As the golf season winds down I would like to offer one last tip to help improve your consistency and game in general. That tip is to learn to get your golf swing on plane and in the right position at the top. This is critical if you want to improve your game and become a good consistent striker of the ball.
We are now in the Fed Ex playoffs and in a few weeks the Ryder Cup. The best players in the world are vying for these prestigious titles and they all have something in common…great positions at the top. If you ever watch really good players and their swings look pretty and effortless, it’s because they are on plane. Watch for this position at the top when watching the pros over the next few weeks especially when they do the slow motion analysis.
I just recently gave a lesson to Chris Beattie who we will be featuring this week. Chris is a local resident of Chestermere and both he and his wife Heather are avid golfers. Chris has been golfing for 30 years and figured it was time to work on his game and take it to a new level. He was also curious just what it was that he needed to work on as he just wasn’t sure what it was that was giving him his problems.
After getting warmed up, I shot some video of Chris’ swing which revealed a very upright swing with a flying elbow as can be seen in the “before” photo. This upright position created a very steep almost chopping action coming down which led to high pop ups to the right.
The correction was to flatten his swing to get it on plane. Here’s how we did it.
1. Take the club straight back so the club is parallel to the ground and the handle is pointing to the target.
2. Now take the club straight up hinging the wrists with a nice straight left arm.
3. At the top, your club should be parallel to the ground pointing to the target and just above your right shoulder.
4. Your right elbow should be tucked in such that a head cover in your right armpit would not fall out.
We can see in the “after” photo how Chris has flattened his swing. He is in a much better position but could still flatten it a bit more to be on plane.
Chris did a great job making this change after 30 years of swinging so upright! His shots immediately became more powerful and penetrating on a lower and proper trajectory. If you feel your swing is too upright with a flying elbow, try these tips to get on plane and play YOUR best golf!
