How The Ben Hogan Book Five Lessons Will Improve Your Swing And Make You A Better Ball Striker


Have you ever been confused about your golf swing? Maybe you’ve heard about the Ben Hogan book Five Lessons but never understood what it’s all about and what Mr. Hogan’s swing thoughts, golf fundamentals and book illustrations could do for you? 


Then you came to the right place. Here’s why…


Until I found the Ben Hogan golf swing book with his 5 Lessons I was totally confused too. I had been working really hard on my swing for over a year, but I hadn’t improved much. 


My problem, that I wasn’t really aware of, was that I lacked the basic understanding of how to grip the club, how to setup my stance and posture, the purpose of the waggle, the takeaway, the first part of the swing, the top of the swing, the second part of the swing, the impact position and the follow through.


You see, I was struggling with pretty much everything in my golf game. Until, almost like a sign from above...


I’ve learned that the Ben Hogan 5 Lessons golf book was the book to read… That day changed my journey and game of golf forever.


When I got the book in the mail, I began to turn the pages and read the Ben Hogan book Five Lessons and it was like a hallelujah moment for me.


For every page I read Mr. Hogan explained golf to me with his swing thoughts and detailed instructions alongside the greatest golf illustrations ever. How to swing the golf club became clearer and clearer to me for every page I read in the book.


The Ben Hogan Five Lessons golf book coverI’ve learned that the Ben Hogan Five Lessons golf book was the book to read… That day changed my journey and game of golf forever. This is the one book every golfer should read.

Ben Hogan 5 Lessons - What Version Of The Hogan Book Is Right For You?


If you are yet to read Ben Hogan Five Lessons, I know that you will love it and that it will be of great help to you for many years to come when you are playing golf. It’s a Ben Hogan golf swing lesson you don’t want to live without.


Personally I prefer the printed version of the book, since I like holding it in my hand and flip the pages back and forth. Should you prefer ebooks or PDF:s, you might want to go with the Kindle- or audiobook version.


There are also more books about Ben Hogan and more written by him. I’ll cover those on separate pages. When you’re done with Five Lessons and the fundamentals of modern golf, I’m sure you will move on to read more Ben Hogan books.


Haven’t grasped the buzz about the book yet…?


What Are Ben Hogan's Five Lessons?


Mr. Hogan is probably the most important golfer who ever lived. (Yes, there are other important golfers too. But Hogan is my hero and many do agree with me.)


His book 5 Lessons is a classic in the golfing world and it has sold almost a million copies of the printed version of the book. The book is a masterpiece when it comes to explaining the different steps of the full golf swing and is considered mandatory reading for amateurs and golf professionals alike.


If you visit a pro today for lessons, the game has developed with teaching aids, video and more. You might not recognize every step of Hogan’s book, but you will feel that you got the fundamentals right. With this base of knowledge it will become so much easier for you to continue to improve with the help of a professional golf pro.


No other book has the same high class illustrations and detailed analyses along with Ben Hogan’s swing thoughts. It’s simply a timeless classic on the fundamentals and the greatest book ever written about golf. 


You and every other golfer need to read it.


Ben Hogan Video # 1  - Mr. Hogan’s Swing Through His Career


Hogan practiced harder than other golfers and he constantly worked on his swing and developed his swing thoughts over several decades. He made changes to his grip and swing during this time and it all culminated in his 1957 golf book Five Lessons - The Modern Fundamentals of Golf.


Known to be the best ball striker ever lived, here you can have a good look at Mr. Hogan’s golf swing and how it changed during his career:



When I flip the book over and read the back of Ben Hogan 5 Lessons it says that Mr. Hogan believes that any golfer with average condition can learn how to break 80, if you only apply the lessons learned about the swing in this book patiently and intelligently. I believe that this is true. Think about that when you are reading his book.


Will You Find The Ben Hogan Secret In This Golf Book?


Ben Hogan had a strong following during his playing career and that following is almost stronger today after his accident and later passing. 


One part of this almost religious following of Mr. Hogan is golfers trying to figure out the secret that made him the most prominent ball striker ever to play the game. The quest to learn the Ben Hogan secret has occupied golfers for decades. Some say they have learned Hogan’s secret, but I’m not so sure...



I won’t go into if you are able to derive Ben Hogan’s secret from the golf book classic Five Lessons. As the story goes it is said that Mr. Hogan had a secret and golfers worldwide have been looking for it as if it was the Holy Grail. 


Some say the secret is in the changes Hogan did to his swing later in his career with a weaker grip and an open clubface in the backswing. With pronation of the wrist the clubface never became square at impact, resulting in a nice and consistent fade.


But if this is the Ben Hogan secret, I don’t know...


The Timeless Classic Ben Hogan Five Lessons Illustrations


One feature that makes Ben Hogan's "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf" book stand out are the illustrations. They are done in a way that makes them a superb compliment to Mr. Hogan’s witten swing thoughts and golf instructions, making it so much easier for you and every other golfer around the world to fully absorb the fundamental wisdom contained in this classic golf book. 


The Ben Hogan Five Lessons illustrations are drawn by Anthony Ravielli and they have become a timeless classic. You too will appreciate the beautiful illustrations in the 5 Lessons book and you will feel that it would have been juste to pay for the Ben Hogan Five Lessons illustrations even without the text in the book.


Every once in a while I flip the pages in the book to look at the beautiful illustrations and to refresh my memory with Mr. Hogan’s grip instructions and swing thoughts. I appreciate the grip and swing illustrations as much today as I did the first time I read the book. 


One thing that is illustrated in the book is this swing drill...


Ben Hogan Video # 2 - Swing Lesson And Drill


In this video you get swing training and a drill from the Five Lesson book by Ben Hogan himself. You see the waggle in the beginning to start the swing, then you’ll see how Hogan builds the swing up in this slow motion drill.


This swing training video is from Hogan appearing on a late night talk show and it’s fascinating to watch Mr. Hogan demonstrating this golf drill as described in 5 Lessons. 



“Isn’t that simple?” 


Mr. Hogan asks the audience in the video clip. And he answers himself with a statement. 


“Anybody can do that.”


Ben Hogan Book Five Lessons


The book has five chapters so it’s five very detailed golf lessons you get from Mr. Hogan. Every chapter covers one main part of the golf swing along with finer details and the famous illustrations by Anthony Ravielli. In the last chapter you get a summary and review of what you have learned.


Ben Hogan Book Five Lessons book cover


Let’s cover the different sections... 


Ben Hogan Golf Grip


The first chapter in Five Lessons is the Ben Hogan golf grip instructions as he states that good golf begins with a good grip. He describes what a good grip will do with your swing and what professional golfers experience when they watch someone with a beautiful grip.


Without a proper grip you will not be able to transfer the power you build up during the swing to the clubhead when hitting the ball. With detailed instructions and the famous Ben Hogan grip illustrations you get all you need to practice the beauty of gripping your golf clubs in the right way.


Have you never thought much about the grip before? Ben Hogan talks about the grip over nineteen pages in the first chapter of the book. I think that makes you think one more time about the importance of the grip.


Ben Hogan Stance And Posture


Learning how to swing a golf club is a journey and it’s the same for every golfer. You test this and you test that. Then you think you know how to execute the golf swing. Just to learn a week later that your swing folds when it comes to consistency and you are put under pressure on the course. 


Hogan studied the game of golf over several decades before writing Five Lessons. You find him saying this in the second chapter: 


“How I wished that I had known what I know today when I was a youngster first starting out!" 


Don’t we all!?


In chapter two of 5 Lessons Ben Hogan teaches you about the stance and posture, all illustrated with now iconic illustrations. 


Do you know your checkpoints for a good setup?


Ben Hogan Golf Swing


Chapter three is about the first part of the swing, chapter four is about the second part of the swing and in chapter five Ben Hogan summarizes the lessons learned and the full golf swing.


I love the details about the Ben Hogan waggle: 


  • What is the waggle?
  • How does the Ben Hogan golf swing begin? 
  • Do you know?


Also learn about the takeaway and the Ben Hogan hip turn, all with easy to understand illustrations. Then revealed is the legendary Ben Hogan straight right leg. Or is it really straight? Not easy easy to tell with the wide pants they used back in the days. And what does your local pro tell you when you are taking lessons?


Ben Hogan Plane


Mr. Hogan talks about your swing plane in terms of having an imaginary glass pane on your shoulders. This was a part that I found very hard to understand in the beginning and truth is I’m having a hard time understanding it even today. Thankfully my local pro had other ways and checkpoints to help me understand the swing plane.


Maybe you get the Ben Hogan plane right away?


Ben Hogan Top Of Swing


Here you learn more about the swing and the Ben Hogan cupped wrist on top of the swing. Later the wrist supinates as you approach impact, even though there are different schools about cupped and supinated wrists today.


If you haven’t already watched the videos on this page, you will learn about the Ben Hogan power move in Five Lessons as well. This is a very interesting detail, but at the same time so very logic. 


What comes first in the downswing and what is Mr. Hogan’s power move?


Knowing in what order your body moves will be of great help to you when you are practicing your swing sequence on the driving range. The first step to a good golf swing is always knowing what you are doing.


Ben Hogan Impact Position


In his golf book Five Lesson not much is written about the Ben Hogan impact position. This is because if you do everything else right, from takeaway and backswing, top of swing to downswing, you will get it right. Besides, here it all moves so fast that there is not much you can do to adjust.


When watching PGA tournaments on TV though, I just love to watch the impact positions of the greatest players. It’s really here it all comes together when their club head hits the ball with a tremendous speed and it’s gone way down the fairway.


Ben Hogan Video # 3 - Swing Sequence In Slow Motion


In this video you can watch the full Ben Hogan swing sequence as Mr. Hogan tells you what comes first in the swing and what mistakes most weekend golfers do. In the second part of the video you can also watch the Ben Hogan swing slow motion style.


Watching him swing the club is so beautiful and one day soon I’ll be getting a Ben Hogan swing sequence poster to hang on my wall. Wouldn’t it be nice to see Hogan’s swing sequence when you wake up every morning?


“If you don’t mind…” (I love these words from Mr. Hogan in this video.) 


The Ben Hogan 5 Lessons Is The Best Swing Book Ever Written


If you haven’t read the book yet, I hope by now you understand that the Ben Hogan 5 Lessons in golf is mandatory reading for every golfer. That includes you too.


This Ben Hogan golf swing book and the knowledge he shares will be with you for years to come. Yes, the methods for teaching golf have changed and improved over the years but golf fundamentals are just that - fundamentals.


You will be able to reference the Ben Hogan golf swing book when you are taking lessons from your local pro or from an online instructor. Even though what you are being taught isn't 100 percent the same as 5 Lessons, you will benefit from having this golf book under your belt.


Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Ben Hogan book "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf"?

"Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf" is a book written by professional golfer Ben Hogan in 1957. The book is considered a classic in golf literature and is widely regarded as one of the best instructional books on golf. In the book, Hogan shares the five fundamental principles that he believes are essential for playing great golf: the grip, stance, posture, backswing, and follow-through.

What are the five lessons outlined in the book?

The five lessons outlined in the book are:

  • The grip: Hogan explains how to properly hold the club to increase control and accuracy.
  • The stance: Hogan explains how to properly position your feet and body to increase stability and power.
  • The posture: Hogan explains how to properly align your body to increase control and accuracy.
  • The backswing: Hogan explains how to properly rotate your body to generate power and speed.
  • The follow-through: Hogan explains how to properly complete your swing to increase accuracy and consistency.

Is the book only suitable for advanced golfers or is it good for beginners?

The book is suitable for golfers of all skill levels, but it is geared more towards intermediate and advanced players who have a good understanding of the basics of the golf swing. However, beginner golfers can also benefit from reading the book and understanding the five fundamental principles that Hogan outlines.

How can reading the book help me improve my golf game?

By reading the book, you will gain a deeper understanding of the key elements of the golf swing, and how to properly execute them. The book provides detailed explanations and illustrations that can help you identify and correct any flaws in your swing. Additionally, the book provides exercises and drills that you can use to practice and improve your swing.

Are there any other books or resources that complement "Five Lessons"?

There are many other books and resources that complement "Five Lessons." Some popular books include "The Golf Swing" by David Leadbetter, "The Inner Game of Golf" by W. Timothy Gallwey, and "Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect" by Dr. Bob Rotella. Additionally, there are many instructional videos and online resources available that can provide additional tips and guidance on improving your golf game.

Are there any criticisms of "Five Lessons" or any limitations of the book?

While the book is widely considered a classic and is still used by many golfers today, there are some criticisms and limitations to the book. Some golfers have criticized the book for being too technical and difficult to understand for average golfers. Additionally, the book was written in 1957, and some of the information in the book may be outdated. However, the five fundamental lessons of the book are still considered to be relevant and useful for golfers of all skill levels.

Show / Hide

Related Pages