How to get On Path in Plane

From the moment you set-up to the ball, golf is all about swinging the club along a natural path and keeping it on a good 'plane' (or angle) as the wrists cock and un-cock to translate that movement into clubhead speed.

As a coach, the challenge is getting this message across as simply as possible, and the clubs that you see placed here on the ground make for a series of very useful checkpoints.

The fact is, while the golf swing is by definition a rotary motion controlled by the turning of the body, parallel lines relating to the target confirm some of the vital checkpoints that we look for along the way.

Get the club on plane and swing in the right direction and you will find that you match a number of those parallel lines with the clubshaft - hence the value of placing clubs on the ground when you practise.

Let me take you through the key checkpoints to look for.

Use these early checkpoints to get your swing started on track

From the set-up, the first move away from the ball is one that gets the unit of the club, hands, arms and shoulders moving 'together' to create some early momentum.

You don't want any independent movement here, which is why this exercise is so beneficial, because with the club fed up through your hands until the butt-end of the shaft rests in your middle, you get a real sense of turning everything away together.

Create your set-up, and simply work on grooving this move -the club, hands, arms and torso turning as one.

Repeat that moveaway exercise for a couple of minutes, then return to a regular stance, regular grip, and take things a stage further. As you build on that early momentum - and at about the time the hands reach the right foot - the right elbow and wrist begin to fold and 'set'.

The checkpoint we are looking for here is that as the shaft reaches horizontal with the ground, it is also parallel to the ball-to-target line (as confirmed by the clubs we have laid on the ground).

Setting the wrist on a safe plane

Moving up to the three-quarter position, the idea is that the shaft has got to look like it is giving you a reasonable opportunity to get back to the ball.

If it is pointing straight down to the ground, or over the top of the ball (for me the least desirable of all), then your swing is out of plane and you are going to struggle to return it with any sort of consistency in the downswing.

Ideally, you want to get the butt-end of the club pointing into this safe zone that we have shaded here. And you do have some room to play with. Anywhere between the ball-to-target line and a point midway between the ball and your feet is perfectly OK.

Some players are more naturally inclined to swing on a more upright plane, others swing a little flatter. That's all down to a play-er's height and build and natural instinct. But anywhere within this shaded area and you are swinging the club on a good plane.