Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Golf Swing Plane For A Consistent Swing

By Roderick Fraser


Golf swing plane, yours is as individual as your swing. It is influenced by your height, the length of your arms, legs and torso. This all has an impact when matched with the golf club angle at address, alignment of the club face and where you place the ball. It also comes down to your persistence and commitment to play consistently.

The golf swing plane is determined by the distance from your shoulder to the ball and the circular axis of rotation with the golf club back through your backswing and then through your downswing and follow through.

There are five stages of the swing to consider. Setup or address, backswing, the transition, the downswing, impact and follow through.

Several factors will determine whether you are playing a two-plane or one-plane swing. Firstly, the distance you stand from the ball. The closer you are to the ball the more upright you will become. Many golfers end up with a steep golf swing plane because they stand too close to the ball.

A steep golf swing plane creates a two swing golf plane and the unfortunate potential for lateral and horizontal movement. As Ben Hogan says if you don't set things up right in your address the chain reaction of the golf swing will not work for you.

Bottomline, a steep golf swing leads to losing control at the top of the backswing, it is easy to overplay or overswing with your arms and hands, break your wrists and create the need to compensate to stay on line in the downswing. Creating a second plane down through the ball and into the follow through. The danger here is instead of hitting straight you will hit a lot more inconsistently to the left and right.

If your swing plane is too steep you will produce pulls and slices. By being too close to the ball, you have no choice but to have a steep swing and your movement into the downswing has to compensate to a different golf swing plane for the downswing. This often leads to over extending in the golf swing which invariably leads to back injury. Rotating off axis and balance shifts your centre of gravity higher up the spine. Hence more pressure on the middle of your back. Back injury is the number injury in golfers.

A one swing plane as taught by the likes of Moe Norman creates a flatter swing plane rotating around the body instead of being more up and down. Bend at the hips and you will find the right distance from the ball and create a flatter golf swing.

A flatter golf swing plane rotating around the body creates less movement in less body parts. Less can go wrong by virtue of body parts not moving when they shouldn't. If you lack strength, the ability to rotate or have any muscle imbalance or joint restriction simply take a three quarter swing. Shoulder to shoulder. You will certainly hit with more accuracy, much more consistently. You might lose a little distance but it will be straight and in play.

Most amateur golfers lose control with their hands going over head. You not only lose control it is the leading cause of wrist injury. Not to mention missing the sweet spot as you hit the ball.

Moe Norman was credited as the consistently longest and straightest hitter in the history of the game. With the many golfers I have worked with on the course the more you reduce the variables the better.

A flatter golf swing plane will give you more accuracy and consistency, but check it out for yourself. Are you too close to the ball?




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