Could Ben Hogan Use a 1-iron?

[JOEGOLFWRX]

imo

he didnt think it was one of the 'fundamentals' so he didnt mention it. he had a theme of wanting max speed after impact with no left wrist breakdown which is stock easiest to achieve with a negative AoA, but i doubt he thought it was a necessity, his divots seemed to vary alot some 1 irons big some wedges as good as none, but i never seen him 'dig'. he could even be playing around with horizontal/vertical gear effect, who knows.

[dap]

You really want a negative AoA with all shots off the deck and that includes a 1 iron,however you want the bare minimum amount of downward attack purely due to the lack of loft.This will help get the ball in the air higher.

This is one of the reasons players with average swing speeds should not even think about using anything lower than a 5 iron even if your technique is first class.To get the ball in the air with average swing speeds requires you to subconciously add loft and this is not good for your technique especially if you are already prone to flipping.The correct technique with irons is a delofting downward attack.There is always going to be a point in your iron set where you can't get the ball high enough using the correct technique and that is where hybrids should come in.

It remains to be seen whether or not Hogan could hit his 1 iron high enough to hold todays faster greens.My opinion is no and he would be the first to bag a hybrid.

[JOEGOLFWRX]

a good angle of a shallow one

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw3dhY1Qi1k[/media]

@dap, id say like most modern ball strikers / shot makers, he'd swap between a 2 iron and a 5 wood depending on the course/weather. and i think with that 'cp' type action and good handle control, slight negative shaft lean is an option, the equivalent would have to be a timed flip for a head throwing cf-er. (using the more scientific cp/cf than the tgm alignment one, relative to the motor center not the target line)

[dap]

Hogan would definitely have a 5 wood today.

Even Tiger has dropped the 2 iron from his bag for a 5 wood.In his prime he could fly his 2 iron 260 yards using balata balls.That was when his driver clubhead speed was around 128mph so I would guess it would have been around 118mph with a 2 iron.You really need that kind of clubhead speed to make full use of a 1 or 2 iron.You don't want to be flipping it in order to get it in the air.

[H4CK]

[quote name='JD3' timestamp='1312210242' post='3441719']
You make a good case, although I dont see lines coming out back of ball, I see them behind the clubhead. I believe they exist to provide an important target line visual reference. The ball has some shading on the back. But I can see an argument it appears to be launching at a right angle to the clubface.

If you're correct, Id say tracing the blurred clubhead path confirms it was descending before, during and after impact.
[/quote]

Don't really mean to bump this but I came across this Hogan ad today and it reminded me of this debate.

[attachment=1550827:HoganAD.JPG]

[dairic]

[quote name='H4CK' timestamp='1361514925' post='6478043']
[quote name='JD3' timestamp='1312210242' post='3441719']
You make a good case, although I dont see lines coming out back of ball, I see them behind the clubhead. I believe they exist to provide an important target line visual reference. The ball has some shading on the back. But I can see an argument it appears to be launching at a right angle to the clubface.

If you're correct, Id say tracing the blurred clubhead path confirms it was descending before, during and after impact.
[/quote]

Don't really mean to bump this but I came across this Hogan ad today and it reminded me of this debate.

[attachment=1550827:HoganAD.JPG]
[/quote]

Do you know what year the add is from?

[H4CK]

1976 supposedly.

[tembolo1284]

That is an awesome ad!

[bullrambler]

The Hogan picture demonstrates that the flex of the shaft has not caught up to the impact area. This means that acceleration continues after contact is made with the ball. This can be seem as applying a fully
effective shot because the shaft is still under load. This is what determines how much effectiveness one's swing has in connection to solid contact with the ball.

A positive thought could be: If Ben Hogan could hit a 1 iron - so could I.