I am a unique descendant in the Ben Hogan lineage. I was not only handed down swing mechanics but his very thoughts and ideas about a variety of aspects related to how we play the game of golf. Ben Hogan was an individual who liked few people in his younger days, but if you were one of the lucky ones, you knew it. John Schlee was one of those few. John said Ben enjoyed their time together because John wasn't out to exploit the man or his discoveries. Ben was always cautious with tour players because he didn't want or need their approval. "l'll be damned if I'm going to give them the golf swing on a silver platter without them sweating on the practice tee, searching for the proper movements, like I did." Ben didn't want any part of teaching golf and John said Ben wrote the books so people would stop asking him the same questions over and over again. Instead he would say, "Read the books, I didn't put anything in there that's baloney." If Ben didn't like teaching tour players because it was no benefit to him, why did he spend time with Schlee? Simple....he genuinely liked him, John truely wanted to learn, and John could putt. John said Hogan never asked him about his putting but when they went out to play, John said he could feel Hogan watching intently when John was on the greens. During the years of '73 and '74 John was documented with only one 3-putt.

John said the "clubhouse chats" he had with Hogan involved 5 principles to developing a better mind set for golf. 1. The first principle is to be your own best friend and not your worst enemy. If you hit a bad shot forgive and forget. Remember not to dwell on past misfortunes because you will have plenty of opportunities on the golf course to hit better shot. 2. The second principle is to be courageous and bold. Have the courage to try and succeed, not to settle for failure on the golf course. 3. The third principle is to follow procedures for understanding and consistent shot making. 4. The fourth principle is to relax the body to allow it to function to the best of its ability. 5. The fifth and final principle is to hit every shot to a target, even on the practice range. You can not consistently gauge how you are doing unless you know where you are at the present time. These principles help to shape your golf game in any developmental stage. Hogan believed that concentration was something that was a developed skill. The ability to concentrate on the golf course is a direct result of your ability to concentrate on the practice tee. Hogan went off to practice in his special little areas at Shady Oaks, not because he became distracted with people around him, but because people would interfere with his practice of concentration. He needed the solitude to learn how to better concentrate. Hogan believed in using his procedure on the practice tee exactly as he would on the golf course and he began building familiarity by engraining the movements with procedural repetitions A perfect segway .........into what I call The Hogan Approach.

I have combined the essentials of Hogan’s swing secrets and key points from Maximum Golf, into what I call The Hogan Approach System. I consider it a complete and final summation of all the key elements of Hogan’s golf swing, arranged in a simple format that the average golfer can understand, use and enjoy. I’ve worked to make the Hogan Approach System very easy to learn. It is based on a unique and highly effective method of practicing Hogan’s fundamentals by using slow swing motions indifferent phases of the golf swing. Martial artists know it is essential to practice their moves in precise, deliberate movements on a regular basis. With consistent training, their moves flow automatically in competition where there is no time to think, only act and react at flash speed. That training is what we’re looking for in developing a legendary golf swing, but where do we begin? Ben Hogan was a firm believer in training the lower body before you perfect the upper body motions. Let’s investigate one of his comments about the left side and the left foot . Ben Hogan stated in his book, Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, “ The left leg breaks resiliently to the left, and the bulk of the weight rides forward to the left side of the left foot, the leg bows out toward the target.” It is very important to allow the weight, on the downswing, to be transferred to the outside of the left foot. Many golfers do not allow the left foot to roll properly. The weight gets transferred to the left side, but once it gets to the left foot, the left knee begins to straighten and the torso begins to raise up instead of continued rotation. Problems are hitting the ball thin at first, then the mind tries to fix the problem by releasing early with the hands and many begin to hit the ball fat. Developing proper footwork is essential to a repeating golf swing and the only true way is with slow swing motions so your body can identify positions and movements. I now invite each and every one of you to join with me on an educational journey that will give you solid understanding of how the proper golf swing works. We will tackle how to develop a proper lower body movement, establish a powerful coil, load the right elbow, unload through the impact zone, and come to a complete and balanced finish. The Hogan Approach System will teach you how to swing the golf club the Ben Hogan way. Not partially Hogan, but completely Hogan.

Even though his book, Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, is still one of the leading sellers in instructional golf, instructors and teachers the world over are compromising their way around many of his proven fundamentals. There are too many inadequate explanations for what Hogan said and what Hogan did. Ben didn’t want to share all his secrets but now I want everyone to enjoy the fruits of Ben’s labor. He gave his heart and soul to John Schlee and John handed everything down to me.