1st Tee Talk

What is swing plane?

Quite simply, the swing plane is ‘the optimum rotational angle the sweet spot of the club makes around the body to maximise power and accuracy into the back of the ball’.  There, dead simple.

Pictures tell it better:

Darren Clarke, opposite, is demonstrating a very simple looking, but hard-earned swing line (looking from this dimension, the club swings on a line) as the club and hands move on a plane which directs all the power down to the ball.

That line looks about 60 degrees measured from the horizon up and we would call this an on-plane, neutral swing. Swings can have flat planes, neutral planes or upright planes. The world’s best players have a variety of planes between them.

History tells us BOMBERS are more upright with their plane

Nicklaus and Woods are the number one and number two best players of all time and both had very upright swings relative to their generation. Interestingly, both did all this in the pre-science era. Hitting balls, grinding away, capturing secrets with every practice session and squeezing out yardage through endeavour. Modern players stand on the shoulders of these giants as well as utilising all the very best science has to offer with data from Trackman and high-speed video cameras.

Jack often had to flatten his over upright swing when it went too far. This was a question I asked him when I met him last year and he confirmed it as being just something logical and explains his longevity; the indifference to change being an ingredient of longevity. In the image, the red plane is his swing too upright, the yellow plane his preferred.

Tiger flattened his plane when his back started to wear and now swings more neutrally. Early Tiger below left and a later picture below right when Tiger was in his slump. I much prefer his upright swing and he played his best golf with it.

Tiger and the greats are never afraid to change or tinker.