Why is it that we constantly hear that the key to a consistent golf swing is all about your Swing Plane?
“Why did I slice on that shot?”
It was your swing plane.
“Why did I hook on that shot?”
It was your swing plane.
“Why did I top the golf ball on that shot?”
It was your swing plane.
“Why did I hit behind the ball on that shot?”
It was your swing plane.
Here at GMS … we say enough with the Swing Plane propaganda.
Yes, of course the most consistent Players have a consistent Swing Plane. However, is that Swing Plane consistent because they are working on Swing Plane? Or is their Swing Plane consistent because their body is working symmetrically … which creates a consistent Swing Plane.
A consistent Swing Plane is determined by your hands, arms and both sides of your body working together to create a consistent, repeatable movement. A consistent Swing Plane is an “Effect” that is based 100% on that movement.
Swing Plane shouldn’t be something you specifically work on.
Meaning – the more you try to manufacture a perfect Swing Plane, the farther away you are from having a consistent, smooth swing that involves your hands, arms and body working together.
Yet, where it gets scary from my point of view (as an Instructor) is that many of you have been absolutely brainwashed to think Swing Plane, Swing Plane, Swing Plane. So that just about anything that goes wrong with your swing is related to your Swing Plane.
And because these Golfers have read from the sacred Golf Magazines that say you have to work on your Swing Plane … you obsess over it. Because if it is in print, with color photos and details … it has to be true.
I wonder if Madoff used colored photos with details.
Swing Plane is an “Effect” … it is not a “Cause”. You do not work to fix an “Effect” … you first have to fix the “Cause” or the “Effect” (Swing Plane) will never be fixed.
Here’s an analogy: your right front tire of your automobile is starting to get a little worn on the edges (more so than the other 3 tires). So it must be a defective tire? Or could it be that your automobile’s alignment is off? Thus causing more wear and tear on that tire.
But if you tried to fix the tire (the “Effect”) like most Instructors do by trying to fix Swing Plane, you would end up continually buying “faulty” tires … because you never fixed the underlying “Cause” (wheel alignment).
It works exactly the same with Swing Plane … fix the “Cause” before wasting your time on trying to fix the “Effect”.
Swing Plane isn’t something you try to fix. There are other issues creating your troubling Swing Plane … not the other way around.
The Monkey will read this GIW and just go back to working on Swing Plane because that is what the other Monkeys are working on
The Player will be interested in understanding how to get their hands, arms and both sides of their body to work together to produce an effortless golf swing
Go ahead, be a Player!
Regards,
Marc Solomon