The One Plane Golf Swing
In the summer of 2005, I saw an episode of
Jim Hardy says that all golfers swing the club in one
of two patterns.
In a one plane swing, the golfer bends more at the hips,
and swings the club behind the body on the backswing , with the left arm
parallel to the shoulders at the top of the backswing, and then rotates the
body and shoulders to pull the club through impact and then back to the left. In a two plane swing, the golfer stands more
erect, and swings the club up, down, and up on a more upright swing plane. Ben Hogan had a one plane swing, like a “merry-go-round”, since the club went
behind him, then out to the ball, and finally back to the left, on a flatter swing plane. Tom Watson has a two plane swing, like a “ferris
wheel”, since the club is lifted up by the arms, then down to the ball, and
then back up again, on a more upright swing plane.
Peter Jacobsen started his career as a two plane
swinger, and then went to a one plane swing following Jim Hardy’s advice. Peter won the
It is certainly possible to play golf with either a two plane
swing or a one plane swing. However,
problems occur when a golfer mixes the fundamentals of one type of swing with
the fundamentals of another type of swing. For example, if you bend forward at the hips like a one plane swinger, but swing
your arms up in an upright swing path like a two plane swinger, your club will
approach the ball on too steep of an angle, and you will not hit the ball well.
In a one plane swing, the grip is slightly stronger
(left hand turned more clockwise), compared with a one plane swing. The stance
in a one plane swing is wider, and may be square or slightly closed. The
posture is more bent over at the hips for a one plane swing, which means the
ball will be a little further from the feet compared with the two plane swing.
In a one plane swing, the spine is straight up and down at address, unlike a tilt of the spine to the
right which occurs at address in the two plane swing. It is very important to
get enough bend at the hips at address in the one plane swing, so be sure to
stick your rear end out and bend forward. Weight distribution at address is 50
% for each foot in the one plane swing. Weight distribution is 60% on the right
foot and 40% on the left foot at address in the two plane swing.
During the early backswing, the club moves more inside
and more behind the body in a one plane swing. The left arm remains close to
the chest during the backswing in a one plane swing. In a two plane swing, the
club moves on a more upright path in the backswing, and the arms stay “in front
of the chest”. At the top of the backswing, the one plane swinger will have the
left arm and club parallel to the shoulder plane, and the shoulder plane is
more vertical. At the top of the backswing, the two plane swinger will have the
left arm more upright, and the shoulder plane will be more horizontal. If you
are a one plane swinger, be certain to keep your left shoulder low at the top
of the backswing (pointing more toward the ground). The two plane swinger is
allowed to have the left shoulder higher at the top of the backswing, since the
arms will be swinging up and down and then up again to hit the ball. In the one
plane swing, there is more clockwise rotation of the arm on the backswing. In
the two plane swing, there is less clockwise rotation of the left arm on the
backswing. In the one plane swing during
the backswing, you should bring the arms
and club more behind you with plenty of clockwise rotation of the left arm,
keeping the left shoulder low, so that the left arm is very close to the
shoulder plane at the top of the backswing.
The main source of power in the one plane swing is the
rotation of the body, with the arms simply following. Once you are at the top of the backswing in
the one plane swing, you can quickly rotate the hips and shoulders back to the
ball and then back to the left, with little hand manipulation. The arms simply follow the rotation of the
shoulders on the forward swing in the one plane swing. The main source of power in the two plane
swing is the arm swing, where tempo and timing is critical, as you try to
synchronize the up and down and up movement of the arms with the turning of the
body, with more hand action in the impact area. At impact in the one plane
swing, the hips are 35 to 50 degrees open, and the shoulders are 20 to 30
degrees open. At impact in the two plane
swing, the hips and shoulders are square or slightly open. After impact in the one plane swing, the hands
and arms and club will move lower and more to the left than in the one plane
swing. At the finish, the club in the one plane swing will be more horizontal,
and the club in the two plane swing will be more vertical. In the one plane
swing, the spine will be straighter in the finish positon, because of the
simple rotation around the spine. The
spine might be in a slight “reverse C “ position in the two plane swing because
of the slight lateral slide of the hips in the downswing. In both swings, the spine is still tilted to
the right as viewed from behind the golfer, looking down the target line.
Here is a comment on equipment that might be important
to you. If you are a two plane swinger
and switch to a one plane swinger, it is possible that you may need to flatten
the lie of your clubs. In the one plane swing, you are more bent forward at
address, with hands lower. This brings the toe of the club up slightly. This
may make the ball curve more to the left after you hit it. This is not always a
problem, but your should be aware of it, especially if you notice that the toe
of your club is quite a bit off the ground at address, and if the ball is
curving to the left after you hit it.
I recommend that you buy a copy of “The Plane Truth for Golfers” by Jim
Hardy. It is available at Jim’s web site
www.
Jimhardygolf.com , and at local
book stores. The book is paperback and
costs around 19 dollars.
I also found a DVD at a web site, www. oneplanegolfswing.
com ,which features two instructors
talking about the one plane swing. The DVD is well done and easy to understand; it
costs about 50 dollars.
A rebroadcast of the
Is the one plane swing, or the two plane swing, best for you?
Steven Vig
MD joyandsteven @ cox.net
Summer 2005