Just a reminder - we are talking about swing plane here, not swing path.

Do you remember that classic picture of Ben Hogan with a plate of glass resting on his shoulders? That picture was designed to give golfers, like you a visual understand of what the swing plane is. To be completely honest, it’s not something you really need to stress yourself over.

This is because there is a lot of variance in the position of swing plane from player to player. It will change based on your height, weight, distance you stand from the ball, club length and the list goes on. So this means there isn’t one ‘right’ swing plane to have.

The important thing to remember about the swing plane is what I like to call the “Consistency Triangle”. If you can get your swing in it you’ll be giving yourself the best chance at consistent results. In the picture to the right, my swing plane is drawn in blue, where the “Consistency Triangle” is shown in yellow.

As long as your club is pointing in the general direction of the ball in your halfway back position, your plane is doing okay. Use a mirror to check your clubs position; ideally it should be pointing directly at the ball as shown in the picture. This will maximize your chances of being on the correct plane into impact.

Give it a try! Be sure to drop by The Golf Drill Guru for all your golf instruction needs!

The number one reason why amateurs miss short putts is deceleration. This symptom can creep up in many parts of your game, especially with chipping and putting.

If you notice yourself stubbing chips and putts, or have trouble keeping those short ones on line, I would bet you even money you’re decelerating into impact.

I cannot stress enough the importance of following-through to my students, I like to try and squash this fault as soon as possible. This simple move will help your short game tremendously as you no longer have to worry about potentially chunking or stubbing the shot. If you follow-through, the ball has nowhere to go but forward.

If you start over-thinking things and try to steer your shots, the deceleration bug will creep in, and you’re game will suffer accordingly.  This is a simple drill I use to try and incorporate this simple fundamental into my students early in their lessons.

I get them to putt to a hole about 5-10 feet away, but place a headcover / ball / range bucket in the way of their backswing to force them to keep it short. This forces them to accelerate into the ball and the results are immediate.

I would recommend everyone try this drill as you may not think you decelerate, however the results this drill produces may make you think otherwise. Don’t miss it.

This putting drill is provided by The Golf Drill Guru.

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Every golfer is looking for the perfect golf swing. When I say perfect, I mean a swing that holds up on the course for them (you). As we have come to find out, this is nearly impossible, as no matter what…even if we have a good round going…our swing fault creeps in there and our handicap shows real quick!

But I do believe there is such a thing as the perfect golf swing drill for you! Do you want to know what it is? Come on…bet a little bit. Okay…the perfect drill for your golf swing is one that completely and totally isolates YOUR swing fault.

Are you following me? You have got to zone in on the swing fault that is wreaking havoc on your golf score. If you can find a drill that lasers in on your swing fault, then yes…I would call that a perfect drill for your golf swing.

Read more on perfect golf swing drill and see all our golf swing tips articles, including our complete golf improvement articles section of the main site!

If you take a closer look at a touring pro’s knees while swinging you notice something interesting. Their trailing knee is angled inward at address, almost pointing towards the ball. Why you ask? The answer is quite simple; support, adding power, and reducing horizontal movement.

During the backswing, the body has a natural tendency to move away from the target. Unfortunately this tendency will wreak havoc with your base of support making a solid swing physically impossible.

This very small and subtle move does many good things for your golf swing.
For starters it anchors your trailing hip to reduce your tendency to slide horizontally in the backswing. Don’t believe me? Give it a try, stand up and get into your normal setup position; now knock your trailing knee inwards and swing to the top of your backswing. Do you feel like your hips where sliding? I didn’t think so. Can you also feel the tension you created? That tension you created is a beautiful thing, this will lead to more of a snap into impact.

Finally by setting up in this way you will also help facilitate the clearing of your hips on the downswing. By forcing your hips to turn rather than slide you give them a little boost towards speeding up the downswing process.

Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!

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The most common fault I see with amateurs and their chipping is that they try to scoop the ball at impact. The main problem with scooping is that it encourages inconsistency. To scoop at chip shot, you have to add a lot extra wrist movements, this is asking for trouble. A good mental image you should consider when chipping is to create ‘Y’ at address and keep it throughout your stroke.

To do this you need to have your hands ahead of the ball at address, with the ball back in your stance. When viewed front on, your lead arm should be directly in line with your club shaft. Focus on maintaining this position throughout your chipping stroke. The only way to do this is to eliminate your wrists movement. Much like putting, chipping is a shoulders-only motion.

Remember this the next time you’re out practicing and incorporate it into your golf game.

Be sure to visit The Golf Drill Guru for all your golf help!

Swing plane in golf is critical to getting back to the ball squarely. The feel of the correct swing plane may be foreign to you and you might not have ever felt it correctly.

The only way to truly feel the correct swing plane is to go to your local range and step into one of those golf swing plane trainer devices. You’ve seen those contraptions haven’t you?

Just look for the big, white angled circle tucked away in the corner of your range. Look hard enough and you’ll find it. Once you do..step in there and make a swing…hello! That is what the proper swing plane should feel like.

Everytime you go to the range, step into this swing plane training aid and make a few swings…even before you hit one ball. Now you’ve given your muscles a feel for the correct swing plane and path.

One thing I’ve noticed when watching amateurs putt is that they constantly miss on the low-side of the hole. On breaking putts, they do not aim close to high enough to even give the ball a chance of finding the bottom of the hole. Never up, never in! This saying rings true for most amateurs.

The problem I notice is they don’t quite have an understanding of how and where to aim on breaking putts. The line shown in yellow is the about where the normal amateur would try to play the putt shown here. The line in blue is where you must actually play this shot in order to give it a chance to find the hole at a reasonable speed.

Butch Harmon, “The Short Game Guru”, did many tests on breaking putts, he discovered that amateurs on average play fifty percent less break than they should. Their thought pattern usually consists of playing less break and hitting the ball too firmly. On breaking putts the idea is to get the ball as close to the hole as possible, this means you have to actually play the break and hit the ball softer. Otherwise you’re looking at another 10 -footer coming back.

This drill will help you envision how to properly play side-hill putts.
First, find a side-hill putt and place a tee beyond the hole as your normal aiming point. Then hit a couple of putts using this tee as a guide.
Now hit a couple of putts so that the ball just dies into the hole. Grab a flagstick and place it along this line as shown. How far away is this from your original tee?

You’ll quickly discover that when playing breaking putts, you’re better off playing lots of break. At least from here, it has a chance of falling in the cup.

Give it a try!

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The backswing is one of the most important parts of your golf swing. What you do during your backswing will affect the results of your golf shot.There are two common faults on the take-away that can lead to a pushed shot. The first is an exaggerated backswing that travels too far away from your body (outside your target line), the second is the opposite (too far inside the target line). This drill can help you fix both of these faults.

Your target line is an imaginary line that extends from your target through your ball.

An outside the target line backswing will tend to loops inwards on the downswing. This is because, physically hitting the golf ball becomes nearly impossible if you don’t. So if you’re pushing your shots and your backswing is well outside your target line. You’ve got quite the out-to-in loop in your golf swing.

On the other hand, it is quite common to hit pushed shots with a backswing that is too far inside. This move alone will force your downswing to be inside the target line heading into impact, leading to push or push hook.

By placing a shaft in the position shown in these pictures, you are able to fix both these potential causes of your push. The idea is to have the club ahead of the shaft throughout your entire swing. If the club drops inside your target line at any point in your backswing or downswing, you will make contact with the shaft. Work on changing your swing path slowly with this drill. Only hit balls once you are comfortable with the proper motions.

Give it a try!

Fix your Hook, Slice, and Pull too at The Golf Drill Guru!

Chipping Trough ~ Improve your Chipping

If you suffer from inconsistent contact and tend to either pull or push your chip shots, you’re not alone. Many of my students struggle with short shots around the green. The most common faults are a poor swing path, and deceleration. To help improve your contact through fixing your path and ensuring you accelerate your swing, try this drill.

Take two clubs and form a trough about a foot apart, and place a ball in the center. Now make a short chipping stroke, while focusing on, at first keeping your club swinging between the two clubs. Once you can do this consistently, focus your attention on having a short backswing, accelerating on the downswing, and following-through the grass. If your club gets stuck in the grass at impact, you have not chipped properly.
You will be amazed at the improvement in your chipping if you remember these tips while trying this drill.

Do you want your game to really improve? Try this drill out!

Golf drills at your fingertips at The Golf Drill Guru.