I need to thank Ben Hogan for this one before I even discuss the topic of the swing plane because, without his discussion on visualizing a plane of glass extending from the ball to your shoulders, we wouldn’t be able to dive head first into what the “correct swing plane” is. Here’s a link to his groundbreaking book – Ben Hogan: Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf
I like to keep things as simple as possible for my students when it comes to learning this game. Golf is already hard enough, do you really want me to talk in biometrics? Because I could …. the “left deltoid, left latissumis dorsi, right rhomboideus major and left teres major are all extended at the top of the swing”.
But I would much rather choose to speak in far simpler terms, because complicated and obscure is not how people learn, and as, a golf instructor I am in the business of building relationships and helping people learn to play well and most importantly, enjoy the game.
Although there are two schools of thought for the correct swing plane: the one-plane vs. the two-plane swing, I like my students to stay “on plane” as long as possible in their backswing, downswing, through impact, and right through to their finish.
NEWS FLASH: Everyone has a different swing plane! This may be obvious, but a 6’4″ ex-professional football player is going to have a very different swing plane from Kelly, my student in the photos on this page.
But, Coach – how do we know if we are “on plane”?
Try this simple exercise to check that you are swinging on the correct plane
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Take an alignment aid or another golf club if you don’t have a stick, and place it near your grip on your golf club.
Now, we do have to understand what the “target line” is. Our target line is an invisible line from our target that goes through our golf ball and is infinite. (So, yes – When you are banging balls on the range and I come by to strike up a conversation and ask what your target is? I hope you have an answer for me).
When we bring our golf club back, try and keep our alignment aid on our target line as long as possible. Here, you may notice that you start to bring the club inside right off the bat, leaving the alignment aid pointing off into the distance.
Use this drill to check that your swing is on the correct swing plane and I guarantee you that your ball striking will improve the longer you can keep your club on your intended target line.
The photos in my lessons are by Ali Palma Photography – Check out Ali’s Instagram
