I overheard a conversation the other day at the golf course where two Golfers were debating the importance of either a One Plane Golf Swing or a Two Plane Golf Swing. So when I hear Golf Conversations like this – I enjoy listening (at least for a couple minutes) to Golfers talk about such important matters.

It sounded as if one Golfer was very much in favor of the One Plane Golf Swing and the other was more in favor of the Two Plane Golf Swing. And as is often the case when one side is deeply enamored with their own opinions – neither side was listening to the other side’s thoughts. Kind of like politics here in the States!

As the argument started to get heated – the two Golfers must’ve at the same time come to conclusion that they were getting nowhere fast. They both looked around to recruit someone that they could add to their side of the argument.

And as I was the “lucky one” to be standing closest to them (even though I was watching the football game) – I was invited into the conversation with both parties trying their best to sway me to their side of the argument.

As far as I could make out

The One Plane Swing Monkey was arguing that – The spine angle should be more bent over at address allowing your shoulders to rotate on a steep plane. This will allow the club to swing up. This Golfer also advocated that your hands need to be under your chin when you set-up to the golf ball.

This Monkey continued by saying that your arms will swing up to a position where they are on plane with your shoulders at the top of your swing. And that your left arm never should leave your chest to swing up on a steeper plane. Because the swing is more “around” than “up”, the body should stay more to the left with less lateral shift to the right. The key in the one plane swing is swinging your arms around behind your body rather than lifting your arms in front of your body.

If that isn’t enough information to make your head explode….

The Two Plane Swing Monkey was arguing that – Your spine angle tends to be more upright at address allowing your shoulders to rotate on a flat plane. Your arms will tend to hang a bit more vertically where your arms will be further from your body and you’ll stand closer to the ball.

Also your arms will swing on a more upright plane than your shoulders and your club will swing well above the plane and to the outside of the turn. In order to do this, your left arm must disconnect from your left chest muscle and then reconnect on the downswing. Also, there is a more pronounced shift of the body to the right creating the need for a greater lateral move back to the target during the transition. This shift creates width in the backswing which is necessary because of the tendency of the two plane swing to be too narrow with the arms swinging more up than around.

Kabooom!

So after explaining this to me, they both looked at me and said – “Well, which one is the correct way to swing a club?”

And so I answered them by saying –

My belief is that I want you to move into impact in the most consistent manner possible! My belief is if you can move all the parts of your body together using a consistent movement – you’ll strike the ball more consistently.

If you want to call that a One Plane Swing or Two Plane Swing, you can – it makes very little difference to me. Whether you call a swing a One Plane Swing or Two Plane Swing – to me, that’s just Monkey Talk. And I believe that most Golfers that get confused and frustrated with their games are doing so because they’re more worried about if they’re swinging using a One Plane Swing or Two Plane Swing; or if they have a flat swing or an upright swing; or if they’re a hitter or a swinger; or blah, blah, blah or blah, blah, blah.

The Monkey Golfer is more worried if they’re swinging with the latest gimmick tip rather than just learning what their swing should feel like. And because of all this jumping from hot swing tip to hot swing tip – you never get set on one swing!

If you’re into gimmicks like One Plane or Two Plane – you’re probably wasting your time on foolishness rather than learning to work on controlling your clubhead. If you’re into the belief that there’s a “Secret Move” that will solve your problems – then you’re wasting your time by jumping from “Secret Move” to “Secret Move”.

I believe it would be more beneficial for you to understand how to strike the ball more consistently based on your body and what it can do; more beneficial for you to be able to stand on the tee without 101 swing thoughts running through your head; more beneficial for you to understand why you hit bad shots so that you can correct yourself before your next swing; more beneficial for you to know your game so that you have a PLAN on the golf course instead of just aiming down the middle and at the flag every shot; and more beneficial for you to stop changing your entire swing every year to just to fit a label (One Plane Swing or Two Plane Swing).

I can just see you both standing on the driving range hitting ball after ball. Hitting 20 shots with a One Plane Swing then “Fiddling” with your swing to hit 20 shots with a Two Plane Swing to see which one will hit the best shot. I can see both of you getting more and more frustrated with your lack of positive results because you’re switching swings constantly. And I can see you possibly staying away from the golf course because of the fear of the unknown. The unknown being – are you going to be able to hit the ball on the golf course and not embarrass yourself in front of other Golfers.

Yes, I know about the One Plane Swing and the Two Plane Swing – but, I’d rather focus on getting all the parts of your body moving together to produce a smooth, consistent golf swing – and if that produces a One Plane Swing or a Two Plane Swing or a Ten Plane Swing – I don’t care and you shouldn’t either if what you’re doing is producing better results!

And doing it the way I do it – the only thing that happens is that 1000’s of Golfers from around the world that come to see us, improve their golf games, send us emails about how well they’re playing and how thankful they are that they’re not worried about using the “Hot Tip Of The Month” anymore.

As I finished my answer to them, it was like I’d never even spoken. They just looked at me with pity as to say – “Why’d we even ask this guy. He obviously isn’t into the intracasies and mechanics of the swing like us. All he’s talking about is hitting the golf ball better. We’re talking about more important stuff like Swing Plane – who cares about impact?”

The Monkey gets caught up in useless knowledge and then tries to transform their swing using this useless knowledge even though their swing might be getting worse and worse

The Player blocks out Monkey Talk and just works on impact and their PLAN

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life