Swing plane, which one?
Watching golf on TV you probably hear the phrase “swing plane” often. But what plane are they talking about and what does it mean?
First, there are several swing planes that can be referred to such as;
- Ankle plane
- Knee plane
- Hip plane
- Shoulder plane
- Eye plane
- Hand plane
- Shaft plane
- Club head plane
All of these can be very important planes in your swing. The swing plane that is normally discussed most on tv is the shaft plane. The shaft plane is normally measured in six areas if you are using a camera from behind the ball on the target line.
- When the shaft is horizontal to the ground on the back swing the shaft should point towards the target
- When the left arm is horizontal to the ground the shaft should point to the ball
- When the shaft is horizontal to the ground at the top of the swing the shaft should point towards the target
- On the downswing when the left arm is horizontal the shaft should point towards the ball
- When the shaft is horizontal to the ground the shaft should point towards the target, this will dictate the path the club travels at impact and can cause the ball to curve.
- Then the shaft is on the follow through the shaft should appear through the left shoulder of the player starting with the head of the club and then the hands.
If you hit all these marks you are probably a very good ball striker. But is this the most important measurement of plane……
Hand Plane
Hand plane is rarely discussed but is essential to consistent ball striking. If your hands are not traveling on a consistent path does having the club shaft on plane really have that much of an impact? Obviously a critical position in the golf swing is when the club shaft is in the “delivery” position on the downswing when the shaft should be pointing to the target. This will pretty much dictate where the ball will go. But how did you get the club there?
Most amateurs hands float all over the place during the swing. Almost all but a a very few great ball strikers on tour have a very similar hand plane on the back and down swing. Jim Furyk and a few others have unique swings that don’t apply to this argument. When I measured the swings of the top 100 players on tour a few years back I measured the similarity of the hand plane up and down and also where the hands traveled relative to the body.
Remember this is from using a camera positioned behind the player on the ball – target line. Players that hands move from the ball, through the right shoulder, down through the right shoulder and then through the left shoulder had the best driving and iron statistics. So players that hands deviate from this virtual straight line the least are normally the best ball strikers.
A good way to practice this is in front of a big mirror. Practice taking your hands in your back swing up on a line through your right shoulder then down through your right shoulder. If you do this odds are your follow through will take care of it self. These days almost everyone carry’s a camera phone with them. So next time you go to the range ask a friend or even a stranger to video you golf swing facing the target line. You can then download a copy of V1 to draw the lines on your swing.
See where your hands travel and make the adjustments, your game can only get better.
Jim Hartnett, PGA
