The Plane Truth about Swings and Things

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In his book, The Plane Truth for Golfers instructor Jim Hardy says there are at least two ways to swing the golf club:

• Around the body
• Up and down out in front of the body

He labels these swings “one-plane” and “two-plane,” respectively. Ben Hogan was a classic one planer, and Tom Watson was a two planer.  I think the book is well worthy of discussion, and possibly much more. Personally, I have great respect for Jim Hardy — he taught us a lot through the years, and The Plane Truth for Golfers, in particular, can be a great help to many players.

There have been thousands of books written on how to play and swing. Most of them suggest a method —  one way of swinging the golf club to hit the ball. What is new and noteworthy about Hardy’s work is he is recommending two distinct motions guided by  two separate sets of fundamentals.

For so long we have heard about “the fundamentals.” When I was learning the game, I was curious about fundamentals because I saw many of the leading professionals with different grips, stances, backswings, etc.  I always wondered what “fundamentals” those books were talking about. What is standard; what is right?

Well, it didn’t take me long before I figured out there was more than one way to swing. John Jacobs once said,

“The purpose of the golf swing is to reach good solid impact; the method employed is of no consquence, as long as it is repetitive.”

So we have known for some time there are different routes to solid golf shots. But Jim Hardy has actually quantified these diverse styles and describes them in detail in his book. So let’s take a look. I am not going to detail the book, you’ll have to read it for that, but I am going to discuss the theory behind it.

In the book, Hardy uses the analogy of a tire (I have also heard him use a hula hoop as an example). Let’s say the tire or hula hoop is standing up, as it would on your car for example, at 90 degrees to the ground.  Very little of the tire is touching the ground.  The circle represented by the tire or hula hoop has a very narrow bottom.  This is like an upright golf swing, it has a very narrow bottom, and it is “in and out of” the ground very quickly, a smaller time along the turf.

Now take that tire or hula hoop and tilt it down. You’ll notice that a lot more of the circle is touching or very close to the ground. It is along the ground a longer time. This is the idea behind a flat golf swing.  It is wider than an upright one, parallelling the ground for a greater area. The upright, narrow swing is quite steep – the flatter, wider swing is shallow (ariving at low point sooner).

OK, so we have upright = steep, and narrow and flat = shallow and wide. Go that?

Secondly, the golf swing is powered by the body in the one-plane swing and by the arms and club in the two-plane swing. It’s important to get these points because THEY ARE THE BASIS OF THE WHOLE BOOK. Everything Hardy suggests for you to do is based on these concepts. If you swing the club flat, you need certain fundamentals, and if you swing the club upright, the fundamentals change. If we go through all the recommended swing and set up positions, you will see that they are designed to facilitate the two basic swing ideas. Such as:

One-plane set up recommendations:

• Grip: Strong(ish), 3 knuckle.
• Stance: A little wider than normal, and a little further from the ball, left foot out.
• Posture: More bent at waist with shoulders outside the toe line, spine centered (no upper body axis tilt)
• Aim: Square to slightly closed

Two-plane set up recommendations:

• Grip: Neutral to slightly weak, 2 knuckle at most
• Stance: A little narrower with feet inside shoulders, square left foot
• Posture: more erect with shoulders over toes, slight tilt to the right
• Aim:  Square to slightly open

Now the key question: Why the differences?

Well remember the two swings and keep these points in mind:  In the one-plane swing, the stronger grip promotes a slightly closed club face which has a steepening effect on the swing. This balances the natural flatness of the one-plane swing.  (note: Jim hardy is all about balance, one position offsets another).

The wider stance in the one-plane swing keeps the body more centered, which balances the width of the one-plane swing (if you’re creating width with the arms, the body cannot get off the ball — that’s two wides).

The more bent posture for one-plane swing allows the shoulders to turn steeper (read narrower) which balances the flatness (read width) of the arm swing. And the slightly closed aim allows the club to work in and behind, which balances the resistance of the upper body.

Now in the two-plane swing, the slightly weaker grip allows for an open face; an open face has a flattening effect on swing angles which balances the upright action. The narrower stance allows the body to move more off the ball creating body width, which balances the narrowness of the upright arm swing. The more upright posture in the two-plane swing allows the shoulders to turn flatter, which balances the vertical swing action, and finally the more open aim allows the club to work back a little straighter which balances the freer turn with the upper body.

So it’s all about balance — one move offsets another, one motion complements another. Yes, you can center your pivot, but you need a wide swing to complement it.  Yes, you can move your center but you need a narrower swing; so on and so on.

As for the swing itself, chapters 3 and 4 (pages 30-110 in the book), detail the motions with considerable illustrations.  I will make a few general references about the swing acton here: In one-plane swing, the club swings in and around witht the right elbow going behind the golfer and the left arm staying close to the chest, producing a plane quite similar to the shoulders. The shoulders are turning against a stable lower body, creating coil in the upper body. From the top, the TORSO begins the downswing; remember, the trunk is the power move here and the golf club is behind you, so you must unwind the torso first or it is easy to “get stuck.” The death move in the one-plane swing is a tilt of the shoulders from the top, as it will surely drop the club behind you.

Now in the two-plane swing, the shoulders have turned on a much flatter plane, and the arms have swung on a more vertical plane up OVER you, not behind you.  From the top, the shoulders remain passive and the arms (the motor of the two-plane swing) separate immediately from the shoulders, swinging aggressively down to the ball. The hips begin with a LATERAL move toward the target, as getting “stuck” is not as much a concern because the arms are more over and out in front you. After the initial lateral move, the hips and torso turn AS THE ARMS AND CLUB SWING DOWN. As I said, this paints a very general picture of the motions.  I highly recommend reading chapters 4 and 5 in the book. But if you read the book, be aware of two things: Swing width and the compatible fundamentals.

The point is this: BOTH WAYS ARE EFFECTIVE, but you cannot randomly choose a set-up position when deciding which swing is for you.  Personally if I were forced to choose, I think the one-plane swing is more consistent, but it does demand more physicality than the free swinging action of the two-plane swing.

Take a look through the book. See where you stand or where you’d like to go, and consider the recommendations for each. I think Jim Hardy is a great teacher who has given us much to think about in this seminal work. Also, Hardy allows and I agree that there are “hybrid” swings, many of them, but these blended efforts are still goverened by the starting positons which put them in motion.

I said in my last article about Ben Hogan’s instruction book, Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, that while I believed the information was great, the points in the book were harmful to the vast array of weekend warriors.  Jim Hardy’s book is a much more universal prescription that can help everybody.

Click here for more discussion, and to ask Dennis a question in the “Instruction & Academy” forum. 

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8 Comments

1. 

   andrew cooper

   December 12, 2012 at 2:12 pm

   Thanks Dennis, interesting article on The Plane Truth. I’m a fan of Hardy, but have always felt the major flaw in his one plane or two plane idea is that in reality nearly every golfer, including the great ones, have elements of both-the “hybrids”. So basically, one plane, two plane or a combo??!! it kind of doesn’t matter.

   Reply
2. 

   ac930

   December 14, 2012 at 12:05 am

   Jim Hardy is the man! Unbelievable how great his instruction is. He didn’t invent the methods, he simply figured it out. I suggest you watch all his DVD’s

   Reply
3. 

   Richard Montfort

   December 18, 2012 at 3:59 pm

   Powerful Golf Concept part 1/2
   Powerful Golf Concept part 2/2
   on you tube

   Reply
4. 

   bob

   December 26, 2012 at 5:10 pm

   YEA AND HOGAN’S FACE WAS OPEN AS WELL> I thought your ONE PLANNER was meant to have a closed clubface as well.

   Reply
   • 

     Dennis Clark

     December 26, 2012 at 6:18 pm

     Hardy is saying the same thing as you. There are a lot of ways to swing the club, and they must complement the fundamentals you choose-much like the great players to whom you refer. Hogan was a one planer swing who employed a WEAK grip for one reason-to FADE the ball. Tell a student to do that and look quickly to the right for the ball flight. And what Hogan could do most couldn’t.

     Reply
5. 

   Martin

   January 2, 2013 at 1:12 pm

   Very interesting article. You mention that the one plane swing requires more of psycical ability than the two plane swing. In what way? Are you talking about strength and flexibility or coordination?
   Thank you!

   Reply
   • 

     Dennis Clark

     January 2, 2013 at 6:56 pm

     I think it has more to do with the body and the ability to rotate. So yes more flexibility ansd strength. It is a body dominated motion so to speak. Thx DC

     Reply
6. 

   Martin

   January 3, 2013 at 6:47 pm

   Ok, thank you! BTW, I love reading your articles and I am learning a lot, like your approach in the articles, to sort of tell us things we dont read in the articles or the books. I am trying to get a two plane motion to work, so thanks for the input on that!

   Reply