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Norm's October Surprise!

07 10 08 - 13:30

A few months ago (while working on my swing plane at the range) I had one of the regulars check my angles at the top. He mentioned that I had some elements of a one-plane swing, as well as some of a two-plane swing. He recommended a book, "The Plane Truth", and told me it had all the information I needed to make decisions on what I should be trying to accomplish in my golf swing. After purchasing these books, I immediately thought: WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG!

The individual in question, has probably the sweetest, purest, swing of all the people who visit the range. He is also a scratch golfer. Why didn't I immediately go and purchase these books?

After finally reading these books, I am simply amazed. More importantly, my golf swing has improved dramatically, literally, overnight. And the best news of all, it wasn't a fluke. A week later and I am still improving. It wasn't a magic one-night-only band-aid, like a lot of golf instruction tends to be.

Ever got a tip from a PGA Pro, or even your buddy, that was supposedly a "fundamental" that you were lacking? For example:

- Your stance isn't wide enough
- You are taking the club away too outside
- Your swing plane is too steep
- You aren't bent over enough at the waist
- You should start your downswing with quickly turning your hips
- Your hands should lag behind your shoulders

While it's true these are great fundamentals of the swing, what most people fail to mention, or even realize, is that these are great fundamentals for a ONE-PLANE SWING.

I am a two-plane swinger. So the aforementioned "fundamentals", are actually the exact opposite of what I need to be doing. I need to:

- Have a narrower stance, no wider than shoulder width at any point in time
- Take the club away outside the line of my feet
- Swing my club on a plane above my shoulder plane (steep)
- Stand more erect, shoulders never past line of my feet
- Start my downswing by moving my hip laterally toward the target (not turning)
- Keep my hands and arms in a "V" in front of my chest

These books explain the key differences in setup (posture, ball position, etc), backswing, downswing & follow-through based on the type of swing you are trying to execute, one-plane or two-plane. Once you understand that there are some universal fundamentals, but even more specific fundamentals to your swing type, it finally gives you "answers" to all of those questions you've always had about your swing!

For me specifically, like many golfers, I was combining one-plane fundamentals into my natural two-plane swing. A lot of this was from bad advice, and from reading articles that weren't specific to the two-plane swing! I made the following adjustments, IN MY LIVING ROOM before I went to the range.

Stance: Narrower. I was already onto this, as I had recently discovered I could square my driver up much more reliably with a narrower stance. Also, I never could figure out why my practice swings felt so great, but my actual swing was so uncomfortable, and stressful on my back. Mystery solved!

Hip Turn: I had always heard that power was generated by not turning your hips, but turning your shoulders. This causes torque between your upper and lower body, resulting in more power, right? Well, sure, if you are a one-planer. As a two-planer, I actually need to let my hips turn more freely, and not restrict hip turn. That is why this two-plane swing is easier on the back, and better for less flexible players! It was easy to simply let my hips turn with my shoulders, only took a few practice swings to get a feel for that. Note: This is probably why the stance has to be narrower, to allow for more hip turn.

Downswing: This is the part I have never been able to get right. I could never figure out the proper sequence. I experimented with turning my hips first, then my shoulders. That didn't work for me. It caused a violent hook or pull, and took me off balance. "The Plane Truth" explained that I didn't need to turn my hips/shoulders to start my backswing. I need to simply move my left hip a little toward the target while dropping my hands. This creates that natural "pause" at the top that is also part of the two-plane swing. One-planers do not have a pause, their transition involves the hips firing as the hands reach the top.

Impact: At impact I had recently discovered that if I had good "connection", meaning my hands stayed in front of my sternum through the entire swing, I was way more accurate. This book confirmed this. The shoulders/hips are not the "motors" for the two-plane swing. The arms are the motors. For me, the proper feeling is that my shoulders return to square as my arms drive down and through the ball, eventually pulling my shoulders toward the target. The arms lead the motion, not the shoulders!

Follow-Through: With a two-plane swing, it is ok to finish with your hands a little high. To me, this was always considered a cut finish, and I tried to finish a little lower. Well, that is great if you are a one-planer, but for me I needed to let my hands finish high! Remember, the two-plane swing is more vertical (arms), while the one-plane swing is more horizontal (torso).

These changes literally took only a few moments, and I am now hitting more dead-square, dead-straight shots than I ever have. My yardages have obviously increased as a result. I now feel "powerful" at the range, like I added 50lbs of muscle overnight. It is amazing what getting your club on plane will do for your golf swing!

If you haven't already picked up these books, or even the DVD's that are available, I HIGHLY recommend you do it ASAP!

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