Sorry for the horrible pun in the title.
It’s just that I have planes on my mind lately. I recently picked up a copy of Jim Hardy’s book The Plane Truth for Golfers Master Class. As I chewed through it, I started to become extremely intrigued with Hardy’s teachings about the one-plane and two-plane swings.
Then, I stopped over to Birdie Dreams this week and Nick had a perfectly timed post about his foray into the world of one-plane swings.
I discussed the concept of swing plane at length earlier in my swing plane edition of the golf glossary.
After getting through the one-plane swing section of Hardy’s Master Class, I realized that maybe I was missing out on something by failing to read his first book, The Plane Truth for Golfers, to understand more of the background on the concepts. I fixed that problem immediately and have halted the Master Class and have started the first book.
Out of order or not, I’m blown away with what I’m reading so far. There are several misconceptions about the swing that I had, and ever more scary, Hardy suggests that many teachers share some of those misconceptions.
One of the big ones I had, that I think that many teachers share, is the idea that the club face opens on the back swing, to the point where when the club is about waist high and parallel to the ground, that the toe of the club points skyward. Hardy says that the club face should actually be perpendicular (square) to the plane itself.
In other words, if you imagine you’re inside a hula hoop that represents the plane that your swing follows, at that point in the back swing where the club is parallel to the ground, the club head should actually square to the hula hoop (plane), not with the leading edge of the face pointing straight up in the air.
Another misconception I had centered around the idea of the left arm, club, and shoulders being in the same plane in the back swing.
What I didn’t understand was that for one, in the one-plane swing, the player is more bent over (at the hips) at address. This makes the shoulder plane less flat. I couldn’t see how a person in a more erect posture could get the club back on a plane that flat and deliver it to the ball without the club being very laid off. Well, the answer is in the address.
For quite some time, Hardy has been teaching that there isn’t one set of correct swing fundamentals, but two: one set for the one-plane swing, and one set for the two-plane swing. After diving into his books, I’m getting a much clearer picture that it’s not a matter of how you move the club during the swing, but everything from stance to posture to weight distribution to back swing is different in the two types of swings.
It’s certainly giving me a lot to think about. I had been mulling over trying out the Stack and Tilt, but the one-plane swing is holding a little more fascination for me right now. For one, it’s not as radical a departure from the “traditional” swing. For another, the one-plane swing is very suitable for someone looking for more consistency and ball control, and not necessarily worried about power. That’s me.
Waiting for the weather to break will give me time to digest all the material in his books and start working on a few of the drills he gives in the book to help a player adopt either of the styles.
Even if you’re not interested in making a swing change, I still recommend his books (I’ll do formal reviews later). You might find some of the concepts to be eye opening.
In case you’re thinking Jim Hardy is just another guy with a swing gimmick, I should mention that he’s the 2007 PGA Teacher of the Year.
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Further Reading:
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I am working toward a pure one plane swing, and truly believe it is the best way to swing. When I am doing it right, I can swing as hard as I possibly can and only hit the ball straighter for it. A two plane swing requires a particular timing to hit it pure, and that timing has to chance slightly when the speed increases. I agree that Hardy’s book is realy good and has been very helpful to me.
Stack and Tilt is another new concept that kinds of plays in. Some people think that S and T is necessarily one plane, but it is not. A one plane swing tends not to have much lateral shift and therefore follows a lot of S and T concepts, but there are a lot of good S and T swings that are two plane.
Aaron Baddely has a great S and T one plane swing, as does Tom Pernice. Will MacKenzie stacks and tilts but does it in two planes.
The closest thing to a one plane swing with a lateral shift in my mind is Ernie Els, though he doesn’t shift as much now as he did in the past.
Excellent points, Nick.
As I read the book(s), I did feel the similarities to the Stack and Tilt, especially how the setup is more centered and how the weight can be a tad on the left side.
I’m very interested in that you’re able to swing hard and maintain that consistency. That was one of the points that stood out to me in the book. Hardy says that you can basically turn your shoulders as hard as you want in the downswing. That’s something I like because in my existing swing, if I get a little quick, it’s all over with.
Tonight I rigged up my video camera in my living room. I can’t really make full swings in my apartment, but I was able to get to the back swing position and I think I’m liking what I saw and felt. Definitely a much shorter swing for me, similar to the Stack and Tilt. I need to work my my shoulder flexibility a little, but I’m able to turn them 90 degrees. Feels like a wound-up rubber band, though.
I absolutely cannot wait to hit a few balls and see what it feels like to make the entire motion.
“the club face should actually be perpendicular (square) to the plane itself.”
Since it is difficult to see your plane as you swing a good check at this position, where the club is parallel to the ground in the back swing, is having the leading edge of the club match your spine angle.
Great tip, TP.