Let’s take a look at Stewart Cink’s swing and see why he is so consistent.

At address, you can see I have two plane lines.  The tour pros usually follow the red one or the yellow one depending on what school of “plane” they believe.

Stewart, in this case, resorts to the yellow plane line, which is perfectly okay, but the red plane line is the “new” and deadly “secret” that the tour pros won’t tell you about.

At takeaway, you can see Stewart right-on-plane with the yellow plane.  It’s actually inside the red plane, meaning Stewart will have to re-route slightly to hit the ball.

At 1/2 way on the backswing, you can see Stewart follow the yellow plane perfectly.  This is the old-method taught by teachers like David Leadbetter and some others.  (It’s not a TRUE plane as I will explain further in the latter pics.)

At the top of Stewart’s swing, you can see he’s veered off the yellow plane completely and he’s now on the red plane.  Why the yellow plane worked is because he actually “manipulated” his arms to go upright.  This isn’t natural but then over 50% of pro tours swing like this.  (except Tiger and couple other players)

At 1/2 way down, you can see the Stewart is actually on-plane with the true red plane.  The yellow plane, as shown here, does not constitute as the real-plane as it has no meaning.

Why is it like this?

Because the yellow plane only shows the plane of the club shaft at “address”, not “impact”.

At impact, your wrists and arms straighten out due to the centrifugal force applied by the body, that’s called the red plane, true plane to follow for hitting the ball flawlessly.  A lot of teachers do not even know about this simple because they are too stubborn and stuck in the 90s.

At moment of truth, check out how Stewart’s shoulders, arms, and hands are on plane with the red line than the yellow line.  (This is why yellow plane has no meaning except that teachers try to teach you an invisible concept)

Even after impact, look at how well Stewart stays on-plane.

Now, you have learned the two ways of planes in golf.

The first plane is the plane formed by the clubshaft at address.  (the yellow line)

The second plane is the plane formed by the line between your clubhead and the middle of your right shoulder sockets.  (the red line)

Tiger Woods and couple other top players in the world are using the red plane.  Everyone else is using the yellow plane.

Which one is correct?

The red line plane is more correct because it’s based on your impact position, not address.

The reason why the yellow plane works is because Stewart manipulated his arms after takeaway to fit the red plane.  (So in fact, all his previous work to get the club on-line with the yellow plane becomes worthless)

Take a look at my swing analysis of Tiger’s swing and you will know what I mean here.

Here’s Stewart Cink’s driver swing in slow motion:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

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Today’s swing keys:

1. Keep weight transfer natural, meaning don’t force yourself to transfer weight to the right on the backswing, let it be natural.

2. To control the weight transfer to the right from becoming a sway, do not sway and turn.  Also control the amount of the weight transfer by limiting your backswing length.

Short backswing = smaller weight transfer

3. On the downswing, really let everything go and extend your arms and wrists.  Keep the head down through the shot.

Well, I am hitting the ball again and I might actual apply for Amateur reinstatement to play some amateur tournaments again.  There’s simply not enough mini-tour tournaments around San Francisco and I cannot afford to play so many mini-tour events right now.  It’s gonna cost me $125 just to get my amateur status back though, darn it.  You can actually go to USGA online and do everything online now.

Time to go beat the amateurs baby!  Wish me luck on the next year’s U.S. Amateur.

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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

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One of the most important part of the golf swing is your takeaway and how you come into the ball through impact.

Unless you have a super-strong or super-weak grip, you will want to rotate your arms, hands, and the clubface so that the clubface points away from your body and shown here. (The blade of your clubface should be pointing straight up at the sky)

Why is this so important?

The correct takeaway allows the golfer to come into the ball without manipulating the hands. It also lets the golfer to unleash the rotated power.

Think of it this way.

Golf is not a game of vertical or horizontal, it’s a game of rotating naturally around your body.

In order for you to swing the club, you must turn your body sorta like you are shaking hands with the person on the right. Now, you wouldn’t shake hands with the back of your hand facing up or down, would ya?

The second most important position in golf is probably right after impact. You want to feel as though the triangle formed by your shoulders, arms, hands and the club are one, pounding into the center of the golf ball.

Here, I am only hitting a 30 yard pitch shot. Still, you can see that I’ve extended my whole upper body.

This impact position will only be possible to achieve if you have a correct takeaway.

It’s feels almost like a 2-handed basketball pass. But when you do it right, you will feel that both of your arms and hands are hitting the ball with “equal” force.

Try the takeaway and the impact position the next time you are on the range, you will hit the ball more consistently.

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Well, I spent 3 hours watching Tiger today on TV.  Although he doesn’t seem 100% yet due to his knee surgery, he did okay today by shooting 1-over.  Phil Mickelson shot an even par while playing with Tiger.

My Prediction This Week?

Tiger won’t win the U.S. Open because he just got back from his knee surgery.  Man, talk about getting back too soon I think…

Phil?  Nah, Phil’s not gonna win it either.

I think it’s either going to be someone who’s unknown or Stuart Appleby might win it at this point.

Oh yeah, btw, I found my swing today.  I am swinging like Tiger and Ben Hogan!

Today swing keys:

1. Really feel the triangle on the backswing.  Make sure to rotate in-plane.

2. On the downswing, really feel like the both left and right arm form a triangle and hit the ball with the same force, sorta like basketball 2-handed pass.  I did this and hit the ball like super straight and hit it a mile too.

3. Same thing with short pitch shots.  Really feel the plane, rotate, then just swing through with arms extended.

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