Two-Plane swingers, are you out there?

[Divot Tool]

Instead of trying to characterize my swing in terms of "one plane" or "two plane" let me use the swing planes of two PGA pros who I believe are complete extremes in terms of the swing plane: Anthony Kim & Sean O'Hair. Both are young and have had success on the tour. Kim's swing is rounder (flat) while O'Hair's swing has a pronounced vertical element to it (steep).

When I started playing golf, my swing plane was naturally flatter (Kim), albeit I had and still do have many critical flaws. I found that with a flatter swing I drove the ball straighter, and could really go at the ball hard when I wanted to. The motion just seemed simpler. This past summer, I desperately sought instruction to cure my swing woes. Prior to this lesson, I did not know any better. In one hour, my instructor had changed my swing from a flat swing to a very upright swing (O'Hair). At the top of my swing, it felt as if the shaft was inches above my head (although in reality it was not). He had me hitting balls with a David Leadbetter drill in which with the butt of the club pointing towards target, and shaft parallel with the target line, you preset the wrists and swing your arms to the top so that the club is pointing at the target. It was incredibly difficult for me to do. It felt too steep. This drill was supposed to ingrain the feeling of the correct position at the top (derived from swing plane) and it did. Upon learning this drill in that one hour session, I was hitting the best mid-short irons in my life. It was for the most part, enlightening. For the first time in my life, I was truly experiencing what it was to compress the ball. Pured shots coming off my forged Mizunos were bliss. To this day, I still have not replicated that kind of ball striking. While the results with the mid-short irons were awesome, the driver was dismal. I was constantly hitting fades, slices, weak pushes and could not turn the ball over for the life of me. As the clubs got longer (long irons, hybrids, woods) I was everywhere, left right you name it. It's interesting to hear Stacey articulate:

. . .When I make a conscious effort to lift the club (about halfway back) it seems that I have to pause at the top a little longer. I try not to have any swing thoughts coming down other than to get my right elbow tight against my hip. . .

I can empathize with you exactly. With a "Two-Plane" swing I think I know why. Let's recall that a steep swing such as O'Hair's has a pronounced vertical movement (back and up). At the top, that little "pause" lets the club fall down to the correct plane before you proceed through impact. (Back and up, then down and through) Without that pause, O'Hair would swing over the top. A steep swing plane creates leverage and feels powerful. However, in truth it is a swing dependent on timing. Under pressure, I could never time it well. After months of frustrating trials, I reverted back to a flatter swing. I truly believe that it is more efficient and under pressure, more reliable. However, the lesson was not in vain. I learned the importance of the swing plane in the golf swing. Props to O'Hair for making it work, I admire that.

[Brakkus]

I found when I started golf and didn't have enough knowledge and not enough money to go to an instructor that I went the more 2 plane route.It's because I was exposed to pictures or slo mo clips of this.

I found that longer clubs went all over the place,woods especially sliced into the next county.After 6 months of slicing it hit me that I could replicate my tennis forehand in my golf swing.In the forehand I was obviously coming from below to a higher finish over my shoulder blade,but the idea of plane wasn't alien and because of tennis,it was a natural feeling.

Then I stumbled onto golflink one day and happened onto Mike LaBauve and his advice,and then onto buying Jim Hardy's book The Plane Truth.

The thing is even LaBauve and Hardy and Ritter who have all worked together look slightly different in their swings and from my own experience you will end up with elements of your own style of swinging based on your personal body type and what feels natural to your body.