Is it possible for a tall golfer to emulate Hogan's swing?

I am 6'3" and of a heavier build. I have been reading 5 lessons and I am trying out his concepts. My question is will my height force me to bend more at the waist instead of being more upright like the ilillustrations in the book?

I am having problems with inconsistencies between hitting in fat and thin, or hitting a hook or a slice.

[quote name='DriftNasty' timestamp='1313739903' post='3501478']
I am 6'3" and of a heavier build. I have been reading 5 lessons and I am trying out his concepts. My question is will my height force me to bend more at the waist instead of being more upright like the ilillustrations in the book?


I am having problems with inconsistencies between hitting in fat and thin, or hitting a hook or a slice.
[/quote]


Hmmmmm...another book question; that I couldn't answer at this point, but I can tell you that based on your body type, if you did emulate Hogans swing, it would just be a taller, heavier Hogan. If you get a chance to make a trip to Las Vegas, be sure to stop by one of the Elvis shows. There will be many Elvis emulators; some tall, some thin, some short, some heavy, some young, some old.

On a technical note: let's say that Hogans lower body measures 36" from feet to waist, and 32" from waist to head. Being a bit taller, your lower body measures 45" from feet to waist, and 30" from waist to head. I suspect that there would be a difference in spine angles and other pieces of the geometry. But your height, weight, or the book should not stop you from hitting Hogans moves.

Sure you can emulate Hogan's swing. You can make all the same moves and have an excellent swing. It will likely look different of course because of body type and flexibility differences.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I need to get a mirror to practice in front of.

[quote name='DriftNasty' timestamp='1313769293' post='3502256']
Thanks for the replies. I guess I need to get a mirror to practice in front of.
[/quote]

And a camcorder from these views:

Down the line far away
Down the line closeup
Front on
Front left side
Front right side
Upper torso only
Lower torso only
Left leg only
RIght leg only
Head only
Overhead closeup
Overhead helicopter
Elbow only
Impact only
Left elbow at finish

I'm sure I left something off the list......will add to it when it comes to mind.

[quote name='Ben Hogan Swing Project' timestamp='1313787605' post='3503238']
[quote name='DriftNasty' timestamp='1313769293' post='3502256']
Thanks for the replies. I guess I need to get a mirror to practice in front of.
[/quote]

And a camcorder from these views:

Down the line far away
Down the line closeup
Front on
Front left side
Front right side
Upper torso only
Lower torso only
Left leg only
RIght leg only
Head only
Overhead closeup
Overhead helicopter
Elbow only
Impact only
Left elbow at finish

I'm sure I left something off the list......will add to it when it comes to mind.
[/quote]

Perhaps emulate was too strong of a word. I really just want a Hoganesque swing per the book. I don't want to be exactly like Hogan.

As of right now, after practicing the grip for a week, it feels natural and it is the way I grab the club. It didn't affect my ball striking as bad today on the course as I though...but it is rough since I can't seem to patch together a string of good shots from tee to green. Scoring I am doing well. No 3 putts.

Hogan stood tall as he addressed the ball, but then "went down to get it" on the downswing. So you can set up like him and then drop down to hit the ball, or you can set up with more waist bend and not have as far to go on the downswing to get to the ball. IMO.

[quote name='natep' timestamp='1313795099' post='3503491']
Hogan stood tall as he addressed the ball, but then "went down to get it" on the downswing. So you can set up like him and then drop down to hit the ball, or you can set up with more waist bend and not have as far to go on the downswing to get to the ball. IMO.
[/quote]


I have a problem with vertical stability as it is. I have a tendency to stand up.

Depends on what you mean by emulate. You can't replicate all his angles since you're much taller. But you should be able to emulate the physics and dynamics in Hogan's swing pretty well, although with some altered angles.

Hogan states in his book a golfers plane is dictated by his build-this is one point of five lessons most people don't get. The posture is the posture-your plane may not be the same as his but he NEVER says tall golfers must bend over-proper posture is proper posture no matter how tall or short you may be.
The object of Five Lessons is not to make a clone swing to Hogan and he says so.
The object is to develop the fundamentals of a good swing...

[quote name='grahler' timestamp='1314761956' post='3531216']
Hogan states in his book a golfers plane is dictated by his build-this is one point of five lessons most people don't get. The posture is the posture-your plane may not be the same as his but he NEVER says tall golfers must bend over-proper posture is proper posture no matter how tall or short you may be.
The object of Five Lessons is not to make a clone swing to Hogan and he says so.
The object is to develop the fundamentals of a good swing...
[/quote]

I agree about the posture, but, for example, on pg 48, he says, "A word of emphasis about the elbows. You want to press them as closely together as you can." But, clearly he doesn't do that. So that says to me that it is not a fundamental. So, how do we know what in the book is fundamental, and what is not?

Clearly he does. It's that squeezing motion you see right before takeaway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahxPZXqwkE8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[quote name='JD3' timestamp='1314811495' post='3532224']
Clearly he does. It's that squeezing motion you see right before takeaway.
[/quote]

That's nowhere near "as closely together as you can", and he loses what little closeness he has very quickly.

A better angle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNOeznbPO88&feature=related

[quote name='MizunoJoe' timestamp='1314813782' post='3532297']
[quote name='JD3' timestamp='1314811495' post='3532224']
Clearly he does. It's that squeezing motion you see right before takeaway.
[/quote]

[b]That's nowhere near "as closely together as you can", [/b]and he loses what little closeness he has very quickly.

A better angle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNOeznbPO88&feature=related
[/quote]
Not sure how you're measuring that, not sure how anyone could on something other than a live model. But distance between them looks pretty darn narrow. Since measuring isn't possible, we can observe intent, which as stated was to bring them together. (Also not sure how front on is "A better angle" since both elbows are less visible, just kind of sounds like a throwaway response to me.)

Clearly he didn't keep them pinned to his body throughout the swing, and he even conceded this was not practical on the Sullivan clip. BUT his intent, again as stated, remained to keep them together, and what kept returning them to close proximity.

If you're looking to dismiss certain aspects of 5L's, this ain't it.

[quote name='JD3' timestamp='1314814704' post='3532330']
[quote name='MizunoJoe' timestamp='1314813782' post='3532297']
[quote name='JD3' timestamp='1314811495' post='3532224']
Clearly he does. It's that squeezing motion you see right before takeaway.
[/quote]

[b]That's nowhere near "as closely together as you can", [/b]and he loses what little closeness he has very quickly.

A better angle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNOeznbPO88&feature=related
[/quote]
Not sure how you're measuring that, not sure how anyone could on something other than a live model. But distance between them looks pretty darn narrow. Since measuring isn't possible, we can observe intent, which as stated was to bring them together. (Also not sure how front on is "A better angle" since both elbows are less visible, just kind of sounds like a throwaway response to me.)

Clearly he didn't keep them pinned to his body throughout the swing, and he even conceded this was not practical on the Sullivan clip. BUT his intent, again as stated, remained to keep them together, and what kept returning them to close proximity.

If you're looking to dismiss certain aspects of 5L's, this ain't it.
[/quote]

ANYONE can almost touch them together at address, he wasn't even close. "Throwaway response" ? BS, I don't do those. He was very clear in the book - not just "intent", but "[b]as close together as possible[/b]", and he did not do it. So I say that's not a fundamental, together with the fact I have seen very few other tour players do it. You can't make something true just because you'd like it to be that way.

[quote name='MizunoJoe' timestamp='1314816829' post='3532418']
You can't make something true just because you'd like it to be that way.
[/quote]
Hasn't stopped you from trying lol

So how is this going? Do you look like hogan yet?

I try not to get to caught up in the Hogan Mystique, but I do have the book and have read it dozens of times. After watching a lot of videos, and reading some posts here about his laying off at the top, it got me to trying it. At first, I would try to cup my left wrist on the backswing, and then sort of consciously do that little "bend" motion Hogan used, trying to "lay it off". Sometimes it works fine, other times not. Then I got to thinking, why put extra steps into the swing? So, even though I am tall ( 6 ft 1'"), I just swung on a lower plane more around my body. It felt that I was really low, but when I saw it on video, it was not that low at all and the shaft at the top of the swing was parallel but a little lower than what I normally hit. What did surprize me was the ease it was to get into this position and actually resulted in a lot more powerful swing or at least that's how it "felt". I know, "feel is not real" or so they say, but to me it is. For now, it seems to be a fairly consistent move and repeats pretty well. I wont call it a "Eureka" moment just yet, as I know from past experience, they are usually not long lasting. BUT.......maybe, just maybe....I am on to something (caveat: FOR ME).

How's it coming?

I think there is more to body geometry to consider...specifically the distance your right elbow is from the ground. If you want to have a bent R arm at impact, it pretty much needs to get down to the shaft plane...so it better be at a certain height from the ground by impact (given that clubs typically only range +/-1"). My problem is my R elbow hangs abnormally high off the ground. Still don't know what to do about it. Severe knee bend is still an option and has worked here and there for me. Have liked the idea of "going down to get it" too.