The Lie Angle / The Swing Plane Concept
At address, the club shaft and the ground create an angle called the Lie Angle. In this position, the club is perfectly square to the target. To hit great golf shots, we must return the club as close to this position as possible.
If we tilted a pane of glass at the same angle, giving us a surface on which to slide the club, we would have what's called a swing plane. Swinging the club along this plane would ensure that we always returned the club to its original position--the way it was designed to be swung. We would be the model of consistency and the envy of our playing partners.
An extremely important note is that if the club shaft is more horizontal than the original plane angle (called "flatter"), it will still work effectively, but if it is more vertical than the original, it will not.
Copyright © John Dunigan 2000
Using the shaft angle at address (lie angle) as our guide, we cut a semicircle out of a 4'x 8' piece of plywood, giving a flat surface that we can slide the club shaft along without changing its original angle. This board represents the plane that the club would travel along when swung according to its lie angle (intended design). We know the board as the plane board.
The Plane Truth
Looking at the photos from left to right:
- Address: Starting out with both the club shaft and my hands on-plane (Plane A black).
- Half Way Back: Club shaft, hands and right forearm are on-plane.
- At the Top: Club shaft, hands and right forearm have shifted to a more vertical, over-the-top of the original, plane (Plane B, white line). Only the right elbow remains on-plane. Herein lies the difficulty with the golf swing: getting back down to the original plane. Whatever you do to start the downswing must return the club to the original plane.
- Start Down: Moving the hands and club shaft back toward the plane--not toward the ball, is the easiest way to get the club back on plane.
- Half Way Down: Club shaft, hands and right forearm are once again on-plane. It's easy from here.
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