Ask Jeff

Daryl,

I must say that the move you are describing can be a little tricky. The first thing I would do is make sure you have taken some video of your swing down the target line to make sure that what you are trying to do is necessary. If your right elbow appears to be in close proximity to your right hip (not in front of course) and your shaft is on a reasonable plane then I would not be overly concerned with trying to "manufacture" a feeling just to match Jim's model. Remember Jim's material is just a guide and even his players are outside of some of his parameters. I would look at right hand position and face rotation. Right palm looks at ball in takeaway, rotates square to the plane at the top, then rotates back to impact. Make sure that your rotation back to the ball is "on time." I have encounterd a few students who tried to turn the right palm down too quickly and ended up just hitting hooks. Again, the video will be a good indication if this move is something you should consider trying to stick with.

tjschill,

My model and "preference" for teaching and playing is one plane, but I always try to remember that "one" or "two plane" ideas are simply "guides" that help us through the process of making good decisions for what to incorporate into our swings. I have seen other posts and heard comments from others outside of the internet community where people debate the accuracy of whether someone is one plane or two plane. By definition, the only thing that describes the two as you know, is whether or not you basically swing your arms in the same plane as your shoulders or a different one. When that is in question, then it comes more down to transition style. For example, Jim Hardy would say that Jim Furyk, John Daly and Fred Couples are one plane swingers even though nothing about their backswings would be following one plane technique. The same follows for the release. There is a basic model for understanding how a one plane motion would release the club, but any good player will incorporate many different release techniques depending on the nature of the shot. I divide release categories into "Roll, Block, and Slap." My primary thought for myself is to play with a "slap" which is simply a hit with the right or a slap with the left which provides snap without feeling much roll over or rotation. Even though you may see some in my swing, that is my intent. I would incorporate some roll if I wanted to bend the ball left and some block if I wanted to drive a ball low or bend it to the right. That's just my style of play and I know that other options exist. At the end of the day, it comes down to ball flight. I never make a change unless my ball is going somewhere other than the target. Thanks for your comment....I hope this helps!!!!

I can spend an hour on the range warming up before my round and be hitting it great.  The problem is this - When I get to the first tee, I always hit a huge slice and end up costing myself 1 or 2 (or more) strokes right out of the gate.  Once the first tee is behind me - I'm fine and back on my game.  Do you have any tips that will help me get over this and get my rounds off to a better start?