Use This Drill To Get On Plane In Your Golf Backswing (Video) - by Pete Styles
Use This Drill To Get On Plane In Your Golf Backswing (Video) - by Pete Styles

There's a couple of really good little checkpoint drills to ensure that you are swinging the golf club on play, and that you are not laying the golf club off too much during different parts of your swing. And the first one is just going to setting up to the golf ball in your normal position. I’ve got myself an 8 iron pointing down my target line, good setup position. I am going to try and make a nice one piece turn back. Now when I get back to this position here, my shaft is parallel to the ground, but it's also parallel to my toes. It’s pointing exactly at the same line as my toes.

Now if I pick the golf club up into different positions, you'd see that it's not in the right place. And actually lifting the golf club out here has effectively laid the club off already. Now for a lot of people I guess it’s a bit confusing that the fact that the club appears to be quite steep. But what happens if I take that position to the top and effectively flip the circle a 180 degrees. It then becomes very laid off. Likewise bringing the golf club too flat in this position, for some people they think this is laid off because it's on their side. But it isn't because I reversed it to the top and it's across the target line which is another fault. So with this turn back position halfway back, I want that club pointing pretty much at my camera or at my mirror if I’ve one there. And then I can look at that line and it's square to my toe line. That’s going to be a nice, on plane take back. The second checkpoint is I'm going to swing this golf club nicely up to the top and stop at the top. I want to see it pointing down the target line. Now a great way of checking that you are in a position that's on or very close to the correct position is to swing that up to the top and stop it. Make sure it's full length and horizontal. Then let go with your left hand, so your right hand holds the club. And then just look behind you here and see whether you can see the corner of the club out of your left eye. And if you can, try and reach up and grab it or get close to it with your left hand. That depends on your level of flexibility, whether you’ll actually be able to grab it. But the point here is if I was to swing into a very laid off position over this way, I've got absolutely no chance of reaching that with my left hand. It’s miles away. And if you’ve got a mirror here you can actually check that. But if I swing that to the correct position at the top, I can see it and I can very nearly grab it with my left hand. So think about that laid off position. If I'm laid off here, laid off here, I’ve got no chance of grabbing it with my left hand up here. So those two little checkpoints just to make sure that you are on plane and on plane rather than getting laid off, they should really help improve your technique and avoid those laid off positions. 2016-07-15

There's a couple of really good little checkpoint drills to ensure that you are swinging the golf club on play, and that you are not laying the golf club off too much during different parts of your swing. And the first one is just going to setting up to the golf ball in your normal position. I’ve got myself an 8 iron pointing down my target line, good setup position. I am going to try and make a nice one piece turn back. Now when I get back to this position here, my shaft is parallel to the ground, but it's also parallel to my toes. It’s pointing exactly at the same line as my toes.

Now if I pick the golf club up into different positions, you'd see that it's not in the right place. And actually lifting the golf club out here has effectively laid the club off already. Now for a lot of people I guess it’s a bit confusing that the fact that the club appears to be quite steep. But what happens if I take that position to the top and effectively flip the circle a 180 degrees. It then becomes very laid off. Likewise bringing the golf club too flat in this position, for some people they think this is laid off because it's on their side.

But it isn't because I reversed it to the top and it's across the target line which is another fault. So with this turn back position halfway back, I want that club pointing pretty much at my camera or at my mirror if I’ve one there. And then I can look at that line and it's square to my toe line. That’s going to be a nice, on plane take back. The second checkpoint is I'm going to swing this golf club nicely up to the top and stop at the top. I want to see it pointing down the target line. Now a great way of checking that you are in a position that's on or very close to the correct position is to swing that up to the top and stop it.

Make sure it's full length and horizontal. Then let go with your left hand, so your right hand holds the club. And then just look behind you here and see whether you can see the corner of the club out of your left eye. And if you can, try and reach up and grab it or get close to it with your left hand. That depends on your level of flexibility, whether you’ll actually be able to grab it. But the point here is if I was to swing into a very laid off position over this way, I've got absolutely no chance of reaching that with my left hand. It’s miles away.

And if you’ve got a mirror here you can actually check that. But if I swing that to the correct position at the top, I can see it and I can very nearly grab it with my left hand. So think about that laid off position. If I'm laid off here, laid off here, I’ve got no chance of grabbing it with my left hand up here. So those two little checkpoints just to make sure that you are on plane and on plane rather than getting laid off, they should really help improve your technique and avoid those laid off positions.