The Secret of Hogan's Swing
For golf geeks, the matter of Ben Hogan's "secret" has been a tantalizing mystery for more than 50 years. Did Hogan--perhaps the game's greatest shotmaker--really figure out the secret to the golf swing, and if so, what the heck is it? There have been many secret-finders over the years: Hogan himself revealed part of it in his classicFive Lessons(1957); then, more recently, Jody Vasquez, inAfternoons with Mr. Hogan(2004), divulged that, when he was shagging balls for the master in the 1960s, Hogan spilledallthe beans: it's about the right knee and the left wrist. Yes, says Bertrand, who worked for years with Hogan protege John Schlee, knees and wrists play roles, but Hogan withheld the "missing link." Schlee knew it, though, and before succumbing to Alzheimer's, he passed it on to Bertrand: it's what the left elbow does on the downswing. Non-golfers will find this whole business incredibly silly, but the rest of us will be excused for looking at our left elbows with newfound respect. If you read golf instructionals, this one is a must.Bill OttCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved