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May 2011 |
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Swing Plane
If you’ve been lucky enough to receive all the Keys to Consistency newsletters, I’ve covered Posture, Ball Position (a component of Posture), and Grip. It’s time to leave the Statue (no motion) stuff and move onto Motion. Here’s a truism – A golf club moving on-plane will square itself! |
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So, if I have a club that will square itself then all I need is A) to have a grip that gets out of the way of a free swing, B) to be the correct distance from the ball so the swing finds the center of the clubface, and C) to hold my posture or swing set steady.
"The golf swing is like a suitcase into which we are trying to pack one too many things." -- John Updike
Swing Plane. You probably have heard the term before, but you're not sure exactly what it is or how it applies to your swing. Plane is defined by the angle your club creates when it's grounded at address. To master accuracy, the club must remain on this plane as it approaches the ball on the downswing.
"The golf swing is like a suitcase into which we are trying to pack one too many things." -- John Updike
Swing Plane. You probably have heard the term before, but you're not sure exactly what it is or how it applies to your swing. Plane is defined by the angle your club creates when it's grounded at address. To master accuracy, the club must remain on this plane as it approaches the ball on the downswing.
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Actually, most golfers have two swing planes -- the one formed by your Backswing and the other generated by your Downswing, which should be slightly flatter or more horizontal.
Of the two, the Downswing is the most important. It's the most powerful and direct route to the ball. Coming back to the ball above or below this plane short-circuits your power and causes pulls, slices, and an assortment of other types of bad shots. Ideally, you want to perfect your swing so that you're always coming back to the ball on plane. |
The Concept of Swing Plane. Our common sense brain looks at the puzzle of “How does the golf club swing to the golf ball?” and conceptualizes a Ferris Wheel. Simple, but wrong!
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Other sports like baseball, tennis and other racquet games use much more of a Merry-Go-Round approach to striking the ball. In golf there are two things which confuse us – the ball is on the ground and it is static, not moving. So which is it – Ferris Wheel or Merry-Go-Round?
Which does your body do more naturally?
Which does your body do more naturally?
Ferris Wheel?
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Or Merry Go Round?
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The answer is: more Merry-Go-Round than Ferris Wheel. Each golf club is designed to sit at what is called a “lie angle.” We stand “side-on” to the golf ball. Our body’s target line is a parallel railroad track to the ball’s target line. We have to swing in a circle OUT to the golf ball. |
So, the more correct answer is that we swing like a Tilt-A-Whirl – a tilted merry-go-round. Watch the rides at an amusement park and you will notice the Tilt-A-Whirl starts out as a merry-go-round, then as it spins the operator raises it into the tilted position.
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The golf swing has far more HORIZONTAL in it than most players realize. The better golfers have figured out this concept, and they use the tool (the golf club) as it was designed to be used. A golf club swinging “on-plane” will square itself, hence the saying, “Let the club do the work.”
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"In baseball you hit your home run over the right-field fence, the left-field fence, the center-field fence. Nobody cares. In golf everything has got to be right over second base." -- Ken Harrelson
I hope this all helps! See you soon! Book a Lesson now – email, phone or on-line at www.jimpetersgolf.com!
