Golfdirt

How to Change Your Golf Swing Plane Angle

April 9, 2008 – 7:15 pm | by Golfdirt

By Les Ross

I recently worked with one of my readers who asked me for a second opinion on a video swing analysis that he had just received that brought up an interesting point about adjusting swing plane. He went for the lessons with the goal of increasing his driving distance by 10-15%. He was also experiencing pushed shots to the right.

The video analysis revealed that his swing plane on the backswing was very flat. Being a large-chested man who lacked a little flexibility in his upper body, he had developed a tendency to “wrap” the golf club around his body on the backswing. The net result was a shallow downswing that came into the ball from a sharp inside-out club head swing path that often caused the pushed shot to the right.

What he needed to do to help correct the push problem and also improve his distance potential was to adjust his swing plane to a more upright plane.

This would cause the club head swing path to move a bit more down the target line, giving him an increased margin for error at impact. It would also help the backswing create more potential energy from a higher top swing position, causing increased swing speed at impact.

His instructor correctly observed this. However, the fix for the problem provided was a little misleading.

His advice was to “raise the hands” more on the backswing, essentially the end result he was looking for that would come with a more upright swing.

The reason I decided to focus on this is that I often read and hear about “raising the hands” as a means of creating a more upright swing. This is also a technique used by some instructors to encourage more trunk rotation on the backswing to increase backswing torque and swing speed.

It’s a little misleading since the student is presented with instruction that can create other problems with his swing. As it turned out, that was what happened with my reader.

His instructor was encouraging him to get his hands up above his head and shoulders, which further encouraged more trunk rotation and raised his swing plane, which is what his instructor was looking for. But due to his lack of flexibility, it created a lot of left side muscle tension and also a severe break in his left elbow.

Swing plane is not governed by your hand movement — it is determined by shoulder movement. The higher hand position is the “result” of a more upright swing, not the means to get there.

To adjust your swing plane, your focus has to be at the start of the swing, not at the end trying to achieve a result that many golfers have no hope of reaching due to their lack of flexibility.

Swing plane is affected by how you rotate your left shoulder — the more you rotate your shoulders “horizontally” around your spine, the flatter the swing plane, as was the case with this reader.

To increase the swing plane angle, rotate your shoulders more “vertically” by driving the left shoulder down instead of around at the start of the swing.

Initiating the backswing turn with a vertical shoulder movement instead of “lifting the hands” helps your left arm remain relaxed, and helps maintain a stable left side with no elbow break. Incidentally, this also results in reducing the possibility of an early hand release from the top of the swing.

We all know that increasing backswing torque increases swing speed.

Rotating your shoulders more achieves this end. However, you will not generate any more shoulder torque by breaking the left elbow just to get your hands into a higher position — you end up losing torque.

The reason why you have to break the elbow in the first place is because your shoulders will not turn any further. If they have reached their limit of flexibility that’s the maximum torque you will achieve from the trunk turn.

The left elbow breaks because the arm muscles are unable to match the tension that has been built up in the trunk turn. Once the break occur, you release the torque contribution from your arm muscles, essentially “opting out” of the total torque built up in the turn.

The net effect is that you lose backswing torque after the break occurs.

Breaking the left elbow also creates another moving part in the swing that has to be coordinated back to the straight position at impact, making the timing of the swing more difficult.

Be very careful about what you hear and read about the “high hand position”. Yes, it is the ideal swing position for power and consistency that we see in every professional swing, but you have to have the flexibility to achieve it.

If you lack the flexibility, do not attempt this as you will create more problems with your swing than you will solve.

Recommendations:

1. Never try to swing beyond your “natural” swing range, which is what the instructor was advising the reader. Always swing within your natural range of flexibility.
   
2. A move to a higher swing plane angle is good for both swing consistency and swing speed; you get there by a more vertical rotation of the shoulder that comes from driving the left shoulder downwards at the start of the swing, not by trying the raise your hands above your head.
   
3. Do not break the left elbow. Even though your hands may not be able to go beyond shoulder height, maintain a firm left side to retain backswing torque and simplify the timing of the swing.
   
4. In order to achieve more shoulder turn, you have no other choice but to improve the flexibility of your back muscles. Do simple lower back stretching routines every day for 2-3 weeks, and you will increase your turn angle by as much as 10º.

Les Ross is the author of Breaking the Distance Barrier  and owner of Highlander School of Golf which provides personal “live” online technical information that is flexible for the student and cost effective. Try out the online seminar experience and register for their free seminar on ”How to analyze your own swing.”