How do your shoulders affect your swing plane?  The answer is A Lot!   Having two students today at the Big Bend Golf Center who were struggling with coming over the top of the swing plane on the down swing made me wonder.  I wondered how often golfers think about what it is that is actually causing their club to get off plane.

Like anything in golf, there are many factors that can affect any number of things in your swing.  If I told you that your grip or ball position affects your swing plane would you believe me?  Well they do, as well as alignment, weight distribution, weight shift and hoards of other factors,  but for players who really struggle with coming over the top and hitting a wicked slice or pull hook, I think more thought needs to go into what plane their shoulders are moving on during the back swing and even more importantly, the down swing.

The first golf lesson I ever took from a top named professional was from Michael Hebron who was PGA National Teacher of the Year in the early 90s.  His shtick at the time was “the inside moves the outside”, basically saying that your core and big muscles move your arms and hands and small muscles.  He loved to say “the dog wags the tail”, rather than “the tail wags the dog”.  Makes sense right, but what does it mean for you?  If you are a slicer or pull hooker it should mean a lot.  Wherever your shoulders go, your arms an thus the club will go.   If you start your downswing while spinning your shoulders open before your arms have had a chance to drop on plane, your only choice is to swing over the top of the plane.

Try keeping your back at the target longer while your arms have a chance to start dropping down on plane.  Don’t be in such a rush from the top to get the swing over with.  This particular swing plane issue is not a position issue, but rather a sequence issue.  Get the arms down on plane and then worry about turning towards the target.  If this is a big problem for you over exaggerate it until you start striking the ball from the inside and starting it out to the right of your target.   You would be well served to even feel like your shoulders are closed to your target line at impact.  The biggest problem I see with golfers who chronically come over the top is that they don’t over correct enough.  Go a little crazy, exaggerate, have some fun and I think you will be surprised at the results.

I was giving a lesson this past Saturday at Big Bend Golf Center to a long time student named Paul.  Paul has reconstructed his swing over the past 3 years.  He has gone from a huge reverse pivot,  an overswing and an over the top downswing to a nice, on-plane, compact swing.  Our challenge this year is to get Paul to use his core and turn through the shot.  While getting a nice tight coil on his back swing, he doesn’t unwind completely coming into the ball.

While watching the World Match Play Championship yesterday my conviction about the biggest difference between tour player swings and amateur swings was further reinforced. The difference is impact position and this is influenced by whether or not they use their core properly.   Swing after swing came across the screen in slow motion, highlighting the amount of core rotation tour players use coming into the shot.  They seem to just rip their hips and core to the target at super high speed.  So the question comes to mind…”why do the majority of amateurs slow their core coming into the ball and come to impact with their hips square to the target line as opposed to open?”

I believe the answer is 3-fold.

• 1) Lack of strength in the legs and core
• 2) Lack of flexibility
• 3) Poor sequence

In Paul’s case it’s obviously #3.  He is fit and has good flexibility.  After impact he turns just fine through the shot so we know he can turn, it’s just that he is not turning in time.  This is the case with probably over 90% of amateurs I see.  Note that at impact your hips should be open to the target and ideally your shoulders should be square to the target line.  This means you have to open your hips a lot faster and earlier in the downswing than you probably ever have.  Practice this in front of a mirror so you can ensure that your hips are open before your club gets to the ball and you will see how extreme it feels to do it right!