DRIVING H PRACTICE H TOUR INSIGHT H FIVE-MINUTE LESSON H STRATEGY H THE ARCHIVE H MENTAL GAME H SWING
FROM
OUR
ARCHIVE
TOM KITE
1986
“When I first watched
Jack Nicklaus putting, I
was struck by how high his
hands were. If you drew a
line up through the putter
shaft it would run through
his left forearm.”
NICK PRICE
1993
On a long-range chip, put
the ball back in your
stance and swing from
the inside to ‘hook’ the
shot. The ball will come
out low and running.”
LEARN FROM A LEGEND
HOGAN’S HIP CLEARANCE STANDS THE TEST OF TIME
A picture paints a thousand words and it doesn’t have to be a high-speed impact shot to convey
important information about a player and what he is trying to do with a shot. Take Ben Hogan
here. There’s so much we can learn from this simple photograph. For starters, check out the
number of practice golf balls. There are only a handful. The players from yesteryear didn’t have
the luxury of being given limitless numbers of free Callaways at every Tour event. Quality balls
were scarce and so practice was a more considered endeavour.
What I really like about this photograph from a swing technique perspective, however, is how
Hogan has completed his swing not just with his weight on his front foot but on the outside of that
foot. His left knee retains a hint of knee fl ex and, very importantly, his right hip is closer to the
target than his left. He could not have cleared his lower body more eff ectively. In my opinion,
Hogan is the best ever at rotating his hips in the downswing. He doesn’t ‘jump’ at the ball like, say,
a Justin Thomas of today. And you can tell from the truncated follow-through that the great man
was hitting a buttery fade here.
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GolfPlus Junior March-April 2020
TOM LEHMAN
2001
“With the punch shot, you
must make contact with the
ball first so you don’t hit it
fat. The ball stays lower,
which is easier to control
and judge distance.”