YOUR GAME
How to practice, play and improve
by MIKE LABAUVE with JAMES A. FRANK
Plane Truth Principles for
Straighter Shots
Golfers are convinced swinging
too upright or too flat is bad for
their game. They’re only half right
T
J.D. CUBAN
Your swing path affects
the flight of the ball.
w w w. v s g a . o r g
here’s a misconception among
golfers that their swings are
either too upright or too flat.
Let me clear that up right
now: Unless you are a very
good player, at or near a tour professional
level, your swing is too upright. Almost
no one—I repeat, no one—has a swing that
is too flat. I’ve been teaching golf for 33
years and I see an amateur with a flat swing
(never mind one that is too flat) maybe once
a year. If that.
By too upright and too flat I mean
through the impact zone; this is not about
your backswing. I often see golfers who
claim they have a flat swing. In reality, they
have a flat takeaway. Some sure signs of this
position are they lay the club off at the top,
their arms swing flat while the shaft sticks
straight up in the air or the club comes
into the ball too far from the inside. Truth
be told, those are not flat swings where it
matters—at impact.
The key is the angle of the shaft coming
into and through impact: If it’s too vertical,
it won’t want to release and the golfer
will come out of his or her posture, which
explains the resulting weak, short slices.
Let’s fix those too upright swings, and see
what we can do for those of you who think
you are swinging flat.
J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 4 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R
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