The conventional golf swing is complicated. The arms hang below the shoulders, starting on two planes and by the time the club returns to impact, it is on a higher plane.

I call this the One Mistake.

Due to the One Mistake in the address position of the conventional golf swing, stress is placed on the back and lower spine by the upward, backward, and rotational movement of the spine.

CONVENTIONAL ADDRESS to IMPACT

Given the stress and tension of the conventionally taught swing, it is not unusual for novices to suffer some pain while they are learning these complicated moves. While learning the conventional swing, the beginner is doubly challenging: you must learn to make room to swing the club to impact due to the One Mistake, and you can suffer an injury due to the stresses placed on your body. With the Single Plane Swing, you can swing the club to impact without lifting or stressing your body.

CONVENTIONAL IMPACT | DOWN-THE-LINE VIEW

1. As you swing the club down to impact, forces in your upper body (torso) are moving toward the ground at the same time that your lower body (legs and hips) is lifting and twisting to move the club up to the impact plane from the more moderate address plane.
2. The lower back, which comes between your hips and torso, is compressed.
3. The upper body resists while the lower body lifts and twists, which places stress on the lower back.

 

THE SINGLE PLANE SOLUTION

The Single plane solves the “two plane” problem by starting and impacting on the same plane eliminating the need to “lift” the body into impact, reducing the stress on the lower back.

One of the main reasons that the Single Plane swing reduces the stress on the back is because your lead leg remains flexed, not straight, into impact.

By keeping the first knee flexed through the result, you reduce the upward push on the lower back as you turn.

As you can see, the first knee remained flexed through the release. This allows the body to turn without putting stress on the back.