An exclusive look at the controversial teacher you’ve never heard of. His two categories. Both are correct but mixed. Here they are—and how to new swing theory from the best claim? All golf swings fall into one of feature key elements that cannot be tell

One plane vs. two plane: an exclusive look at the controversial teacher you’ve never heard of. His two categories. Both are correct but mixed. Here they are—and how to new swing theory from the best claim? All golf swings fall into one of feature key elements that cannot be tell which swing is right for you

Peter Jacobsen

JIM HARDY IS THE MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE golf-swing scholar you’ve never heard of. I say that with confidence because I’ve worked with all the ones you have heard of. I lost most of my desire to play competitive golf after my father’s death in 1992. It was Jim’s understanding, advice and mentoring that helped me get through that difficult time and return to the PGA Tour.

In 1993 I decided to change my swing from a two-plane move to a one-plane swing. The article that follows, which is adapted from Jim’s book, The Plane Truth for Golfers, will explain how a one-plane swing differs from a two-plane swing and why you can’t mix the fundamentals that serve both methods.

You’ll see on the next pages that I’ve done the swing sequence for both the one-plane and two-plane swings. I believe that I’m qualified because I spent my early PGA Tour years swinging one way and my later years swinging the other. Though I’ve never had any Nicklaus-like brilliance, I did win twice in 1995. I won again in 2003 at age 49 and then last summer at 50 at the U.S. Senior Open Championship. Although I believe I still have plenty of work left to do on my swing, Jim has deemed the experiment a success.

Jim doesn’t hang out a shingle as a teacher, and you don’t see him as a regular on The Golf Channel. So this article, and his book, is your opportunity to take a lesson from him. I hope you enjoy this important piece of work. I believe Jim’s swing theories are the most revolutionary since Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf. Study hard, learn well, have fun, and good luck.

What’s the difference?

Every time you turn your shoulders around your spine they move on a plane. The more you bend over from the hips, the more vertical your shoulder plane will be. With erect posture and a level turn, the plane would look like a merry-go-round, shoulder high. If bent over at 90 degrees, it would look like a Ferris wheel.

There are only two options for your arms to swing in relation to your shoulders. The arms can either swing up and onto the same plane that the shoulders are turning, or they can swing up and onto a different plane. I call the one in which the arms swing on the same plane as the shoulders the one-plane swing, and the one in which the arms and shoulders move in different planes the two-plane swing.

The one-plane swinger turns the shoulders on an inclined plane and swings the arms across and around the chest.

The two-plane swinger stands fairly erect, turns almost level and swings the arms in a mostly vertical manner.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Golf Digest Companies

COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group