Killer Swing Plane Drill
This golf instruction website includes many articles and videos, covering the golf swing in extensive detail. Of course, there would literally be hundreds more if we included every single technique we use in our in-person golf lessons throughout the week.
Here is one critically important swing plane drill that we use almost every day. We call it the "4 Square Visual."
We use a simple alignment aid to help you visualize the different spaces in the golf swing. This is an outstanding drill to help you develop an on-plane swing.
Think of the golf swing in terms of two halves — front and back — and two sides, lead and trail. This creates four quadrants, as you can see in the photo.
Today we are going to discuss the front and back halves, viewed from down the line. Specifically, we are going to examine the backswing in terms of these quadrants and what you should visualize, especially if you struggle with the club getting deep and off plane.
Try It Yourself
Lay a pair of crossed shafts or tour sticks on the ground to create the four quadrants. As you can see in the photo above, Box 1 is the front-lead quadrant, Box 2 is front-trail, Box 3 is back-trail, and Box 4 is back-lead.
Thinking in terms of those four boxes helps us discuss where the golf club and your body need to be in different phases of the swing to develop your swing plane with this drill.
For instance, something we emphasize consistently during the takeaway and backswing is that you never feel like you are moving the club into Box 3.
Now, obviously the club does move into that box — it has to — but you do not want to feel that you are actively moving it there yourself. If done incorrectly, the club will get buried, stuck, and rolled inside.
The golf club should stay in Box 2 throughout the takeaway in the golf swing. It should always feel like it is forward of that front-back dividing line.
Stay in Box 2 to Keep Your Golf Swing On Plane - Drill
The entire point is to avoid the position shown in the photo above, where the golf club has moved inside into Box 3.
Instead, you are going to keep the club in front of you, in Box 2, as you rotate in the swing. If you are accustomed to moving your arms and getting the club way around your body, you may feel like you are extending it way out in front of you at first.
The only way to keep the club in Box 2 is to move correctly during the backswing, which involves just two things:
- Rotation of your upper body
- Elevation of your arms
Put those two movements together and the club will travel back on plane with this swing drill. To see how your own swing plane compares to elite standards, try a free AI swing analysis.
Simply turning your body and using your arms to elevate the golf club will keep it out in Box 2 the entire time, but it is a very different feeling than you may be accustomed to.
The problem is that many golfers use their arms to swing the club across into the depth dimension of the swing.
Going back to the original diagram, everything in Boxes 3 and 4 is depth. You enter the depth dimension when you move the golf club around you, crossing that line and getting it behind you.
When you move the club up and down, you are working in the vertical dimension.
You should feel that your arms are working only in the vertical dimension during the backswing in golf. It is only the rotation of your body — not your arms — that carries the club into Box 3.
A New Feeling for an On Plane Golf Swing
If you are accustomed to getting deep as you go back, then when you visualize these quadrants and work to keep the club in Box 2, you will probably feel like it stays out front even as you keep turning and get to the top.
You can use tour sticks for this if you have them, but you do not need any special equipment. You can simply lay a single shaft on the ground at your toe line, as shown in the photo below.
If you take the golf club back correctly during the takeaway, by the end of the takeaway it will be directly over the shaft on the ground, every single time. This is how you use this drill to get your golf swing on plane.
Elevate your arms going back, and use the rotation of your body to move the club into the depth dimension. Just turn back.
Picture these quadrants when you practice, especially if you have a problem with the club going inside.
Work on feeling like the club stays in Box 2 throughout the entire backswing, and that will help you stop getting stuck going back.
Simply drop a club on the ground and use it to check your position, even during the takeaway.
Make sure the club stays out in front of you, and that it is parallel to the shaft on the ground when you finish the takeaway. Then keep going up from there and it will feel like it stays in Box 2.
We use this method constantly in our private lessons. It is an extremely effective visual and will help tremendously with your takeaway. For real-time coaching on your swing plane, try a free AI golf lesson.
Watch part 2 now to see how you're moving your body in the opposite direction of the pros!
The visual aid creates quadrants
This is what you want to avoid - the club being deep and not on plane
Use tour sticks or just a shaft on the ground
The shafts should be parallel
