Golf instruction

The Two Lines and Tension Points of the Single Plane Swing

September 6, 2019 by admin

I spend much of my time stressing the importance of the Single Plane starting position. It has been my experience that when I am unstable or uncomfortable at address, my ability to strike the ball solid and consistently decreases dramatically. When I feel perfect at address, I am a great ballstriker.

I believe that many golfers take the address position for granted and focus more attention on the motion of their body during the swing.

The address position is more than just standing beside the golf ball holding the club. There are important elements that must be present to engage the body ensuring that the first motion into the backswing, what I call the first move, sets the entire golf swing into the proper sequence.

Club to Body Spatial Relationsihip

At address, there are two straight lines formed between the arms and the club. These two lines form a “club to body” relationship. The relationship is spatial allowing the arms to easily return the club to impact. Let’s take a close look at these two lines and the relationship that is formed.

Down-the-Line (Single Plane) – the First Line

This angle shows the alignment of the club with the trail arm into a straight line. The club is NOT aligned with the lead arm from this angle. If I removed the trail arm from the club, the club would align below the lead arm.

This is due to the club being held in the fingers of the lead hand into the heel pad.

Single Plane Lead Hand Fingers — The Single Plane Swing and Lead hand position

Face-on-View – The Second Line

The second line can be seen from the face-on perspective where the club shaft aligns with the lead arm to the lead shoulder.

This alignment is a function and created by the tilt of the body. The tilt of the body lifts the shoulder where you can see the extension which is where tension is felt. This is the area where the body feels engaged and ready to move. The motion of the swing starts at the lead shoulder area because of this tension.

When the body is engaged, there is tension as various points feeling as though at these places you are in a “ready” state. As the body prepares to make the first move into the backswing, with the proper tension at these places, the body is stable. Stability at the correct places allows for the proper movement sequence.

With the tension and stability in the correct areas of the body, there are also places that are relaxed, mostly in the trail side. Instead of tension, these areas are “soft” and relaxed. See the diagram where the blue shaded areas mark the places in the body were there is very little tension.

With the body engaged and relaxed in the correct places, you are ready to initiate the correct movement into the backswing. Each aspect of the body’s position promotes proper movement. The details of these aspects are an important part of biomechanics and swing sequence. You can find out more about how each detail of the swing affects the swing in its entirety in my latest DVD product, the Domino Effect, Back to Basics where I discuss, in detail, each aspect of the Single Plane Golf Swing.

The Domino Effect – Back to Basics

Converting to a Single Plane Swing

April 26, 2014 by admin

For the past 50 years, the popularity of golf has built an industry of golf instructors. Instructors face the challenge of teaching human beings how to hit a golf ball, chip and putt so that others can enjoy the game. Or so they think. Over one million golfers begin playing the game each year and 1.1 million gofers quit playing each year. The game has a tendency to be difficult and those of you who have played for a few years know how a walk in the park can easily become a stroll in hell.

As one of the many instructors who spends my energies helping others play golf (I actually consider myself more of a technical swing teacher than playing teacher, I leave that to my brother) I am often faced with “converting” golfers from a Conventional swing to the Single Plane Swing. So let’s talk about the main aspects of this “Conversion.

1) Major Grip and address position changes.

The most significant change is how you address and establish your starting position. The hands are higher (on plane), the lead hand is neutral, trail hand is stronger, the shoulders (spine) is tilted more, the legs are straight and not bent.

2) On Plane backswing

The club often feels like it goes “inside” or on a flatter plane in the Single Plane swing. This is because you are starting “on Plane’ allowing the club to take its natural path in the backing – with no manipulation in the backswing.

3) Less Shoulder Turn and torque on back

The Single plane swing requires less turn and stress on the torso, shoulders and back than the conventional swing. Minimal hip turn and minimal shoulder turn get the club on plane and leveraged which is all you need to hit a ball long and straight.

4) Impact with flexed lead knee and feet on ground.

A significant aspect of the Single Plane Swing is that the you are returning the club to the same plane that you had at address. There is no need to lift he body at impact. The feet can say on the ground and the lead knee can stay flexed and not straighten as you see in a conventional impact position.

5) Release and follow through with feet on ground and club swings through on plane

This is almost a “result” of a pure Single Plane Swing – the feet can stay on the ground as the club fully releases its power through the ball into the finish. Because the movement of the club is on plane and easier on the body, there is less movement throughout the entire Single Plane Swing.

If you read the above paragraphs, follow the bolded text. Use these reminders as your keys on the driving range to convert your conventional golf swing into a pure Single Plane Swing.

The Best Training I’ve Ever Seen

December 6, 2013 by admin

At a recent 3 Day Premier school in Palm Springs, I experienced a truly amazing transformation of a group of golfers. It was awe inspiring to watch, and as an instructor, very, very exciting to see. Permit me to elaborate.

It was on the 2nd morning of our 3-day school, and the group of students were warming up that morning by practicing our PVC drill. Our group of instructors, 5 of us in all, we walking the tee line, helping each golfer individually. After a few minutes of observation of not only the individuals, but the group in general, we noticed that the majority of the students were doing the drill incorrectly.

Now, if you’ve followed our instruction, you know our firm belief that if a drill isn’t done correctly, it’s doing more harm than good. In fact, practicing incorrectly can be fatal to your game.

We decided to stop the entire group, and circled everyone up. We reviewed each position of the PVC drill, reminded the group of valuable checkpoints at each position, had the group demonstrate correct positioning, and sent them back to the line to “try again”.

What transpired over the next 20 minutes was the best training session I have ever seen. I saw a group of golfers who were intensely focused on each position. These golfers were moving to a position, checking it, and if the position was not correct, they fixed it immediately. It was a truly magical moment to behold. That group improved their swings in that 20-minute session, which is what the schools are all about.

It’s training, and I mean truly training, that makes the golf school experience superior to any other form of instruction out there.

At each and every GGA school program, from the 5 day Build Your Game Camp to the 1-day Single Plane Experience, our focus as an instruction company is helping you learn to train. The fundamentals of the swing, putting, and the wedge game are simple, it’s learning how to train each of those areas – correctly – that make the golf school experience last.

If you are ready to experience exactly what your perfect golf swing feels like, then I encourage you to get to attend a GGA school sooner rather than later. If you are like most of our students, you’ve spent enough time guessing and being frustrated. It’s time to experience it, learn it, and train it under the supervision of a trained eye.

To find a school, CLICK HERE , and we look forward to helping you discover what true golf swing training really is.

Hit em’ straight!

Scott

Why changing proves difficult

September 10, 2011 by admin

Over the past 7 1/2 years of my time learning, and now teaching the Moe Norman Single Plane swing to golfers worldwide, one of the most common frustrations that arise is the difficulty of making a change in the mechanics or movement. Through years of observation, I’ve found that it’s not due to a lack of desire to make the necessary change(s), nor necessarily from a lack of effort.

Sometimes, I’ve seen making changes be difficult due to lack of flexibility or mobility in a necessary body part, however, those things can be overcome a majority of the time.

I’ve always found it fascinating that when a golfer is presented Moe Norman’s Single Plane swing, and understands the golf swing as a motion to achieve an ideal impact position, they’re desire to use and match Moe as the ideal human model is very, very high. I mean, the Single Plane swing just makes sense.

But the question still remains, Why is changing or making changes to the golf swing, difficult?

To shed some light on the answer to this questions, I want to take you back to your childhood. The first question I have for you is this: How did you learn to tie your shoes?

Funny questions, I know, but think about it for a minute. Tying your shoes today is a mechanical process that you don’t even think about to accomplish. You just tie your shoes, right?

As the father of a 7 year old boy, this story is current for me, as we’ve been working with him to teach him to tie his shoes for about 9 months now. (Maybe he’s just a slow learner, or maybe he’s more interested in wearing shoes now with Velcro, but I digress).

When you learned to tie your shoes, you had someone show you how to do it. You watched as an adult demonstrated how to tie the shoelaces. Then, maybe they took your hands and tried to guide you through the process. And then you tried it on your own, and although you likely can’t remember, you probably didn’t ace the tying on your first solo try. As time passed, and you continued to practice the task of tying your shoes, you first were completely incompetent at completing the task, then you gained some competency, then, with practice, you gained mastery.

Now, thinking back on learning to tie your shoes, do you still tie your shoes to this day exactly like the person who showed and taught you? I’d be willing to be that you do.

So let’s bring that story into the context of our golf swings. As we do, let’s first think about the process you went through as a child learning to tie your shoes.

First, you had a model. Someone showed you how to do it.
Second, you watched the model demonstrate the task, likely over and over.
Next, you tried to imagine yourself completing the task
You then tried the task by yourself and likely failed miserably
And you continued to practice the task, failing, correcting, and failing, until at some point, you were able to accomplish the task.
With more repetition, you then mastered the task, and it became a subconscious habit.

When it comes to the golf swing, my belief is that we can have no better model than Moe Norman. The greatest ball striker to ever live is a pretty good model in my book. Many reading this will have watched Moe’s swing, or even purchased instruction from us about learning the swing, like the Single Plane Solution. And if you’ve watched Moe’s swing, have the instruction, you likely have tried to implement what you’ve seen, and this is the point that most golfers get stuck.

Some of the most comical comments I get from golfers go something like this; “I purchased your DVD’s, watched them yesterday, and tried Moe’s swing on the course today, and it just didn’t work.” The unfortunate and sad part of that comment is that the golfer skipped about 4 steps in the learning process, and made a judgment on those results.

Changing any dynamic bodily movement must go through the learning process, and in my years, this is where most golfers cheat themselves; they don’t submit themselves to the learning process, and lose any chance of making truly significant and positive changes to their games. It’s a sad reality of this game, however, for those who understand that there is a process of learning and submit themselves to that process, the rewards are great.

In conclusion, in order to get past the difficulty of making changes that most golfers have, you simply have to return to your youth and understand that you must crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. The process of learning doesn’t exempt us because of age, experience, or wealth. It must be adhered to, and for those that do, regardless of age, experience, or wealth, the rewards they reap are worth the effort and time that the process requires.

To your success,

Scott

The Evolution of Simple

October 30, 2010 by admin

Skills, such as playing a musical instrument or striking a golf ball are complicated tasks learned through repetition. The brain requires a certain amount of reinforcement and repetition to retain a sub-conscious – non-thinking action that we call “skill”. When it comes to the amount of reinforcement and repetition, there is no “simple” way to give the brain the number of experiences. If it takes 100,000 repetitions, for example, you must put in the time to give ourselves at least this many experiences. Even Moe, who I once asked why he kept practicing even at the age of 70, said “To make it (his swing) stronger.

Repetition of a task makes the skill stronger. This might seem a bit discouraging however, studies show that anyone who diligently practices two hours a day, can master any skill in five years. This evidence alone should be enough to get you off of your couch. But when you do, another question arises – “Where do I start?” And the answer to this question is the evolution of simple.

Simple is a term often used by the golf instruction industry to attract customers. Once the customer buys in, however, he often finds himself once again confounded by the amount of effort it really takes to achieve a good golf swing. To me, the golf swing is very simple however, my learning process was not. I put in many hours and I would be lying to you if I said that it was easy. When I asked Moe how he learned to hit a golf ball so well, he answered very profoundly, “hard work, it takes hard work”.

So if you understand at the outset that it is going to take time and effort, you are then ready to realize what it means to be simple. Simple, by this definition is the difference between easy and hard. In other words, there is an easy way to do something and a hard way to do something. The goal, therefore, is to use the easy way of striking a golf ball and in doing so, you will be able to achieve a lasting, pain-free, and maintenance-free way of playing golf. Simple means longevity and when compared to “conventional” methods, just makes sense.

Moe Norman’s golf swing is simple for a number of reasons often discussed in our teaching. It’s simplicity, we call the Single Plane, is founded on common sense – the common sense of starting the club on the same plane as impact. What could be more simple than that? And because of the “start where you impact” Single Plane, there are stresses and rotations of the conventional swing are no longer necessary. But be careful. This does not mean that there aren’t any rotations in Single Plane Swing which is often the assumption of those who first observe Moe’s swing.

The fact is that there are the perfect amount of rotations in Moe’s swing. What we call bio-mechanical efficiency. Another way to look at bio-mechanical efficiency is the perfect amount of movement to achieve the task. In Moe’s case, the task was moving a golf club in such a way as to strike a golf ball with perfect backspin. When you look at the golf swing from this perspective, your task is to move the club – not strike the ball. From this perspective, simple becomes more easily understood. Simple means efficient.

With this in mind, you can now begin by modeling Moe’s Single Plane Golf swing and allow yourself to refine the movements necessary to achieve Moe like efficiencies. This means a bit of trial and error and much practice. So as I always recommend, start using video analysis to monitor your movements. This is a sure way to keep on track and short-cut the process of learning a truly Simple Single Plane Golf Swing.

My Story

July 20, 2005 by admin

GOLF FRUSTRATION

I had just returned from the Asian Professional Golf Tour. After competing against the likes of V.J Singh, David Toms and Todd Hamilton to name a few, I knew I needed more consistency and better ball striking abilities. After discussing my situation with some of my tour friends, I decided to search for an instructor who could help me understand the swing and help me become a better player.

I often tell my students that no one has spent more time and money on golf instruction than me. At the time, I was desperate and I needed help. After all, if I couldn’t beat the guys on the Asian Tour, how would I beat the guys on the U.S. Tour? So to get better, I began to travel around the United States spending time with the most well-known instructors; the guys you see on the covers of magazines and on the golf channel today. There is only one word for the results of my attempts to get better. I finally moved to Dallas Texas to work with one of golf’s best instructors and finally, after two years of hard work and practice I can only use one word to describe my results: frustration. That is what I was feeling in late 1993. There is no other word for it. And trust me, nobody was hitting more golf balls or practicing harder than me. But I had reached wit’s end. I felt as though I had absolutely no hope. I didn’t have the money or the heart to continue and I quit playing golf.

Then one day, while living in Dallas, a friend from college came through town. He had a tape of a mysterious Canadian who was known for his unique golf swing and somewhat odd personality. The man’s name was Moe Norman. As I watched the video, one thing, in particular, caught my attention. It was the people watching Moe hit balls. They were professional golfers that I knew in college. There were dozens of them, all watching this amazing Canadian Legend hit golf balls.

Now, before I continue, let me ask you a question. Have you ever had any peculiar events occur in your life that kind of lead you in a direction? Things you might call coincidences or synchronicities? (I hate to call them coincidences because I think all things are purposeful), but have you ever had a series of events occur that kind of push you toward something? Well, during this period of my life, these types of events were occurring in my life. Because at the same time I was visiting with my friend, there was a man named Jack Kuykendall demonstrating his Natural Golf Method at a driving range that my professional golf sponsors owned.

These two events triggered a new hope in my thinking about golf. I thought, “Could there be an easier way to strike a golf ball?” Could Moe Norman have the answers? Maybe I had been searching in the wrong places for the answers to my game.

At that time, I began to look further into Moe Norman and Jack Kuykendall. What I found was that there were some differences between what Jack was demonstrating and Moe Norman. Jack discussed having the hands split apart on the club 3 inches, Moe had an overlapping grip. Jack had his own club design, Moe played with standard clubs that he altered for his swing. Also, Jack used a big grip and talked about hammering a nail while Moe had a slightly larger than normal but tapered grip on his clubs. But, even with the differences in technique, there was one thing in common, the single axis. Jack talked about the science of the Single Axis and Moe Norman was the living validation of possibly an easier way to hit a golf ball.

The Single Axis

These events led me back to the driving range, back to the video room to study my swing mechanics. Could my new knowledge give me the results I was looking for? Could the answer to a simple way to hit a ball be in the Single Axis?

I often utilized video often in my practice because I believed in modeling and not wasting time with poor technique. I had spent so much time looking at other players’ golf swings, it was easy for me to understand how helpful video analysis could be. I figured 10 perfect swings on video are a better use of time than 100 bad swings on the driving range. Besides, the driving range couldn’t tell me anything about my golf swing and I wanted to know more about the club movement. And now after seeing the video from Canada, I wanted to Model Moe Norman.

So there I was, in my teacher’s studio about to defy all of his teachings and put myself in positions that if he saw me would laugh. (I would later find a tape of Moe in my teacher’s office.) But the way I looked at it was that I had nothing to lose. So there I was, standing in front of the video cameras. As I address the ball on the video screen, I lifted my hands into a straight line with the club shaft. I widened my stance, looked down at the ball and made my first single axis golf swing. I immediately went to the video machine to play it back. As I played it back, I, for the first time in my life, found what I was looking for.

Impact Plane

Before I explain what I saw on video, let me explain my “conventional” golf swing. At address you hang your arms below your shoulders. When you do this, you can see that the club is on a separate line than the arms. This is called a two axis system. The arms are on one axis and the club is on another. The golf swing was a combination of correct arm movement, rotation, hinging of the hands and turning of the body. When I practiced and videotaped my swing, I could go back to the TV screen and draw a line on the club shaft at address. Then, I would play my swing and draw a line on the club-shaft at impact. The address line was always above the impact line. In other words, it was higher than the original shaft line at address. This meant, in conventional terms, that the club was starting on one plane and impacting on another. The problem with this “two” plane type of swing is that because the club starts on a lower plane, it must steepen into impact. This steepening of the club shaft meant that the upper body must lift to allow for the different impact plane. The upward and backward movement of the body is a difficult move and it takes coordination, timing and lots of practice. (I recently explained this in the July 2005 Golf Tips Magazine).

Consider the fact that it only takes ONE DEGREE of clubface error to hit a driver 30 yards off line. And the conventional two axis system makes it difficult to square the face at impact. With such a small room for error, the goal is to create the least amount of deviation of the club between address and impact. The goal is to swing the club on a SINGLE plane.

What I saw on Video

So, when I went to the video studio for the first day to model Moe’s golf swing, I found the answer to simplifying the golf swing.. I simply adjusted my grip, lined the club correctly with my arms and finally reached my goal. When I swung the club, the club impacted the golf ball on EXACTLY the same line as address. I finally swing the club on the single plane. It was so simple. I then realized that Moe Norman, the mysterious Canadian who swung the club what he called “My Way”, had a secret. Moe had unknowingly uncovered the answer to how to a simple single plane golf swing.

When I realized how easy it was to swing the club on plane, I then realized that all of my conventional efforts were, to put it quite frankly, wrong. I don’t think they were a waste of time because without them I would not have searched for a simple way. But I knew that I had to learn a new IDEA of the golf swing.

My concepts of how to swing the club had been drastically challenged. The conventional thoughts of arms hanging below the shoulder, lower body rotations, and shoulder turn were now dramatically altered. I knew that my understanding of Moe’s golf swing and the single plane was just a beginning of my learning process.

Meeting Moe

I must admit. After that first day in the video room, I was extremely excited. I felt as though I had discovered the Holy Grail of the golf swing. I realized that after reading all of the golf magazines, studying the best players in the world, playing on the Asian professional golf tour and then working with the best instructors in the world that I be making one very big mistake. I had been asking the wrong question. I had been searching for what works on tour however the tour is full of many swings that work. When I finally asked one simple question, “Who is the best in the world?” only one name emerged from even the best players on tour; his name was Murray ‘Moe’ Norman.

It was mid-summer 1994 and Moe was performing a clinic in Chicago. I knew that if I was to take my learning to the next level I needed to meet the man behind the Single Axis Golf Swing. I decided to drive to Chicago and meet Moe and watched Moe hit balls in person for the first time. His first three shots from 50 yards struck the target. The fourth shot wets directly under it. By the end of the clinic, Moe was striking drivers at a 250 yard post. I watched as about every 10th ball would strike the post. I can honestly say that I have never seen a greater display of control and accuracy of the golf club. I have never seen golf look so simple. It was the greatest ball striking I have ever seen.

After the clinic I approached Moe. We talked about his amazing display. I told him that I had never seen a better clinic.

And Moe’s first words to me were “I’m the best in the world”.

“There is no doubt” I said “No doubt.”

“Mind if I hit a few of your clubs” I asked.

“Sure, but they’re too heavy for you” Moe said. They weighed a ton. Lead tape covered the heads. But as I swung the club, Moe watched as I hit his 7-iron and then his 5 iron.

“Looks like me without a belly, looks like me without a belly” Moe said.

From that day Moe and I became friends. We played, practiced and performed clinics occasionally. I often visited Moe in Florida when I was either playing tournaments or working with Natural Golf. Our relationship became one of a student and teacher. Moe was extremely intuitive and played golf by feel I learned the things that Moe himself could not explain. As I spent more time with Moe, I learned to “bridge the gap” between his feelings for the golf swing and the mechanical and physical reality. I could never express my appreciation for Moe’s kindness and generosity as I diligently learned to know what he knew. It was for that reason that I have acquired the nickname “Little Moe”.

The important part of this message is the promise I made to Moe during what would be my final round with him on July 4, 2004. He was excited about all that I was doing with my swing and commented to me that he never thought that he would see it but that I had “mastered” his move. That day, I promised Moe that I would continue to be his voice to tell people about his amazing swing no matter what the consequences. I promised him that I would show others how his simple technique could help them enjoy the game just as it helped me learn to love the game again.

Todd

Commentary by Tim… (yup – older brother always has to throw a thing or two in…). Guys – THIS IS WHY WE TEACH THE WAY WE DO!!!! Do we want to teach a 1,000 people – absolutely, but whether we teach only 1 or 1,000,000 our goal is the same – to teach you MOE’S SWING the best we know how. There a many skeptics (and copies) out there (more and more every day) – but to be honest, if I was going to learn this swing…. I know where I’d go….

Please let us know if we can do anything to help you on your journey to learning Moe’s Swing.

Good Luck and Remember – ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH A PURPOSE

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