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Welcome to the Plane Truth Blog

Posted By: Jim Hardy on 5/7/2009

Welcome to a new feature here on our website!  As you can probably tell, we’ve redesigned the site a little.  In the coming weeks and months, you’ll see even more changes.  This is all part of our effort to make The Plane Truth one of the best destinations for golf instruction both on the web and in person.  We are focusing on both our professional instructor community as well as the millions of golfers just trying to play better golf.   

For our instructors, we have developed the Plane Truth Instructor Certification Program.   This multi-level program is a huge undertaking that we have spent several years developing.  It is a dramatic departure from our prior seminars.  Each program incorporates several days of classroom training where we immerse the instructors in organized training on how to become better at their craft.  We provide them with some state-of-the-art teaching tools.  We challenge them with exams that require them to score 90% or more to be a Certified Instructor.  But most importantly, we produce better instructors.  Instructors who we are proud to refer to the many golfers out there interested in the teaching concepts of the Plane Truth.  In the coming days, you’ll see a listing of the first couple groups of instructors who have successfully completed the Level 1 course.  If you are looking for in-person instruction, we encourage you to seek them out.  While this program is still new, we are ramping up quickly and even hope to begin offering online webinars to extend our reach to instructors all over the globe.  So if you can’t find someone in your area today, keep an eye on the list.  And for those who want some serious instruction in a short period of time, you can always check out our Plane Truth Golf Schools.

For the many golfers and students of our teachings, we are in the process of building a greater web presence and access to more things to help you with your game.   As you can see, we've already redesigned our website.  That is just the start.  This blog is another part.  Soon we plan to incorporate video sharing, motion analysis software with 1 Plane and 2 Plane swing models, instructional articles, training aids and apparel, and even online lessons.  While all this will be gradual and take us a little time, we are constantly coming up with new ideas to make it better.  Got ideas for us?  We would love to hear from you.   

So back to this Blog…

On this little corner of the website, we plan to address all sorts of topics around golf instruction, not just limited to 1 Plane and 2 Plane swing concepts.  There will be several of us blogging as well.  Chris O’Connell and Mike LaBauve, two of my Level 3 Certified Instructors, will be here from time to time.  We may even have a guest blogger or two who play golf on the weekends for a living.  So what do you folks want to hear about?  Give us feedback!  Tell us what you think!  Leave comments.  Jump in.  Participate.  We'll be listening…

19 Comments

    • May 07 2009, 11:28 AM AndyP
    • Very exciting, JH!!! Looking forward to the new additons to the website, esp. video sharing.
    • May 07 2009, 12:33 PM Dave Hallock
    • This feels like a good place to ask a question that comes to mind every time I watch the Haney Project on The Golf Channel: what would you do or have done with Charles Barkley, Jim? I'm going to guess that one option you might consider would be to make a two-planer out of him. Stand him up and get him so close to the ball that he couldn't dip in the backswing.
    • May 07 2009, 4:31 PM Jim Hardy
    • That is a good idea and one I hadn't thought of, but I believe it might work. What I would have done is take a different tack. Instead of working on the arms as Hank did, I would have stopped the body drop (much like you also have suggusted by having him stand so close he almost couldn't drop). I would have invented some sort of long stick with a curved, padded device on the end of it. I would have stuck the curved end under Charles's chin and the other end into the ground beyond the ball and let him swing away so he could truly feel his drop. The problem is that he doesn't feel he is doing it. With the stick under his chin he would feel it. I would then push the stick a little more into the ground so that his chin would be just above the curved piece at the end of the stick and I would tell him to not hit the piece and to feel he is pulling up and away from it in his downswing. Any work I would do to his arms would be after I had gotten him to feel his drop. It would be at this point when I would decide whether I would teach him as a two or a one planer. Either way, I think you have to get rid of the drop first.
    • May 07 2009, 9:18 PM tjschill
    • JH: Exciting changes, and glad that there will be more "knowledge" based posting rather than "opinion" based posting. Could you address the genesis of the right elbow "up and back", and the lawnmower pull type move. In my travels, this is the most controversial of one plane fundamentals. Some argue it gets the ams out of sync with the core. Others, that Hogan NEVER had the right elbow as far back as you advocate. In TGM speak, maybe you could elaborate on pitch elbow versus punch elbow...Thanks
    • May 08 2009, 12:57 PM wes lowe
    • A huge "Amen!" to looking forward to being able to see -- and trust -- more knowledge based info and less opinion based. As for Barkley, I contend that his biggest issue is in his head. Watching the show, it seemed he was making progress, or makes progress, until he's put in front of others -- especially others he wants to impress. That's when the pause, the dip, the hit/hold/flinch takes over.
    • May 08 2009, 8:58 PM NGage
    • Look forward to more sharing and discussion with those that have been certified.
    • May 11 2009, 6:41 PM Jim Hardy
    • In response to the right elbow moving on a 45 degree angle up and back to at least the shirt seam (which is exactly where Hogan's right elbow ended up in his downswing), there is a very good reason I emphasized this motion. First what I am trying to accomplish in the backswing is to get the left arm, particularly the upper part of the left arm, low and tight to the chest. If you ever pull your left arm with your right arm low and tight across your chest and then make a golf grip you will find your right elbos is up and fairly far behind you. You cannot get the left arm tight and low across the chest without the elbow moving upward and backward. The second reason I advocate it is because the biggest error one-planers make with their arms in the backswing is to keep the right elbow low and in front of them which causes the upper left arm to separate for the chest and the club to roll too flat behind the arms too quickly. From there, the shoulders usually turn too flat and the entire swing is too flat (outside the zone) or the arms undergo a big lift which usually gets the arms too upright and the shaft too flat. So, to avoid this mistake of an elbow too low and in front in the backswing causing a upward rolling left arm that separates from the chest with a flat club behind the arms, I simply advocate getting the right elbow out of the way....upward and backward. San Snead was the first person I ever heard talk about it as a lawnmower move and if it was good enough for Sam, I always figured it was good enough for me..... JH
    • May 11 2009, 8:54 PM tjschill
    • Thanks for the reply... here's an observation that maybe you could comment on...So long as the right wrist and forearm stays perpendicular to the plane, the right elbow AUTOMATICALLY (read: biomechanically) moves up and behind the shirt seem (in TGM speak, this is punch elbow-- the desirable one-plane position). Whenever the right wrist and forearm PALMS the plane (the palm of the right hand mirrors the plane angle, as opposed to perpendicular to it)) it rotates the right elbow down and in front more (in TGM speak pitch elbow-- in 1PS speak, the elbow is "in front" of the hip more). From the top of backswing then, is the TWIST part of a 1-planer's downswing ("twist and throw") the move that returns the right hand back to perpendicular to the arc and puts the elbow in punch elbow position? Is this desirable? And doesn't this create a manipulation that must be "timed"? Thanks for your comments.
    • May 13 2009, 4:33 PM nfbandon
    • JH:I have a question regarding the release. I recently had a lesson here in Dallas and had the opportunity to view my swing on video. Viewed from down the line I looked good at the top but my arms moved a bit too out in front of me into the delivery postion. In addition, the shaft reappeared in the follow through on a bit of a steeper angle than it should. The instructor said the problem was the way I was releasing. He wanted me to develop the left hand bow and maintain that through impact such that the feeling is that my left plam is open to the sky when the club is waist high on the follow throuh. I would think this is a two plane crossover release. Interestingly, this type of release caused my arms to get and stay on the inner circle and my club shaft exited on a flater plan on the follow through. The most interesting thing is that as long as I don't dip the right shoulder there is no hook. Am I on the right track or hopelesses lost between the one and two planes?
    • May 17 2009, 7:18 AM Villager
    • JH:I have sincerely appreciated the instruction in both books, DVD set and several "Secrets" DVDs. However, there is one instruction that is at odds in the two books. In the first book in the review of the OP downswing you write.."It is best to key in on the left shoulder turning up and to the left". But in book two just prior to the "unicorn" description you write."it might help this player to think in terms of keeping the left shoulder slightly down and the left at the start of the downswing". Could it be that the second book illustrates your thinking now, as it was published two years later. Any help at the critical stage in the swing would be welcomed. William Paul
    • May 17 2009, 2:59 PM Ron Marteniuk
    • JH: I've enjoyed reading your second book and it has helped my game. While I think I understand the basic principles of the one plane golf swing, what you don't discuss is how the swing plane changes as a function of the club you are using. Since each club has a different lie your swing plane must change as a function of the lie. Can you comment on how this affects the plane and how you might use this information to get the correct plane for each of your clubs? Ron Marteniuk
    • May 20 2009, 8:47 PM Rick Rahim
    • Hello Jim, I have bought and read both your books and have found them to be very insightful. I am a one plane swinger but am having difficulty understanding how the concept of "lag" comes into effect in the one plane swing. I'm also a big Johnny Miller and Bobby Clampett fan and they both talk about the importance of lag and getting to the proper impact position. Can you please explain "lag" in the context of the one plane swing? Thanks, Rick
    • May 24 2009, 9:57 AM steven vig
    • hello jim, you are the best... i have all of your dvds and books and use your techniques when i help our pros to teach our junior golfers here in tucson... thanks... as a one plane swinger, i tend to hit the ball near the heel end of the club, i can avoid that by addressing the ball well toward the toe of the club...are there any changes i should make in my swing to avoid this, such as a slightly higher swing plane? Keep up the great work. Love your new website. Steven Vig
    • Jun 01 2009, 2:25 PM Jim Hardy
    • This is in response to the May 17 2009, 7:18 AM Villager post regarding the motion of the left shoulder in the downswing. The general statement of the left shoulder as I wrote it in the first book is absolutely correct. In the second book, I am giving a lesson to a golfer that is tilting their left shoulder upwards instead of turning it up and to the left. The correct remedy for this golfer is to feel that at the START of the downswing he keeps his left shoulder down (to avoid the tilt) and starts taking it to the left and then allows it to come up. The difference between the two pieces of information is one (the first book) is the correct information, the second book gives instruction to a player that is moving the shoulder up and not to the left. I hope this makes the two statements clear to you. JH
    • Jun 04 2009, 6:28 AM Andy Santor
    • I get club underneath or behind me in my downswing. When I try to get the feeling of throwing the club overhand I hit it right. What are some other feels I can get to get club on plane?
    • Jul 14 2009, 12:44 PM Michael Watkins
    • Hello Jim, I am responsible for posting "Going Back to two plane golf swing" in your FAQ/ Greatest Instruction Posts - It has the highest view-replies than any other posting. The reason for my follow up message in this blog is to highlight the last two and a half years (since initial posting on 11-09-2006)of my progress or lack of for better terms with golfing and 2 plane swing fundamentals. The easiest indicator would be my handicap which went from 15.8 to 24.6 at highest, currently 21.3. Have not broken 90 in over a year. So much for my figuring out the golf swing. My follow up message now has more to do with confusion and frustration on golf in general. The Hank Haney project is probably the best example of this game being more mental than anything else. I'm now looking for some words of wisdom on going back to the single plane swing with a hint of mental prep needed to succeed. If you read my initial posting you'll see some validity in my understanding of the golf swing and perhaps it's for better terms paralysis by analysis. I think Bobby said it best..."Golf is a game played in a 5 inch course - the distance between your ears" - Hopefully you can shed some light in my direction and perhaps too others with similar experiences. Warmest regards, Planegame
    • Jul 05 2010, 9:32 PM Arwyn
    • In your front on video of Scott I notice he places the head of his driver about 3 inches behind the ball. I can see the logic of this as the driver should strike the ball slightly on the upswing. Is this something a lot of players do or just peculiar to Scott.
    • Jul 05 2010, 10:08 PM Arwyn
    • In your front on video of Scott I notice he places the head of his driver about 3 inches behind the ball. I can see the logic of this as the driver should strike the ball slightly on the upswing. Is this something a lot of players do or just peculiar to Scott.
    • Aug 04 2010, 7:26 AM George
    • I am a PGA Professional, and an advocate of Mr. Hardy’s swing philosophies. I have two questions. 1. Could you please let me know the price of the Certification Program as I would like to attend the program? 2. I was watching the video analysis of Scott McCarron down the line and for the sake of me cannot understand how he manages to get his right arm on the shaft plane hafe way back!!! Especially when the shaft line is drawn through the shaft and belt line. I watched a video of Mr. Hardy at a PGA clinic and he said the right elbow plane runs from the ball up through the right elbow, this is not the case with Scott McCarron witch is clearly through the belt line. When I look at my swing and put the same plane line on I am no where near that line and no matter what I do I can’t get it on the line. I would appreciate an explanation as why I can’t get my right elbow on that plane line as Scott McCarron dose.
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