By Luther Blacklock
To make short work of hammering a nail the hammer needs to be close to the ideal line of the strike and be dead on it at impact. Not quite so clear – but equally true – is the concept that the ideal Swing Plane for the golfer is one inclined at an angle to the ball. To support this we also have the benefit of hindsight; by looking at images of golfers throughout history we can discern that the
'Lost Fundamental' has been under our noses (literally!) for decades. While the golf ball and clubs have changed dramatically, and differing techniques have come and gone, the human body has not changed during the few centuries that golf has been played.
Plane HistoryIf we look at any golfer of note (in any era, with any club, any shot), the down-the-line view at the very top of the backswing reveals one defining point. If you draw a line from the ball to the butt-end of the club, that line will always run through the top of the sternum (or the 'hub' of the human 'wheel') to within an inch or so.
Despite the difference of plane between, say, Bobby Jones' upright swing with a hickory wedge to Ian Woosnam's swing with a driver, the Optimum Biomechanical Swing Plane (OBSP) can be tracked through this same point every time. It is a very narrow band because a shifting of the club to various planes will only create a tiny variance compared to the Optimum Biomechanical Swing Plane's hub. To clarify, any golfer's swing will vary its plane in sympathy with the length of the club; naturally, a driver will demand a flattish swing plane while a wedge dictates a more upright one. So, the angle of the Optimum Biomechanical Swing Plane will vary from person to person and from club to club. However, the Optimum Biomechanical Swing Plane (OBSP) will always run from the ball to the butt of the club at the top of the backswing.
Study the sequence above. The butt of the club is clearly below the OBSP at address. During the backswing the clubhead tracks the OBSP and gradually the butt of the club raises to lie in that plane at the top of the backswing. The golfer then delivers the clubhead to the ball, whereafter (ideally) the clubhead continues to track the ideal swing-plane. During the downswing and impact the butt of the club can live between the original shaft plane at address or it might rise to meet the OBSP. Then, for a nano second, the butt of the clubhead might be pulled back to the OBSP in the follow through.
