On-plane swing encourages consistent, powerful contact

The swing plane refers to the angle at which the club travels during the swing. It is determined at address by the shaft angle. Keeping your club on the proper plane encourages your shoulders, arms and hands to be aligned correctly at the crucial moment when the backswing ends and the downswing begins. It also facilitates striking the ball farther and straighter on a more consistent, accurate basis.

There is a close connection between the proper swing plane and the original shaft plane created at address. At approximately the halfway point of the backswing where your left arm is parallel to the ball-target line and horizontal to the ground, the clubshaft needs to stay parallel with the original shaft plane formed at address.

Getting the clubshaft below or above the plane causes the swing to veer off-plane, calling for compensatory movements during the downswing to return the club squarely to the ball.

A good way to get the club to move on the proper swing plane in the backswing is to swing the club back so that at roughly the halfway point of the backswing the butt of the club points at a spot somewhere along the ball-target line extended rearward on the ground.

Allowing it to point inside the line causes the swing plane to become too steep and allowing it to point outside the line results in it being too shallow.

Ben Hogan, known to be the best and the most consistent ball-strikers, pictured a large pane of glass inclining upward from the ball and resting on the shoulders to describe the swing plane.

To swing the club on the proper plane, you need to get your hands, arms and shoulders to remain below the glass during the entire swing; this is particularly true of golfers who set up in a bent posture and make a flat one-plane swing.

For a proper backswing your left shoulder needs to turn under your chin at the completion of the backswing, your left arm being extended exactly at the same angle as the glass.

Similarly, you need to be sure the club rests on the right index finger at the top of the backswing; toward this end, you need to grip the club so its weight falls against the right index finger once the club moves back. At the top of the backswing the club should rest between the first and second knuckles of your right index finger. That facilitates swinging your arms and hands on the correct swing plane both going back and coming down.

Incidentally, hands placed above the glass or above the head at the top implies too steep a swing plane; hands that are below the glass or below the shoulder means its too shallow. In either case, you need to compensate during the downswing, which is not easy to repeat in the same, correct fashion.

Another method that is particularly good for golfers who set up in an upright posture and swing on a steep backswing plane is to swing the hands along the toe line keeping the clubhead outside the hands as long as possible. At the end of the takeaway when your hands are just over your right foot, you start cocking your wrists upward gradually to complete the backswing. That gets your arms, hands and club to stay on the correct plane, holding the laid-off problem at bay.

If you are going to make an error on the swing plane, you would be better off keeping your hands below Ben Hogan's glass. Allowing your hands to shatter the pane of glass, thrusting above it at any point during the backswing means your arms separated too much from your chest. That prevents your arms and hands from working in harmony with your lower body during the downswing.

A correct swing plane encourages you to store sufficient power at the top of the backswing, promoting consistent, powerful contact with the ball on the sweet spot of the clubface. When your swing turns sour, you'd better check first if your swing plane is correct, together with the pre-swing preparations.