Plane Truth
 

Take a deep breath. Relax. Breath in….Breath out. :)

Maybe it’s time to think about not thinking so much about the Plane and think more about the Plane Line.

INCLINED PLANE: Golf – The through-the-waist “Plane of Rotation” of the Clubshaft as established during the Address Routine.

The Concept of “Plane” as a Flat Surface that frames the Golfer has led most Golfers to waste countless hours futilely trying to lay and keep the Clubshaft against its surface on the Backstroke and Downstroke.

Maybe Mythbusting is in-order.

Yes Daryl -time for a "shift" in thinking!

The Inclined Angle of a Plane varies with its reference point. The #3 PP should follow this Inclined angle while tracing the base line of the Inclined Angle.

Who thinks that the Clubshaft should lay Perfectly Flat on the Plane throughout the Swing?

How many think that the Clubshaft will be off by a few degrees if we comply with the Left Arm Flying Wedge?

I have not seen any video of someone keeping the shaft on plane throughout the swing. There is always a shift. If you stand in a Homer Kelley type plane board you would understand why or why not.

Actually the line formed from the grip to the sweetspot should lay on the plane. Not the shaft.

Plane
 

Keen observation. It would be grip to sweetspot.

I think Mark O'Meara used to come pretty close to on plane all the time. Of course, I have not seen the Bucket's move in person so there may be better models for us to consider.

UPP in snowy but melting Ohio

I thought that the clubshaft only lies against that specific inclined plane (either hand plane or elbow plane) when the hands are below waist level. When the hands, and therefore clubshaft, are above waist level, they are usually moving along a different inclined plane - usually somewhere between the elbow plane and the turned shoulder plane depending on the degree of plane shift. I therefore thought that the idea of the clubshaft lying flat against the inclined plane as only applying to a small section of the clubshaft swingarc - when it is within about 18" of the ball. Am I wrong to think in that manner?

Jeff.

Agreed. Of the plane and plane line, I believe compliance with the plane line to be more important. However, they are both very important in that the club must be making contact with the ball while on its correct shaft plane to prevent a toe up or toe down strike.

There are many options for plane shifts beyond the shaft plane interval. The greats of golf have demonstrated a wide variety. A plane board could be custom fitted with hydraulics levers and a computer to correctly change the plane boards angle for any golfers selected shift pattern. The ideal results would still see the golf club (both head and grip end) tracing the plane line from horizon to horizon. Or so I believe right now anyways.

Plane Shifts and the Plane Line
 

The Sweetspot is always swinging on a Plane. It may not be the Plane the golfer wants it on -- unintentional Twists and Loops abound -- or, even the Plane he thinks it's on ("I feel no shifts at all." -- Jim Furyk). Nevertheless, it's always on some Plane or other. In fact, its motion defines the Plane being employed.

With the Turning Shoulder Plane (10-6-D), for example, the Loading Action is in a Vertical Plane (and not an Inclined Plane). For the most part, though, the ideal is to play 'Inclined Plane Golf'. In which case, the Club usually shifts almost vertically during the Backstroke from an Elbow Plane at Address to one of the Shoulder Planes (Turned or Squared) at the Top. This is defined as the Single Shift (10-7-B). A Double Shift (10-7-C) occurs when the Club returns to its original Plane Angle during the Downstroke.

At all times, however, with or without a Plane Shift, the ideal is to maintain "a straight line relationship to a straight line" (2-N-0). In other words, the Clubshaft -- one end or the other per 1-L-#6 -- continues to point at the Baseline of the Plane. [Note: Though the Inclined Plane concept always references the Sweetspot Plane unless otherwise noted, the Clubshaft Plane (the visible) is used as the Visual Equivalent (2-F) of the Sweetspot Plane (the invisible). In fact, they are indeed one and the same as the Clubshaft rotates about the Sweetspot during the Backstroke, Downstroke and Follow-Through, thus causing the Clubshaft and Clubface to lay on the same Plane.]

So, no matter what Plane or Planes are employed, always remember:

"Changing the Plane Angle has no effect on the Plane Line" (1-L-#18 ).

Sweet!
 

Another cut and paster!

Furyk, when viewed from the perspective of the hands and their travel, has very little/no shift. A big part of the reason he is so accurate and consistent.

IMO - too much emphasis is placed on the the shaft's travel, and it causes great confusion re: planes and 'shifts'.

The hands, and their path, are much more telling of what 'on plane' really means.

Monitor the hands.