The Turning Shoulder Plane is unique because it changes in steepness throughout the swing. This is because, unlike the other basic planes described by Mr Kelley, the reference point for this plane is pegged to a moving part of the body - the right shoulder.(1)

At the start of the swing, the plane angle is the same as the Squared Shoulder Plane, but as the right shoulder rotates and moves away from the ball, the plane angle becomes flatter, until at the top of the backswing, the plane angle is the same as the Turned Shoulder Plane. The same process occurs in reverse during the downswing; as the right shoulder moves towards its impact location, the plane angle steepens.

Although this plane may seem unusual, Mr Kelley states it is: “...undoubtedly the most widely used basic plane. The player who takes the clubhead “straight back from the ball” is using this plane angle.”(2) Mr Kelley goes on to describe a method to create the Turning Shoulder Plane.(3)

Firstly, the player must hold the left wrist vertical to the ground at all times(4), so there is no rotation of the wrists during the swing. With the left wrist “locked” into this alignment(5), “the arms are simply raised and lowered vertically and the wrists are cocked and uncocked... All this, while the pivot is imparting the on plane motion to the hands and arms in both directions.” With this technique, the arm’s only function is to provide an up and down motion, creating force vertically downwards for impact, rather than along the inclined plane. The turning shoulders bring the clubhead to the ball, providing the “forward” motion at impact.

If this motion sounds familiar, it’s because in recent years it has been branded the “Two Plane Swing” by the popular golfing media. Jim Hardy, the instructor who coined the term, compares the downward force of the arms as a “karate chop”. He states: “At the same time that your arms start driving down in front of the right side of your chest, you must simultaneously start to turn your entire torso, from the shoulders through the hips, counterclockwise... The key to success in the two-plane swing is keeping these two gears meshed correctly.”(6)

Although the arms provide an off plane, vertical force, Mr Kelley states this method is: “...extremely effective and dynamically correct. As a matter of fact, that characteristic could be incorporated in any pattern to great advantage for three dimensional impact insurance.”(7)