Golf Swing Problem: Having A Flat Golf Swing

A flat golf swing occurs when the golf club is swung too much around your body as opposed to being more vertical. In a correct or on plane backswing, the golf club should swing over your right shoulder. If the club swings too much behind you, or over your arm instead of the shoulder, it is considered a flat or laid off swing. This is less common than having a golf swing that is too steep. Swinging the club too vertical or steep is the opposite swing fault.

A slightly flatter swing can sometimes be helpful and will generally make your golf shots go straighter if your flat swing is combined with other good swing elements. However, golfers with flatter swings will also not hit the golf ball as far as they would if their swings were more on plane.

Basically, at the top of your backswing, your club is too much behind you and not over your right shoulder with a flat swing. The picture above demonstrates a golfer swinging on too flat of a plane. The club is over his right bicep instead of being more directly over the right shoulder.

Problems That Occur From Having Too Flat Of A Golf Swing:

A flatter golf swing can cause you to push or hook the golf ball. The golf swing hook will sometimes results because the club is being swung too much around you, thus putting a right to left sidespin on the ball when you swing through impact.

You may also have a tendency to push or block some of your shots out to the right if your swing is too flat. The hook and the push result from the same error in your swing path. The push will happen because your club gets too "stuck behind you" as you swing down towards the golf ball. Your club comes too far underneath the swing plane line coming into the ball causing a blocked shot.