All Sports PRO

You may have heard of the swing plane before, but you may not understand what it is. That’s because its usually only referred to, yet seldom, if ever, described.

I debated hard about whether to write about the swing plane, because it may be “information overload” for the casual golfer. It is a little technical. However, it may help you understand the need for the back and down start that the Forward Swing requires, as opposed to all the other theories you will hear. Most importantly, it will help you visualize exactly where the club should be throughout your swing.

If this discussion confuses you, ignore it. You need a clear image in your mind, but you don’t need to understand why or even how this works. You need a model, that’s all. The drills you have done thus far, and those to come, are designed to get you swinging the club on-plane, whether or not you know you are doing so.

The simplest way I can describe the swing plane is to say that the plane is the target line, applied to the club shaft. The on-plane club shaft is moving toward the target. So when swinging the club, we want to spend as much time on-plane as possible. When the club shaft is parallel to the ground, it is on-plane if it is also parallel to the target line. And when the club is not parallel to the target line, it is on-plane if the shaft points at an extension of the target line. My plane board will help clarify these two points.

The club shaft at address forms the plane angle. The plane board guides the club along that angle. The plane angle is on the line to the target. So, keeping the club on-plane is the same as swinging along the target line. The plane board shows us where the plane is, whether or not the club is on it.

The difficulty with swinging the club on-plane is that as you make the backswing, the club can start on-plane, but your body can keep the club on-plane only until you get a little more than halfway back. To stay perfectly on-plane throughout your backswing, you’d have to stop short of three quarters back. You’d be very accurate, but you’d lack power. Instead, we continue the backswing, which forces the club up and above the plane, creating a longer swing that allows more room to accelerate the club head.

From this “above plane” top of the backswing position, we need to return the club to the plane, thus the back and down first move I have been professing. Any other first move (and there are so many suggested moves that it’s silly), will result in the club getting back on-plane late, or remaining above plane or “over the top” throughout the swing. Have you heard of “over the top” before? Now you know what it means. And that means that the club does not swing along the target line. Instead, it cuts across the target line (plane) to the left on its way through impact. That’s not so good.

The benefits of getting the Forward Swing on-plane are great. The more time you have the club on-plane, the more it moves along the target line, so your accuracy improves. The on-plane club will move more level through impact, transmitting more energy toward the target rather than toward the ground (as in the over the top, slicer’s swing). Swing speed is also increased as the right forearm (major source of power) and club shaft, align about half way down, and act on the ball from the same direction, and the club travels at ninety degrees to its axis of rotation (the spine). Lastly, the on-plane swing requires much less club face manipulation to get the ball to the target. It is easier to control the club face and, therefore, more consistent.

Any swing will work if you compensate for your errors, but if you have a regular job, I suggest you use the simplest, most effective way to swing a golf club. I’m not saying that all golfers should look exactly the same. Different body types will result in different looking swings, but all golfers should share the essentials of an efficient swing to get the most out of their talent. Otherwise, mid-swing compensations will have to be made, and that can only make golf more difficult.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of all is that once the on-plane swing becomes your model, you never again need to search for the latest hot tip, gimmick, quick fix or magic move. You simply continue to move closer to the model. Every bit closer you get, you hit the ball better and you understand why. That’s fun. That makes golf as easy as it can get.COPYRIGHT © 2008 – 2009 All Sports PRO. All rights reserved.