Dig it Out of the Dirt

What was Hogan's Secret?

Since the Charles Schwab Challenge took place over the weekend at Colonial CC in Fort Worth, TX, it inspired me to write about Ben Hogan. Hogan won five times at Colonial which earned the nickname, “Hogan’s Alley.”

Hogan was a fierce competitor. The Scottish nicknamed him, “The Wee Iceman.” And his swing, developed over years of practice and experiment, served as an efficient, powerful engine which produced quality shot after quality shot.

Hogan believed a golfer’s swing was, “in the dirt,” meaning it could only be developed by practicing. Some of his contemporaries even attributed Hogan with inventing practice. Of course, that’s not accurate, but Hogan did practice more than anyone else. He loved to spend hours on the range hitting balls and digging it out of the dirt.

So, what does, “it’s in the dirt,” mean?

It’s a great question. Most people interpret this as hitting hundreds and hundreds of balls in repetition until the swing is perfected. Certainly, it is well known Hogan loved to practice, but there was purpose to his practice. Recently I wrote about practice and how to do it more efficiently. I wrote about blocked practice versus random practice. I believe Hogan engaged in both forms of practice.

Why do I think this?

Hogan was a long hitter as a younger player. Being smaller in stature (5’8 1/2” and 145 lbs.), he felt he needed to do certain things to counter act his smaller size. Early on, Hogan employed a strong grip which helped him hit the ball as far as bigger and stronger players. The problem Hogen encountered with the strong grip was the occasional snap hook. Over time, Hogan’s grip transitioned to a weak grip. As a result, Hogan eliminated the hook and started producing his trademark fade. This is blocked practice as he worked to adjust his grip into the weaker position.

One of the most famous training thoughts Hogan used involved working on his swing plane. He pictured a plane of angled glass set on the same plane as the club with a hole for his head to fit through. With this image, Hogan worked on making sure the club travelled underneath the plane of glass. This produced a consistent swing path which became engrained. Another example of blocked practice.

But he also used random practice.

Hogan practiced and played without a glove. He reasoned the hands were the only connection to the club, and he had better feel with a direct connection to the grip. Developing feel is a huge part of random practice. Bare hands on the grip in a weaker position allowed Hogan to feel the clubface being slightly open at impact which produced his fade. This is skill development which is the essence of random practice. You can engage in similar practice by trying to keep the face open, closed and square at impact developing the same feel Hoan developed.

One of the more interesting and lesser-known parts of Hogan’s practice was working on his concentration. He felt this was a big part of his success. It was this intense focus, developed on the range, which earned him the nickname, “The Wee Iceman.” Hogan tried to be jovial on the course early in his career, but it didn’t suit him. He quickly realized he needed to be focused through the entire round. Hours of his practice was spent developing the intense focus he became known for on the course. Part of your random practice should be spent in this area. Practice your pre-shot routine with every shot, hit different clubs to different targets, try to hit different shot shapes and trajectories. This will help develop skill over time but will also train your mind to focus on the golf course.

While Hogan dug his swing out of the dirt with hours upon hours of practice, there was practical purpose in the work he put in. He worked on technical parts of the golf swing like grip and swing plane, but he also worked on skill development such as keeping the face slightly open at impact and training his mind to be focused on the shot at hand. While there is much more to Hogan’s practice, these are things you can do in your limited practice time to dig your own swing out of the dirt.

Hogan also claimed to have found a secret in the golf swing which propelled his game. To read my thoughts on what his secret was, add a paid subscription. Paid subscribers receive additional content in every newsletter.

As always, be thankful when you get to play this amazing game. Be grateful for every shot. Appreciate every moment on the course. Now, go golf!