Of all the great golfers, Ben Hogan’s swing and his ball striking have been the most illusive to mimic. When Dave Hamilton called to ask if I would write a review of his book, my first impression was…”Oh boy...another Ben Hogan How-To Book.”

Countless words have been meticulously placed on endless pages about Hogan and his ball striking. The most famous is Mr. Hogan’s first book Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf published in the 1950’s.

But, V.J. Trolio’s and co-author Dave Hamilton’s book is different...this is not just another “Hogan” book! As soon as I opened the book and read the first chapter, it was obvious that V.J. and Dave were on to something no one else has detected in the “Great Hogan’s” swing. Most times the solution to a puzzle is so obvious it is easily overlooked and so subtle it is nearly impossible to detect.

After hours of watching videos of Hogan’s swing and applying geometry, math and physics, V.J. and Dave discovered the subtle yet obvious single move Hogan never revealed in any of his books. Now, the puzzle is complete. This book is a must read for any golfer who wants to put the final piece in their puzzle of becoming a better ball striker.

About the authors: V.J. Trolio is Class A member of the PGA and a teaching professional at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point Mississippi. He played college golf at USM. As a pro, he struggled until he added the missing piece to his own golf swing. He won the 2007 Mississippi Open (Farm Bureau Invitational) He is the co-inventor of the Putting Arc® along with Dave Hamilton. Dave is holds a degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University and has seven golf-related patents, including the Putting Arc® and the putting robot, Iron Archie™. V.J. and Dave are the co-developers of The Putting Arc, a revolutionary putting training aid.

HAS YOUR GOLF SWING EVER GONE ON VACATION AND LEFT YOU AT HOME?

A few years ago, mine did. It seemed that no matter what I did, every iron shot I hit, no matter which club I used, went the same distance! I went to our Pro and asked if he could watch me “try” to hit a few balls and get me straightened out.

After a few shots, he said "tempo" and left me standing on the range pondering tempo as headed back to the club house. In a little bit, he returned with two labels that said "TEMPO". "Your tempo is all out of whack, he said...stick these on the toe of your shoes; when you look down at you feet during setup, you will be reminded to think tempo".

To my amazement, those simple labels worked…my swing returned. Those shoes still have the label on them and I am still reminded to think “tempo”.

One of the many challenges most of us golfers face is having too many swing thoughts. When we are going through our pre-shot routine we have so many thoughts rolling around in our mind by the time we strike at the ball we have no idea what the heck is going to happen!

My pal Scott Jessee is the Head Golf Professional at Turquoise Valley Golf Course in Naco, Arizona. He woke up in the middle of the night with his mind flooding with swing reminders. The thoughts were so vivid he got up, found a pad and pencil and started writing…the result is a new product that is sweeping across the golf world called Swing Reminders.

Swing Reminds are hardwood tokens about the size of a fifty-cent piece. Each token is imprinted on both sides with simple swing reminders using lazar technology that imbeds the ink to prevent wearing off. They come packed in a normal 2-ball box which contains 25 tokens…50 swing reminders.

The Pals and I use Swing Reminds and urge you to visit Scott’s website and start simplifying your game!