Today, I had a chance to video tape the person behind me accidently. Here’s how he could be hitting the ball better.

As you can see in the above picture, his left arm and left hand breaks down after impact. This is a very no-no if you want to hit the ball straight and long.

Now the reason behind that a lot of golfer break down their arms after impact is because they are trying to hit the ball.

How to fix the problem?

It’s easy. Don’t try to hit the ball, try to swing through the ball at your target.

I actually try to hit the target with both of my arms, imagining the target in my mind, never the ball. The ball always comes in the way of the swing.

As you can see, my after impact position shows that both of my arms are fully extended after impact. This is the position you want to strive to.

Also note the yellow line and see how straight the point between my right elbow and the club? (That’s the secret. A full release means that even your wrists straighten out near and after impact. The wrists release upwards, not toward the target, this is something a lot of teachers and players do not tell you.)

Mind you, my swing isn’t perfect my any means but I am only pointing out the good parts. (and yes this 2-iron did go straight about 230 yards so I can’t complain)

Today’s Swing Thoughts

I really felt that my hands were soft throughout my swing, meaning I felt like swinging real easy.

To get this feeling, try to maintain the same amount of grip pressure during your whole swing, whether you grip it at level 2 or level 5.

I also really felt like really swinging through the “after-impact” position shown above. That’s actually my swing thought, the image of both of my arms fully extended and released after impact. The lower body must support your upper body so don’t forget the lower body action either.

Now here’s the video in action.

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

grip pressure, left arm, left hand, right elbow, swing at target, swing thoughts, Swing Tips, target, video tape grip pressure, left arm, left hand, right elbow, swing at target, swing thoughts, Swing Tips, target, video tape If you like this post, please subscribe to the ProGolferDigest via RSS or via E-Mail to receive updates.

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Well, let’s take a look at Annika Sorenstam and Jeong Jang, both great players on the LPGA tour. I did actually get to meet Jeong Jang before she got famous….lol…

Annika probably has the best swing in the world out of men and women in my opinion. She has this effortless swing and it’s something I tell ya.

At takeaway, both players are about the same, Annika slightly more on-plane but both good at this point.

At the top of their iron swing, Jeong Jang and Annika both are about on-plane, with Jeong slightly more upright than Annika.

At impact, both players are almost identical, except Annika doing her “rotate the head” thing.

Actually, the “rotating head” of Annika is really helpful for transferring weight back to the left foot.

After impact, Annika is standing up pretty much, this is actually a great way to swing without putting any stress to your back.

But both players look great.

Take a look at how straight Annika’s whole body is at finish, almost standing up with a club.

Although both are great, Annika’s swing puts less stress on the back. I should have an e-book on how to do this shortly so stay tuuuuned folks.

Here’s both Jeong Jang and Annika Sorenstam’s Iron Swings in action:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

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Lorena is a very good pro who exemplifies her game with her great swing.

Let’s take a closer look at how the champ does it.

At takeaway, Lorena is perfectly on-plane. A lot of the top pros are moving towards the 1-plane swing, which is following that red plane line.

At 3/4 backswing, Lorena gets slightly upright. This is still okay though.

At the top of her swing, Lorena is definitely slightly too upright and her club “goes across the line”, meaning it’s pointing right of the target. She will have to “re-route” her arms slightly to hit the ball square and if she doesn’t, she will hit a block to the right. This is something she could fix in the future. Greg Norman used to play like this for years and a lot of other tour pros do play “across” the line, but do as they say, not as they do.

Being slightly upright and over the line is actually not a bad thing. It’s easier to control than being slightly flat and under the line.

On the downswing, Lorena “drops” her arms to get the club back in position which is fine here.

At impact, Lorena looks perfect.

After impact, Lorena looks good too. Take a close look at how her elbows, arms, and hands have formed a “triangle”, this is really good stuff.

Conclusion

If Lorena Ochoa is winning every other tournament she plays, she shouldn’t change her swing but if she stops winning or has some time off to re-work her swing, I’d recommend to get slightly flatter at the top of her swing and that should automatically help the club point more parallel to to the target line instead of going “across-the-line” at the top of her swing.

Lorena’s takeaway looks reaaal good though, I’d recommend everyone to copy that.

Here’s Lorena Ochoa’s driver in action:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

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If you have been a golf fanatic like me for almost 20 years, you will know that one of the best ball strikers next to Ben Hogan in history of golf was Moe Norman.

Moe Norman is a Canadian golfer who didn’t play as many US tour events as he should have but he’s regarded as the best ball striker by many people.

Another great Canadian golfer is George Knudson, a golfer Jack Nicklaus said that had one of the best swings in golf.

Anyways, let’s look at the one-swing plane Moe Norman teaches and I can tell you that it’s not that much different from Tiger’s swing except the setup.

As you can see, Moe Norman “says” he teaches 1-plane swing, but he actually is a little bit under the plane. In that regards, Tiger’s swing is more on-plane.

Mind you, Moe Norman is a great golfer and teacher but do as he says not as he does. (His swing is off-plane here as evidenced on the screenshot)

At the top of Moe Norman’s swing, you can see that Moe is perfectly on-plane. Now, Tiger swing way past 3/4 so we can compare Tiger’s 3/4 position to Moe Norman.

As you can see, there’s no difference between the two great golfers. Their start setup might be different but MOST pro tour players do end up in the similar top of backswing positions, impact, and followthrough.

Now, half-way downswing, you can see that both players are slightly under the plane, both of which are fine for crisp inside-out strike.

There are a lot of “myths” out on the internet that Moe Norman’s swing is a unique swing. The setup is unique but the other parts are the same.

So which setup is better for striking the ball?

I think that either setup is great. Moe Norman prefers to setup so his arms and hands are on-plane at address. This isn’t something natural for most golfers and I like to take the regular “hang the arms” style setup.

The fact is that at impact, your arms and hands straighten out anyways, so I don’t feel the need to setup like that unless you are a hardcore fan of Moe Norman.

At impact, notice that both golfers are pretty much identical except Tiger’s taller so he seems to be coming at a more vertical angle but in reality, both players are achieving the same thing.

The point of this post?

Well, there are a lot of instructors out there that “claim” they can teach you the 1-swing plane.

Well, folks, the truth is that the 1-swing plane is something that Tiger and many other tour players implement.

The only thing Moe Norman does differently is his setup and if you want to learn that and pay some golf schmuck couple hundred bucks, go ahead but golf in essence is same whether you learn Moe’s method or anyone elses.

My 1-swing Plane Theory

My 1-swing plane theory is not something I learned from another teacher. It has come from analyzing and studying the best players in slow-motion, at tournaments, and playing high-pressure tournaments myself to see what worked or not.

If you look at any of my video swing analysis, you will see the plane line I set from the ball through the middle of right shoulder socket. This is the plane that Tiger Woods and Moe Norman uses. It’s a great plane to follow because it allows the golfer to get back to the golf ball from the top of the backswing with minimal manipulation such as “arms dropping” and etc…etc…

I’ve also noticed that more and more players are adopting the 1-swing plane on tour. It’s simply a better way to hit the ball and puts less stress on your back when done right.

So how to achieve this 1-swing plane?

Well, I can’t tell you all the secrets but yes, I am working on an e-book that will show you some simple drills that help you achieve this goal.

Here’s Moe Norman’s swing in action for your reference but don’t go buy some stupid instructions on the web:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

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Luke Donald has a great swing, like everyone else on tour.

Let’s look at how he does it:

At takeaway, Luke is actually on-plane. The red plane line is “Butch Harmon’s” teachings and the yellow line is “David Leadbetter’s” teachings.

Most pro tour follow the red or the yellow plane at takeaway.

At the top of the swing though, most players’ hands will match with the red plane as Luke is showing you here.

Right before impact, Luke’s body is nice and tall, ready to hit the ball from inside-out.

Take a look at how straight Luke’s arms, hands, and club form. This matches perfectly with the swing plane, Luke probably hit this 300 yards.

Luke does come up slightly early than most players but this is a good thing as he is standing “tall”.

Here’s Luke’s swing in action:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

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