Swing Plane continued

Several other reasons exist for swinging off plane. Picking the club up with your hands or rolling the club face open during the swing are two.

Keep in mind that a taller player has a naturally steeper swing plane than a shorter player, and a shorter player has a naturally flatter swing plane than a taller person. While your shoulder turn and arm swing are related, a good backswing requires a left arm swing that's on a slightly higher plane than your shoulders. This arm angle allows your shoulders to have more of a free passage to the ball on the downswing. If your left arm swing is off, you'll automatically be on the wrong plane and your swing will be off.

Below is a drill to check to see if your swing is on plane:

• Take a club and assume the proper posture, and swing to the top of your back swing.
• Hold that position for a second.
• Loosen your grip and let the shaft fall.
• If the shaft hits you on the top of the right shoulder, your swing is on plane.
  1. If the shaft hits you on the head or neck, your swing plane is too steep.
  2. If the shaft falls behind your back without hitting your body, your swing plane is too shallow.

Employing a simple move at the top of your backswing ensures that you're taking the right swing plane as you start into the downswing. As you begin your downswing, shift your weight onto your left foot while at the same time bringing your right elbow back down to the side your body. Remember to retain the angle of your wrist as you complete this move. It's the seat of power and the key to maximum distance. As the weight shifts to the left and the elbow drops down, the club falls automatically into the right slot for the correct swing plane. This movement flattens the swing ever so slightly, and it's the ideal position from which to swing the club down at the ball since it delivers the club head squarely to the ball.

In effect, you're actually employing two swing planes to hit the ball correctly, and one is slightly different than the other:

1. The first comes from executing the correct takeaway.


2. The second comes from dropping down your right elbow just before the downswing.

The second is a slightly different swing plane, but is crucial. It runs right through the correct angle of your spine, the natural axis around which your shoulders should turn to enable you to deliver a clean, crisp blow to the ball with a square club head and good power.

Swinging on plane is crucial to achieve power and clean golf shots. Check your swing plane, correct any flaws and practice to create a repeatable on plane golf stroke!

Now go out and play better golf!

Jim and Bob are golfing. Jim slices his ball deep into a wooded ravine and climbs down in search of it.

Jim spots something shiny. As he gets closer, he realizes that the shiny object is an 8-iron in the hands of a skeleton lying near an old golf ball.

Jim calls out to Bob in an agitated voice, "Hey Bob, I got trouble down here."

Bob calls out, "What's the matter Jim?"

Jim shouts back, "Throw me my 7-iron. You can't get out of here with an 8-iron."