I have recounted to you all the lesson I learned over a decade ago, which is to never listen to or take another’s word for something if what they are saying can be independently checked.
For years, I believed (because it was all you heard about him) that Ben Hogan was a restricted-hip swinger and I’ve laid out for you all the theory I have that he was unwittingly the father of the Modern Golf Swing when people with eyes couldn’t see what he was doing.
So, I would ask you all, because it’s actually a nice thing to do, looking at Hogan’s swing mechanics – just watch the below video and ask yourself how on earth people have been getting away for decades with claiming things about restricted hips and planted heels.
How Do You Miss This?
I am literally beseeching you all – how does one miss what I have circled above, for 70 years?
This clip is almost as though someone said, “Let me just embarrass everyone and put every clip that I can find of Ben Hogan swinging with an obvious free hip turn and lifting leading heel into this 3 minute video.”
Another, more pertinent question would be, “How on earth do you expect to swing like Ben Hogan if you aren’t doing the first thing he did, which was to turn his hips freely and allow the leading heel to separate?”
Had I actually checked Hogan’s mechanics back between 2005-2014, my journey of swing analysis and model-building may have been much shorter than it has been.
Instead, I foolishly ignored Hogan because I had determined early in my research that the Modern Golf Swing was mechanically unsound, and so if Hogan swung that way… what was the point of looking at it.
But one day, I did.
Holy Cow, people – how do you miss what he was doing if you’re actually looking at it?
Or is it a deliberate omission?
They’re either missing it, or lying about it. There is no other option to choose.
Well, there is one other option, which would be the stupidest option of all – they see it and disregard it as “unnecessary,” which would be incredible, as they all worship at the altar of Ben Hogan and try to mimic his every aspect.
Except that one aspect, which happens to be the most crucial aspect of any proper golf swing.
Free and full hip turn.
Happy U.S. Open weekend, everyone.
WAX Golf 
Wish there were more Ben Hogan clips available in full other than the Shell match vs Sam Snead.In his biographical movie “follow the sun” he did some incredible shots.Just beautiful to watch.
I don’t know if it’s omission,some mass loss of observation amongst pros.It’s odd that with the hundreds of videos,and thousands of coaches in the world that Ben Hogan is so misunderstood.A simple golf swing with videos you can watch on your phone at anytime.It’s enough to turn one into a conspiracy theorist with tinfoil tbh with you.
We’ve been in tinfoil hat territory for years now, silly – the following quote, from John Christensen’s book “Perfect Swing, Imperfect Lies”:
Christensen, John (2013-11-24). Perfect Swing, Imperfect Lies: The Legacy of Golf’s Longest Hitter (Kindle Locations 971-975). . Kindle Edition.
I remember reading that in the book.Sounds more compeling than reptilians altering the minds of golf coaches from satellites.
PGA associations are not in the business to make you a better golfer – they are in business to make money giving golf lessons. The Modern Golf Swing provides an endless source of lesson opportunities because even the pros can’t master it.
DJ, I want to thank you for your recent posts. This got me looking at Mr. Hogan and Mr. Nicklaus swings. I found this:
Jack Nicklaus (1963) Golf Swing Analysis by Wayne Defrancesco on youtube. I watched without sound to see what was occuring and not hear about it. There is a portion of the video where he drew red lines on Jack’s thighs. At the top of his backswing, his left butt cheek is on or very near the original red line. He falls into his downswing just like Hogan did.
So then I checked Mickey Wright and Patty Sheehan (the Sybervision video was great- TY). They did the same. No lateral shift of the hips. It is a fall to the left with the whole rear end. The other thing I noticed, when Jack plants his front foot on the fall forward, the heel plants closer to the target than on setup. This gives him a way to create more torque on the downswing and leads to not shoving or moving the head forward.
Very welcome, Bob!
The thing these modern players don’t get is that you can’t do what Hogan, Nicklaus, Wright and Sheehan did without allowing the legs to move naturally and freely. When they plant the leading foot and keep it nailed down, they can’t get the same positions at the top, as they’ve glued themselves to the left side with that foot.
So, whereas these classic players are able to “fall” back onto the left side, the modern players never left it (stack & tilt), and all they can do is squat in an attempt to mimic the “fall.”
And it’s a big mess. All because they are following some arbitrary rule that one can’t let the leading heel detach in a natural motion.
Utterly bizarre, but here we are.
Absolutely the lead heel must come off of the ground. Something I think we all miss is that it must be replanted in a position closer to the target or replanted in a 12 o’clock/ 6 o’clock position from the original 11/5 o’clock at address. If you watch Jack as he nears and passes impact, the toe spins out to the original address position.
I replied but got it all backwards, as I am currently preparing dinner 🤣
Let me try again – It was an ingenious way to decrease the flare of the leading foot without having it at that angle at address.
Probably very uncomfortable for a modern player to try as they don’t heel lift, but since the classic swingers knew how to get into that leading foot on the downswing, it only served to increase the weight shift back onto the foot and as you say, increase the leverage from the ground up. 👍🏼