In 2005, Jim Hardy published a book called “The Plane Truth for Golfers”. In it, he postulates that there are two categories in which all swings can be divided and analyzed – two sets of fundamentals.  The elements in each set of fundamentals works together to optimally create that correct, repetitive impact.

Jim termed those two sets as the “One Plane Swing” and the “Two Plane Swing”. The book hit the New York Times Best Seller list in the sports category and went on to spawn a second book, “The Plane Truth for Golfers: Master’s Class” and a DVD series.  

Jim describes the story behind the development of the concept of these two swing systems – One Plane and Two Plane – beginning with a discussion with John Jacobs that took place in 1977.

The method that John Jacobs personally employed and taught was what he would often describe as swinging your arms up and down as you turn your body—two turns and a swish. The arms swinging up and down while the body turned were done on two separate planes. The body would turn on a somewhat horizontal plane, revolving around a fairly erect spine angle. The arms, meanwhile, would swing on a more upright plane as the body turned.  

On one occasion, I asked him about Ben Hogan’s swing. His response was short but accurate. “He swung everything on one plane.”  That remark, made in 1977, was the genesis of a very long search, the search for the one-plane swing.

Over the course of that search, Jim realized that all golf swing techniques, no matter how varied, fell into one of two categories. You either swing your arms in somewhat the same plane as you turn your body, or you don’t. If your arms swing up from address to around your body on about the same plane as your shoulders turn, Jim called that the “One Plane” technique. If your arms swing up more vertically, not in the same plane as your shoulders turn, but on a steeper plane, Jim called that the “Two Plane” technique. It’s that simple.