Golf Swing Plane For Accuracy And Consistency

Posted November 29, 2011 at 9:09 pm

Every golfer has a golf swing plane as unique as their golf swing. It is influenced by your height, the length of your arms, legs and torso. This all has an impact when matched with the golf club angle at address, alignment of the club face and where you place the ball. It also depends on your desire for accuracy and consistency.

The golf swing plane is created by the arc of the club swinging through the planes for the backswing and downswing as though you drew a line from your left shoulder to the ball and imagined the axis of rotation around the spine.

Consider that there are 5 stages in a golf swing. Starting with your address to the ball, takeaway into your backswing, the top or transition, into the downswing, ball impact and follow through to the target.

Whether you have an one plane or two plane swing is determined by a few things. Firstly, the distance you stand from the ball. The closer you are to the ball the more upright you will become. Many golfers end up with a steep golf swing plane because they stand too close to the ball.

A steep golf swing plane creates a two swing golf plane and the unfortunate potential for lateral and horizontal movement. As Ben Hogan says if you don't set things up right in your address the chain reaction of the golf swing will not work for you.

You will lose control as you get to the top of your backswing by over extending your arms above your head and shoulder and consequently will need to adjust to a different downswing plane to get impact through the ball. The danger here is instead of hitting straight you will hit a lot more inconsistently to the left and right.

If your swing plane is too steep you will produce pulls and slices. If you stand too close to the ball in your address, causing a steep swing as you move through your downswing you will need to adjust your body into a different downswing plane. This often leads to over extending in the golf swing which invariably leads to back injury. A steep swing will lead you to rotating off balance, this generally moves the center of gravity higher up the spine. Hence more pressure on the middle of your back. Back injury is the number injury in golfers.

A flatter swing where the golfer tends to swing around the body is referred as the one-plane swing taught by Jim Hardy, or the single plane swing used by Moe Norman from Canada. The further away from the ball you are the flatter your swing.

A flatter golf swing plane rotating around the body creates less movement in less body parts. Less can go wrong by virtue of body parts not moving when they shouldn't. Swinging from shoulder to shoulder tends to suit the average golfer with physical and muscular limitations. You will certainly hit with more accuracy, much more consistently. You might lose a little distance but it will be straight and in play.

Nearly every golfer overextends in the backswing losing control of their hands and the golf club. By the way this is how a lot of golfers get wrist injuries, especially as the out of control club head moves through ball impact missing the sweet spot. Ouch!

Moe Norman was credited as the consistently longest and straightest hitter in the history of the game. With the many golfers I have worked with on the course the more you reduce the variables the better.

Whatever your golf swing plane find one that suits you and build as much accuracy and consistency into your game as possible.