One plane, two plane, who cares?

[seattlemudder]

Do you have a one plane or a two plane swing? Or do think this plane business is nonsense?

[CG031]

I honestly don't even know the difference and don't care. I swing real hard and hope I don't miss.

[Mr. Writing Desk]

Every time I start thinking about swingplanes, club path, position at the top, and all that, things go bad. I have a couple of swing keys that I use to get back on track (left wrist flat, balance on feet, feel the tension in the right knee at the top of the swing, light grip, and full shoulder turn in the followthrough), and if those aren't working, I go get a lesson.

The idea of trying to figure out the plane of the club when I can't even look at what I'm really doing strikes me as absurd, so why think about which plane I'm using?

[Diggitydog]

I am a natural one planer, I actually think most people are, when I first started with serious lessons 3 seasons ago my instructor wasn't going to change my plane from one plane but I insisted. I watched pros on TV and their swing was more of a 2 plane thing by what I could see. HUGE MISTAKE!
I finally went back to a one plane swing, Stack and Tilt Method, and things are instantaneously going better. The deal with the 2 plane swing in my mind is that the timing needs to be so precise it's difficult to replicate with consistency. In the end it's all what works for you, but I'm so happy being back on a one plane swing. So much more consistent. One plane takes away much of the timing issues that can creep up on 2 planers. Also the natural fade that most 2 planers have got so old for me. I got real tired of watching the ball leak distance and don't even mention wind! Forget about being confident in a left to right wind with your driver and water on the right.

All you 2 planers, don't take issue. If you can make that work, that's awesome but I just couldn't and have just recently given up the 2 plane in favor of 1 plane.

[seattlemudder]

I honestly don't even know the difference and don't care. I swing real hard and hope I don't miss.

LOL

That's very funny - thanks for the laugh.

[Guest ShadowXOR]

I honestly don't even know the difference and don't care. I swing real hard and hope I don't miss.

There's my philosophy.

[Golf4life]

I've always been a two plane swing, rerouting my swing through impact, Alah Fred Couples.

[allin]

As long as you don't get to dogmatic one vs two gives you a good way to separate out some of the different advice and narrow down what applies to you.

[Fourputt]

I haven't a clue... I'm not a technical golfer...never will be. That's just too mechanical for me... I play by feel, select clubs by feel. Maybe it holds me back from being the best I can be, but I shoot consistently in the 80's with an occasional foray below that, and I don't have to add on a spare room to house my personal coach...

[DBake]

I honestly don't even know the difference and don't care. I swing real hard and hope I don't miss.

Swing hard in case you hit it huh?

[Big Don]

I have been giving this topic a lot of thought this morning. It is very clear that there are two very different golf swings out there. Most instructors are devotees of one swing or the other, with the majority, at least in the UK, preferring the 2-plane approach.

2-plane instructors tend to view the 1-plane swing as being faulty and criticize the following:-

- You're swing plane is too flat.
- You're too bent over and are standing too far from the ball

1-plane instructors appear to be a minority.

To me the swings can be characterized as follows:-

1-plane

The golfer stands relatively far from the ball, has a relatively wide stance and is relatively bent over without much shoulder tilt. The club is swung around the body with the arms and body closely linked as one unit. The swing plane is relatively flat and the club is "layed off" at the top pointing to the left of the target line.

2-plane

The golfer stands closer to the ball, has a narrower stance than the 1-planer, with a little more shoulder tilt. The body and arms are not as closely connected as the 1-plane swing. The shoulders rotate, whilst the arms lift vertically up and down. The club is pointing down the target line at the top.

I've been told that 2-planers tend to be better iron players and poorer wood players; the reverse being true for the 1-planer. I'm not sure whether this is true or not.

What's best for me? The simple answer is to try both and see what works best for you I guess.

[iacas]

I've been told that 2-planers tend to be better iron players and poorer wood players; the reverse being true for the 1-planer. I'm not sure whether this is true or not.

Well, that may be a generality, but if so it's merely because of the flat/upright nature of the two kinds of swings.

Perosnally, since going to a more two-plane type swing, all aspects of my game have improved. So for me, it didn't matter if the one-plane approach was better for my woods, I simply wasn't good with it.

What's best for me? The simple answer is to try both and see what works best for you I guess.

I think a lot of people have enough trouble getting one swing down that they can't realistically "try" two swings, let alone be accurate in actually trying the correct thing.

[Big Don]

I think a lot of people have enough trouble getting one swing down that they can't realistically "try" two swings, let alone be accurate in actually trying the correct thing.

So stick with one method even if it doesn't work for you then?

[allin]

I have been giving this topic a lot of thought this morning. It is very clear that there are two very different golf swings out there. Most instructors are devotees of one swing or the other, with the majority, at least in the UK, preferring the 2-plane approach.

I don't agree one plane swing tends to be laid off. If you compare it to two plane swing it appears to be. In relation to the one plane swing this is not necessarially true. The real issue is which way is suited to the way you use your body and can generate a powerfull repeatable swing. This decision can be made by looking at what you do naturally and what your physical attributes are.

[Diggitydog]

So stick with one method even if it doesn't work for you then?

No, I don't think so at all. I'm obviously not speaking for iacas here but I think he's saying pick a style that feels good for you and go with it. Don't dabble back and forth. If you have 2 styles and try switching and don't commit you'll want to try the other one as soon as you struggle with the one you're currently using. I experienced this for myself when I was deciding to try Stack and Tilt. I didn't commit to it so the first time I hit a ball or two in a bad direction I was ready to go back to my old swing. It wasn't until I set my arbitrary date that I was going to try S&T until the end of 2008 that I started to have real success with my S&T swing.

I don't agree one plane swing tends to be laid off. If you compare it to two plane swing it appears to be. In relation to the one plane swing this is not necessarially true. The real issue is which way is suited to the way you use your body and can generate a powerfull repeatable swing. This decision can be made by looking at what you do naturally and what your physical attributes are.

I agree here with you allin, I think it would be useful for all of us if these body types could be at least generally classified. We have discussed in other threads about leg and core strength, height. But which type is good for which body type?

[iacas]

No, I don't think so at all. I'm obviously not speaking for iacas here but I think he's saying pick a style that feels good for you and go with it. Don't dabble back and forth. If you have 2 styles and try switching and don't commit you'll want to try the other one as soon as you struggle with the one you're currently using.

Pretty much that, yes.

Most golfers: a) can't replicate their own swing from time to time b) really aren't anywhere near where they think they are in their golf swing (if they think they're square, they're laid off or across the line by 30 degrees, things like that...) c) wouldn't be able to make two different swings accurately enough to give them a fair test

[atrapasuenos]

One plane... one time I tried two plane swing and I was cutting the ball.

Regards.

[Billy_Baroo]

I have been giving this topic a lot of thought this morning. It is very clear that there are two very different golf swings out there. Most instructors are devotees of one swing or the other, with the majority, at least in the UK, preferring the 2-plane approach.

I had not read anything about one plane or two plane swings before, but this post explains a lot. Last year, without lessons I was definitely using a one plane approach. This year, with lessons, according to what I read above, I am now using a two plane swing. So far so good and the consistency keeps improving.