In this article

I’m going to explain what a one plane swing is, and what a two plane swing
is… in simple language… hopefully! 🙂

The differences between a one plane swing and a two plane swing are quite obvious… when
you know what to look for. So let’s start this discussion off with a look
at the one plane golf swing.

Two of the most famous one plane swingers were Ben Hogan and Moe Norman.

Moe Norman is more extreme than Ben Hogan, so we’ll look at him first.

When you see Moe Norman setup it looks very odd. Here is a picture of his setup and I have
drawn a line through the shaft, which is going through the middle of his back
(that’s important, so keep this in mind as we move through this):

As you’ll notice… Moe’s hands are very high and his club is set back a foot or so from the ball.

Now the key to a one plane swing, is to keep the club shaft parallel to the line that is
created at setup. Then the goal is to get the club shaft back onto the same
plane line that was created at setup once you reach impact. I will show you
some images from a video of Moe Norman doing this.

Backswing

Downswing

Impact

Follow-Through

At crucial parts in the swing Moe’s clubshaft is parallel with the shaft line that he started
with at setup. Moe has a pretty unusual looking swing though. I don’t know
who came up with the term ‘Natural Golf’ but that doesn’t look too natural
to me!

So let’s look at the more “normal” setup and swing of golf legend, Ben Hogan.

Setup

Backswing

Downswing

Impact

Follow-Through

So that’s a look at a couple of famous one plane swings. There is a measurement
you can use to help determine if a golfer has a one plane or two plane swing.
I’ll give that to you later in this article.

But before we move onto two plane swings, I just want to make a very important
point about one plane swings.

As well as Ben Hogan and Moe Norman hit the ball with their one plane swings…
they hit an awaful lot of balls (i.e. MILLIONS)! And that leads nicely into
my next point, which may explain why they needed to do that…

Pretty much every golfer who starts playing the game of golf, swings with a two plane
golf swing. Jack Nicklaus has a classic two plane golf swing, so let’s look
at his swing plane…

Setup

Backswing

Downswing

Impact

Follow-Through

Now here is an extreme opposite of Moe Norman. Jim Furyk and his two plane golf swing.

Setup

Backswing

Downswing

Impact

Follow-Through

Wow… Jim’s got a lot going on with his swing plane! But he’s a great golfer who
proves you can play great golf with a two plane swing, just like you can with
a one plane swing.

My personal opinion, based on the golfers that are great with the one plane swing,
is you need to hit a lot of balls for it to work. If you don’t want to be a
range rat, then a two plane swing or hybrid swing plane is what you should be
looking to do. In my next article I’m going to be talking about a hybrid swing
plane, because I believe that’s the way to go – and I’ll explain why in my next
article.

Before I leave you however, I just want to point out an easy way to measure whether
a swing is a one plane swing or a two plane swing. Because at the half way
point in the backswing and downswing, a person can have what looks like a
one plane swing and yet be a two plane golf swing.

You can measure this yourself (for your own swing) if you have a video and
some golf swing video analysis software.

What you do is get to the top of the golfer’s swing and measure the angle of the
left arm and the angle of the shoulders. If the angle difference is less than
12 degrees then it’s a one plane swing. If it’s more than 12 degrees then
it’s a two plane swing. Here’s some examples of one plane swings:

Ben
Hogan – 2 Degrees Difference

Moe
Norman – 0 Degrees Difference

Zac
Johnson – 7 Degrees Difference

Matt
Kucher – 1 Degree Difference

Ok,
let’s look at the differences between some famous two plane swingers:

Jack
Nicklaus – 28 Degrees Difference

Jim
Furyk – 48 Degrees Difference

David
Toms – 35 Degrees Difference

Fred
Couples – 39 Degrees Difference

So hopefully now you have a clear understanding of the main differences between a one plane swing and a two plane swing. As I’ve already said, I don’t think any extreme
version is right.

I would never teach a person to swing like Moe Norman. Equally, I would never teach a person to swing like Jim Furyk.

I like the middle ground and both swing plane theories have their good points that I think can be melded into a great golf swing. So in my next article I’m going to show you
a great Major winning golf swing that puts my theory into practice.

Until next time, have a great week. And now you know what to look for if you’re analyzing your own swing plane, to tell whether it’s a two plane or one plane golf swing.

I hope you enjoyed that article about the swing plane. Look out for the
next article, in which we explain the hybrid swing plane.

I will send that your way soon.

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