SOS I need help with one plane swing!

ahnx0027 · October 6, 2006

Hello guys!!!

recently, i've converted into one plane swing, but having trouble with ball striking...

on the downswing my arms are too active (pulling down too hard) and end up hitting straight push with every club. So to fight that, I was trying to get to inside after impact but all i'm getting is dreaded toe shot. need your help!!!

jeffy · October 6, 2006

First, order the dvd set; it is pointless to try to make the change without it. Second, research whether there are any Hardy-trained instructors in your area; you'll need to visit one. While you're waiting for the dvd to arrive, try the "shirt sleeve" or "towel" drill (demonstrated by Peter Jacobsen in the dvd set). Reach your left arm behind your back and grab the fabric of your right shirt sleeve up around the bicep. (Alternatively, to save your shirt from getting stretched out, wrap a towel around the right bicep and grab the towel (again, behind your back) with the left hand.) Using a short iron, hit balls one-handed (with the right hand, obviously), using the left hand to hold the right bicep and elbow up and back by the side of your chest. As you get more proficient making clean contact, hit the ball hard, don't just try to meet it. If you are really flexible, grab your right bicep with your left hand (again, reaching behind your back) and hit shots one-handed, without letting go with the left. This drill should help you get the feel of the "overhand throwing motion" of the right forearm. Good luck!

mfo · October 7, 2006

I just got the DVD. I highly recommend it. The drill Jeffy advocated should be helpful. If you stay in a bent over posture and keep your weight evenly balanced on the backswing (or even favor the left side), that should help too. Then all you need to do is make the over the top move Jeffy's drill promotes. Good luck.

sbark · October 7, 2006

Jeffy---are you sayings its ok to have "active forearms", but keep the elbow quiet behind you... try to hit it with the heel of the right forearm

jeffy · October 8, 2006

Jeffy---are you sayings its ok to have "active forearms", but keep the elbow quiet behind you... try to hit it with the heel of the right forearm

I'm saying that the right arm needs to actively release pretty much from the top of the swing: the harder it releases, the further and straighter you'll hit it. The dvd does a great job of illustrating this move and providing a couple of drills (in addition to the "shirt sleeve" drill, there is the "oven mitt" drill); the key, as you suggest, is to keep the right elbow back. I see very few players make this release: there are several natural one-planers at my club (a couple of them are shortish, height-wise), and they all use a two-plane "arm" release: pulling the arms into the "slot", right elbow in front of the right hip, and quickly rotating the forearms to square the clubface. This can lead to the dreaded "club stuck behind you" problem.The one-plane release is VERY different: an overhand throwing motion.

BTW, this move is NOT over-the-top. It may FEEL OTT compared to a two-plane release because (1) the arms don't drop "inside", in front of the body, and (2) a proper one-plane backswing can be a little under the plane. The club should actually swing down on plane, not above it (as a "true" OTT move would be).