Answers to Your D-Plane Questions Part I

I've been getting more questions in regards to D-Plane, 'swinging left' and Trackman. I am by no means a Trackman expert, but I'll attempt to answer them here. If I have anything incorrect, please let me know and I'll make the corrections.

First, I want to go over some basic Trackman definitions to answer these questions I've received.

Attack Angle = Angle that the clubhead takes towards the ball. Should be a negative angle for irons. Can be negative or positive for the driver since the ball is teed up.

Face Angle = Angle of the clubface at impact.

Horizontal Swing Plane = The 'path' of the club (inside-to-out, outside-to-in, square)

Club Path = Factors in Angle of Attack and the Horizontal Swing Plane. This is also called 'true path.' You ideally want your 'true path' close to zero. But it's not just getting the Horizontal swing plane to zero, it's also getting the horizontal swing plane to 'match' the angle of attack. I will go over this a bit more later in the post.

When using Trackman, you will see some negative and positive numbers for these categories. The general rule of thumb is that negative means to the left of the target and positive means to the right of the target.


Now...let's talk about the 'new ball flight laws' according to D-Plane.

INITIAL DIRECTION OF BALL FLIGHT = About 85% dependent on the clubface angle at impact. The other 15% is from the 'true path.'

CURVATURE OF BALL FLIGHT = Due to the true path in relation to the clubface angle at impact.

So, if a golfer has a clubface angle of 0.0* at impact, but a path of 5*, the ball will actually start out slightly to the right of the target (remember, face angle is 85% responsible, but path is 15% responsible) and then will draw to some degree. I haven't worked with Trackman enough to know if the ball will draw back to the target or left of the target, but it will draw.

However, I can have a clubface that is open, say 3* at impact and still hit a draw if the path is 5* (to the right). That's because in order to hit some sort of draw, the clubface has to be closed to the path on some level at impact. Conversely, to hit some sort of fade, the clubface must be open to the path at impact to some level.

Thus, if you are hitting a hook that starts left, then get the clubface to open up because you can hit a leftward starting hook with an open clubface. Conversely, you can't hit that big block slice with a closed face at impact.

Think about it for a second. Those duck hooks always go very low. That's because the clubface is very closed and the clubface gets de-lofted. With the block slice, the ball almost always goes very high because the open clubface adds loft to the club. Basically the clubface with a duck hook is so closed that a pretty good swing path will cause any ball to hook.

In other words, CONTROL THE FACE.

That's what really D-Plane is about. Control the face better and you will play better. And I believe that in any golf tournament, the winner usually controls the clubface the best for that tournament. Not only for the driver and irons, but for the putter as well. Remember, D-Plane is alive and well in putting.





3JACK

3Jack's Translation of TGM: Part 9K

10-18 (Left Wrist Action)

The corresponding Chapter 7 translation can be found HERE.

STANDARD LEFT WRIST ACTION - The wrist is turned and cocked during the backstroke, which means it must be rolled and uncocked during the release. This causes the hands to 'swivel' into Hinge Action Position. Here's a Lynn Blake video discussing the hand swivel.



DOUBLE LEFT WRIST ACTION - Identical to the standard left wrist action, except that the left wrist is in a Double Cocked position (cocked and bent). This is restricted to the hitter according to Homer Kelley. That's because the double left wrist action destroys the Left Arm Flying Wedge and leaves the clubface to be aligned to the mandatory frozen right wrist (a hitting procedure).

SINGLE LEFT WRIST ACTION - Left Wrist is cocked, but not turned. This single left wrist action, where the left wrist is cocked, but not turned has 3 alternative procedures:

1. Let the pivot do the work and lead the golfer into horizontal hinging.
2. Let the pivot do the work and lead the golfer into angled hinging.
3. Hold the left wrist vertical throughout the stroke.

HALF LEFT WRIST ACTION - Wrist is turned then rolled, but is not cocked.

CUT SHOT - Vertical hinge action shot.

Remember, a 'cut shot' by TGM terms is ANY shot where the golfer uses vertical hinging. From what we know about the ball flight laws, I could hit a 250 yard draw with a driver using vertical hinge action and that would still be considered a 'cut shot.'

Cut shots are mostly used on short shots. It differs a bit from the 'flop shot', but the biggest asset I find from hitting short shots using vertical hinging is that the ball will land softly.

SPECIAL LEFT WRIST ACTION - Single Wrist Action going back, standard wrist action going thru.







3JACK

A Couple Of Notes and a Swing Sequence

A couple of things:

- I've been e-mailed in regards to seeing a videotape of my latest swings. I lost the AC Power Adapter to my camcorder and just ordered a replacement. I've gotten some requests to show myself 'swinging' and 'hitting' and once I get the camcorder up and running I'll post some videos.

- I have pre-ordered Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer's 'Stack and Tilt' and will be reviewing it later this month.

Here's a still pic of the famous Mike Austin golf swing. Austin was considered the longest hitter of his time and eventually wound up working with Ben Hogan on Hogan's golf swing. You can click the picture to enlarge it.







3JACK

3Jack's Translation of TGM: Part 9L

10-17 (FOOT ACTION)

The corresponding Chapter 7 translation can be found HERE.

There are 3 foot positions and they are in conjunction with 3 reference points in the swing:

FLAT FOOT.................TOP OF SWING

ROLLED FOOT...........SIT DOWN OF SWING

LIFTED (HEEL)..........FINISH

STANDARD FOOT ACTION - this procedure produces maximum Foot Action. The left foot is rolled and lifted at the Top of the swing and the Right Foot is rolled and lifted at the Finish after passing thru the Sit-Down Point with both feet flat.

Sam Snead, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus had 'standard foot action.'



Standard Foot Action was very popular from the 70's and earlier, but once the 80's came less and less golfers started using the standard foot action.

FLAT FOOT ACTION - both feet are flat throughout the stroke, but does allow for normal roll of the feet. I think this is mostly used on very uphill lies.

FLAT LEFT FOOT ACTION - This is exactly like the Standard Foot Action, but the left heel is never lifted. This is very popular in today's golf swings. Byron Nelson was one of the first pros to use flat left foot action.



FLAT RIGHT FOOT ACTION - Same s standard action, but the right heel is not lifted at any time.

Moe Norman was probably as close as it got to a Flat Right Foot action.



ZERO FOOT ACTION - roll and lift are minimal and basically the golfer is swing 'flat footed' which creates zero pivot or zero hip turn.

I'm a very big believer in having good footwork and how it relates to a golfer's ballstriking. Most great ballstrikers have exceptional footwork and most poor ballstrikers have poor footwork. The feet help generate the pivot action. Here's a couple of videos I did awhile back on Foot Action and 7-17 of TGM.










3JACK

The Golfing Machine Video with Michael Jacobs (GSED)

Video by Michael Jacobs (GSED) going over some basic philosophies of The Golfing Machine.



One thing to note, a 'hitter' can use force across the shaft and use 'pitch elbow' if desired. In fact, my current golf swing is developing more of a pitch elbow position while still being a hitting procedure.





3JACK

Ping Driver Fitting w/Trackman

Here's a cool video of a golfer getting fit for a Ping Driver using Trackman.



This golfer in particular hits the ball a very long ways. Changing drivers added 18 yards of carry because he was able to increase his ball speed by 5 mph (along with some other factors).

What's interesting to note is that the golfer had a +3.1* Angle of Attack, but was swinging left by about 6*, and thusly hit almost all of his shots to the right of the target with either a fade or a slice.





3JACK

3Jack's Translation of TGM: Part 9K

10-16 (Knee Action)

The corresponding Chapter 7 translation post can be found HERE.

Knee action is classified on the basis of combinations of bent and straight conditions and at what point in the swing they occur.

STANDARD KNEE ACTION - Right Knee is straight and Left knee bent at the top of the swing. Then on the downswing there is a double knee bend (sit-down position) which finally comes into a straight left knee and a bent right knee at the finish. Homer states that this produces maximum hip slant.

This is spot on knee action for Sam Snead.


'Hip Slant' is the slanted angle of the hips when looking at them from this vantagepoint.

I couldn't find the famous Sam Snead 'squat', but here's Abe Mitchell performing it.


So the straighter the right knee at the top of the swing, the more hip slant there will be. More right knee flex will reduce hip slant.

LEFT ANCHOR KNEE ACTION - This is identical to Standard Hip Action except there is no straightening of the Left Knee after passing the 'Sit Down' position. Homer states that this method allows the hips to turn flatter.

RIGHT ANCHOR KNEE ACTION - This is the exact reverse of Left Anchor Knee Action. Here, both knees remain bent until the Sit Down position is passed. Once the Sit Down action has passed, the left knee begins to straighten. This keeps the hips flat pre-impact impact, but coming into the follow thru the body will rise quicker with the straightening of the Left Knee.

DOUBLE ANCHOR KNEE ACTION - Both knees are held at address position bend throughout the entire stroke. Produces a very flat hip motion.

ZERO KNEE ACTION - Knee action is zero or minimal. This occurse because there is zero pivot, zero hip turn, and zero foot action.

Remember, straightening the knee doesn't mean the golfer should *lock* the knee. As Homer stated earlier in the book, a locked knee will eventually have to bend and that causes problems.

The Stack & Tilt guys are big proponents of having a straightened right knee at the top of the swing. Popular golf instruction calls for the right knee to remain flexed at the top of the swing, but as Homer states in TGM, the 'standard action' has the right knee straightened at the top of the swing. Here's a pic of former S&T student Aaron Baddeley using TGM's 'standard knee action.'









3JACK