Trying to swing horizontally is the secret. It's like if you were to swing at a golf ball on a baseball tee that lowers the closer the club head gets to it. It's that intent that gets you shallow and helps you maintain tush line. Horizontal Intent my friends. Like throwing a side arm pitch or skipping a rock. Combine that with a centered pivot and some depth and you're solid. The only thing you can argue at that point is whether or not you want a roll release for power or a square release for accuracy.
I first met Mow at Earl Grey course here in Calgary in 1982. I've thought about what he said in practice rounds I played with him whenever he came to western Canada, and I think the secret is in the dirt. Great job!
The secret is in the dirt (ground) . Any force applied onto the ground is met with an equal and opposite resistance, from the ground. When a player turns their weight onto the front of their right foot, in the downswing, they are then in a position to press down on the ground with the front ot their right foot. The resistance from the ground will make the body and the right hip turn through the ball; and stabilize the swing, keeping it balanced.
My brother played the Canadian Tour back in '75 and has some funny Moe stories. One time all the guys were talking about money and Moe pulled out a wad of money ( around 10k) and just laid it on the green for several hours. He said "money, money that's what I think of money" lol classic. He said that wad laid on the green for 3 or 4 hours and noone touched it!
Sevam1, your videos have helped me greatly with my ballstriking. You possess a very natural swing that inspires and is great to watch. Just by planting my right leg into the ground (along with a grip change) and watching your videos my consistency, ball-striking and finish has improved dramatically escpecially with the irons. The secret truly is in the dirt, thank you for your simple and revealing instruction its been a true revelation for me.
In a nutshell Hogans main secret or move is in the downswing,the right leg holds while the left leg moves forward or laterally,in slow mo you can see how it bows out,but he does'nt make the mistake of loosing height with the right side,or transphere his weight left to early,as his left knee moves the right knee will take its place and his right side can rotate fully while still maintaining spine angle.The reason for keeping the elbows close is for a constant swing radius,left elbow stays down.
I won't argue that "educated hands" are a great benefit. I will argue that a "timed release" is a manipulation that I don't want in my action. In my action the release of the clubhead is governed by my lower body and footwork rather than my hands. My release is a reaction rather than an action. I set the face square to the arc very early on the downswing and just drive it through. There is no turning of the clubface at the bottom and no rolling over of the hands until the ball is long gone.
nice swing, great speed through the ball. Another way to think of it is physical ( not psychological), relaxation, creates speed in the golf swing. The real secret is that no matter how good you are you have to trust that your good. without trust the greats wouldn't be great
You step in and square the club and the right foot to the line of flight. The right foot goes first so you can easily see the flight line and get that foot square to it. The left foot goes into position next because the bottom of the arc will be relative to the left foot. The right foot then is moved back relative to the type of shot he is going to play. Now a look at the target while shuffling left and then right again. Boom!! Right Left Right Left Right Left always a mirror of the pivot!
jeez, all these people leaving negative comments, what has the world come to eh?! the secret is in the dirt, mike isnt talking about hitting divots or actually understanding soil, more the relationship of the inside of your right leg and the ground (or dirt) underneath it, as the primary pivot point in the swing. understanding that is one of the key aspects of a repeatable, consistent and powerful swing.
noun -a pin, point, or short shaft on the end of which something rests and turns, or upon and about which something rotates or oscillates. --verb -to turn on or as on a pivot. In the golf swing you have two things to pivot around...the right leg and the left leg. You pivot around the right leg on the backswing through transition and around the left on the follow through.
Carry between 265 and 280. What that maxes out at depends on a few things. I can fly it further but rarely try. I'm 41 years old and not in near the shape I should be to long ball it any more. Fluked one in 1998 in competition that flew 340, hit the cart path crossing the fairway on the fly, finished 430 from the tee. That's my long drive story. I have not considered becoming a pro. I may teach. Never had much patience for the finicky finesse stuff you have to have to be a great player.
I played and won on the Canadian Tour in the 80's when Moe was around and got to spend a lot of time with him. I too have seen the flip book sevam speaks off. Hogan and Moe would be totally disgusted with the shape of golf now. Back in their day, players hit persimmon woods that drove the ball 250. These guys had to hit long irons, and well. You needed a better golf swing back then. Now it's just a long drive-wedge-putting contest. stack and Tilt is how they hit short irons in the old days.
You are right and quite observant. I was wondering when someone would catch that one. I was hitting draws. The Cameraman is a lefty and, as I guess everyone knows by now, he gets a little confused from time to time.
I'm not sure that I ever said that. You can see the pivot particularly well from behind. That's for sure. How it will help you other than knowing what it looks like for visualizing or something I have no idea.
sevam1, You mention Moe's flipbook of Hogan's swing in your video. My brother played a round of golf with Moe at Lambton in Toronto and at the completion of play Moe went to his car and revealed a notebook with random notations and stick figure drawings. He showed it but really just allowed a glance. Were you also shown Moe's golfing notes and if so whatever became of them? Did anyone save any of his writings to your knowledge. downtoscratch
Sevam has a wonderful swing. Clearly he has done his homework and applied it well. "Golfvince", golf is a totally different game now. In the old days it was much more about ball striking. The greens weren't so good. When I asked Moe about his best round, he said "7 pins". In Hogan's era they had to pepper the pins to shoot low. Now Padrig makes every 30 footer on perfect greens. Golf is two different sports, a biathalon. Hogan's secret is non anywhere near a putting green.
Hi Mike Mate love the Videos, Great to here you are working with The Elk All the Best to the Secret in the dirt crew for the new year. Regards Addam smith
re. 18th at Olympic 1955 play-off against Flack, quoting James Dodson in his biograghy "Ben Hogan"... "as he launched his tee shot, Ben's foot slipped on the slightly sandy top-dressed surface of the tee, and he yanked his drive sharply to the left off the neck of his driver. His ball dived into wet and dense rye grass about 250 yards out..." He took 3 shots to get out of the rough, his fifth hit the green and 6th was holing a 44 foot putt for double. The secret is in the dirt...
Apperently Hogan told Mo the secret and Mo said "its like nothing you've ever heard before". Mo was sworn to secrecy and like Hogan took it to the grave!
Do you implament spine tilt at address like Moe did? It seems like your spine tilt at address is different from your Moe to Hogan swings. I was told that Moe said the hardest thing in golf is the move from the address position to shifting your spine angle to allow for deep slotting. ofcourse Moe's setup eliminated that.
I've learnd mutch from watching your videos Maves! i Relley like your swing ideas! Take a look at what i've learn if you have the time :) the most inportent thing for me is to start with the hips from the top and the free ride of the hands on the may down :)
Mike spelled out the secret (in his youtube videos)>however, you have to dig it for yourself. I can't wait for the weather to break in Michigan!!! It's stupid simple when you get it!!
first of all... SEV you are so right about setting that right foot...it has made me a real golfer... secondly...I have a theory... here it is...Hogan was hooking everything...as he's described in his interview...ok so.... I'm guessing... he set that right foot torqued to the right in an efffort just to get the ball to go right... and INADVERTANTLY stumbled onto the secret in the dirt...you know what I'm saying?... he just thought... well hell... maybe if i preload everything right..anyhoo THANKS
@MiniMoeNorman 69 and Low Qualifier Medalist in my section for Ontario Amateur was my best competitive round (but not lowest) The weather was crappy and only 2 people broke par that day. Lowest was a 67 in a qualifier for the Ontario Match Play but I was actually not low qualifier so I think the 69 was actually better.
tigercatcheshair, I did a little dog an pony show for some pro's on a range in Key West around the time of the Orlando PGA Show. I think some people took some film of that. I will try to get ahold of it and post some of it for you.
IMO the comment , " secret is in the dirt " was coined based on the playing conditions of the soil in Texas where Hogan, Nelson , and Trevino learned to play . Hard clay like soil forced them to develop swings the had shallow or no divots ! Could be dead wrong !
Don't judge too quickly. Remember there is always more to every story. Come to think of it this just might be a little bit like you yourself Ray Finkle..... Or is it Lois Einhorn? On the surface it is one thing. Dig a little deeper and you might just find something else. : ) Sevam1
Hogan fought a hook....the secret is in the dirt...simple...when he hooked he used his hands as a motor...he got rid of the hook by using "the dirt"... swinging from the ground up...the hands are not a motor anymore but now become a "link ".like a small chain between a pair of nunchucks the proper footwork creates the centrifigul force which make the clubhead heavy at the bottom causing the release..thats the secret..hands regulate grip pressure..thats all..using the dirt creates proper rotation
Let's go back to the very first time "The Secret" was ever mentioned. Hogan was being interviewed after one of his tour victories and the reporter asked, "How do you do it, Mr. Hogan?" Ben's answer was, "I've got a secret". That's it. That's all. The rest was all blown out of proportion by the media. What else is new? For the most part, Hogan disliked reporters. He felt that they didn't do their homework and mostly just made things up to fill out their stories. He answered their questions with one word answers if he could. "I've got a secret" was just another way to blow off another lazy reporter. End of story.
I know the secret direct from someone, who knew Hogan and told ittomy grandfather in the early sixties. When you get to the top of the backswing what's the first move???? The secret is : there isn't one!!!!
When you get to the top of the backswing provided that your weight is correctly biased, there is no move, you simply relax your arms, delts, traps, lower back and legs switch yourbrain off and surrender to gravity centrifugal force and the reactive brain!!!!
The club is like a runaway train. It's got so much potential energy contained, within the shaft, there is nothing you can do to manipulate, or steer it. Your only option, is to surrenender at transition and the club will find its own way to the ball, without impedance!!!!
Oh and sorry about being at my face. I wasn't digging for gold, but it was very very hot that day so my face was sweating and those pants were sticking to my legs. I had to keep hiking the left pantleg up befor each swing because it was sticking at the knee. The conversation kept going so I kept hiking up the left pantleg until I actually started to hit because it was annoying me.
Thanks for the video's. Could you talk more about the loading down into the right leg, and the transition. What about grip pressure? Where are you from? You are so right about instruction today. It's an endless parade of confusion.
@stiznef go to the Secret In The Dirt website and watch the videos that I did with Elk about hawking down the left to to gain stability in the lead leg.
@anyhitchcock I have a set and was never a huge fan of them for some reason that I have not been able to put my finger on. I like just about every Apex and Bounce sole model that they ever produced but the Medallion didn't turn me on.
I think you have misunderstood what I have said. I don't for a minute think that the secret is in the "dirt" anymore than it is in the air. I was trying to apply "science" to the statement in the video, which is baffling. It is a scientific fact that any force asserted on the ground will be met with an equal and opposite resistance. Talent utilises the effect of gravity . People say that Roger Federer has a flawless game. This is not true. Without the foor he wouldn't have anything to play on.
Why are people so mean...angry? I found interesting info in every video. By the way, Sevam, I solved an issue I had letting the toe turn over too quickly watching you stay square as long as you do. Thanks.
I think he would have elaborated more... rumors he did tell Schlee, Knudson, Venturi etc. But later in life he got Alzheimers and it all went down the drain.
Very hot that day. Boxers or briefs would not have mattered....the pants would have been sticking to my thighs no matter what and briefs wouldn't have stopped the sweat running off of my nose that day either.
Great golfers can never tell you what the secret is ... because they don't know either ! W+Ever asked one? They all smile and say something stupid like practice, or talent or "The Dirt" ha ha ha How does the dirt create good timing or choose the right line? Golf is talent / patience / art and science which is why no-one has THE secret. Now go practice !
What? That sucked! "It went right and then faded back"? Doesn't that mean it went farther right if it faded?? Waste of time...thanks. Keep picking your nose your good at that.
