What Is the Correct Golf Swing?

Is there actually a definitive answer to that question? For years, golf experts thought that yes, there is one correct way to swing a golf club. And on the surface, they’re right. There is definitely a right way to swing a club; there is also, however, another right way. Yep, you read that correctly. There are two correct ways to swing a golf club. Two correct golf swings: the one plane and the two plane. What does this mean?

Jim Hardy discusses this in depth. Years ago, he noticed something interesting about golfers’ swings. He saw that while the basic idea of golf swings remained constant – rearing back and hitting the ball – the path traveled by the club varied. He was already familiar with the concept of the golf swing plane, which refers to the circular path the club travels. He knew how important it was to maintain a steady swing plane to generate power and accuracy; he just didn’t realize that some golfers tend to switch planes during their swings. Thus was born the idea of the two and one plane golf swing. Jim Hardy was of the opinion that the one plane swing – in which the arms and shoulders are on the same plane and power is generated mostly by the body – is the most natural and efficient swing. He also realized that swing planes are entirely subjective and dependent on what works best for the individual golfer. In other words, what’s good for the goose might not necessarily be as good for the gander.

And so pinning down just one correct golf swing is difficult. Professionals currently use both forms to great success. I suppose you could look at the top golfers and examine which form they use to determine the most successful form, but it still wouldn’t be a definitive result. It could be that body type determines whether or not a golfer has success with either the one or two plane swing, and if a natural two planer were to attempt the one planer, his game would suffer. More and more golfers have actively been moving toward the one plane swing – Tiger Woods, most notably – but that could simply be a result of Jim Hardy bringing the swing to more people’s attention. The real answer to this question is that everyone should try both forms. Whichever one gets the best results is the correct golf swing for you.

After all, that’s the only person that really matters.