Who Is He?

When Matt Kuchar won the low amateur prize in the 1998 Masters, and later that year won the same prize in the US Open, the golfing media predicted that Kuchar would be the next big thing. Although he had some moderate success in the early part of his career, he never really reached his potential until he had been on tour for around 10 years. He developed what is widely regarded as one of the flattest swings on tour. The poster boy for the one plane swing.

He now has a reputation as one of the most consistent players on tour. He claimed the 2010 PGA Tour money list and has won the Players Championship, as well as a World Of Golf championship event. All of those, with a golf swing that to most looks rather unorthodox.

What He Does

At six feet four inches, Matt Kuchar is incredibly tall and has very long arms and this results in him promoting a very tilted spine angle at the address position which he then maintains throughout his backswing. Kuchar's left shoulder is very low at the top of the backswing and his shoulder plane points almost down towards the ball. If he had a traditional two plane swing, the club would be almost vertical directly above his head, but because Kuchar employs a one plane swing, the hands and arms don't lift much upwards. Instead they turn around the body. Kuchar's left arm is actually positioned below his right shoulder at the top of his backswing. This to most people looks like an incredibly flat golf swing position. From this position, Matt Kuchar's hands stay in very close to his right side during his downswing, another trait of the one plane swingers. He then releases his explosive distance as he extends the club directly down the target line, and finishes in a nice, balanced follow through position.

What Can You Learn?

Clearly Kuchar felt that his swing was letting him down in the early part of his career, and that since turning to the one plane approach he has never looked back. If you feel that you struggle to stay connected throughout your swing, a one plane swing may help you to feel that your hands and arms swing more around and less up and down.

What Should You Avoid?

In order to maintain Matt Kuchar's excessively tilted spine angle and aggressively tilted shoulder rotation at the top of the backswing, a good degree of physical flexibility is required. Not many golfers, particularly those mature in years or with pre-existing back injuries would be able to maintain such an athletic, balanced position.