Hogan’s Grip & the Real “Secret”: A Chain of Compensations

1. The weak grip sets up the “cupped” look

Hogan’s lead-hand grip (rotated counterclockwise, logo up) automatically orients the lead wrist into a more extended (cupped) position at the top.

That cupping isn’t a special move he consciously added—it’s the natural equilibrium of the shaft when balanced under a weak lead hand.

In other words, with that grip, a flat wrist at the top would actually feel unnaturally bowed.

2. Why the weak grip? Hook management

Hogan admitted his big miss was a hook.

His Five Fundamentals grip weakens the left hand to keep the clubface from closing too fast.

So the cupped look is really the byproduct of a grip chosen to fight his hook tendency. It wasn’t universally necessary—just necessary for him.

3. The Root Cause: A Flawed, Static Setup

Hogan’s waggle was the real culprit, as it rehearsed a flawed model with two distinct faults:

• Flaw 1 (Alignment): His objective was a **"square clubface orientation"** at impact. This is a kinematically **out-of-balance** position that creates a hook-bias.
• Flaw 2 (Engine): He compounded this by building his swing on a flawed *premise*—a **static, "equal weight" initial condition** at setup.

A correct, uncompensated model *must* integrate its dynamic pivot engine with its alignment geometry from the start. Hogan's static setup premise separates them, forcing a compensatory fix.

4. The Compensation Chain

The entire "Hogan secret" is a chain of fixes for this flawed, static setup:

• Step 1: The Flawed Setup. Goal is a "square" (out-of-balance) impact *built upon* a **static, "equal weight" initial condition.** This creates the hook-bias.
• Step 2: The Grip Compensation. To prevent the hook, he weakens the lead grip.
• Step 3: The Wrist Compensation. The weak grip now requires a cupped wrist at the top for balance.
• Step 4: The Release Compensation. To square the "open" face from a static setup, he must supinate hard through impact.

This final compensation is precisely what produced his famous, controllable **"Hogan Fade"**. The fade was not a separate goal; it was the signature, mechanical *artifact* of a swing built to correct a flawed premise.