Be Careful of The Model Golf Swing – It Does Not Exist

There are numerous swing characteristics that players can utilize and be great ball strikers.  We see this on the PGA and especially the LPGA Tour.  There are not two swings that look the same and yet there are many different swings that are successful.  We have to understand that there is not a model swing for everyone.

We can make the swing as complicated as we want but the truth of the matter is NOBODY plays well thinking about 14 different things in the swing.  My goal of this article is to show you some different swing characteristics that you may have been told are wrong, but in fact are exactly what you should be doing.

Let’s discuss one of the most debated aspects of the golf swing and that is Swing Plane.  It’s hard to watch how complicated people are trying to make such a simple concept.  Swing Plane is simply the angle of the club.  If the club is pointing at the ball or target line and points back along that line through impact, it is “On Plane.”  If it points toward your feet or up to the sky it’s NOT On Plane.  In every swing the club points toward the target line eventually, but how long does it stay there is the question.  The longer the club points toward the target line, the more control over your swing you will have.

The longer the club points toward the target line, the more control over your swing you will have.

Here is the most important thing to understand: there is not a perfect swing plane for everyone.  There is however a perfect swing plane for you.  It is largely influenced by the length of your arms and also the difference between your forearm and bicep.  If your forearm (elbow to knuckles) is longer than your bicep (elbow to shoulder); the club will and should swing down somewhere around your shoulder. Great examples on the PGA Tour are Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson.

If the length of forearm and bicep are the same then you will swing down on the right forearm.  This has been the most taught over the years and is great for these players.  You can see this in the above example of Adam Scott.

However, if someone is built to swing down on the Shoulder Plane and try to get lower, they will struggle.  Camilo Villegas was a great example of this as he is built to have a higher swing plane and tried to lower it.  It has been a while since he was a money leader.

The last option, we call the shaft plane. The shaft plane is designated as a line that traces the shaft all the way up from setup.  Good examples are Sergio Garcia, Matt Kuchar and Beatriz Recari.

The differences are obvious and for someone to say that either of these is wrong would be a mistake.  These players are all world class and have had very successful careers.  There is also a test behind this which makes it even more concrete.

This picture shows the difference between forearm and bicep.

Mike Adams, who I have had the pleasure to spend much time with and learn from, discovered these differences years ago and started to measure the length of arms to quantify his findings.  I have done much research of my own and the data always matches.

Here is something really cool to know: you will swing on your natural path, without having to try, as long as you allow that to happen.  Players usually tend to struggle with their swing plane when they cannot physically do what they are attempting.  If you are built to have a higher swing plane (shoulder plane) and try to swing lower, (forearm or shaft plane) you have to get your body to do something it doesn’t want to do.  If players built to swing high try to swing lower they will usually have to drop their right side a lot and hang back with their body.

If a player is built to swing on the shaft plane and tries to swing on a higher plane, they will most likely come over the top (swing across the ball) because they have to aggressively use the upper body.  This motion will result in weak slices or very deep divots.

It is very rare for players to try and swing on a higher swing plane, they are usually taught to try and lower the plane.  Something amateur golfers should know is that it is usually is very hard for you to do.  You have to be able to turn very well and arms length should match what you are doing.  If a player tries to lower their swing plane and it’s not right for them you will see the following misses:

Hooks, Pushes, Shanks, Fat and Thin. You will also put your body under a lot of undue stress.

The one major factor to keep in mind is the club head should never go outside of the target line. Your swing path should always stay inside of the target line.  Even if a player wants to hit an intentional fade, you do not want to swing across the ball.  This will produce a weaker shot.  However, a little across the ball is a lot better than too far from the inside.

I hope this article opens some eyes and I wanted to show pictures so you can see how the best players in the world swing the way their body is designed to swing.  If you’re looking at your swing on video yourself, you just want to make sure the club is pointing toward the ball or target line for the majority of the swing and especially from the downswing to the finish.  Please do not get hung up on the location of the shaft (shoulder, forearm, or hip) as most likely its right for you.  Just be sure the angle of the club is consistent and not constantly changing.

(Cover Photo Credit)