==================================================== Newsletter - Issue 69 Date 09/11/08 ==================================================== ==================================================== Equipment - Books - DVD's ==================================================== Last issue I reviewed a book and DVD about the Rotary Swing, and as promised, in this issue I'll review Jim Hardy's book and DVD's. Before I do, I want to mention that if you are interested in learning about golf swings, swing planes, etc. and don't want to spend anything on DVD's, you can always go to YouTube and view all sorts of swings for free. Try it by going here: http://www.youtube.com/ and in the search box type in any of the following keyword phrases and you'll be able to view many examples of swings: one plane swing rotary swing Chuck Quinton Mike Labauve .....On to Jim Hardy's material, his book "The Plane Truth For Golfers" and his 3 DVD set, with complimentary Drills DVD. The Plane Truth for Golfers is a 3 volume comprehensive DVD set that - in my opinion - is necessary to view to fully understand the book. In The Plane Truth, Jim Hardy shows you the difference between a One-Plane and a Two-Plane swing and helps you choose the right one for you. He also shows you which fundamentals will help you improve your swing, whether you choose to be a One-Plane or Two-Plane golfer. The book and DVD's are very professionally done, the book runs about $20 and the DVD set sells for about $95. You can hunt down better deals on both at places like amazon.com, overstock.com, and Ebay. I bought my book through Amazon, and hunted down a good deal on Ebay for the DVD set. I will give both items from Jim Hardy two thumbs up for content as well as for value - BUT if you are not the type of person that will really review the material over and over again, then go to YouTube and get educated for free. ==================================================== TCT Quick Tips - Always Be Turning ==================================================== This tip pertains more to one-planers than two-planers, but it has some merit for both: In school we learned our ABC's, in golf we need to be aware of our ABT's: Always Be Turning ==================================================== Golf Tip : What's The Best Swing For You? ==================================================== Let’s determine whether you should be a one-planer or a two-planer. That is the million-dollar question because you hear a lot more about one-plane today. Here's a very brief description of one-plane and two-plane: In a one-plane swing takeaway, backswing, and downswing, the golfer turns his/her body to take the club back on the delivery plane, then on the downswing the golfer turns his/her body to deliver the club into the ball on the same plane, thus the term one-plane swing. In a two-plane swing takeaway, backswing, and downswing, the golfer turns his/her body to take the club about halfway back on the delivery plane, then lifts his/her arms to finish the backswing on a more vertical plane. On the downswing, the golfer drops the club back down onto the flatter delivery plane, for delivery into the ball on the correct plane. Thus the term two-plane swing. One-plane swing: turn back, turn through - the transition to the downswing looks like it's immediate, almost abrupt. It's considered to be a newer swing type, even though it's been around for some time. Two-plane swing: turn back then lift up, drop down and turn through - the transition to the downswing looks smoother than the one-plane because there is a brief moment when the plane of the club has to drop to the delivery plane as weight bumps forward. That slows the transition at the top to allow for timing and positioning, which is not necessary in the one-plane. It's the classic swing type and looks smooth as silk when done well. A one-planer is someone who is swinging his arms as his shoulders. So if you are going to do that, then you are going to need to be more bent over so that your shoulder plane and your arm plane will be lined up to hit a golf ball. A two-planer is someone who stands up a little bit taller, turns the body more level to the ground but swings the arms on a plane a little bit higher, more upright plane. That requires a little more timing. Both work great and are viable, but which is the best for you? You have to figure out which swing you are, and here are some determining factors. If you are more comfortable swinging your arms around your body, if you ever played baseball, tennis or hockey, sports like that, and you are very comfortable swinging your arms in a circle around you, I would say you should try one-plane. Especially if two-plane is not working for you. If you do swing your arms around you, if you have had people tell you that you swing your arms flat around you, then you should probably bend from the hips to get down to the golf ball. If you are more comfortable swinging your arms in front of you or standing up taller, then two-plane is for you. So you would stand up taller, you would turn back and swing your arms up and down in front of your body. That is the question you have to ask yourself. If you like swinging your arms around you then you should probably bend over and be a one-planer. If you like swinging your arms in front of you then stand up a little taller and let the turn do the work to get you the rounded part of the swing. I also think there are personality traits that should be considered when you decide which swing to adopt as yours. If your self image is that of a smooth swinging, patient player, and if you covet the smooth looking swing of David Toms or Stewart Cink, then you have the mentality for a two-plane swing. If your self image is that of a more aggressive swinger, like Camilo Villegas or Mike Weir, or like Tiger's new swing when he hits his irons, and if you would actually like to make the ball explode when you hit it, then you have the mentality for a one-plane swing. I'll come out of the closet on this one folks, I enjoy taking a good healthy swing at the ball - which is why I'm playing with more of a one-plane type swing these days. By the way, if you have the mentality for a two-plane swing and a short chunky body, change your mentality to accommodate a one-plane swing. It will work better for sure. I will also say that almost everyone could play well with a one-plane swing if they worked at it...but not everyone could play as well with a two-plane swing with the same amount of effort because of the timing, tempo, balance, and rhythm that are required to be good at the two-plane technique. Keep in mind that you never have to be purely one-plane or two-plane, there are a lot of variations -even on the PGA tour, but knowing which way your tendencies lean will help you decide on which swing fundamentals to learn and work on. Enjoy, Tom