Why Switch to a Single Plane Swing?

Written on 6-4-2020.

I want to review the scores from this past season to see how I did during my first year with a membership at Pinon Hills.  It doesn’t look great, but there are some bright moments.  I always look for the positive.  Here are the dates and the scores from the rounds I played:

Full Golf Rounds at Pinon Hills

1. 4-5-19: 92
2. 4-12-19: 88 (41 on the front nine)
3. 4-15-19: 91 (41 on the back nine)
4. 4-26-19: 104 (windy!)
5. 5-3-19: 96 (2 birdies!)
6. 5-24-19: 104 (first round back after being sick)
7. 5-28-19: 86 (43, 43, and one birdie on #9!)
8. 5-31-19: 94
9. 6-5-19: 97
10. 7-19-19: 98 (new swing, met Davis who shot a 78 from the farthest tees)
11. 7-24-19: 91 (43 on front nine, better round with new swing)
12. 8-1-19: 85 (3 birdies and a 40 on the back)
13. 8-13-19: 94
14. 8-20-19: 96 
15. 10-2-19: 99 (first time back after stroke)
16. 10-4-19: 102
17. 10-15-19: 90 (43 on the front, a couple of handicap 7’s on the back)
18. 10-16-19: 108 Ugh!
19. 10-18-19: 98 (Handicap 93)
20. 10-23-10: 104
21. 11-15-19: 97
22. 11-22-19: an adjusted 94
23. 12-3-19: 93
24. 12-13-19: 102
25. 1-13-20: 100 (new S7K putter)
26. 1-31-20: 9 bogeys, no official score kept (more like a practice round due to horrible weather)
27. 2-7-20: 104 trying new things, practice round
28. 3-5-20: no official score but I beat my goal of 14 bogeys
29. 3-9-20: 91, 5 pars and 10 bogeys and 3 “other” scores
30. 3-16-20: 105, back nine played twice
31. 3-17-20: 100, front nine played twice
32. 5-25-20: lost the scorecard, Eric won the game
33. 5-29-20: 95, won the game vs. Shawn and C.J. after checking the score again
34. 6-1-20: 97, lost to C.J. and Shawn
35. 6-3-2020: 98

Nine Holes Only

1. 4-19-19: 47 (front nine)
2. 6-25-19: High score, not official
3. 7-8-19: 49ish (trying new swing)
4. 3-18-20: 52  

Not bad, right?  Pretty average, though.  Actually, it looks terrible to me, even with my bright outlook on things.  I see some decent scores in there, at least a few, and some birdies and some wins, too.  However, I consistently see scores that are in the nineties.  I’m better than that.  I know Hidden Valley was easier, but not by that much.  I remember hitting that new Wishon driver so well at the end of last season, and I remember scoring a 75 at Hidden Valley, so what happened?

Yesterday, I lost the game we played on the back, and I shot a 98.  My last three scores have been 95, 97, and 98.  They are going up, up, up.  I want them to go down, down, down,...

or at least stay consistent.  I plan on playing tomorrow, though, my literal last chance to play with my membership there, and then taking a break from playing.

At least Eric and I tied Shawn and C.J. in best ball match play on the front before Eric had to leave, and I contributed on a few of those holes during that game.  

I am considering getting a range pass instead this year and making a swing change to a single plane.  I recently bought Todd Graves’ book on Kindle for $9.14 (we had a GC) on this concept, and everything I am reading makes sense.  I know I am a part-time golfer, but I expected to be so much better than this by now.  20 years of playing.  Amount of improvement: debatable.  

I want to justify why I want to switch to a single plane swing.  I feel like I must devise a plan to tell people why I am doing it.  I have to back it up somehow, maybe for myself.  Normally, I don’t care what other people think, but I want to have an answer if they ask me.

1. It will save my back.  From what I understand, the two planes swing compresses the spine, because we are raising up and straightening our lead leg, while at the same time we are turning through the ball and keeping our heads down and still.  That puts a twisting and a stress on our spines.  With the single plane swing, we are just turning through the ball with a pendulum motion, so the twisting and raising up part is negated.  Less motion is always better, simpler.

2. I like that the arms are elevated and pointing right at the ball.  It reminds me of proper form for volleyball, and I am used to the feeling of making a platform with my arms to make a pass in volleyball.  It is a natural position for me.  

3. For the grip, I like how the trail hand is set up for a “skipping a rock” motion.  I can also see how the lead arm is sent up for perfect impact every time in that you have the back of that hand facing the target at address and at impact.  

Just like in volleyball and serving, where your hand faces is the where the ball goes, which brings me to another reason why I want to switch.  I want to be able to have the confidence with every swing that came from the confidence I had with serving.  I could place it anywhere I wanted when I served really well.  Why can I not do the same thing in golf?  I should be able to.

4. Another reason is that I have always said in this golf journal that I am getting more serious about having more fun while playing golf.  I don’t think I am having fun sometimes when I play, and it’s because I don’t see myself getting better.  It really is no fun to not get better.  

5. I don’t see what I have to lose.  I can either continue what I am doing, or I can do something radically different.  Time is not on my side.  I can see a decade going by doing the same thing I’ve always done and wondering why I didn’t do this sooner.  I want to make golf simpler, and therefore, more fun.  The brain surgery and the stroke tell me that time is precious.

6. Why would you ever start the address in a position other than something close to impact?  It’s easy and simple to do that.  Why overcomplicate things with two planes?  What is the easiest way to get from address to impact?  Start on the same plane.  Less moving parts.  Less back pain.  Easier to learn.

That above paragraph comes from the Moe Norman Single Plane Golf Swing Presentation, Canada Golf Show YouTube video, but it gives me yet another reason to justify the change.  I’ll use that as my final reason for my list, though.