John Lucas
Golfer's 'swing plane' made plain
Published on Wed, May 12, 2010 by John LucasRead More Lucas
I'm sure all of you have heard much talk about the plane of the golf swing. I want to offer a way to simplify it for you when you swing the golf club.
The term "swing plane" is the line the club shaft has a relationship to during a sound swing. This line or plane is established by the angle of the club's shaft and the posture of the player before the swing goes in motion at address.
The angle of the shaft at address may be the most important angle in golf. This is the angle that the club shaft must return to at impact. Everything a player does with his/her swing is to permit the club to return to impact on the original shaft plane angle.
To help understand the plane of a golf swing, it may help to look at a house. The floor of the house is a straight line at a horizontal angle. The wall of a house is a straight line at a vertical angle. The roof of a house is a straight line at an inclined angle. Sound swings keep the club on a plane that has a relationship to the original shaft angle established at address throughout the swing, with few if any compensating movements. The club points to the bottom of the plane (roof) at address and during an on plane swing, the shaft either will be pointing to or parallel to the bottom of the swing plane (roof).
Hank Haney, Tiger's swing coach, says a swing is either on plane or it isn't. Every player's goal is to be on plane from start to finish.
Rules teaser:
In four ball (best ball) stroke play, a player holes out and - before his partner holes out - he practices on the fringe of the green. Ruling?
Last rules teaser:
In a difficult lie, a player struck a rock with his ball and the ball popped up in the air. In disgust, the player swung at the ball in the air but missed it. Ruling? No penalty.
John Lucas is the teaching pro at Sky Ridge Golf Course and Learning Center in Sequim. He can be reached at john
lucaspga@yahoo.com.
The term "swing plane" is the line the club shaft has a relationship to during a sound swing. This line or plane is established by the angle of the club's shaft and the posture of the player before the swing goes in motion at address.
The angle of the shaft at address may be the most important angle in golf. This is the angle that the club shaft must return to at impact. Everything a player does with his/her swing is to permit the club to return to impact on the original shaft plane angle.
To help understand the plane of a golf swing, it may help to look at a house. The floor of the house is a straight line at a horizontal angle. The wall of a house is a straight line at a vertical angle. The roof of a house is a straight line at an inclined angle. Sound swings keep the club on a plane that has a relationship to the original shaft angle established at address throughout the swing, with few if any compensating movements. The club points to the bottom of the plane (roof) at address and during an on plane swing, the shaft either will be pointing to or parallel to the bottom of the swing plane (roof).
Hank Haney, Tiger's swing coach, says a swing is either on plane or it isn't. Every player's goal is to be on plane from start to finish.
Rules teaser:
In four ball (best ball) stroke play, a player holes out and - before his partner holes out - he practices on the fringe of the green. Ruling?
Last rules teaser:
In a difficult lie, a player struck a rock with his ball and the ball popped up in the air. In disgust, the player swung at the ball in the air but missed it. Ruling? No penalty.
John Lucas is the teaching pro at Sky Ridge Golf Course and Learning Center in Sequim. He can be reached at john
lucaspga@yahoo.com.
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