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I have no idea whether my swing is one plane or two, but I've achieved more consistency with it in the last two weeks than in the last two years since I started playing. I've been using the Jim McLellan swing video, which takes the "watch and copy" approach, and I've been videotaping my swing. This has been hugely important.
Here's what I've learned: The way things feel isn't necessarily the way they are. To know what I'm really doing, seeing is best.
For example, if I think I'm letting my left arm bend slightly at the top of my backswing, in reality it's folding right up. If I feel like I'm holding it stiff, it gets just a slight bend. That has turned out to be very important, because in trying to get a high backswing I was folding my arms and in folding my arms I was losing control altogether, and I had no clue until I saw it on video.
The other important thing has been this: As I start the backswing, if I make it feel like I'm swinging the club head straight back along the target line all the way--which is actually impossible, but it's a question of feel--then I'm getting a nice big circular swing, and I'll hit the ball well. And this is as true for a wedge as for a wood. I've checked this using the well-known wall drill too. I.e., I setup with my rear end about an inch from a high wall and then do my backswing. If I get this illusory feeling of swinging back completely along the target line, my club head doesn't touch the wall.
I don't think "steeper" when hitting a short iron, because the fact that it's shorter is itself going to make the angle of descent steeper, along with the fact that the ball is positioned farther back at setup. So the feel is the same for every swing.
A few days ago I was thrilled to shoot a 112 instead of my usual 120, and yesterday I shot a 52 for 9 holes on the same course, which is simply unheard of for me. This is a big improvement in two weeks, and the main thing has been *seeing* what I'm doing and not doing, and matching it up with what it feels like I'm doing. I still have a *lot* to learn about golf, but I feel like I've turned a corner on basic ball striking, finally.
Here's what I've learned: The way things feel isn't necessarily the way they are. To know what I'm really doing, seeing is best.
For example, if I think I'm letting my left arm bend slightly at the top of my backswing, in reality it's folding right up. If I feel like I'm holding it stiff, it gets just a slight bend. That has turned out to be very important, because in trying to get a high backswing I was folding my arms and in folding my arms I was losing control altogether, and I had no clue until I saw it on video.
The other important thing has been this: As I start the backswing, if I make it feel like I'm swinging the club head straight back along the target line all the way--which is actually impossible, but it's a question of feel--then I'm getting a nice big circular swing, and I'll hit the ball well. And this is as true for a wedge as for a wood. I've checked this using the well-known wall drill too. I.e., I setup with my rear end about an inch from a high wall and then do my backswing. If I get this illusory feeling of swinging back completely along the target line, my club head doesn't touch the wall.
I don't think "steeper" when hitting a short iron, because the fact that it's shorter is itself going to make the angle of descent steeper, along with the fact that the ball is positioned farther back at setup. So the feel is the same for every swing.
A few days ago I was thrilled to shoot a 112 instead of my usual 120, and yesterday I shot a 52 for 9 holes on the same course, which is simply unheard of for me. This is a big improvement in two weeks, and the main thing has been *seeing* what I'm doing and not doing, and matching it up with what it feels like I'm doing. I still have a *lot* to learn about golf, but I feel like I've turned a corner on basic ball striking, finally.
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