Ian Poulter comes as close to a 1-plane swing other than Tiger or Adam Scott in my mind.

Let me show you why.

Take a look at how Ian’s clubface is pretty much dead on-plane. A lot of pro tour players are inside this point, Ian does pretty well of keeping that club wide and extended. I love Ian’s takeaway, everyone should copy this…

At half-way point, Ian is still on-plane, maybe slightly flat but that’s good enough.

At top of Ian’s swing, his hands are “almost” on plane. It’s a little upright but it’s okay.

Also note that his club is pointing way left of target, this usually is okay as long as Ian is on-plane.

At half-way down, Ian is perfectly slightly inside the plane.

At impact, Ian does a pretty good job. There actually space in-between his right elbow and hips. This is a good thing and he has not “dipped” a lot like a other players.

After impact, Ian’s extension shows that he’s on perfect plane. Also note how “tall” Ian is standing. This is great for hitting the ball good and the back.

What a lovely finish.

What to learn from this?

There are lots of ways to swing the golf club. Some can hurt your back some can help your back but both achieve the same results as far as golf shot goes.

You need to pick the right swing mechanics for your golf game so you don’t end up one day with a golf swing you can’t play as you get older.

Swing Tip: Try to stand very very tall when swinging the club. Never stress your body, let the club do the work for you. If you swing the club and you feel tired after couple swings, you are probably not swinging, but “bashing” or “hitting” the ball. Never hit the ball, let it come in the way of your swing.

Watch out as I think this young Ian guy can win lots of tournaments in the near future.

Here’s Ian Poulter’s swing in action:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

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Hunter Mahan is another upcoming PGA Tour pro. Let’s look at his action:

At takeaway, we can see clearly that Hunter like to follow the “yellow” plane.

At halfway up, you can see that Hunter manipulates his arms to get the club on-plane. (with the red plane)

At the top of his swing, we can see clearly that Hunter is pretty much on-plane with the red-plane.

Halfway down, Hunter is slightly inside the plane, perfectly good for a nice little draw.

At impact, Hunter looks pretty good, maybe his right arm could be little bit more straighter.

Hunter could benefit from a 1-plane swing. Simply by changing his takeaway to be more on-plane with the red plane, he could do more with less work.

Here’s Hunter Mahan’s swing in action:

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Tommy Armour III is actually the grandson of the great Tommy Armour who has won 3 major championships.

Although Tommy Armour III has not been as successful as his grandfather, I highly suggest you to read his grandfather’s book, A Round of Golf with Tommy Armour. The book teaches you countless great course strategy and let’s you score the game instead of focusing on swing mechanics. (It’s one of the best golf course strategy books out there that no one knows about, if not the best)

Now let’s look at Tommy Armous III’s simple and compact swing. Tommy does swing pretty quickly but don’t let that fool you, he’s actually “accelerating” through the ball better than most other tour pros.

At takeaway, Tommy likes to go with the traditional red plane. We will see that he returns to the red plane near the backswing though.

At top of his swing, Tommy is pretty much on-plane with the red plane. Also notice that his clubface is “parallel” to the red plane. (You have to imagine the red plane extends forever to the front and back of a golfer pleeez)

What I like about Tommy’s action is that he keeps his backswing pretty short but accelerates through the ball very nicely.

On the way down, Tommy get slightly inside to hit the ball inside-out.

Oh boy, with Tommy’s super fast downswing, he’s still in perfect position at impact. Look at how straight his arms, hands, and club are, almost matching the red plane.

Tommy may not have won as many tournaments as his grandfather, but expect him to win a major real soon.

Here’s Tommy Armour III’s iron shot in action:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

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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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Wow, what a great finish by Tiger to hole an 8 footer to tie with Rocco Mediate and force an 18-hole playoff.

I didn’t know Rocco would finish up at the top but he sure did and I must say it’s more luck than his skills.

Tomorrow will be another exciting match to watch as Tiger beats Rocco. I wouldn’t even give Rocco a second chance for a one-on-one dual with Tiger.

On the side note, I hit the ball great today, here’s today’s swing keys:

1. Setup to the target parallel. I can’t believe how many times I start aligning myself to the right of target and get into lots of unnecessary swing flaws. Setup is probably the first thing before even trying to mess with your swing.

2. Feel the cocking of wrists after takeaway.

3. Really feel the lower body and upper body working together on the downswing, holding the lag and extending all the way after impact.

4. Feel like doing a 2-handed basketball pass while holding the lag. It almost feels like you are flinging your wrists about 50 yards right of the target.

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