Major Championships - Home

So my entire life, I have always had, what you would call a 2 plane golf swing. Its the typical swing it back till the club is parallel to the ground (and waist high) and then you would lift your arms and get them up and above your shoulders. Basically it was a 2 part swing. Problem with this, at least for me, was that it would cause me to come over the top, especially if my timing was off or I was swinging to hard.

In the last 2 years, I have been really really fighting an over the top swing. I didn’t get to play much golf last year, but irregardless, my swing was struggling, even in 2003. I have always told myself to get flatter, but I never really focused too much attention on it. I kept thinking if I work at my current swing, I will fix it. WRONG!

So I have always hear, Swing around your body. Don’t lift the club up, but let it rotate around your body. I never really knew a whole lot what that actually meant. I would try it, but I would still be steep.

Well, 2 days ago, I came across a great website and a great resource. Its called The One Plane Golf Swing and its sole intention is to help convert those struggling with a 2 plane golf swing into a 1 plane. It has a great writeup and great images to show you what Chuck Quinton means when he says “One Plane golf swing”.

Essentially, the idea is that your left forearm should rotate ACROSS your chest as you swing back and not UP your chest. You will notice that David Tom’s position at the top is very high and steep, whereas Vijay Singh’s position is lower and more under his shoulders then over them.

Note: the 2 images above are from oneplanegolfswing.com

When you setup to the ball, take a sock or glove and stick it underneath each armpit. You want to keep those held in place for the majority of the swing. You may drop them once you get past the impact position. When you swing back, you should feel like you are rotating the club AROUND and not up. Let your left forearm move horizontally across your chest.

In the following video, you can see my March Swing and my April swing. They are quite different if you look close enough. In the March swing, I am very steep, over the top on the downswing, AND if you notice, I do not get ‘into the slot’ on the downswing, where your hands and club form a 90 degree angle on the way down. However, after working on the one plane swing, you can see some differences. I am still fairly steep, but the club is a little farther back and on the downswing, I don’t come over the top as much. I also hold that angle on the downswing. You can see this in the slow motion. This allows me to stay in control, keep my head behind the ball, and to make proper impact. I fought for 2 years hitting the ball very low with my driver. It was yesterday, working with this method, that I was able to actually hit a high driver. The whole reason is because of me holding that ‘angle’ on the downswing.

The photo on the right shows me on the downswing trying to hold the angle. You can see on the left I have already lost it. I am much better on the right.

March - April Comparison.

I also have a driver comparison

March - April Driver Comparison

I still have alot of work to do. The yellow line you see is my reference point. My ultimate goal is to be like Vijay in this picture over at oneplanegolfswing.com. I am still above the yellow line, but its 20x better then where I was 1 month ago.

My impact position has improved dramatically since looking at the One Plane Swing Method. The left version shows how scrunched up and off balance I am, and the left photo shows me much more in control, head behind the ball, and great impact position

Take a look at Chuck Quinton website, One Plane Golf Swing. Its a great resource to learn this method of swinging a golf club. Vijay Singh currently uses it, and apparently Tiger Woods is moving toward using it.

Also, Chuck has a great forum that you can access at One Plane Golf Swing Forums.

Hopefully you will see the benefits of using this technique like I already have.

Posted in: Golf Tips