Golf Swing Plane

The golf swing plane is the most important consideration in the golf swing relating to the angle in which the club shaft makes with the ground at impact.

Swing plane determines to the greatest extent these 3 things:

1. How much ground the golfer will hit.

The angle of approach into the ball is dictated by the plane of the swing. The correct golf swing plane will go up the correct amount and then come down the correct amount resulting in just the right amount of turf being contacted after the ball.

2. Arc- An arc is a portion of the circumference of a circle

In golf, we swing on an arc, as we stand to the side of the ball.

Every golfer sets his or her own unique swing plane angle, some golfer's stand with an upright angle while others are flatter making some swing arc's look more like a ferris wheel and others like merry go rounds.

Not set in stone, shorter people whom use standard length golf clubs will have a shallow swing plane. And taller men and women who use standard length clubs tend to show a steep swing plane in comparison.

This is the reason why the lie angle of your golf club is important.

3. Club Face Smash Factor!

The proper golf swing plane determines where you will contact the ball on the clubface.

If your golf swing is too upright you will always make contact with toe of the club or miss the ball on the inside whilst a flat swing go's behind you to much will react by coming into the ball and contacting with heel of the club, what go's around comes around.

A too straight line swing will result in an open clubface and a slicing golf ball whilst too flat of a golf swing plane will tend to close the clubface and as a result the golf ball hooks.

I like to teach the clubface opening and closing relative to the target line whilst staying square to the arc. The result, taking loft off the face at impact rather than adding loft.

The hitting sequences of the best golfers past and present show a common reduction in club face loft at impact.

On Plane

In order to produce the correct trajectory and ball flight curving the golf ball the right way the golf club must be returned back to impact in the desired position.

The simplest way to do this is swinging the golf club on the correct plane which means the club should be returned back to the same angle the club shaft forms with the ground when in the address position.