Single Plane Golf Swing

Distance – How to Add, Maintain & Limit Loss (Part 2) – (I was the Guinea Pig…)

October 5, 2025 by Tim Graves PGA

By: Tim Graves, PGA

This week, the newest Single Plane University class launches … Speed Optimization.

In fact, I was the guinea pig for the test program and was able to regain swing speed I thought was gone forever.

After a few short weeks, I had regained 10MPH and started to win my PGA sectional events again …

I worked with Chris Henning (TPI / Graves Golf) with a Speed Formula designed to increase speed, maintain speed, and limit loss of speed over time.

I could not have won those events without putting in the work and benefiting from this increase.

The reality is that every decade, golfers lose 5–7 mph of swing speed — that’s up to 20 yards gone forever.

But, Speed Optimization isn’t just about adding yards — it’s about maintaining your power as you age, so your swing never gets old.

With the right training, you can rewind your biological swing age by 10 years, regain lost distance, and even hit it farther than your younger self.

To see more information about Speed Optimization Single Plane University: CLICK HERE

To view Speed and Distance Plane Talk: CLICK HERE

One of the most common questions we receive (seems every day) is “How can I get more distance?”

There are three areas you can work on / improve to help you get more distance on all your golf shots. Or at least maintain and LIMIT loss of speed over time…

And, all of these, you can and SHOULD work on over the fall / winter (training sessions) (all year long, but “hyper focus” in offseason if possible). Why? Because we tend to limit activity over the winter. This is a great time to increase your activity and limit the typical distance loss over the winter and potentially ADD distance over the time you usually loose distance.

Those three areas are:

Club / Driver Technology and Fit
Flexibility and Strength
Swing Technique

Let’s break down each area a little.

1. Golf Club Technology an Fit

Drivers – A few years ago, the USGA put together a set of rules limiting how much a golf ball can “rebound” off the face of a driver (a vague description) – thus putting a limit on the distance of the drivers. Since then, the golf industry realizing they can no longer make drivers that can hit it further off the face, have been working on technology that has made the “big” headed drivers more aerodynamic (thus less air resistance in the golf swing) and more prominent sweet spots on the face.

Older technology drivers had sweet spots the size of a dime (some smaller), newer technology drivers have sweet spots the size of half dollars (some even bigger). What that means is balls hit slightly off the middle of the club face will travel much further now.

And the key is the “average driving distance” you have, not the “one” you catch that happens to fly a long way. Meaning, if your sweet spot on the driver is large and you miss hit a few shots (or more) around off the middle of the club face, you will still get good/more “average” driving distance. Meaning, overall you will have less club into the greens, etc. etc.

Other clubs in bag (fairway woods, hybrids, irons, etc..) – Club companies have worked on optimizing all clubs in bag for distance by:

1 . Lowering center of gravity which allows golfers to hit balls higher with ease and thus getting more distance.

2. Increasing size of sweet spots on all clubs so miss hits will go longer.

3. Decreasing shaft weight and still keeping high integrity of the shaft. In other words, can now get light weight shafting in all flexes that are durable and will last a long time. Decreased shaft weighting will increase swing speed (with those clubs) and increase distance.

In the past few years, all clubs in bag have become SIGNIFICANTLY longer and more forgiving. Hopefully making the game easier for golfers by allowing clubs to be hit longer with ease…

Club Fit – All clubs in your bag MUST be fit to you and your single plane swing PERFECT or you will limit / loose distance. An improperly fit club can hit toward the heel, toe (improper lie angle), can hit off center (improper length), can have improper weighted (too heavy) shafting, have improper grip size, etc… Any of these issues can and will dramatically limit the optimal distance for your club(s). Your clubs MUST fit you to optimize your distance in those clubs.

So, if you are looking to maximize or increase distance – you need to have clubs that are “modern” or at least less than 2 or 3 years old and are fit to you PERFECT. These newer clubs have large sweet spots, lower centers of gravity, lighter high quality shafting, and have the highest technology for the least amount of wind/club head resistance in the golf swing.

If you have not been custom fit for your single plane swing, please go to: https://gravesgolf.com/free-club-fitting/

(It is a free service – submit form and we will reply with your custom fittings, recommendations, suggestions, etc..)

2. Flexibility and Strength

The 2nd area to focus on with distance is flexibility and strength. And in that order. Too many worry about strength and not flexibility. Being strong with good, or great, flexibility “allows” you to get in positions in your golf swing to hit the ball with reasonable distance.

As we get older, we loose our strength and more importantly our flexibility, when we start to loose our elasticity, we can no longer create certain angles in the golf swing that will allow us to create “leverage” in the golf swing which in turn produces speed and distance. Lose of knee, hip, shoulder, arm, wrist, hand, etc.. flexibility and strength will all potentially decrease distance (with all clubs).

These are the different areas you need to consider when looking to increase / maintain / minimize the loss of speed over time.

Flexibility
Balance
Power and Strength
Speed & Accelerator Producer Upgrades
Pre-Round Warm Up
Checklists and Tracking to Monitor Speed Increase or Maintainence

All these areas must be worked on, monitored and / or maintained to increase speed, maintain the increase and to decrease the loss of speed over time.

3. Swing Technique

A crucial factor to get more distance is to improve your technique. It is always interesting, one of the things we do at all our schools and camps is to measure our students swing speed. We then correlate it to their driver swing speed and the average distance they should be hitting their driver. For most (those that swing 85 to 90 mph), they should be hitting their driver 230 to 240 yards (with a little roll).

For most, when they find out how far they should be hitting their driver with the speed they currently have, they are shocked. Why are they hitting it so short compared to where “their potential” says they should be hitting it? Because of technique. They are not hitting the golf ball off the “sweet spot” of the club with a “direct hit” from the club that is on the path.

In other words, they are hitting “glancing blows” that is creating side spin which is limiting or reducing the distance they should be hitting your clubs.

Working on swing technique – working on getting the club on the proper single plane / path, with a square club face through impact and ultimately, limited to no side spin, will give you the maximum distance.

In conclusion, to answer the all too common question, we get from so many of our students / customers:

How can I get more distance?

(Or as important, how do I maintain and / or limit loss of distance with age..)

Answer:

1. Obtain new / modern clubs that FIT YOU PERFECT that has the highest technology for increased sweet spot, low center of gravity, limited wind resistance (aerodynamic), proper shaft weighting and length, perfect grip size for you, etc..

2. Work / continue to work on flexibility (especially over the “off-season” months when so many loose elasticities because of an increased static lifestyle), work on balance and strength, work on a pre-round warm up routine, etc…

3. Always work on improving your technique to maximize the optimal hit on the ball with limited side spin and enhanced sureness of hit.

Be watching our next upcoming SINGLE PLANE UNIVERSITY – SPEED OPTIMIZATION

To see more information about this program: CLICK HERE

A 6 week program designed SPECIFICALLY to help you increase speed, maintain speed and limit loss of speed over time.

Please feel free to contact me anytime at timg@gravesgolf.com with questions, comments, etc.

PROCESS = FREEDOM & RYDER CLUB OBSERVATIONS

October 5, 2025 by Tim Graves PGA

By Tim Graves, PGA & Bob Ciminera

From: Bob

Many thanks to you (Paul Monahan), Tim, and James for an excellent AI School last week. The technical teaching and the constant encouragement were very motivating to me in my quest to improve my game.

To answer your questions:

1. My key insight was that Process = Freedom. Starting with the word Trust followed by the Big Ideas you listed above … gave me an immediate feeling of liberation as I worked on my game all the way through the short game school last week.

2. With respect to the Ryder Cup, I had the privilege of being invited by one of my suppliers, DP World, to be a live pectator over the weekend and flew from the Short game school to be there on Saturday. I spent about 5 hours at the match until I decided that was enough and watched the rest on TV!

My key insight was in alignment with what Tim said during the AAI school. There was more pressure at this event for these guys than any other event. The crowd was every bit as loud and rude as expected. Great shots by the US were cheered loudly but shots that on any other day would be excellent were heckled by the crowd as if they could do better.and that was for the home team. The reverse was true for the Europe team, bad shots were cheered and good shots …well … that quieted the crowd. Creating an ironic motivation for the away team !. Of course that did not shut up some of the more vocal, and drunk participants which I mostly spared myself of by leaving at 230PM. The only saving grace perhaps was that the cheapest beer was $16.

It was clear that the Europeans as a group were better prepared to deal with that. It seemed that the US preparation had the effect of increasing pressure on the team and ultimately overwhelmed whatever processes they had as they got up to make a shot. There were many examples of this, the most obvious one was the missed birdie putt on Sunday that was left short for the match.

Viktor Hovland provided one of my favorite quotes from an interview before the match which exemplifies the learnings from the AAI school: When asked how he felt about the hecking at the match, he said “There’s going to be some comments here and there. They won’t really come close to the thoughts in my own head.”

I felt bad for Viktor Hovland that he had to withdraw especially in light of Tim’s connection but at least he contributed to a winning Ryder cup team.

Finally, I would love to see Tim and you do a podcast with your insights on the match similar to what you did for the Masters.

Thank you again for a wonderful program. I had high expectations and you, Tim, and James and the Graves team exceeded them.

Very much appreciated!

Best regards,

Bob Ciminera, AAI (Mental Game School) Alumnus

The Concomitant Relation of Swing Plane, Lag and Release

November 29, 2019 by admin

I don’t know a golfer on the planet who doesn’t want to add 20 yards on the end of their average drive. This equates to a club-head speed increase of approximately 8 miles per hour which, for most golfers, is a dramatic 10% increase.

Increasing your club head Club-head speed by 10% is a function of many factors which contribute to how efficient we use our bodies to release the speed in the correct location of the golf swing. In other words, if you have great technique, you can easily produce speed.

Moe would often discuss how he would “lead and lag” and included this as one of his magic movements of his swing. In this picture he was exaggerating his demonstration of this feeling.

Moe Norman — Moe Demonstrating Leading and Laging

This feeling is only felt (excuse the redundancy), by proper movement and hitting the ideal positions of the body where the arms and hands can efficiently move. To understand why the technique of these factors are directly connected is so important, you must realize the relationship between Swing Plane, Lag and Release.

Swing Plane

Swing Plane is created by positioning our bodies correctly so that when the arms moves the club, they moves in a way where the club-head can move on an arc and path that can accumulate speed. This accumulation of speed is also called “timing” where, as the body rotates and the arms move and hands hinge, the club is moving in a semi-circular path around the rotating body.

The initial swing plane is referenced at address (the Single Plane) where the club shaft is aligned with the trail arm. This extension of the arms creates a spatially wide radius for the hands to move the club around the body.

Single Plane Top of Backswing — Swing Plane at Top of Backswing

When you move the hands and arms correctly with the rotation of the body, the extension and timing of the hands and arms move in a way where the club can make a path of least resistance back and down. A better way to say this might be to say – that the club is able to move on it’s fastest and most efficient path.

Lag

Technically, lag is where one thing leads as another thing follows another or lags behind. Therefore, during a downswing, the body moves first, the arms and hands move next and the club follows. One important aspect of lag is the leverage angle formed by the hand hinge which creates and angle allowing the club-head to lag behind the hands. This angle, after lagging behind in the downswing, will release to produce speed.

The angle formed by the hand hinge allows the club head to lag far behind the arms when the arms pull the club down in the downswing.

This angle is related to the grip and how the hands put pressure on the club as well as wrist hinge and how the trail arm folds.

Feeling Swing Plane and Lag

When the arms pull the club, the club head will lag behind the hands where the mass of the club head is being pulled by the shaft. This creates a Feel where you are pulling on the club but the club-head is staying behind. The pull of the club is related to how the pressure points of the hands are aligned to the shaft and the face angle.

The hinge of the lead arm pulls on the shaft when the torso rotates and pulls the arm. The trail hand supports the club and will eventually “skip a rock” as it moves through to release the club through impact.

The Body Pulls the Lead Arm, which pulls the hand which pulls the club

Release

Release is dependent on a number of factors including how the body leads in the downswing and the lag being maintained in the downswing. When the body rotates ant the trail arm extends the club is released through the ball. The trail arm has extended from its bent position (see picture above) and at the point of release, both arms are straight.

The Position of release is dependent on how well the arm stayed bent in the downswing and the stability of the lead leg so that the upper body can continue to turn as the trail arm extends.

In summary, Swing Plane, Lag and Release are all related to producing speed and timing of the golf swing. When you begin to move correctly and the club moves on plane, the hands hinge correctly and your body is able to efficiently “pull’ the club into the downswing.

As you pull and the pulling side of the body begins to stop, the trial side and take over as it rotates. The trail arm extends and releases the leverage created in the backswing and downswing.

Similar to cracking a whip, release is a place where the speed of the club reaches its fastest point after impact.

Top 5 Single Plane Breakthroughs for 2017

December 24, 2017 by admin

Hello, Single Plane Golfers.

If you enjoy Moe Norman stories or advocate his simple golf swing – you will probably be interested in hearing about my Top 5 Single Plane Discoveries for 2017.

Each year I learn more about Moe and his amazingly simple golf swing. What might fascinate me, even more, is how much of a genius he was. His insights about the golf swing were direct and straightforward. His messages sounded crude at the time, but as I continue to do research and dig into his golf swing with modern technology, I am discovering that twenty-three years later, he was more accurate than ever

Let’s take a look at my top 5 discoveries of 2017 and what Moe said about them over 20 years ago.

1) The address position is never square.

Moe said, “It’s a game of straight where everything’s crooked.”

Once again Moe was right on. While we align our toe line to the target and square the clubface, the body is open to the goal. We often call this “square” but in reality, other than the club face being perpendicular to the intended target, nothing of the body is parallel to the target line.

Moe Norman Overhead View

Interestingly enough, when I asked Moe how he aligned a golf shot, he always said: “Line up the club face, aim and fire.” He never mentioned the feet or shoulders.

No surprise here but the backswing is two parts.

Moe is right again when he said “IN and then UP “ when he described the movement of the backswing.

We’ve always taught the backswing this way, but this year we quantified it with 3D motion analysis equipment. While the two parts of the backswing are blended into one motion, data shows that the upper body “separates” from the lower body during the backswing motion creating two distinct movements. It is difficult to see but easy to feel. My latest video “Inside the Single Plane Swing” describes this movement and teaches how to feel it.

Single Plane Golf Swing Top View

3. Inside the SPS is a breakthrough concept. Feel is real.

Moe called his golf swing ‘The Feeling of Greatness” for a reason. It’s all about feel. This became more evident with our bestselling DVD for 2017 – Inside the Single Plane Swing. Subtitled “Feel your Swing,” SPS students have been raving about the latest instruction insights. Based on the concept of standing inside Moe Norman’s body while he moved and felt what he felt, the Inside the SPS DVD allows you to focus on the sensations of motion. The instruction is a “first” of its kind and proving to be one of the greatest of all time.

Order Inside SPS here

Webinar Top View Camera

Order Inside SPS here

4. Less is more. Shortening the backswing produces more rotation – go figure.

If you asked any Single Plane Instructor “Have you ever lengthened a backswing?” They would answer with a resounding “no.” Students often think that a longer backswing creates more power. But as science once again proves, golf defies logic.

Quantifiably, a shorter backswing improves the amount of rotation in the backswing to impact total. In other words, when you shorten the backswing rotation, you can rotate more at impact. Together – you can produce total rotation.

A recent student was producing 90 degrees of shoulder rotation going back and only 10 degrees of rotation at impact – going forward. A total of 100 degrees. By shortening his backswing to only 75 degrees of rotation going back, he was able to get 35 degrees of rotation at impact – going forward. A total of 110 degrees.

By doing so, his hands were able to lead, and he produced more speed at the proper moment of his swing – impact.

Nobody ever said golf made sense.

Stabilize and Energize the Single Plane Swing

Order Inside SPS here

5. A ball against the wall stops the hips from a fall. (Sorry but I felt like I had to make this one rhyme.)

In describing the backswing, Moe said “Stabilize and Energize” Well, you just can’t energize if you don’t stabilize. That’s because the hip rotation in the backswing is a critical factor to proper spine tilt and body rotation.

If you take an exercise ball and place it between your lead hip and the wall, you can move into your backswing and feel how the bone stays forward as you rotate. I call this the “wall-ball” drill. Again, the wall-ball exercise helps you feel the movement of the lower body as well as the stabilization of the trail leg.

Graves Golf Wall Ball DrillWall-ball is definitely one of the best new drill discoveries of 2017.

Order Inside SPS here

Distance an issue – Not with the Single Plane Swing

December 16, 2017 by admin

Have you seen Sandra Carlborg? She won the Women’s national long drive championship. You can see her Single Plane swing here: Sandra Carlborg on the Golf Channel.

I did a little research and found that she has adjusted her swing to the Single Plane since 2014. Here you can see her swing from 2014.

If you look at her swing this year (2017) where she wins the women’s National Long Drive Championship, she has lifted her swing into a Single Plane at address.

She hit her winning shot 349 yards. You can see an as significant lift in her hand position creating a Single Plane with her arms and club shaft.

Comments about Sandra and this article – We want to hear from you:

Tough Love – I Better See You in February

December 2, 2017 by admin

It’s Coach Todd here. I have my coaching hat on. I’m not here to discuss your swing technique. I’m here to talk about you. We need to have a heart-to-heart.

I get worried this time of year because we plan our spring schedule, and our schools fill quickly. We have limited seats. Then I hear later in the year that students missed out, and they wait an entire year to come to a school. A whole year! That’s way too long.

Single Plane Golf Schools — Graves Golf School Chipping Instruction

If you are planning on coming to a GGA school, you need to register now. Don’t wait. I don’t want you to miss out. If you haven’t made up your mind yet – I have some profound unsolicited advice for you. If you plan on attending a GGA School, we expect you to –

Raise your standard and your expectations about your golf swing.

That’s right. You need to stop accepting your current golf game. Right now you are taking it to easy on yourself. You agree to mediocrity. You complain that golf is hard and you struggle every year but you don’t do anything about it. It’s time to do something. You need to change. It’s time to get some real results. Now. Let me ask you.

If not now, when?

Look, you and I aren’t getting any younger. We are on the same trip – traveling on the same planet – our ship is headed in the same direction. The only opportunity we have is today. It takes time to make changes, and you need to start now.

Graves Golf Schools — Graves Golf School Notebook

By the way, this isn’t just my advice. This guidance was given to me by Tony Robbins a few years ago when I was sleeping through my life. His no B.S. approach woke me up, and he was right. I was accepting mediocrity and making dozens of excuses about why I wasn’t successful. I was telling myself lies, and I believed them. Things like “I don’t have the time” or “I’m just not strong enough.”

Today I am involved in one of the most successful golf schools on the planet – because I raised my expectations. I stopped making excuses. I raised my standards. Thank you, Tony.

He showed me that the things I was telling myself were B.S. I know because I went to work and overcame them. I realized that my beliefs, the stories I was telling myself, weren’t right. Once I realized this, my entire world changed.

But, you know what the best thing about it was? It helped the people around me too. That’s right. When you raise your standards, the people around you grow their standards also. Their lives get better because I decided to stop suffering. It’s a win/win! But it only happened once I stopped telling myself lies.

I’m telling you that right now, at this exact moment, you are lying to yourself about your potential – and you are suffering because of it. I promise.

So what are you going to do about it? Here is an excellent place to start. Let’s find out what you are telling yourself about your golf game.

1. Old dogs can’t learn new tricks.

I’ve heard this one thousand times, and I’ve taught hundreds of old dog’s new golf swings. I witness hundreds of transformations at the schools. We get thousands of testimonials each year from golfers who were transformed from learning the Single Plane Swing. I promise that you will learn something new within the fifteen minutes of a golf school or I’ll give you your money back.

2. I don’t have the time.

You know it as well as I do, you always have time if you want to have time. I told this one to Tony, and he said that it wasn’t that I didn’t have the time it was that I didn’t want it bad enough. Heck, twenty-three years ago I drove across the United States to watch Moe hit balls so I could learn his swing. If you want something – you do it. It’s that simple.

3. I don’t want to change my swing – it will take too long.

This excuse makes no sense to me. Would you somewhat suffer forever than make a few changes? Do you want to look back at your life and say “I should have?”

4. I don’t like to practice

At one-point, practicing wasn’t fun anymore. Tony told me was asking the wrong question. He then asked – “What if you loved to practice. What if you couldn’t wait to get up every day and get to the golf course to practice?” What would your life be like? What would your golf game be like?

Not only do we lie to ourselves, we ask ourselves the wrong questions. Instead of saying “I can’t do something” ask yourself “What if you could? “. This simple change in how you frame things changes everything.

Bunker Instruction at the Graves Golf School

Here’s the deal. I want to help you. The entire GGA Team wants to help you and see you succeed. We will do everything in our power to help you – if you will raise your standards and see us.

I want to come to a school, and I want to be tough on you. Why? Because I want you to raise your standards, I want you to change and I want results.

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