The One Plane Swing with the driver is slightly different than the iron OPS. The driver setup ball position is more forward, on the inside of the lead foot, so there is very little shaft lean toward the target.
If the ball is positioned too far back and/or the shaft lean is too far forward, the result will be too much target shaft lean at impact. This can cause impact de-lofting which increases spin resulting in a loss of carry and distance. The Driver shaft lean is illustrated below:
Here is the driver shaft lean at address and impact illustrated by Athletic Motion Golf. As you see, the Tour Pro has 1-2° of driver shaft lean at impact compared to 12° with a 7 iron.
DRIVER IMPACT
Driver SetUp:
The One Plane Setup is established with impact in mind. The Setup position will look very similar to Impact. Here are the key points of the One Plane Swing Driver Setup:
The club shaft is on a straight line to from the club face, up through the shaft and arms to the lead shoulder in the face-on view. (yellow line)
The club shaft is on a straight line through the right trail elbow in the down-the-line (DTL) view.
The wrists are in an uncocked ulnar deviated (unhinged) position so that the arms are in straight line down through the shaft to the club head.
The right trail elbow is tucked toward the right hip. (blue circle)
The side tilt is 15° away from the target. (green line)
The lead foot is slightly flared to the target.
The chest is over the ball.
The head is behind the ball.
The weight is 55-60% onto the lead hip/knee/foot. (red line)
There is very little shaft lean toward or away from the target. (yellow line)
Down-the-line view of the Driver Setup:
Backswing:
The takeaway is low and slow. And the swing stays on a one plane going back. At the top the left wrist is flat and the club face is square. The lead shoulder is down and there is a good turn behind the ball. The head is still and the right knee is flexed and stable with no lateral movement away from the target. The weight is still 55-60% onto the lead hip/knee/foot.
Downswing:
In the Downswing the weight is moving from 60% on the lead hip/knee/foot to 95% forward. the right heel begins to come off the ground. and lag is maintained.
DRIVER IMPACT
At Impact this is a true One Plane Swing. (In the picture above the club is just beyond impact so the yellow line is drawn to the tee in the ground where impact occurred). The club shaft angle at impact matches the club shaft angle established at setup. That is, the arms are in a straight line from the lead elbow down to the club head at impact, just as it was at setup. Here are the key points at impact.
The club shaft is on a straight line from the club head through the hands and up to the lead shoulder in the face-on view.
The Club shaft is also on a straight line through the right trail elbow in the down-the-line view.
The club shaft lean is at 1-2° toward the target.
The right trail elbow is tucked toward the right hip.
The side tilt is 25° away from the target.
The right heel is off the ground.
The chest is over the ball, and the shoulders are square to the target.
The head is behind the ball.
The weight is fully onto the lead left hip/knee/foot.
Down-the-line view of the Driver Impact:
The One Plane Golfer definition of the One Plane Swing is:
THE CLUB SHAFT ANGLE AT SETUP MATCHES THE CLUB SHAFT ANGLE AT IMPACT.
Follow Through and Finish:
In the follow through there is good extension with the club shaft on a straight line through the right shoulder. The hips are tucked and toward the target. The finish is balanced.
The One Plane Swing is the easiest method to improve your game. Give it a try and I invite you to use the One Plane Golfer site as a resource.
Dr. Chris Nix
**For more information on the One Plane Swing the One Plane Golfer eBook is available for sale on the homepage of this site. It's a beautifully illustrated description of the One Plane Swing and how to apply it to your game.
