Hogan's Secret Elbow Move

How did Ben Hogan swing down exactly on the shaft plane? Here are some observations.

[harrybrett]

Best swing tip of all time for me. If you keep that right elbow below the shaft plane, your right hand and right side can not take over the downswing. Also, the pace and control of the elbow coming down will also keep you from hitting from the top. Try varying the pace with which you bring it down and watch what it does to the ball. This elbow movement also brought me to a complete balanced finish. It does not get any better than that. Worked for all clubs in the bag.

[RT-Ford]

If you want to keep your right elbow (or left, if you're a lefty) tucked in like Hogan, keep your upper arms firmly against the sides of your chest throughout the swing. He describes it in his 'Five Lessons' book. Keeping your upper arms against your chest forces your right elbow in to the proper position.

[woodledog]

Just brilliant, thank you. The Trevino connection is spot on.

[valedwards]

great video.my mentor Gardner Dickinson, showed me this 35 yrs ago.you show the correct stuff.retired PGA professional 45 yrs

[toddsandow]

Thank you for all your great input and passion BJ. Hogan did have 38” long arms by the way which is exceptionally long for someone 5’8”.

[stratovani]

Harvey Penick knew all about this. He called it the Magic Move. As you begin your downswing you bring the right elbow into your side while at the same time shift your weight to the left. He said that this was one move, not two. He also said that the reason he called it the Magic Move was that if you do it well you will hit the ball as if by magic! Combine this with Hogan's weak grip and slightly open clubface and you'll be hitting a power fade in no time!

[ronpetrosky]

You guys are the best instruction in golf and its not even close. Thanks so much !

[TheNYgolfer]

Sergio Garcia does the same thing with the right elbow and returns the shaft right back to where it was at setup.

[TimFlaherty]

Great Observations: I always have felt that my right forearm elbow was a big key when I was hitting it well.

[sregan]

Please look at the difference in the right hip between his early swing at (2:32) and his later swing at (4:15). To me it looks like the right hip is driving the swing at (4:15) where it is being dragged along in the earlier swing at (2:32)

[jihjp]

thank you. excellent study. i tried loosening my R elbow above plane backswing & below reverse... i gained speed & control. i will keep using your tips

[guitar]

Would not the elbow be affected by him bowing his left wrist before impact? That bowing of his left wrist set his right wrist into position to use his (three) right hands to throw the club through impact.

[johnharrington]

I’m serious! The Secret Move in the golf swing IS how the right elbow works! It is no different than a pitcher going forward, it always leads the swing going forward and doesn’t matter the tempo, your body knows how to do everything else! You don’t have to think about anything else and I know because I pitched as a young man and I was good ! I’m 73 now and wish I had made golf this easy when I started, you might have heard of me if I had ! John

[swingtrade]

good stuff. Looks like he immediately gets the right arm to start folding in relation to the turn and it then stays in front of him.

[fentontaylor]

From the top, he drives that right elbow down and forward so he can push that club through the zone with his right arm and hand. All good players do the same, but Hogans shoulder was flexible enough to really get the elbow in front of the right hip. Jack did the same. It didnt matter that his right elbow was "flying" at the top, as a matter of fact, it helped create power by starting the downswing driving that right elbow down and in. Same with Fred Couples and Lee Trevino. Great baseball hitters do the same. Watch Ariya Jutanugarn. Same thing. The right elbow is away from the body at the top and then she drives it down and in.

[iamBenRod]

So many of the greats could return to the original plane. You mention Trevino but also Player, Snead, Moe, Nelson, Palmer, Tiger, and many others. Not all had the elbow below the plane line but they all lowered their head substantially and their left hip deepened away from the ball from their original setup. This is the holy grail move in golf. Enjoyed the video, thanks.

[dtgps]

Ben Hogan wrote about the pane of glass shifting from BS to DS.


and he wrote extensively of the Slot. ie all five levers in a common plane.
The Slot is the key to shot making, not the shaft plane at address.

[jayallred]

What did the right elbow do in the downswing? Answer: Hogan's swing plane is very close to what The Golfing Machine refers to as the elbow plane. In plane angle variations it appears that he uses the 10-7-E Reverse Shift from the turned shoulder plane at P-4 to shift to the elbow plane. How to move the right elbow from the top P-4 to P-6 is to "FEEL" the right elbow is moving away from the ball (reverse) not towards the ball. This puts the right "elbow down and at the side" TGM 10-3-A, instead of down and in front.

[cleandude]

Really good information sir, thank you!!  Wishing we had Konica Swing Vision back then!  Couldn't you look at slo-mo swings of Chad Campbell and Johnathon Bryd to illustrate similar traits?  Again thanks for your time, expertise and talent!!

[cuminbeing]

You left someone out when mentioning players who get the club back on the original shaft plane at impact: Sergio Garcia. Easily the best ball striker of the modern era.

All of these guys have one thing in common: They dramatically flatten the shaft plane in transition while at the same time keeping the right shoulder higher than the left. They all have the butt of the club is pointed well ABOVE the ball between the top of the backswing to where the left arm is parallel to the ground. Modern instruction says that the butt of the club points at the ball during this part of the swing, but what all the great ball-strikers do says otherwise. It's just physics. Something about being in this position allows gravity to take over and get the plane back to where it was at address.