the body a the top which is a classic over the top move, all resulting in an open faced club which is not being swung by the body but flailed by the arms across the line.

In a good golf swing, swing plane takes care of itself as it is the result of the rise and fall of the arms and the turn, not an intentional move along the final swing plane. Golf instruction which is swing plane focused is doomed to failure. Hogan emphasized the moves to create the proper swing plane, not the swing plane itself.

[lynchjo]

I love his detail description on how to hold the club in your hands.

Yes, Hogan certainly does go into great detail on the grip....a whole chapter devoted to it!

The picture below is from Hogan's 'Five Lessons' - showing both the strong and neutral grips.... The illustrations in this book are incredible...remember, Hogan wrote this book in 1957... --John

[Prodigy]

Ben Hogan has created in

hahaa nice post i remember i saw like i think it was jim mcleen (or mclean im not sure at the moment haha) recreate tht and made some dude swing with a pane of glass haha thts y i hate swing "gurus" they are just well annoying