jeffy

I saw Carol Mann for two days last week and learned a few interesting things: 1) The Plane Truth for Golfers is currently the 2nd best selling sports book 2) A lot of golfers (including Carol and me) were having problems caused by what can only be described as an error in Jim's teaching of the one-plane swing: wrapping the arms around and behind the body on too flat a plane. Hopefully this will be corrected in his second book. 3) I've got to do a lot more conditoning to be proficient with a one-plane swing (at one point she threatened to move me back to a two-plane!). Jeff

It isn't "bad" if you like the feel; some might think the clubhead would be a little light at C9, however for years all Ping irons were in that range.

About 3 swingweights, so if they are now D2, they will go to C9. I cut down my irons two weeks ago and had the clubmaker add lead tape to the back of the heads to bring them back to D3. Worked great and looks kind of cool. Jeff

Your arms get stuck for a variety of reasons and drills to slow your shoulders won't help. I know I'm a broken record, but it is vitally important to know whether your swing is a Jim Hardy two-plane type or one-plane type, because there are different causes and cures for each method. If you are a two-planer (as most of us have been taught), try to speed up the arms by working on extending the right arm directly away from your side from the top: two-planers Tom Watson and K.J. Choi have a visible casting motion from the top. Both Hardy's book and Manuel de la Torre's Understanding the Golf Swing are helpful guides for a two-plane swing. The Jim Flick dogma that the arms drive the swing and the body responds is 100% true for a two-plane swing. If you are a one-planer, slowing your shoulders not only won't help, it will tend to make you more stuck. Jamming your right elbow in front of your hip; tilting your left shoulder up and right shoulder down; retarding your shoulders while driving with your hips will all get a one-planer stuck. A one-planer needs to rotate his shoulders around his spine, without tilting, immediately from the top and keep his right elbow back and up by his right side to avoid getting stuck. Hardy addresses this is some detail in his book.

Some teachers (Jimmy Ballard) and some players (Curtis Strange, a Ballard pupil) have endorsed a significant lateral shift of the head away from the target on the backswing, then back toward the target on the downswing. That helps create width in a Jim Hardy two-plane swing but obviously introduces an additional timing element. It's a very bad idea to move laterally away from the target in a Jim Hardy one-plane swing. In fact, one-plane swingers will sometimes move slightly toward the target on the backswing (Freddy, Duval). Quite often, one-plane swingers will lower their head as they increase the spine angle in the downswing (Hogan,Trevino).

I have the 16* and 20* GAF1's shafted with the Fuji 27.3 stiff; I also have (and play) Royal Collection BBD CV Super SS Pro 16* and 19* with the identical shaft (Joe Kwok did the work on both). I have only hit the Gauge at the range but, IMO, the clubs play very similar. However, I prefer the look of the RC pear shaped head compared to the rounded GAF1. You can also pick up new RC heads for about $65 on eBay versus $225 for a new Gauge head. Jeff

I've played irons that are 1/2" long (38.25" 5 iron) and 1* upright (which makes them effectively 2* upright), since I was a teenager. I recently adopted a more bent over posture and, as you'd expect, my clubs are now too upright. Flattening the lie will be easy enough, but I was wondering if I should also consider shortening them. What are the pros and cons? I stand a little over six feet tall and have long legs (so I'm told...). Thanks for your help. Jeff

I got it from Amazon...

My take on all this is it depends on what type of swing you have or want to have. This drill sounds like it is meant to help what Jim Hardy would call a two-planer, which you probably are (most handicap players fall into this category). Instead of focusing on this one drill, I'd buy Hardy's book (The Plane Truth for Golfers), read all the sections that deal with a two-plane swing and make sure you are working on the right things, including the appropriate posture (upright), spine angle (tilted away from the target), weight distribution (favor the right), weight transfer (gradual), and swing width (wide: extend the arms; keep them in front of the chest both back and through). For example, if you are a two-planer, working on a rapid weight transfer is going to hurt, not help. Two-planers need to hang back a bit and extend the right arm to square the club. Good examples to follow are Greg Norman, Nick Price, Hale Irwin. Hardy's book also has several drills for two-planers. It's in paperback and costs about $13 on-line. Understanding the Golf Swing by Manuel de la Torre is also a good reference for two-plane golfers (though he doesn't use that term), although his advice to start the downswing with the upper arms can actually narrow the swing's width. Hardy recommends a slight cast to start the two-plane downswing, which I've found to be very effective. Jeff

For sale are two Gauge Design GAF1 fairways: the 16* 4 wood and the 20* 7 wood. Both have Fujikura Tour Platform 27.3 S flex shafts and brand new Lamkin Dual Density grips. Length of 4 wood is 43", 7 wood is 42". Clubs were shafted by Joe Kwok. Authentic Gauge Design 4 and 7 headcovers are included. Clubs are used but in very good condition. Both clubs show some face wear. The 4 wood paint is unblemished. The 7 wood has some minor nicks on the underside of the crown, but none are visible at address. Below is a link to pictures: http://homepage.mac.com/jeffmartin.mac/Pho...hotoAlbum3.html These are fabulous fairways with an excellent mid-kick shaft, perfect for this head, assembled by the legendary Joe Kwok. $200 each plus shipping of your choice, at my cost. Jeff

That is a very good question and I'd like to see a discussion of it somewhere...what didn't make it into the article (and I think is underemphasized in the book) is that there are several prominent "hybrid" swingers that combine a "two-plane" top of the backswing and a "one-plane" downswing: Nicklaus, Couples, Nelson, Daly. However, these players tend to adopt "one-plane" fundamentals in terms of posture, spine tilt, weight distribution and weight shift. It is possible that Tiger is trying to emulate that style of swing, but I assume he would only do so if he thought it would put less strain on his left knee yet allow him to retain his power. Hank Haney has worked a lot with Hardy, so he is very much aware of the "contradiction" issues. Jeff

I'm a huge fan of the Scratch Tour Blade (see link below). The ones pictured were ground and finished in Japan. For a blade, they are very forgiving and easy to hit. http://www.sgolfclubs.com/Details.cfm?Prod...D=77&category=9 If I were to switch, custom MP-32's (square toe, satin finish, blank M-stamp) sound pretty sweet. Jeff

Manuel de la Torre teaches a two-plane swing; Carol had her best years when she adopted a more bent over posture and, more or less by accident, developed a one-plane swing (10 wins in 1968 and 8 in 1969). Carol also had problems with one aspect of Manuel's teaching that caused her to become very steep: starting down with the upper arms, which is a narrowing move. In fact, a widening or casting move is more appropriate for a two-plane player. Jeff

In case you missed it, the MP-32's were voted the No. 1 iron in the May Golf Magazine Club Test issue. Jeff

For those of you interested in learning more about Hardy's theories, check out the May Golf Digest which has a very nice feature article with excerpts from the book. Also, the article has some good illustrations not included in the book. The only thing I didn't like about the article is some inaccurate hype, that also appears on the book cover, which says "all swings fit into one of these two categories". Absolutely not true; Hardy acknowledges this in his book when he makes a reference to "hybrid" swingers like Nicklaus, Couples, Gay Brewer, John Daly, Byron Nelson, who have wide, upright two-plane backswings but then drop-down to narrow one-plane downswings. Other exceptions include Johnny Miller and other reverse-C swingers who get too far under on the downswing (Vijay also gets a little under). In fact, this statement appears to be the primary basis of Manzella's nitpicking. However, overall, I think it is a great contribution: now, when looking at DiMarco's steep two-plane swing, it is not surprising that he occasionally loses it under pressure, as he did Sunday morning at the Masters. One thing I'd really like to know is the thinking behind Tiger's adopting a more two-plane backswing: Haney has worked a lot with Hardy, so he understands all the implications. Presumably Tiger is doing it because he thinks it will allow him to swing hard but put less stress on his left knee. However, it ought to put more stress on his timing. I'd love to know the specific reasoning. I do know that he was smoking it at Augusta. Jeff

For sale are two Gauge Design GAF1 fairways: the 16* 4 wood and the 20* 7 wood. Both have Fujikura Tour Platform 27.3 S flex shafts and brand new Lamkin Dual Density grips. Length of 4 wood is 43", 7 wood is 42". Clubs were shafted by Joe Kwok. Authentic Gauge Design 4 and 7 headcovers are included. Clubs are used but in very good condition. Both clubs show some face wear. The 4 wood paint is unblemished. The 7 wood has some minor nicks on the underside of the crown, but none are visible at address. These are fabulous fairways with an excellent mid-kick shaft, perfect for this head, assembled by the legendary Joe Kwok. $200 each plus shipping of your choice, at my cost. Jeff

It all depends: if you have a one-plane swing (left arm and shoulder on substantially the same plane at the top), a lot of right elbow bend is fine and probably desirable; check out Hogan's and Trevino's swings. In a two-plane swing (left arm distinctly steeper than the shoulders at the top), you need width and a bend of more than 90* could spell trouble: check out Davis Love. Jeff

Well, for a while, anyhow, I'm going to suggest that everyone buy Jim Hardy's book The Plane Truth for Golfers as a first step to analyze any swing problem. Once you determine which swing style you fall into ("one-plane": left arm and shoulders in substantially the same plane at the top of the swing, or "two-plane": left arm on a distinctly steeper plane than the shoulders at the top), you can figure out how to use the arms properly. Generally, in a "two-plane" swing (most handicap golfers) the arms need to be active on the downswing, in a widening move from the top (think of extending the right arm as if to throw a ball at the ground on a line 45* to the right of the target line). BTW, in a two-plane swing the lower body weight shift is gradual, not immediate; a lot of weight hangs back on the right side through impact. In a one-plane swing, Hardy says the arms should be passive and follow the shoulders, but I disagree. From my experience working with Carol Mann, from the top of swing the left arm needs to immediately move on an out-to-in path left of the target line with the left elbow folding shortly after impact. The arms must not "drop down" from the top or they will swing on an improper in-to-out path, causing pushes and hooks. Also, in a one-plane swing, the weight shift left can be dramatic, so long as it is lateral (directly toward the target) and down into the left leg, and not circular. Hope this doesn't screw you up too much! Good luck! Jeff

Carol Mann and I spoke a bit about Toms swing and it certainly is pretty to watch; but it has to be because he relies so much on tempo, feel and timing (as all two plane-swingers do). Davis Love (two-plane) has a very pretty swing. But a one-plane swing doesn't have to be pretty to be effective. Check out Kenny Perry, a one-plane swinger; there is nothing pretty about his swing but he is about as effective a ball striker as there is. Jeff

hue wrote: Brian Manzella David Toms former coach of 10 years and an GSED in TGM has this to say on the subject I checked out Brian Manzella's commentary today and found it very disappointing; all he does is quibble with terminolgy. If anyone cares, you can view my back and forth with Manzella at the links hue included above. Jeff

I bought one on eBay for my 7 wood. It is very nice: black, satin-like material with white lettering and a long knit sleeve. Apparently, they are only available from retail shops in Japan. The person I bought mine from said that he could get additional headcovers only through his friend in Japan but that the cost of a money order is prohibitive (something like $50 paid by the sender and $35 paid by the recepient for a $25 headcover). I've emailed Royal Collection and they confirm that they can only be purchased from retail shops; they won't sell direct. I've also PM'd Chris and he said he can only order what is available directly from RC. I'm interested in a 4 and 5 cover also; maybe if you, me and any other TSG members get a sizable order together we can arrange through a member in Japan to purchase them for us (or maybe my eBay connection can do it, if I still have his email address). Jeff

What are shaft lengths? CPMs? Jeff

tarheelgolfer15 wrote: Ya, the guy i am takin lessons from is trying to get me on a one plane swing instead of a two and it is takin a little while for me to adjust Hopefully your instructor has been trained by Jim Hardy (he's given dozens of teaching seminars the past couple of years); if not, he might not know everything he needs to if he's trying to teach you the one-plane method... Jeff

My pleasure! I think this development is the most important thing to happen in modern golf instruction. Jeff

In a two-plane swing, the arms are on a different plane (usually steeper) at the top of the backswing than the shoulders (e.g., Tom Watson, Davis Love, Greg Norman, Seve, David Toms, Tom Weiskopf). In a one-plane swing, the arms and shoulders are on the same plane at the top of the swing (Hogan, Trevino, Snead, Nelson, Boros, Micky Wright, Knudson, Venturi, Moe Norman, Tiger, Duval, Singh, Els, Annika). There are a couple of very notable hybrids: both Jack and Freddie have two-plane backswings, but both reroute the club to a one-plane downswing, very tricky! Don't try this at home! Also, John Mahaffey thought he was swinging like Hogan on one-plane, but, in fact, his was a very rare two-plane swing: his arms were more shallow than his shoulders. Not appreciating the different methods and, more importantly, the incompatible moves each method requires has led to massive confusion in teaching golf. The critical moves that made Hogan's swing work so well would destroy Tom Watson. All this and more will be presented soon in a new book by Jim Hardy called "The Plane Truth". If you subscribe to the Golf Channel video vault, you can access a Golf Academy Live segment with Hardy and pupil Peter Jacobson where Jim summarizes the key points. Jeff