Get Your Swing On Plane Now

Over the years we’ve talked a lot about swing plane and its impact on golf handicaps. Swinging a club on plane greatly influences—if not controls— depth of divot, centeredness of contact, starting direction, and curvature of ball flight. In other words, It greatly influences you’re ballstriking. The better you’re ballstriking, the longer and straighter your shots and the less trouble you’ll get into. Needless to say, if you want to lower your golf handicap, you must learn to swing on plane.

Nobody, of course, swings on plane every time. Usually, we swing on a “reasonable” plane as it approaches the ball. The closer you are to being perfectly on plane—all things being equal—the better off you are. So you don’t have to swing perfectly on plane. Two golfers may have very different backswings, but if they’re good ballstrikers, their swings will look similar as they approach impact. Swinging on plane is so important some instructors spend a great deal of time on it in golf lessons.

An On-Plane Swing
So what do we mean by an on-plane swing? Simply put, it means swinging the club on the same angle as it rests on the ground. A 6-iron at rest leans on a natural angle to the ground of about 45 degrees. To swing on plane, you must swing the 6-iron either right on, or closely parallel to that angle, throughout the swing.

If you watch golfers hit balls during golf instruction sessions, you’ll see that some players have a one-plane swing. Others have a two-plane swing. In a one-plane swing, the arms stay on the same axis as the shoulders. If you look in a mirror and your shaft and left arm are aligned, you’re a one-plane swinger. To be a one-plane swinger, simply crush the logo on your golf shirt with your front arm. With a one-plane swing a golfer can unwind without much concern for timing. One-plane swingers usually stand a little farther from the ball.

In a two-plane swing the arms swing on an axis that’s different from the shoulders. Taller players, like Jim Furyk, tend to have two-plane swings. Two plane swings, as I’ve said in my golf tips newsletter, have downswing planes flatter than their backswing planes. So their planes match up with someone who has a one-plane swing as they approach the ball. Two-plane swingers must start their swings with their lower bodies and unwind their hips to the left so the club drops to the inside of the their target line. Two-plane swingers usually stand close to the ball.

Training Your Backswing
The Stand Bag Drill helps teach you to swing on plane. An “at rest” stand bag has the same angle as a 6-iron when it’s grounded. You can use the bag to gauge whether your swing is on plane. First, stand a bag on the ground with the club heads pointing away from the target line. The bag’s base should rest on the target line. Take your address position along side the bag with a 6-iron and make a backswing. Stop about half way through the backswing. Your shoulders, arms, and clubface should match the bag’s angle at rest.

Now move the bag in front of you, with the base resting on the target line and the clubheads pointing away from the target line. Swing the club. The club’s angle at the finish should be the same as the bag’s angle. You’re on plane if your eyes, right arm, shaft, and shoulders are parallel to the bag. If they are, you’ve made a good swing and stayed on plane throughout the swing.

Practice Anywhere Anytime
You can practice swinging on plane anywhere anytime using a drill we teach to students who take my golf lessons. Take your address position with a club. Now make your backswing. Stop when you get about halfway back in your backswing and check your hands. Your “open hand” (right hand) should be parallel to the clubface. If it is, you’re on plane.

Swinging on plane boosts ballstriking. That’s because swing n plane greatly influences key factors in your swing, like depth of divot. Better ballstriking leads to longer and straighter shots, not just from the tee but from the fairway as well. Hitting longer and straighter shots helps you avoid trouble, which in turn, will help you lower your golf handicap.