Ben Hogan Pane of Glass Swing Drill

Ben Hogan’s concept of the swing plane and his image of a “pane of glass” running from the ball through the shoulders is one that has had a significant impact on the game of golf and golf instruction. Unfortunately, the images from his book “Five Lessons” were a bit skewed because Hogan’s lead arm never got anywhere near the bottom of that imaginary plane, but the concept is still very important, particularly for one plane swingers.

Study the image below where two shafts stuck end to end represent this imaginary pane of glass at address with a 6 iron. As you can see, this plane is quite steep and I would have to make an exaggerated movement for my club to travel up that plane.

But, what does happen quite often is golfers who don’t take the club back enough around them during the backswing actually bump into that plane at some point. An AI swing analyzer can instantly reveal whether your arm path is crossing above the plane or staying properly underneath it during this critical phase.

Ready to transform your swing? Try a free AI-powered Live Lesson with GOATY — real-time pose tracking, voice coaching, and gate-by-gate feedback on every rep.

In the photos below, note how my lead arm is working down the target line while I keep the club outside my hands in a classical two plane takeaway.

You can clearly see how my lead arm is bumping into the plane and my club is well above it at this point, shattering the imaginary pane of glass. Numerous golfers trying to develop a one plane swing end up in positions very similar to this during the backswing and don’t quite understand how much more the arms need to work around the body during the backswing. Now, let’s take a look at how the club should work back during a proper one plane takeaway.

Analyze Your Swing Free → Upload a swing video and get your GOAT Score with detailed breakdown in minutes.

Read the full article: Ben Hogan Pane of Glass Swing Drill