Pane of Glass

Keep it down the middle

Hit it low, hit it high

Fix a slice,
Catch it flush

Improve your path

Gain more power

Related articles appeared
in December 2007 issue of
Golf Digest

A tribute to Ben Hogan

Slicers, particularly new golfers, sometimes have trouble understanding what it feels like to swing around the body properly--what we call being on plane. A great way to feel this is to stand upright and pretend there is a pane of glass wrapped around your torso. Hover your arms and clubshaft above this invisible pane of glass, and make a swing where the shaft remains parallel to the glass. Try to feel the palm of your right hand facing up as you complete the backswing and down as you finish the through-swing. This exercise promotes the proper 180 degrees of clubface rotation.

Fix a slice

If you're making poor contact with the ball and hit a lot of fat or thin shots, there's a good chance your posture is changing during the swing. Your goal should be to maintain the distance between your body and the ball established at address. One image that can help fix this is to pretend there is a pane of glass touching your backside as you address the ball. When you take the club back, maintain contact with the glass with your right glute muscle. When you swing through the ball, maintain contact with your left glute, but try not to slide up or down or push the glass away.

Catch it flush

Golf Digest December 2007