Keys To Creating A Solid One-plane Swing

Golf swings fall into one of two basic types. With a one-plane swing, the golfer bends over more and swings around her body. With the two-plane swing, the golfer stands upright more and shifts her weight from back to front. Both have advantages and disadvantages when it comes to improving a golf handicap and both can be improved with hard work. The key is to find which type of swing suits you best, and then mastering its keys. This article provides golf tips on the one-plane swing.

One way to think of the two swing plane types is to imagine an airplane trying to land on a concrete runway. Too much forward movement keeps you circling the airport. Too much up and down movement sends you crashing into the ground. Neither event is good. A swing like that taught in golf lessons employs the right combination of forward and backward movement. To improve your gold handicap, you must determine if you're a one- or two-plane swinger.

What Kind Of Swinger Are You
The following drills can help you decide what kind of swinger you are: First, stand farther from the ball, bend over, and hold your driver like a hockey stick. Now swing in a flatter more "around" path. Next, stand upright, swing back, and thrust your hips at the ball before your arms swing through. If you hit better shots from the first position, you're a one-plane swinger. If you hit shots from the second position, you're a two-plane swinger.

Both swing types have their advantages and disadvantages. One upside to a one-plane swing is that it has a long flat spot at the bottom of its arc. One-plane swings are great when hitting short irons. The downside of one-plane swing is that golfers have trouble hitting the flat-faced irons in your bag, like the 3-iron and 4-iron. A good golf tip for one-plane swingers is to replace their longer clubs with a hybrid, which is designed to hit the ball higher. The hybrid will help you when you need to hit a ball high and long.

Golf Tips For A One-plane Swinger
Mechanically, you need to add a little more "up and down" to your swing. The way to do that is to bend over more at address and extended your butt out a little more than normal. A good way to feel this is to think of your butt end pushing up against a wall at address and staying there during the swing. Now swing. But be careful. You don't want to turn your shoulders at a steeper angle. If you do, you'll tilt forward on the backswing and backward on the forward swing, like you might do with a reverse pivot.

The intentional draw is the go-to shot for the one-plane swinger. When you hit an intentional draw, your arm begins rotating earlier in the swing and you hit a more controlled shot. Aim at the right edge of the fairway (left edge, if you're left-handed) and swing away without worrying about the lake on the left. Be careful, though. You don't want to start hitting snap hooks.

Keys For One-plane Swingers
If you're a one-plane swinger, keep the following golf tips in mind: Bend over more at address. Standing tall or transferring your weight aggressively impedes your swing.

* Keep you head relatively still on the backswing. Don't get "behind the ball" as you may have heard an instructor say in golf instruction sessions.
* When it comes to swing thoughts, think about swinging around your body.
* Avoid feeling as if you're pulling with your left arm (right arm for left-handers).
* On the downswing, turn your body as hard as you can and hit aggressively with your right hand (left for left-handers).

There's a wide variety of ways to swing a golf club—not all of them are covered in golf instruction sessions. But all golf swings fall basically into one of two categories. They are either a one-plane swing or a two-plane swing. Neither of these swings is better than they other. In fact, they both have advantages and disadvantages. To take your game to the next level, determine the type of swing that fits you. Then work on the kinds of things that will help you chop strokes from your golf handicap.


Copyright (c) 2011 Jack Moorehouse