Ted Hunt - Ben Hogans Tips for Weekend Golfers: Simple Advice to Improve Your Game

Copyright 2014 by Ted Hunt

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover photo credit AP Images

ISBN: 9781510722286

Ebook ISBN: 9781510722293

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CONTENTS

Jim Langley with Ben Hogan at Cypress Point Club.

A DEDICATION TO JIM LANGLEY AND BEN HOGAN

T he lasting rewards to be taken from this fascinating game we call golf are really the memories of those times spent with like-minded friends, and for many, there was no golfer more memorable for his thoughtful kindnesses than Jim Langley, head professional at the Cypress Point Club on Californias exhilarating Monterey Peninsula.

Jim Langley July 21, 1937July 20, 2013

Ben Hogan was not known for his gregarious manner, but he was extremely loyal to friends and consistently generous to people who needed help. He was, despite a debilitating accident, the greatest golfer of his time.

Ben Hogan August 13, 1912July 25, 1997

Four friends on the first tee at Cypress Point anticipating their match.

I n 2009, I wrote Ben Hogans Magical Device for competitive golfers and professional golf instructors because none of them could agree on just exactly what Hogans secret was. After years of caddying for, and playing with, some very special golfers, I realized that I had the long-sought answer. The only problem being that it was explained to me by Hogans close friends in their undefined slang: twist and arch, wring the towel, cant go left, etc. So, with help, I put such vague language into universally understood anatomical terms, and proudly gave a copy of the book to fellow Canadian Sean Foley for Tiger Woods at Augustas practice range on the Tuesday warm-up session in April of 2011. This act may have broken several of the listed Augusta rules handed out at the gate, but Tiger had returned and was starting to look very Hoganish. My hope was that Tiger would consider two special tips from Ben Hoganthe great champion whom Tiger was chasingand make us both rich and famous. I was on cloud nine when on Sunday, five days later, Tiger carded a thirty-one on the outward nine to take the lead for what could be his fifth green jacket. But alas, he tore his Achilles tendon on a layer of shifting pine needles and finished in fourth placenot what he wanted. Recovery from an Achilles injury would take months, and the Masters moment was lost.

My second book, Ben Hogans Short Game Simplified , was directed to those skilled amateur golfers who wanted to sharpen their game from one hundred and twenty yards and in, so there is a special focus on putting and chipping. Mike Weir took a copy at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club during the Canadian Open in 2012 just after he had suffered a bone chip problem with his elbow.

At the 2012 Ladies Canadian Open at Vancouver Club, Michelle Wies father and coach asked for both of these books. With the interest shown by this trio of professionals, I thought that surely keen amateurs would be attracted by the fact that world-class competitive golfers used Hogans techniques, and that amateurs would have a great time learning the secret to Hogans power, accuracy, and reliability.

However, I could not have anticipated the difficulty of internalizing Hogans swing system. It is so complex that it takes too long to be absorbed by someone who doesnt spend time on a golf course every day.

The average golfer, although keen to improve, simply does not have the time to redefine their swing. Tiger would take six months for a major swing change. Hogan asked the average golfer for just fifteen minutes per day for one week. But that disciplined investment appeared to be too much for the weekend golfer. The prescribed fifteen minutes was very easily preempted by demands of family and occupation. And so, after a couple of years of receiving feedback from golfers all over North America, and many lessons later, it became apparent that a quicker delivery of Ben Hogans message was needed for the average club golfer.

This focus is what I have tried to offer in Ben Hogans Tips for Weekend Golfers . The main technique instruction for these tips is designed to be put into action within minutes of reading. However, after absorbing the main structure of the tipfor those who have questions, in order to understand more of the swing technique just featuredI offer details to follow up on the presentation, so that readers can delve a bit more if they wish.

There are an amazing number of detailed facets within the golf swing, and it should be remembered that these parts are rarely separated from other actions. Therefore, ideally, further details should be considered immediately after applying the tip, because that follow-up process extends the likelihood of success, by explaining a questionso often overlooked in golf instruction because of time and costwhy is this move so important?

Ben Hogans swing is as complex as a spiders web; the variables and connections are never ending. In this book, Ive attempted to distill Hogans systemquite usefullyto a selection of valuable but simple tips for the weekend golfer.

For any future inquiries, you can email the author at, .

The technique shown here is what separates Hogans power fade from all other methods used for fading. His left shoulder is high, indicating a fade, and the shaft is pointing right down the target line. As you will see, his power fade is longer and more accurate than the cut shot, which is discussed on pp. 135-136.

G olf, as you have no doubt discovered, is not an easy gamenot easy for anyone. Its far too intricately elaborate, and lets face it, even if we were talking about your love life instead of golf, the games complexity would give one pause. And yet, like love, golf is fascinating, and even though one can never get it quite right, it becomes the source of many discussions over happy memories and plans for future success.