The Fundamentals of Hogan. David Leadbetter

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Working with Herbert Warren Wind on Five Lessons.

      Hogan was a superior athlete, gifted with remarkable flexibility and range of motion, as well as an imaginative mind. According to many people, his intellect bordered on genius. Gardner Dickinson, a professional golfer who won three tournaments on the U.S. tour from 1968-1970 and played on two Ryder Cup teams, worked as an assistant to Hogan when he was briefly the head professional at the Tamarisk Country Club in Palm Springs, California during the early 1950s. Dickinson held a degree in clinical psychology and was qualified to administer psychological tests. He could not prevail upon Hogan to take a standard intelligence test, but did slip in some questions during their conversations. He estimated that Hogan’s I.Q. was in the high genius category.

      Combine Hogan’s inherent qualities with his intense concentration and steely focus, and it is apparent he always had the foundation to become one of the game’s finest players. Hogan had the strength, speed, and agility that are ideal for taking up the demands of golf. He had fairly long arms relative to his height (he stood 5 feet 8V½ inches), with a powerful, compact body; at the height of his career he weighed in the region of 140 pounds, and every pound seemed there for one purpose—to strike the golf ball efficiently. He also had big hands and very strong forearms, which helped him hold on to the club with control and power from start to finish. I also believe that his powerful lower body, in particular the strong gluteus maximus muscles (buttocks) and thighs aided his superb stability—a major factor in enabling him to go at the ball hard while retaining perfect balance.

      Having been fortunate enough to be involved in the teaching side of golf for years and having taught some of the world’s great modern players, I regard the writing of this book as a labor of love and joy. It is an honor for me, but moreover it is a tribute to a man that I, along with millions of others, have long admired and respected. Many younger golfers have heard of Hogan but perhaps do not realize he was the ultimate technician of the swing, and that he had more control of the ball than anyone who has played the game. Many good players like to draw the golf ball, but some of the greats prefer to fade it; that was true of Hogan, and it is also true of Jack Nicklaus. In Hogan’s day, players had such immense respect for him that they would stop their own practice sessions and gather to watch the master at work. Though Hogan was basically a quiet man, even taciturn, when he talked about the golf swing players listened intently. Tommy Bolt once said that he remembers Jack Nicklaus watching Hogan practice, but that he never saw Hogan watching Nicklaus. Bolt meant this not as a slight to Nicklaus, but as a statement about Hogan’s reputation and exalted place in the game.

      My goals in this book are threefold: (1) to examine what Hogan believed about the swing; (2) to offer my interpretations and, in some cases, examine his thinking as expressed primarily in Five Lessons, but also from other sources, so that I might provide a complete picture. Hogan wrote the aforementioned Power Golf, and also in such publications as Life and Esquire, and of course he wrote for and was often quoted in golf magazines. In regard to his many writings I will attempt to clear up some misconceptions that have arisen over the years. Speaking from experience, I am aware that misconceptions can easily arise when dealing with the complexities of the golf swing; and (3) to offer advice that could help golfers of all ability levels who dream of shooting 80 or lower; not so that golfers can recreate Hogan’s swing—that would be impossible—but so that they can learn from him and incorporate certain elements into their games and so become more consistent. Hogan believed that the golfer who studied and understood the basics of the swing and who then applied these principles in practice could develop a consistent swing and break 80. I also believe this.

      On the subject of breaking 80, I think it is important to realize that this is indeed a dream for many golfers—a dream they hope to turn into reality. An improved golf swing will go a long way toward achieving this goal. At the same time, we should never forget how important it is to work on your short game and develop it in tandem with your long game. Hogan did not address the short game in Five Lessons nor will I do so here. But an improved short game is vital to any golfer’s plan to reach his potential. Ideally this book will help you improve your swing so that you do not have to tinker with it every time you practice. You will, I hope, be able to use your practice sessions to maintain your newfound, reliable swing and to devote more time to your short game. When I visit golf courses I see people beating golf balls hour after hour in hopes of improving their swings, although frequently they are working without a plan or concept—and they rarely work on their short games. This is understandable because they hit the ball poorly and are motivated to find something, anything, on the range.

      I hope to give you that “something” in these pages, and in doing so free you to spend more time on your short game. This should help you become a consistent 80-breaker; or if you are already at that stage, a par-breaker.

      I might add that I think along lines similar to Hogan in many important ways and consider myself something of a traditionalist when it comes to teaching the swing. I have always believed that no golfer can make headway in the game without understanding the fundamentals; the idea is then to stick with and work at these fundamentals. If in tandem you can develop a good short game, then you may well turn that dream of breaking 80 or breaking par into reality. This is one reason I am excited by the prospect of helping to bring Hogan again to the forefront of golfers’ minds, and ensure that he remains there. I consider this book a conversation with Hogan about his theory of the swing, and a blending of what we have learned about it and what we can hope to achieve in further study. It’s a blending, in other words, of the past and present with an eye to the future.