The Secret of Hogan's Swing
by Printer Bowler, Tom Bertrand
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Book Summary Information
Author: Printer Bowler, Tom BertrandEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09-29
ISBN: 0471998311
Number of pages: 171
Publisher: Wiley
Book Reviews of The Secret of Hogan's Swing
Book Review: A great disappointment
Summary: 1 Stars
I must disagree with the people who have given this book five stars. Like many of them, I believe Ben Hogan was - and is - the greatest technician the game has ever seen. This book is, however, a disappointment.
The book can be broadly divided into two sections. The first is an account of John Schlee's Maximum Golf school. It covers Tom Bertrand's work with Schlee, Schlee's relationship with Hogan, and his use of Hogan's techniques in his teaching. The second section is a breakdown of Hogan's swing fundamentals, including points that he hit upon AFTER publishing his 'Five Lessons' book.
The first section of this book provided an opportunity for an in-depth look at John Schlee and Hogan. It can hardly be coincidence that Hogan, a very singular character, chose Schlee - an equally singular character - as one of the few to whom he confided the secrets of his life's work. A thorough examination of these two men, their characters, and the parallels between them, would have been fascinating. It may also have shed some light on the nature of the relationship between golf and character. (I can't think of another sport with such potential appeal to character traits like obsession, perfectionism, even masochism.) While this is, at the end of the day, an instruction book, I would have loved to have seen the authors try to shed some light on Hogan & Schlee's characters through their golf - their approach to the game, their methods, techniques, goals and systems. It would have greatly enriched the book. It could have even added some depth of understanding of the techniques themselves. Perhaps most importantly, such an attempt may have given dignity to, and acknowledged the memory of, John Schlee. He deserved a better hand than Life dealt him in his last years. This book does not do him justice.
The instructional section of the book is at best, adequate. Much is made by the authors of their "tracking Hogan's secret" chronologically - which is nothing more or less than a quick run through Hogan's writing and interviews as to what he revealed and when. This section is not illuminating for anyone with even a passing knowledge of Hogan. Lastly, the detail of the swing moves and fundamentals themselves are set out briefly, with photos as visual aids. While adequate, they lack the flavour, clarity and depth that Hogan, Herbert Warren Wind and (illustrator) Anthony Ravelli employed with such skill and care in Hogan's 'Five Lessons.'
In short, this book strikes me as a magazine article that has been padded out with the intention of cashing in on Hogan's mystique and the obsessive need that golfers have to tinker with their swings. It serves as a pedestrian, adequate piece of instruction, but it's a missed opportunity. It is poorly written and it lacks ambition. It could have, and should have, been so very much more.
Summary of The Secret of Hogan's Swing
Praise for The Secret of Hogan's Swing"The Secret of Hogan's Swing goes beyond pure instruction, offering insightful shot-making and strategy tips passed on to former tour pro John Schlee from Ben Hogan and interpreted wonderfully by Tom Bertrand and Printer Bowler."
--John Andrisani, author of Tiger's New Swing and Heaven Can Wait
"Like finding the Rosetta stone of golf. . . . Tom Bertrand and Printer Bowler's The Secret of Hogan's Swing gives us a pipeline to the Master's wisdom that we thought had been lost forever. Secret is an instruction book like no other. It's the Hogan book Hogan himself never wrote, packed with the insights the great champion passed on to John Schlee (in a fascinating mentor-disciple relationship) and that Schlee, in turn, bequeathed to Tom Bertrand. We'll probably never have anything like this again. Hogan's gone, Schlee's gone, but thank goodness we've got Tom Bertrand to preserve the nuggets of pure golfing gold that the Master dug up 'out of the dirt' of ten thousand practice tees and a thousand tournaments. The Secret of Hogan's Swing demonstrates that the vein of wisdom left by the peerless champion still yields up precious ore, not just in the technical aspects of the golf swing (Hogan's concepts are not only absolutely modern but even quite radical) but in his insights into the psychological and mental aspects of the game. His concept of the 'moving wall' is worth the price of the book alone. A must-read for every serious student of the game."
--Steven Pressfield, author of The Legend of Bagger Vance
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