Jump to content
Note: This thread is 2912 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

(edited)

At what point in your golf career did you settle on a one OR a two plane swing? When did you realize you were better suited to one vs. the other? How does an instructor determine what is the best swing for you? Do they evaluate your physique?

There was another golfer at the range who briefly showed me this one plane swing, where the takeaway was the same, but the head is still and the backswing feels “flat”. I went through 30 balls this way and struck maybe 2/3 of them solidly in the vicinity of the flag. The best part was, I didn’t feel like I was fighting my body. 

It occurred to me I am being taught a two plane swing for almost a year now. I find this method so unreliable, and so hard to wrap my mind around (this latter part cannot be understated).. I know I am not supposed to contaminate my golf instruction by looking elsewhere, but damn man.. something is not right when you put in 100% effort and only improve 15%. 

Edited by Kalnoky
Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Administrator

I don't think things fit as neatly into boxes as people typically want to put them.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
  On 3/2/2017 at 8:10 PM, Kalnoky said:

At what point in your golf career did you settle on a one OR a two plane swing? When did you realize you were better suited to one vs. the other? 

Expand  

IMO you figure it out by making a good pivot and where ever the arms naturally go just let them do it. Don't "force" a certain arm position because a certain player is flat or upright. The only time an arm plane position should be corrected is if it's interfering with something on the downswing. 

I know Hardy's definition goes beyond arm plane but that's basically what it is. There are players with upright swings that have steepish shoulder turns.

If you cropped out their arms below, the pitch of the pivots are pretty darn similar.

dj-furyk-lowry-1_orig.png

  • Upvote 4

Mike McLoughlin

Check out my friends on Evolvr!
Follow The Sand Trap on Twitter!  and on Facebook
Golf Terminology -  Analyzr  -  My FacebookTwitter and Instagram 

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I read the book and enjoyed it, found it interesting.  Not sure as teaching tool just how useful it is.  But it did get me started on the road to a more upright swing as I was persecuted by a hook for years. 

Butch


  On 3/4/2017 at 8:36 PM, mvmac said:

IMO you figure it out by making a good pivot and where ever the arms naturally go just let them do it. Don't "force" a certain arm position because a certain player is flat or upright. The only time an arm plane position should be corrected is if it's interfering with something on the downswing. 

I know Hardy's definition goes beyond arm plane but that's basically what it is. There are players with upright swings that have steepish shoulder turns.

If you cropped out their arms below, the pitch of the pivots are pretty darn similar.

dj-furyk-lowry-1_orig.png

Expand  

Hardy or no, I never really paid all that much heed to one plane or two plane. I probably am somewhere in between. I am more focused on take away and downswing plane than anything else and in practice use this little training aid:

IMG_0721.thumb.JPG.7e86d7ec83c5f602fac25e6f9ab5cf1e.JPG

"James"

:titleist: 913 D3 with Aldila RIP Phenom 60 4,2 Regular Shaft,  :touredge: Exotics XCG-7 Beta 3W with Matrix Red Tie Shaft:touredge: Exotics EX8 19 deg Hybrid w UST Mamiya Recoil F3 Shaft:touredge: Exotics EX9 28 deg Hybrid w UST Mamiya Recoil F3  shaft, / Bobby Jones Black 22 deg Hybrid:touredge: Exotics EXi 6 -PW  w UST Mamiya Recoil F2 Shaft, SW (56),GW (52),LW (60):touredge:  TGS),/ ODDYSEE Metal-X #7 customized putter (400G, cut down Mid Belly)

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  On 3/2/2017 at 8:10 PM, Kalnoky said:

The best part was, I didn’t feel like I was fighting my body. 

Expand  

I can't really help with any advice on swing planes, but the quote above struck me as something I can relate to.

With the (different) priority that I work on, not fighting against my body seems to be an indication of success. 

Jon

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I never really gave it much of a thought if I was using a one, or two plane swing. Never seemed important to me. 

All I ever did was work on a one piece take away with (some what) level elbows, to a decent position at the top of my swing, that would give me a good start on the down swing, into the back of the ball. 

As long as I was making good contact with the ball, my swing was on the correct plane for me. It was a natural movement up, and down for me. 

In My Bag:
A whole bunch of Tour Edge golf stuff...... :beer:

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
  On 3/5/2017 at 2:06 AM, Hacker James said:

I never really paid all that much heed to one plane or two plane. I probably am somewhere in between.

Expand  

It's been a while since I've read the book but I'm pretty sure the lead arm matching the shoulder tilt at the top of the backswing is one-plane and an arm plane more upright than the shoulder plane is two plane. So the majority of pros would be two-planers.

Like I said in my first post, Hardy tends to feel that one-planers have steeper pivots while two-planers have more shallow pivots. I disagree, pros whether they are one or two plane tend to rotate about 90 degrees to their address inclination (amount they're bent over at address).

Mike McLoughlin

Check out my friends on Evolvr!
Follow The Sand Trap on Twitter!  and on Facebook
Golf Terminology -  Analyzr  -  My FacebookTwitter and Instagram 

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I think you would be best suited by not worrying about 1-plane vs 2-plane swing and instead working on the key pieces your instructor tells you to work on. I honestly would be unable to tell you if I have a 1-plane or 2-plane swing because it isn't something I'm concerned with.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  On 3/2/2017 at 8:10 PM, Kalnoky said:

At what point in your golf career did you settle on a one OR a two plane swing? When did you realize you were better suited to one vs. the other? How does an instructor determine what is the best swing for you? Do they evaluate your physique?

There was another golfer at the range who briefly showed me this one plane swing, where the takeaway was the same, but the head is still and the backswing feels “flat”. I went through 30 balls this way and struck maybe 2/3 of them solidly in the vicinity of the flag. The best part was, I didn’t feel like I was fighting my body. 

It occurred to me I am being taught a two plane swing for almost a year now. I find this method so unreliable, and so hard to wrap my mind around (this latter part cannot be understated).. I know I am not supposed to contaminate my golf instruction by looking elsewhere, but damn man.. something is not right when you put in 100% effort and only improve 15%. 

Expand  

It's an interesting thing to think about.  It seems to me that if you maintain good shoulder tilt and have a flat back swing, a one-plane swing is the result.  It also seems to me that a one plane swing is easier to execute.   I think Matt Kuchar is a good example of a one-plane swing.  

 

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  On 3/5/2017 at 9:56 AM, Pretzel said:

I think you would be best suited by not worrying about 1-plane vs 2-plane swing and instead working on the key pieces your instructor tells you to work on.

Expand  

I think the bigger issue with the OP is that he has been struggling with his current instruction for a year. Is that right @Kalnoky?

If that's the case, I wouldn't let one range session determine my next action. However, continued success with something contrary to what's being taught would definitely prompt a conversation with my pro.

  • Upvote 1

Jon

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  On 3/4/2017 at 8:36 PM, mvmac said:

If you cropped out their arms below, the pitch of the pivots are pretty darn similar.

dj-furyk-lowry-1_orig.png

Expand  

@mvmac yes, I have remained mindful of this, thank you. The only difference now is I keep my arms and shoulder parallel when viewed from down the line. I've been practicing this using a mirror for a week now, and the result is very consistent contact. 

I was being taught a different swing that was, at least to me, much more complicated. Of the three above, I was learning something that looked like the swing on the right. It would take me a 20-30 range balls to get the timing right and this timing carried over to the first tee maybe half the time. 

I asked the question here on TST because even after two years, I honestly had no clue there was another way other to approach the backswing. I looked to my instructors for the absolute truth on these matters. However, I am now completely convinced what I was being taught is not a good fit for my body.  

I am really grateful the man who was watching me at the range that day spoke up, he may have saved me from quitting. Maybe I was just completely in the dark, but I think for other guys who are stuck scoring in the mid to high 90's, the one vs. two plane question might provide a useful framework to begin looking at swing faults.

 

 

 

 

  • Upvote 1
Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Note: This thread is 2912 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up
  • TST Partners

    PlayBetter
    TourStriker PlaneMate
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FitForGolf
    FlightScope Mevo
    Direct: Mevo, Mevo+, and Pro Package.

    Coupon Codes (save 10-20%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack/FitForGolf, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope. 15% off TourStriker (no code).
  • Posts

    • I'd just get the Stack Radar. I've never been totally comfortable with how it measures, those things. I think people put them in the wrong place. I think it's highly sensitive to where you swing… if you swing the tip end through the radar "beam" (it's not a beam, but you know what I mean I think), you get the true speed. But if you swing the spot 6" up the shaft through the beam, you get a much slower speed. For the wedge stuff alone I recommend the Stack Radar. Plus data entry is SOOO easy.
    • Does anyone else have the swing speed radar and had the experience of it going completely haywire? It’s been decent for me until the last 2 weeks. I’m now getting readings on back to back swings that are 20 mph off. I’m getting absolute garbage from it - I have to swing many times to get something close to right. The only thing that works (sometimes) is taking the batteries out. Here's the radar I'm talking about: Amazon.com : Swing Speed Radar - Achieve Longer Drives - Delivers Precise Golf Club Swing Speeds from 20 to 200 MPH. Master Consistency with Our US Made Doppler Radar Training Tool for Instant Speed Results : Golf Swing Trainers : Sports & Outdoors Thinking about just biting the bullet on a stack radar at this point.
    • Sorry, I missed your original post. Glad things are looking up with your wife's cancer. That's scary. Hope you can get back in to swing of things this year. I travel to Richmond quite a bit for son's soccer. I will reach out to see if we can get out together during one of the visits.
    • Wordle 1,346 4/6 ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
    • Wordle 1,346 4/6 ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...