The “SWING TRACK” DRILL – Corrects Your Swing Plane
This easy drill has the potential to be the most helpful drill you’ve ever tried. This is absolutely the best drill for keeping your swing on-plane that I have ever seen. This simple little drill will actually cure a huge number of swing faults.
This drill doesn’t require any special equipment so it’s easy to try. You can do it at home, at the range or while you’re waiting between shots at the course. It should make your backswing as easy as 1-2-3. It should give you dramatically more confidence over the ball.
Note: This drill works terrifically for Simple Swingers and and all variations of Natural Golf where at address you hold your hands in the position that they will be in at impact. In effect, by holding the hands slightly higher than traditional golfers you are actually starting the swing with your hands on-plane. Setting up at address with your hands on plane makes the swing much, much easier. It makes staying on-plane much much easier. As long as you start in the normal position for Simple Swing or Natural Golf this drill will be tremendously helpful to you. For traditional golfers this drill will work as long as you raise your hands up a bit at address to get them to where they will be at impact (i.e., on-plane).
There is no technical reason to start with your hands low and off plane in the traditional golf swing. Starting with your hands off-plane means your backswing will be off-plane and you’ll have to make manipulations to get the club back on-plane on the downswing. That’s fine for pros like Jim Furyk who’ve practiced that move for decades but normal golfers have little chance of doing that move consistently.
Definition of “Swing Plane”
If you remember from geometry a “plane” is defined by three points. Your swing “plane” is also defined by three points. The three points that define your swing plane are:
1. The Ball
2. Your Front Shoulder Joint (Your front shoulder joint is the “axis” or center of your golf swing.)
3. The Target
If you’ve always been a bit unsure about the “swing plane” and whether your swing is really on-plane then this drill will show you.
This drill just involves putting two clubs down on the ground in a special way.
Here’s what you do to set up for this Swing Plane drill.
1. First you lay a club down about a foot behind the ball right on the extended target line. (The extended target line is an imaginary line that extends from the target by through the ball.) I will refer to the first club as the “target line club”.
2. Next, take your stance check where your hands are. Then lay a 2nd club down parallel to the first club but right in-line with your hands. By that I mean you put the 2nd club “right behind” your hands parallel and even with the club on the extended target line. I will refer to the 2nd club as the “hand line club”.
BTW, this drill works best if you have your arms a little straighter than the guy in the image above!!! (As soon as the weather warms up a little I do some pictures of this drill.)
How far the first club (the target line club) is from the 2nd club (the hand line club) depends on which club you’re using because you’ll have a more upright stance with your hands closer to the ball (and the extended target line) when using a shorter club. When using a longer club then those clubs will be slightly farther apart. This does mean that when you change club you do have to reposition the hand line club to match your new hand position.
There are two simple checkpoints in this drill.
During The Backswing The Club Shaft Should Point At The Extended Target Line
As the club comes back 45 degrees from the ball, the shaft of the club should be pointing at target line club. That will help insure you are on plane. Make sure the club head end of the shaft is pointing at the target line club when it’s 45 degrees back from the ball. That will you get your backswing started correctly on-plane.
Checkpoint #1 (Shaft Horizontal)
As the shaft of the club comes to a horizontal position it should be directly over the hand line club. So your first checkpoint is making sure your shaft is right over the hand line club. This means that when the shaft is horizontal it should be parallel to the target line just like the hand line club is. This is a key checkpoint. It will help you instantly see if you’re on-plane at this point. Make a number of partial backswings just going to this first checkpoint just to make sure you get the “feeling” of where you should be to make a truly on-plane backswing. See also “The Shoulder Waggle” http://simplegolf.com/blog/full-swing/basics-full-swing/set-up-waggle-or-shoulder-waggle-before-every-swing/
Checkpoint #2 (Front Arm Horizontal)
As you continue your backswing your front arm should come up to a horizontal position which is Checkpoint #2. When your front arm is horizontal you should be able to look down at the hand line club and immediately see if your front arm is parallel to that club. Your front arm won’t be right over the hand line club. It will be a little inside the hand line club which makes it easier to see and use as a checkpoint. When you can see that your front arm is parallel to the hand line club you also need to double check that the butt of the club is pointing towards the extended target line club. This is most easily done by sticking a long white tee in the grip hole on the butt of the club. Then when your front arm is parallel you should easily be able to see if the tee stuck in the butt end is pointing at the target line club. So the third checkpoint has two parts. In part one you look down and check to make sure that when your front arm is horizontal it’s also parallel to the hand line club. Also at this checkpoint you should make sure that when your arm is horizontal that the butt of the club is pointing at the target line club.
The key to this drill is the “hand line”. That’s why when you practice you should put a club on the hand line whenever you can. When you set up arm pretty straight out as we do in Symple Swing then we are setting up with our hands (and the club) on plane meaning they are on the swing plane. The hand line club is really a “plane line” because as your hands move along that line (as opposed to inside or outside of it) they stay online and pretty much assure that you’ll keep the club on-plane also.
Note: We are not saying having your lead arm parallel to your hand line (and the extended target line) should be the top of your swing. It certainly can be the top of your backswing especially when you are learning. However it is okay to continue turning at which point your lead arm will start moving inside more and that’s exactly what we want in order to stay on-plane because the swing plane is tilted.
Check out the picture on the left.
Notice that with the club shaft horizontal the hand are still on-plane. That’s the position you should be in at Checkpoint 1. This is where your club would be right over the hand line club. In this case there is not a hand line club on the ground. The extended target line is represented here by the yellow line on the ground.
In the “red line” picture the “Hand Line” is where the red line is. That’s where you should put your club on the ground. In this picture the swing plane is indicated by the circular swing trainer. With Symple Swing your hands start out on-plane (actually in the impact position). At address your hands are even with the hand line (that’s why we call it a hand line, duh!) Note that when the club shaft is horizontal the shaft should be parallel to the extended target line (indicated by the gray line on the ground. Obviously the hand line is parallel to the extended target line also.
By far the easiest way for your swing to be “on-plane” is to have your hands start on-plane (and stay on-plane). That’s why we start with our hands so called higher (actually just on-plane). There is no bio-mechanical reason to start with your hands off-plane (i.e., lower that the plane) like the traditional golf swing does. STARTING WITH YOUR HANDS LOWER THAN THE PLANE MAKES IT TREMENDOUSLY MORE DIFFICULT TO GET YOUR SWING ON-PLANE.
If anyone can come up with a justification for addressing the ball with your hands lower than the plane I’d love to hear it. I’ve discussed this with lots of pros and about that only answer I ever get is because “that’s the way we always did it”.
Note that in the picture the hands have traveled straight back along the hand line to get to this point. Start out trying this drill with your shorter clubs and then work your way up to your driver. This would be a good drill to do every time before you go out to play. This drill will even help you with chipping. Just concentration on bringing your hands back right on the line shown by the hand line club.
Here’s a quote from one of the Symple Swinger who tried this drill. “I love it. Now, I’m a machine. I’ve never been so confident”.
Please try this swing plane drill and leave a comment below about how you like it.
Joe-
This drill is “right on”. regarding the swing plane, but why am I having trouble getting the clubhead back to the ball on the downswing?
Art
Hi Art,
You don’t give me much info to work on there. If your backswing is correct getting back to the ball generally shouldn’t be a problem because you’re just reversing the motion.
Can you take a video clip of your swing and send it to me? I’d be happy to review a video of your swing. If you have access to a digital still camera take some video clips of your swing and e-mail them to me. Tape a couple of swings from behind the ball (facing the target) and from the other side of the ball (facing you) If you have a video camera and you can get the file into a computer you can send large files to me by using http://www.pando.com or YouSendIt.com. You can also upload small or medium sized files by using our http://simplegolf.com/helpdesk/
Joe Davidson
Simple Golf
This perception of the backswing motion is quite common, but it is not quite correct. It seems logical, but the problem with it is that humans are not robotic machines and their bodies work quite differently. The hand/arm plane going back is different for a human and this difference can be easily seen if you know what to look for when watching from the rear (down-the-line) view. But, if you don’t understand the biomechanics and you believe that the robot plane (path) is correct, you will be forever locked into a fawed motion.
What you are saying relating to Symple Swing is completely wrong.
What you say relating to the complicated traditional swing is correct. Yes, for a traditional golfer the backswing is a much more complicated multi-plane motion. However this article is not about the complicated traditional swing.
Symple Swing has simplified the swing motion so the hand/arm plane is the actual swing plane making for a much more repeatable swing. Because we start we with the hands on-plane, we can (with the help of the PowerThumb grip) keep the hands and the club on-plane quite easily. That’s why we call it Symple Swing because we have simplified the motion.
You can check out an example of a Symple Swinger using a circular swing trainer keeping his hands and his club on-plane throughout the backswing here: http://simplegolf.com/blog/full-swing/club-face-square-to-the-swing-plane/
Symple Swing is a next generation golf swing that is NOT forever locked into the flawed, complicated motions of the traditional golf swing.
Joe Davidson
Simple Golf
1) Yellow Line does NOT showw up in my picture Step 3.
2) would you please advise what faults will occur if at each step the club is NOT at the recommendeed position. ie inside/outside etc
Hi John,
Sorry about the yellow line. It’s the line under the white circular swing trainer. It may be a different color on your computer.
The key thing with this drill is to get the club over the “hand line” in the backswing. If the club is outside that line then you’ll be above the swing plane. If the club is inside that line then you’re under the swing plane.
Being over the swing plane will generally result in an Outside-To-Inside swing. That can be straightened out like Jim Furyk does but it takes lots of practice and really good eye-hand coordination.
Being under the swing plane mean you’ll generally be coming back at the ball from Inside-To-Outside. That will result in either a straight push or one of those hooks that starts out way to the right.
I hope this answers your question. If it doesn’t please feel free to ask again.
Joe Davidson
Simple Golf LLC
http://www.SimpleGolf.com
203-794-4900
Joe,
I tried this drill for two days and it really improved my swing. The drill really works and it answers many questions we see posted on the Forum. For instance, ” Where should my right elbow be during the backswing ?” “When my right arm bends during the backswing, how much of an angle should there be between my right forearm and right biceps?” Things of that nature. BTW, the answer to both questions is ” Where ever your elbow is and whatever angle is formed by your right arm, when your left arm is extented over the hand line, parallel to the ground and parallel the extended target line, is correct for you.” You must do a full torso turn, an “arm swing” does not work. This is the best drill I have ever used. It made me realize that I was too far inside and over-turning. Thanks Joe.
Hi Joe,
Just wanted to let you know I have a new e-mail address . . . donlof@hawaiiantel.net. I haven’t tried the drill yet, but it looks promising.
Thanks,
Don Lofland
HI Don,
I changed your comcast address to donlof@hawaiiantel.net. Is the Santa Cruz address we have still valid.
Joe Davidson
Simple Golf
Hi Joe,
The justification for addresing the ball with your hands lower than the plane line is that it is Natural !
During address, your arms should be hanged freely from the shoulders, thus the arms will be vertical to the ground and the hands will be lower than the plane. This is so natural!
I have tried to place my hands a bit higher by push them out a bit in order to be on plane during address, a found it a bit un-natural and this immediately tightened up my hands, arms and my shoulders.
Thomas
Hi Thomas,
If that’s your definition of “Natural” or what feels natural to you that’s fine. To me that is very unnatural. I realize that’s comfortable for you because that’s the way you’ve been doing for a long time. I do understand your feeling because I did play that way for 35+ years.
However, you should realize you’re actually starting “unnaturally” NOW with your short irons. Because of the length of your short irons, your hands now are automatically on-plane at address. So in effect you have two master two swings. One for your short irons when your hands are on-plane at address and one for you longer clubs when your hands start below that plane at address. With your engineering knowledge I’m sure you understand that a simpler machine (or motion) will perform successfully a higher percentage of time than a complex machine (or motion)
You are certainly are free to start with your hands below the plane if you wish however you will be dooming yourself to a more complex movement requiring lots more timing and more coordination which will be successful a lower percentage of the time that the simpler motion I described.
By starting with your hands on-plane we are in effect starting in our impact position. Here’s a position of Mike O’Leary at address and at impact. By starting in the impact position it’s much easier to get back to the right position at impact.
If you practice every day you certainly can groove most any swing movement. However, it’s our premise at Simple Golf that we shouldn’t make any swing movement more complex than it needs to be.
Joe Davidson
Simple Golf
Hi Joe,
Thanks for your reply so soon and so detail. I’ll try to strech my hands a bit outward to make it on plane. I’ll try to make this hand position to be Natural and comfortable.
By the way, I am quite confused with the term of “swing plane”. From reading to many golf instructional materials, there are : Single Plane, Two Plane and Multiple Plane; also so-called ” Shoulder Plane “; ” Elbow Plane” and ” Shaft Plane” . Also comes with ” Vertical Swing” and ” Rotational – Flatter Swing”.
Could you please explain them to me what they are and tell me which one is better for me as I am old (71 years), I am short ( 5’2″) and I do not have distance.
Best regards,
Thomas
Hi Thomas,
Very good questions.
Swing Plane Definition
First a plane (from geometry) is defined by three points. In the case of the swing plane, it is defined by 1. the target, 2. the ball and 3. the front shoulder joint which is the axis (or center) of the golf swing. (Note: We say “front shoulder joint” but the swing plane but because of the way the shoulder and arm structures are joined the swing plane actually winds up pointing a little lower or more to the front armpit)
THERE ARE ONLY TWO TYPES OF SWINGS
1. An on-plane swing 2. A off-plane swing.
DEFINITIONS
On-Plane Swing
An on-plane swing is a swing that stays on that plane during the backswing and the downswing.
Off Plane Swing
An off-plane swing deviates from that swing plane usually on the backswing and then the club is manipulated to to try to get it back on-plane (also known as “in the slot”) on the downswing.
Flat Swing
A swing that goes below the actual swing plane.
Upright Swing
A swing that goes above the actual swing plane.
Look at the circular white swing trainer in the pictures at the bottom of this page. http://simplegolf.com/blog/simple-short-game/swing-tracks-drill-insures-youre-on-plane-everytime/ In order to be useful a circular swing trainer has to be set up properly with the angle of the trainer set on a line pointing from shoulder joint to the ball and pointing at the target. If the swing trainer is not set up properly taking into consideration the three points of the plane (1. the target, 2. the ball and 3. the front shoulder joint) otherwise the swing trainer won’t be helpful.
In the pictures at of the circular swing trainer on http://simplegolf.com/blog/simple-short-game/swing-tracks-drill-insures-youre-on-plane-everytime/ I did try to set it up correctly so the angle of the trainer was equal to the swing plane. The angle of the circular swing trainer will match the angle of the club shaft at address.
YOUR ACTUAL SWING PLANE CHANGES WITH EACH CLUB
Your swing plane will change a bit with each club!!! You swing plane will always be defined by the same three points (1. the target, 2. the ball and 3. the front shoulder joint). However, the position of your body moves closer to the ball with shorter clubs and farther from the ball with longer clubs. That means the angle of your swing plane will be more upright. That’s why clubs have differing lie angles.
There is no such thing as a “Two Plane Swing”. That’s a name Jim Hardy invented in his book to make an off-plane swing sounds better. Same of the “Multiple Plane Swing”. It’s just another off-plane swing with a fancy name.
The “shaft plane” should be the same as the swing plane. However if you start with your hand low then the shaft plane is off-plane and you will have to manipulate it either on the backswing or the downswing to get it back on-plane through impact.
I hope these definitions are helpful to you.
Joe Davidson
Simple Golf
Hi Joe,
Thanks so much for your explanation on the subject of swing plane. I do hope that I would have a swing trainer to help me to establish my swing plane but I don’t have one. How to practice and establish my on-plane swing without a swing trainer?
Thomas
Hi Thomas,
Practice the Swing Tracks Drill on this page. This drill was designed to keep you on-plane. It really works. I have students raving to me all the time about how well the swing tracks drill worked for them. Most of them didn’t know whether they were on-plane or not before. After they do the swing tracks drill they know immediately if they are on-plane. Doing the Swing Tracks Drill is like having a circular swing trainer with you all the time.
Joe Davidson
Simple Golf
I have learned to play golf with the hands rather low.
The explanation is that in this way your arms can hang down in a natural way – with no tension.
So, with the SympleSwing when addressing with the hands higher I feel more tension. The advantage is one plane swing.
So, I will try this higher hands position and give it a try.
Hi Fred,
I learned the same way with the same explanation. It never really made sense to me but it wasn’t until I got to college and studied bio-mechanics that I really understand how much more difficult this makes the swing.
Joe Davidson
Simple Golf
Can you give a little more explanation of what it means to get your hands higher (on plane) ? I am uncertain how to do this exactly. Will it change how lose you are to the ball at adress
Hi Joe!
How long do you think for a beginner to master this kind of drill? I am new to Golf, and I am starting to like it.
By the way, thanks for sharing your article, I learned a lot.
If you’re new to golf I’d suggest the 1 Hour Golf Swing at www,1HourGolfSwing.com The 1 Hour Golf Swing is the easiest ever swing to learn especially for someone new to golf.
If you have any other questions just ask.
Joe Davidson
Simple Golf
Joe, I love your simple swing. The grip has been working great. Let me cover something w/ you about the takeaway. Since we call the left hand holding the club a clock face and the back of the left hand faces at 12:00. We pinch the club w/ left thumb & left index finger. On the clock face, I call that pinch 92 or 93. For me it’s 92! The 9 is for the index, etc. now, I began having trouble w/ your method because I was trying to take the club back on the inside, wrong! If you use use the 9 index finger at 2nd knuckle to takeaway club, it goes straight back from the ball an when you make your turn for backswing, the left thumb at 2:00 will bring the club inside out thru the ball. It’s working for me but I’m just 73 and maybe to young for this game. Joe, thx for all your info! Ed
Hi Ed,
Give me a call at 203-794-4900 and we can talk about your questions in more detail.
Joe Davidson
Simple Golf Company
203-794-4900
Joe, should I cut this para down, as I received note saying, awaiting moderation? E
Sorry about taking so long to get to this. Give me a call at 203-794-4900 and we can discuss in more detail.
Joe Davidson
Simple Golf Company
203-794-4900