The real swing plane -The Combined Plane Theory-
Golfers today understand that the modern golf swing has a more upright posture, especially when compared to golf swings from the days of Ben Hogan and his single plane image.
If you were to swing a modern-day club and use the old swing image as a reference, the degree of your clubface turn would widen and you would end up hitting a hook ball.
As a result, professional golf instructors have worked hard to devise a new swing plane image more relevant to today’s swing.
However, a proper plane image that best illustrates today’s mainstream golf swing still eludes many.
Ben Hogan himself stated, the purpose of the swing plane is not to have golfers move the club along a precise path, but instead to provide a reference point for players to achieve good form and movement at a glance.
Exact analysis clarified a swing’s movement and form, but it is up to the player to develop their own preferred style.
In contrast, the combined plane image was created by referencing how a player senses movement during a swing.
The combined plane image is comprised of two sheets of a vertical swing plane and the single diagonal swing plane of the impact area.
By using the combined plane image, today’s mainstream golf swing can be explained in the following way.
First, the club moves over the swing plane-B of the impact area via the rotation of the body and hips.
After that, the player shifts the club to the vertical plane-A by cocking the wrist, while the force of the body rotating from the hips causes the club shaft to lean.
As the rotating centrifugal force weakens, the longitudinal movement of the arm begins, and the club is raised in an upward direction to form the top of the swing.
In the downswing, the club is swung down on vertical plane-A, right below the position of the arm and wrist.
However, because the rotation of the body moves the position of the grip towards the direction of the arrow, the inertia of the club’s head tips the club’s shaft to the back.
All together, the shaft’s backwards lean in the downswing is made by a combination of the speed of the body’s centrifugal force, the longitudinal movement of the arm and the length of the club shaft.
Therefore, the degree of the club shaft’s backwards lean grows larger through the long shaft of the driver, and shrinks through slower rotation of the body and hips.
After impact, the club moves forwards the direction of the arrow via the force of the club head being moved by the rotation of the body and hips.
Therefore the degree of the club shaft’s lean in the follow-through grows larger by the driver shot swinging the long club through the fast rotation of the body and hips.
On the other hand, the degree of the club’s lean grows smaller in an approach shot when swinging the short club through the slow rotation of the body and hips.
When the rotation of the body weakens, the longitudinal movement of the arm begins, and the club is raised vertically.
Finally, while the club shaft is on the left shoulder, the rotation of the body ends in a finishing posture.
The combined plane image illustrates the swing by isolating it from real-life swing examples, gravity, and centrifugal force, in order to teach the player proper movement.
As a result, the combined plane image illustrates how golfers can aim to improve their ability to execute today’s golf swing more effectively.
This image was devised by Japanese teaching professional, Dr. Syu Andoh.
