D Plane Model Video by James Leitz

[@aleksilepisto7282]

It’s amazing to me that those video is so old and nobody has even kept trying to explain this to people over the years. Great video

[@adrianjones5521]

This is still my go to video on D Plane...I had to watch it many times before it sank in but once you got it you go it!

[@RickPinewild]

These 2 video's are the best explanation I've ever heard. I believe I totally understand the relationship finally. My ball-striking was much better after watching. Thank You. Rick Pinehurst, NC

[@bodynfocus]

Everytime I start tinkering with my swing and ball position, I get myself all twisted out of sorts and begin to play very poorly. Watching this video again and letting go of certain ideas of stance and clubpath always straightens me out again. Thanks James.

[@JSGolfer]

I’ve watched about 20 videos on D-Plane and this is the first time i think I’ve understood it and can relate it to myself and then hopefully others as well... thank you very much 🙌🏼

[@joeboscogolf]

Thank you James, for providing this video. Your explanation and models and images will help me help me use my TrackMan to help more of my students!

[@박종국-p5p]

Excellent!!! The best video I have ever seen to explain a D-plane. Thank you!

[@user-xq5rp9fm1p]

Awesome visuals, probably one of the best vids on the subject. Thanks very much!

[@gessed]

Thank you for that very clear explanation. Nicklaus, Hogan etc were all professionals and spent hours at their game. We as week end golfers cannot spend that kind of time. Thank you for giving us an explanation that was easy to understand. Trackman proves this. Great job.

[@Grunnsetning]

He's a very good instructor. Just started seeing him and the difference is unreal.

[@ForeverMySaints]

Thank you for your comments. The D-Plane is not a method of teaching. It only describes why the ball goes where it goes. What a player or teacher changes in someones swing or club should be based on managing Clubhead Speed, Angle of Attack, Path, Clubface and Impact Point on the face. It is useful at all levels of instruction.

[@stephenleitz8360]

Great video Dad! Helps me understand it much better now!

[@Lee_yourboylee]

Absolutely fantastic demonstration.

[@DochetyGolf]

Thanks for making these videos James :)

[@MeindertJanBoekel]

Great video, thanks .. will help my students a lot! (and some of our colleagues too!)

[@phongvong8639]

Very good! I think we need to hold a D-Plane conference for this experiment, thank you.

[@ForeverMySaints]

Edmund, You are correct with your assessment. However, I would only try to adjust that with the aid of a SAM Putt Lab as to how much to move your plane direction to the left to cancel out the upward angle of attack.

[@stephenblack9843]

Great explanation. Very enjoyable

[@gaggleofbombers]

Flawless work, James! Great job. This is the current "standard" D Plane/geometry of the swing on an inclined plane video to be found anywhere. Todd Dugan, PGA

[@proonthegomillar447]

This is critical for any teacher to know to fix and diagnose their pupils

[@theliftexpert]

1-there are only 3 different possible swing paths (inside-out,straight,outside- in) 2-there are only 3 different possible face positions at impact (closed,straight or open. 3- this will give you 9 different ball flights , 3 different right to left,3 different straight balls or 3 different left to right , the swing path ,face position at impact and swing speed =the result everytime

[@larrybud]

You're forgetting face contact/gear effect

[@winsyong]

Why didn’t I find this video earlier? 😬 I always thought there was something wrong with my swing cos I exit left after the ball.

[@JiyoungKimGolf]

Best video explaining D-plane,,,

[@algernonwolfwhistle6351]

Very interesting. My D-plane needs adjustment.

[@pbbyrne]

Great video. Picked up on you comments at the end of the video to draw the ball if hitting down or fade it if hitting up. Would you recommend this in preference to hitting a straight shot (Ref Trackman's Secret of the Straight Shot). Many thanks

[@RyNJ1]

The camera angle did not change between the iron and driver swing. It was correct for the driver swing, but it was not for the short-iron swing. That made the iron swing appear more outside-in and the driver swing inside-out.

[@ForeverMySaints]

Mr. Atkin, Thank you for your email. The path of the club is the vertical and horizontal direction of the force of the clubhead during the impact interval. The Club Face Angle is the direction of the face of the club at maximum ball compression. When these directions do not match there is spin on the golf ball. The vertical difference is backspin and clubface to path difference tilts the spin axis to cause ball curvature.

[@edmundkim007]

since the putter is at a bit of an arc, does that mean that I should swing slightly in to out since the putter at impact is at an upward angle?

[@larrybud]

@Siteseer2 I don't think the answer is one or the other. Elastic collisions are pretty complicated. IIRC, the ball is only on the club face for about 3/4" of travel of the club head. I'm going to take a guess that's only 1/10ths of a degree difference between impact and separation of the club head path, and the actual path that applies in this case is probably somewhere between the two.

[@larrybud]

Great stuff. James, what do you recommend for those of us who work with video, but don't have access to a Trackman, since video can be misleading?

[@uwerich9885]

Is it also possible to bow the left wrist? If you look at good players you can see, that if they hit a low shot they bow the wrist downwards which closes the clubface. So if you want to hit a low shot with a descending angle of attack you can aim to the target without hitting a push slice.

[@ForeverMySaints]

Thanks for your comment. The model is only to demonstrate club movement and relationships. 1. The plane angle 2. The plane direction 3. The direction of force in relation to the horizon (angle of attack) and target (club path). 4. The direction of the face in relationship to the ground(dynamic loft), the target (club face angle), and it's relationship to the path. Since it is a single pendulum model so it is not an exact scale version of a golfers actual impact alignments. It is only to show how changing one of the above criteria changes the relationships to other criteria. The golfer can deliver the club with all kinds of different body, wrist, club specifications and dynamics to create similar impact alignment conditions. There are millions of things that affect impact alignments. It is the instructors job to match up the changes needed to help the student in front of him.

[@TomSmith-yt8ce]

awesome thank you great great video

[@Golffox]

The face doesnt point upwards after impact; it rotates closed down

[@ryandavidtrapasso]

Amazing stuff. Thank you!

[@littlelarry2912]

I hit the ball dead straight like this, always have. Not that I care about distance, but am I losing power by hitting it dead straight?

[@wega85]

Any tips on making the plane model with the pvc pipe and hula hoop?

[@antonydo8579]

Hello James, with understanding that lowest point should be after the ball for a good divot and then swing path is going to the left, the questions are: will D plan change from 0 ( for what club in videos is not mentioned) to somehow right or left depending on ball positions? ( most extremely at the right foot for wedges and left foot for driver)? These aspects are not clear to me so far. Thanks!

[@RMJIWag]

The camera is behind his toe line not the ball / target line. This makes the difference appear much larger than it is. Very few golfers would have the ability to differentiate this small difference in their swing. That is why D plane was not taught for so many years. (In my opinion of course.) So many things for amateurs to work on. This is probably only useful at the highest levels.

[@paulatkin2593]

In the last few days I have stumbled upon the issue of D-Plane and I find it fascinating. I have a question: What is the difference between the "Club Face Angle" and the "Swing Path"? They sound like the same thing to me?

[@larrybud]

Swing Path is the direction the clubhead is moving at a given moment of time. Club Face Angle is just that, the direction in which the face of the club is pointing.

[@bobdignan4630]

This is interesting information. I can see why instructors might want to make use of it. On the other hand, I am not sure that it gives me, as a struggling golfer, a lot of help. It still seems to come down to finding that tiny spot in which the path, clubface, angle of attack (and God knows what else) are perfectly aligned and moving through the ball at the right speed (fast) to cause the ball to fly a long distance in the right direction. I can see that with less information the approach to finding this "sweet spot" combination needed to be more of a trial and error thing, whereas with more information it is theoretically possible to be more "scientific". Still, if I think I have things all lined up and am swinging on the proper plane at proper angle of attack, etc., and the ball flies straight and then hooks violently, I am pretty much back to trial and error. I suppose what this gives me is a new frame of reference through which to view my hooks and push fades and try to make adjustments. It seems to me that the real key is to work out a swing that can be repeated time after time (different for every unique physiology) and then use trial and error to get that swing to produce a ball flight that is reasonably accurate and has enough distance potential to be competitive. This is probably where having a qualified instructor present to watch and suggest adjustments is critical to the process.

[@ForeverMySaints]

Larrybud, Just knowing the relationships that the d-plane model reveals will allow you not to assume that what you see on video might not be correct. Face on view can somewhat but not guarentee the angle of attack. But to specifically identify angle of attack is impossible without a Trackman. Wish I had better news. Take Care

[@Siteseer2]

Hmmm... you refer to lowpoint/point of impact as determinative of path/face relationship on the d-plane (moment of truth vis-a-vis d plane)...However, is it not the point of SEPERATION and not point of impact, that is determinative?.... Does it matter, in your view...?

[@36cabecker]

You are describing Pre-Trackman ball flight laws. Swing path is much less important than swing direction, and angle of attack. If you start to understand how those components, along with face angle work together, then you can start to see how someone with an out to in path can hit shots that start right, left, or directly on the target line. If you used video only, then you can misguide your students into unnecessary swing changes.

[@iacas]

And hey, it didn't take 40 minutes! :-)

[@alanshinny4565]

saying plane and path is different needs expansion, you know this. make sense. you are like an instructor talking to himself in front of students

[@ForeverMySaints]

Alan, Thank you for your comment. If you think of a swing plane as an angled flat plane with the base pointed at the hole like a roof with the gutter pointed at the hole. As the club is swinging down the roof, the path (force) of the club is moving down and to the right of the target line. At low point the path (force) is level and at the hole, and while the club is going up the roof the path (force) is going up and to the left of the target line. So, the same swing plane creates infinite number of paths. It just depends where on the arc that is inscribed on the plane that the ball is struck. I have a saying: path and plane are only the same direction at low point. Look at this video, I hope it helps further explain path and plane. Thanks kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5WsYYWOqs-Inc0

[@williamkerner]

Hmmmm..... I'm just wondering how the average golfer will apply this knowledge. Unless you have a track man I don't think you'll have any benefit in knowing this. The only thing this proves is that hitting straight shots is next to impossible, learn to hit fades and draws.

[@norrispg6085]

another short-sighted d plane theoretical myth...not a word about the shaft bowing downward with targetward bowing and torque in the forward swing and the subsequent effect of those two bending and twisting conditions rebounding at impact...downward bowing changing the face angle to the right for a right-handed golfer proportional to the degree of that downward bowing and targetward bowing and torque closing the club face proportionally to those effects, both rebounding in their respective opposite directions at impact...the d plane theory is worse than useless -- it is harmful because the instructor doesn't understand it and misleads his student with theoretical b.s....this is the main reason why so many d plane instructors (Sean Foley being the biggest offender) have right handed golfers who have huge misses left and a strong tendency to double cross when attempting to fade a shot

[@pratt6767]

I'm sorry, but did Nicklaus, Hogan, Palmer and Snead know and study this stuff? It seems your taking something that is a "feel" and a skill and making it overly scientific and mathematical.

[@ForeverMySaints]

Thank you for your response. You are correct when saying that these great players did not know these geometry relationships. You are also right that golf is a game of feel, but there is an engineering system behind it that explains it. The golfers do not have to know these laws unless they break them. To hit different shots all these great players experimented until they found how to be successful creating them. They were using these principals whether they knew it or not. Why not measure these things for struggling golfers and go directly to the geometric problem. Trackman is the ultimate feel machine if used correctly. My video was for teachers and not everyone. The response has been unreal among the teaching pro's.

[@derspatero]

Fantastic video. There is no magic involved in the golf swing (its pretty basic newtonian F=MA stuff if you can see it clear enough) and even if the greats didn't consciously understand it I'm sure they intuitive knew it from millions of repetitions.

[@gessed]

+DorkSaysWhat .I'm afraid not all of us could hit a few thousand balls and then work out and feel the golf swing. We could now swing over the top and ajust the face and hit a straight shot.