Do you know your swing?

[goblue107501]

There is always a lot of discussion here about different types of swings. One plane, two plane, S & T, etc. I feel very good about what I do and I know where and how to make any corrections if things start to go bad, but I have no idea what kind of swing I have.

Do you know what it is you use, or do you just hit the ball and not worry about it? Is it important to know for any reason? Whatever I am doing it is working for me so I am not too concerned about what I use. I am just curious if I am only golfer who doesn't know.

[GaijinGolfer]

I do S&T.; I didnt intend to do it that way, but thats what my swing has turned into.

[RIduffer]

There is always a lot of discussion here about different types of swings. One plane, two plane, S & T, etc. I feel very good about what I do and I know where and how to make any corrections if things start to go bad, but I have no idea what kind of swing I have.

You are seriously wondering if you are the only golfer who doesn't know how to categorize the way he swings a club? This is a golf forum, so you'll find alot of geeky golfers (myself included) who are into the technical aspects of the golf swing (for better or worse). But most people I play golf with wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about if I mentioned S&T...or; know the difference between an overlap and interlock grip.

[saevel25]

I don't know what type my swing is, all i know is that i try to keep my club on the downswing between my two forearms, Usually near in line with my right forearm, but in that slot. I am a firm believer if you get in this slot a big part of the downswing is nailed.

Takeaway is over-rated, to me its all about getting into this slot area in the downswing with a good transition.

[adamgoodman]

I'm with you, dude. My swing coach and I just tinker to what works the best, but never drop names like "one plane, two plane, Stack and Tilt" or whatever. It's just piecing together the swing that provides the best results.

[Stretch]

I have learned more about my swing in a month of making videos of it than I did previously in a lifetime of trying to feel roughly what I was doing. You can't trust feel.

[Shanks A Million]

I don't know what type my swing is, all i know is that i try to keep my club on the downswing between my two forearms, Usually near in line with my right forearm, but in that slot. I am a firm believer if you get in this slot a big part of the downswing is nailed.

Takeaway and backswing are everything. Take it back right, and it will come down right. Fail to do so, and you're compensating.

We've discussed at length your claims of hitting 300+ yard drives, yet barely being able to elevate irons off the ground. Therefore, we may want to consider your opinion to be taken lightly. Takeaway and backswing set up the downswing, and if they are wrong, it's nearly impossible to come down properly. It's so rare for someone who takes the club away on the inside, for example, to come back down on the inside. Yes, I do it, but it's highly abnormal, and my inside takeaway has more to do with my late wrist cock than anything. I also work constantly on trying to get my backswing proper, and have, at times, eliminated my inside takeaway. For me, however, it never quite sticks, and I can't get the hands deep, therefore I have to work my backswing to best setup my downswing. If my backswing begins to get out of whack, my downswing suffers, and my impact is compromised. Backswing is probably the most important thing to get right.

[saevel25]

Thats bull, you can get away with so much in the backswing, look at kenny perry and jim juryk. All backswings are different. Barely being able to elevate irons off the ground, i bet i can hit them higher than you. The issue i have been having is that i have been flipping at the ball through impact, causing a 5% chance of topping it a bit, but other than that its been going good. I can still belt them out there 280+.

I will not say there are some big no-no's you have to avoid in the swing, but to say you must make a perfect backswing is false.

[CalBoomer]

I do know a lot about my swing. I am older and less flexible, and much prefer a single plane swing. The problem with knowing little about what you do is that you can't easily fix it on the fly when things start to wrong in the middle of a round. I still can't prevent bad swings, but when I make one, I can tell from the ball flight what I did wrong and will try to correct it immediately.

[CalBoomer]

Can't agree with you on this one. As Shanks a Million said, a good takeaway and backswing sure make a good downswing more likely. Why create problems that only have to be compensated for in the downswing? Jim Furyk is not a good example for anyone. He is a superb athlete and a pro who can do what he does with incredible consistency. But the best description of his swing that I heard is that it is "like an octopus falling out of a tree."

[James_Black]

My swing is pretty bad.
I think I'm going to kill my left knee in a few years.

I think I have a 2 plane swing, I have a steep backswing and a flatter downswing.

[Shanks A Million]

Can't agree with you on this one. As Shanks a Million said, a good takeaway and backswing sure make a good downswing more likely. Why create problems that only have to be compensated for in the downswing? Jim Furyk is not a good example for anyone. He is a superb athlete and a pro who can do what he does with incredible consistency. But the best description of his swing that I heard is that it is "like an octopus falling out of a tree."

Even so, Furyk's backswing is more fundamentally sound than most amatuer golfers could hope for. Just because it's unusual doesn't mean it's wrong. That's where armchair pros usually fail. Furyk gets the club into a good position at the top to drop down and bring around his body, and he repeats it day and and day out, for many years. His takeaway at hip high is just beautiful, the club is just outside his hands, and the toe points away from him. Many great players had a very steep backswing, like, as was mentioned, Kenny Perry, and guys like Couples, Trevino, Fowler, and a host of others.

[saevel25]

I know, but if you take his name away, the fact he is a PGA pro, and look at his swing, i bet majority of Pro's out there would say we need to change it. Get him further away from the ball, take him on a flatter plane. There are countless number of takeaways, but the only thing that matters is getting to impact in a good position. Can a good takeaway do that, yes, but a good takeaway does not guarantee good impact. If not then most tour swings would look very identical in the back swing, rather than look very similar at impact.

[sean_miller]

There is always a lot of discussion here about different types of swings. One plane, two plane, S & T, etc. I feel very good about what I do and I know where and how to make any corrections if things start to go bad, but I have no idea what kind of swing I have.

I know my swing well enough to know what to keep doing when it's working. I can usually get it back on track when it goes awry - now that I have some lesson videos as a reference.

I also know that this isn't what you were talking about - it's a deep enough understanding for me though.

[nuck81]

I know my swing well enough to know what to keep doing when it's working. I can usually get it back on track when it goes awry - now that I have some lesson videos as a reference.

After three months of dedication I'm finally getting to the point that I can tell from my ball flight what part of my swing faulted to cause the ball to do what it did. Unfortunately being a beginner I don't know what caused that fault on that particular swing