One Plane Vs Two Plane Golf Swing | Which is Better? 

I have a 4th swing plane which I use when throwing my club into the drink

You make several excellent points. Both a one plane and two plane swing can be used to play excellent golf. You should mention however that there are two very distinct and separate sets of fundamentals for each of these types of swings. You touched on them briefly, but much of the confusion in golf instruction comes about because people hear a set of fundamentals that don't apply to their swing type. Also, some of the fundamentals for these two swings seem contradictory. So one teacher says this and the next says that. They are both correct, but they are teaching two different swings. When people really get confused is when they begin mixing the two sets of fundamentals together.

Been playing golf for almost 25 years. Went to a more one plane swing 6 months ago....way more consistent. Ball striking has really improved. It also feels simpler.

Agreed. Many teachers seem to think it is Either flat or upright (a choice of the two). It is quite OK to be somewhere in the middle as you state, so long as you know what you are doing.

The most valuable instruction in this video was to say each swing plane has its pros and cons. On the advice of others (Videos included), I've tried both. One instructor said get the club higher simply because some pro or another swings that way. Another says keep the hands a little lower resulting in a flatter plane. In the end however, after a fair amount of time practicing both, neither cured my arch nemesis, the topped shot. I tried every drill, every technique, every trick in the book to simply stay down on the ball through impact with no lasting result. For me, the problem with the above swing planes were they felt somewhat confining as I could not swing freely thus creating some other faulty compensation. At wits end, I graduated to the third swing plane which is single plane; at address, stand pretty much straight up, clubshaft and right arm in a nearly straight line, with the result, topped shots have consistently disappeared. Even though one plane has yet to be viewed as a "Proper plane," it is refreshing to see an instructional video that doesn't force any one swing as the only swing....

You are exactly right about the hips firing through too soon with an upright swing because thats exactly what I did, it also caused me to get too steep on the ball. I had to go with the flatter plane even though I gave up some distance. I just found myself being more consistent with a flatter plane because I don't have to worry about dropping the club down on the downswing.

Some good points Clay. I actually have my plane a little above my right shoulder, a smidge vertical. But I have a 1 plane swing as I have my hands almost on the swing plane at the start of my swing. So I have managed to combine both. My ball striking is crisp & I am compressing the ball well.

Very interesting video especially the contrast between the steepness of shoulder tirn vs arm swing...really informative...shows how much stuff isn't talked about in modern golf instruction

Years ago, there was a golf instructional book that talked about body type influencing swing plane. In general, shorter golfers have a flatter swing and taller players have a more vertical swing. Also, body shape and weight influences swing planes as well. The book suggested to find a player of your similar height and body type and mimic their swing planes for a more natural approach to this topic.

I had two swings during rounds and was very inconsistent, switched to single plane only for every clubs and Bam Wam Thank you mam

For the past 3 years I have done a great deal of study and experimentation in the search for my golf swing. What I have learned is that there must be fundamentals that exist in the golf swing. With your five key concepts you are teaching basic things (fundamentals) that all great swing have. I believe that swing plane is not a fundamental, but that it is dictated by unique physical attributes in each person. I'm 6'2", weigh about 290 pounds (I would like to say that it is all muscle, LOL), have above average flexibility, have long arms, a big chest, and a fair amount of strength. How do I make the best use of those attributes? I'm closer to finding the answer to this question thanks to your fundamentals.

Nice piece Clay. Always great to hear a fellow Pro speak of options and not preach a doctrine.

Captures every golfer’s dilemma in one video!

The plane on the backswing never crosses my mind! Only what happens in the hitting zone matters and the follow thru to the target!

I can't begin to express how helpful you've been in your videos. These videos answer the questions that I've never been sure of in the past even as a high school coach! I'll be passing this knowledge soon to everyone!

Clay, you are the best. Help me a lot with my golf AND my tennis :)). Beat all my friends in competition. Thank you great deal.

Excellent explanation! Now I understand why I hit the ball better with the shallow swing, because I tend to rotate hard and when I try to swing upright my hands don’t catch up

Great video that explains basically every swing on tour depending on what players you follow!

I personally really love a flatter swing plane (like Hogan). It’s powerful, compact and consistent. You fight a hook a lot if you don’t release the club properly but at least you only have one miss.

I mean, the final answer is to go with whatever works best for you. Try them all and decide for your own game. However, I want to talk about this when it comes to Tiger Woods. Many people say his best swing and his best era was his time with Butch Harmon, where he had a very long, wide swing. This was the 2-plane swing. On the way back, the club shaft changed from the angle at address to the shoulder plane, and then back. It may be true that Tiger played his most dominant tournaments in this era, and yes he won the most majors, but.... When he worked with Hank Haney, they changed his swing plane to a 1-plane swing. His swing was flatter on the way back (either on or parallel to the shaft angle at address) and a touch laid off. The reason he did this was because he would sometimes get the club stuck behind him on the way down with the 2-plane swing and hook the ball. He wanted to eliminate the hook. Haney's theory was that by using the flatter plane, the club would be easier to keep out in front of him on the way down, so that if he'd miss shots, they'd be to the right, but he wouldn't be getting the club stuck. There are a lot of people who criticize Tiger's Hank Haney swing, but the facts are that his iron play actually got better. Which is incredible because it was already the best on Tour under Butch Harmon. His iron play from 2005-2009 was amazingly consistent. He did get a little worse with the driver and I'm not sure why (perhaps the change in plane wasn't as good for longer clubs as it was for shorter ones). Under Sean Foley he went back to the shoulder plane swing and struggled with distance control among other things. Now, with his 4th swing and post-back fusion, he's still doing a 2-plane swing...more similar to the Butch Harmon swing I would say. And he's still missing it both ways. Honestly I don't know why he hasn't gone back to the 1-plane swing because he played his best golf with that.

Clay is sensible and insightful at the same time. One thing he doesn't address here is the notion that single plane is easier on the back, supposedly because the golfer is not rising as he uncoils to hit the ball.

Really enjoy your videos Clay, however Joe Dante's teaching others since him, promote an early wrist set, in fact you start to set the wrists from the first move away. This really helped me maintain lag, and I added at least another club length to all my shots. Nick Faldo used the pre-set drill to become No. 1. Patrick Damore promotes this. Joe Dante in fact stated that this 'low and slow' one piece takeaway is very difficult to do, even for Pro's and is not for amateurs. Just wondered what your thoughts were?

The different to me between one and two plane is the setup at address. In the one plane swing you basically set yourself, in the exact position, as you would be in when actually striking the ball. This means your arms are stretched out. On the two plane swing, your arms kind of hangs down at address.

I think the bigger question is the impact plane vs the starting plane. Historically it seems the most consistent ball strikers: Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, Moe Norman, Byron Nelson, etc. returned fairly close to their set up plane at impact. A lot of people, pga tour players included, come into impact on a plane a few degrees higher than their starting plane. It seems the abovementioned great ballstrikers drove their knees toward the target amd dropped their right shoulder lower at impact than most to get it on the set up plane. Maybe it is something to immulate.

Jack said he liked a more vertical plane because the face of the club stayed pointing to the target longer. A flatter plane has a rapidly closing face thru impact.

Clay - Does flatter lend towards draw, and upright easier to hit straight/fade? I’m a natural drawer of the ball, but haven’t played for almost 20 years. Just picking it back up. Want to “re-learn” and play natural straight/fade.

What about a laid off shaft with a somewhere in the middle of arm positioning? Basically a pre-shallowed position not dissimilar to Rahm.

An upright swing is going to be better for my bad back so I'm hoping

What can I say, genius video!

question..... I like the feeling of rotating back and rotating through... however, saw someone on the range practicing with a laser that was stuck in the grip of his club and was trying to keep the light along the target line throughout his swing....... When I try that, the light is about 3 feet outside of the target line... I can see where it would help on the downswing- to prevent coming over the top.... But the backswing just seemed too vertical... Thoughts?

@topspeedgolf I can't believe the content you crank out its awesome! Great job man you are a golf pro but I'd say your marketing is genius , I am a social media marketer so I Can pick it out 😀 ⛳️

Thank you for this simple, clear explanation!

300th like. And my god u are a god sent golf instructor ! So informative

Is it easier to keep my head still with a single plane or two plane swing as i try to get optimal rotation for either? If it matters, my body type is thicker muscled and I'm new to golf.

Important topic, but not original. You said that you "have to be steeper with your shoulders." Ben Hogan, the second greatest ball striker of all time, stood relatively upright at address, as does Bryson DeChambeau, who has taken the one--plane swing to the extreme.

Great Video. THANKS!

Wouldn’t a not single plane swing be when you loop the club and club goes through 3 different planes? It seems each one if done correctly is on a single plane.

I would say I agree with most of this, aside from the one plane vs two plane definition. My question would be in a swing plane like say bubba Watson where he gets his hands very high and generates great club head speed, how is that possible to get the wide arc coming down? I have around a 120mph driver swing speed(I actually just separated my shoulder in an accident so I can't play for 3 months) and when I tried to have my hands higher my tendency would be for my hands to want to move straight down to the ball rant her than the wide arc he's able to achieve. I end up hitting speeds around 115 with a driver with that swing. It seems to make me lose my move which has always been feeling like my hands go away from the target(get wider) so I have more time to build speed. I like having a vertical swing plane since I seem to strike the ball much better but it cost me a ton of distance just in swing speed. Do you have any tips for keeping the arc wide with the high hands? When I played my last tournament I had a very flat swing and I don't strike the ball consistently this way. Thanks!

I've been swinging so flat and horribly lately that I tried swinging the club straight up through my right shoulder. I was finally able to hit pure shots again thinking I was swinging upright. Now you're telling me it's still flat? Wow I was in bad shape! 😨

Clay, I have a question about ball trajectory with the swings. Does either produce a higher flight?

Looks like the two plane would cause coming over the top for some

Is vertical not more body friendly

hey clay. I have a question. I'm not that flexible, so my backswing doesn't go past parallel to the ground what do you suggest for a downswing sequence?

What is the difference between flat and laid off.?

hmmmm seeing this is really making me want to back weight my clubs now, I'm that one plane flatter swing, and geez I can get steep with all the club head weight and low balance point. tuna chunks kill me. I've read counter balance weighting can help, any input on that analysis

Ask Jack Nicklaus which one is the best.

matt kuchar, so did ben hogan

Ricky Fowler is pretty darned long with a flat swing.........🤷‍♂️

I am not sure where your information about the single plane swing came from because all of the videos I have seen, your idea of the single plane swing setup is completely wrong. I have been watching videos from moe norman, Tod Graves,Kirk Junge and their setups and ideas about the single plane swing are completely different. I have adopted the Junge method and found good improvement. After watching yours, Cogorno, Maude, Malaska, etc and had very little improvement. I was searching for some info on distance from the ball and came across this video and thought I should comment, for what its worth. Have a nice day and good luck.

Sorry I like most of your video, but I do have to disagree with you on single plane swing..... I'm a Single plane golfer and what you explain is nothing close to single plane swing.... You whole setup on single plane is totally wrong. Actual you do the correct way of single plane swing or the easiest and most accurate swing you'll ever have... Just check to Todd Grave from Grave Gold Academy or Kirk Jungle from Set up for impact..... There's isn't real much single plain swing on this world..... Moe Norman was one of them.. The world number 1 best ball striker. And today we see Bryson Dechambeu.....

woodprix is good solution for every woodworker.

Almost everyone chooses flat now, because it looks pretty on video and there are so many Hogan disciples. Are they forgetting how good Nicklaus was? Statistically, there has been nobody better. So it's fair to say, it can work LOL.

Clay its always fantastic to hear and see your lessons iam sure pga must be wondering if this F@@@@ gives away all secrets whats left from apart being on tour itself! It seems you are titleist sponsored

A one plane swing and the single plane swing are not the same thing