Steep & Shallow?

[stevobetteros]

Hi

I keep reading golf instruction on the internet & magasines etc and keep seeing people say that clubs like a 3 wood need a shallower swing plane etc.

What exactly does shallow mean?

Sorry for sounding stupid but I dont know whether i should be taking my club back more on the inside, or not hitting it as steep as my short irons?

Thanks

Steve

[Mr3Wiggle]

Look up angle of attack.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

Look up angle of attack.

That's not what he's talking about. He's asking about this I believe:

This tends to happen naturally because, with the longer clubs, you're farther from the golf ball.

[Old1964]

My imperfect explanation...

The longer club (3 wood or driver) should be leaning back more (left picture above) than a short club (right picture above) when one's backswing is completed.

When a person takes the long club back incorrectly in their backswing, so that it is too vertical, the downswing will be too steep -- having to drastically drop down to the ball instead of a nice, smooth "down and around" motion. If you take the club back in this manner you will tend to be very inconsistent with the longer clubs - kind of like a pilot approaching the landing strip too steeply - the timing of it all will be very iffy and prone to produce poor results.

However, if it is leaned back properly in the backswing it is more likely to be more "shallow" in that it will come "down and around" as it hits the ball but without a drastic downward movement.

Keep in mind - all this is a matter of degrees (literally and figuratively).