The one plane vs two plane swing question is about your arms. A one plane swing keeps the arms on about the same tilt as the shoulder turn; a two plane swing lifts them steeper. Either can work, and a plane you repeat can help your contact.
Where the one plane vs two plane swing differs
Both models share the same two motions. Your shoulders turn, and your arms swing the club up. Where they part ways is how those two motions line up at the top.
- In a one plane swing, the arms swing more around the body, on about the same tilt as the shoulders. The hand path to the top looks flatter.
- In a two plane swing, the arms swing more up, on a steeper plane than the shoulders turn. The hand path to the top looks more upright.
What is a one plane golf swing, then? It is one model of a good swing, and the two plane swing is another. Pick the model that feels natural or that your coach teaches, then work on repeating it.
Striped takes the same view of your plane. Its help text says, “A steeper or flatter plane is not a score.”
Do skilled golfers swing on one plane?
A 2012 study of swing planarity in 14 skilled golfers found that the clubhead moved on a well-defined swing plane. The slope of that plane changed with the club. The shoulder and arm points moved on different planes.
So “one plane” is best read as how the arms and shoulders relate, not one flat sheet for the whole body. The study also called the downswing “semi-planar,” with a transition phase and then a planar phase.
Striped’s own range testing agrees on clubs. In one day of testing, the driver drew the flattest wrist planes of any set that day. So compare your plane from day to day with the same club.
Why staying on plane can help
Great swings “stay as close as possible to being on plane,” says GOLF.com’s drill for keeping the club on plane. That is the shared goal of a one plane swing and a two plane swing. A club that comes back on a steady plane can help your contact, swing after swing.
Its check needs one tee and works with either model.
- Push a tee into the ground behind the ball.
- Swing back until your lead arm is parallel to the ground, then stop.
- Look at the grip end of the club. It should point at the tee.
- If it points outside the tee, the plane is too shallow. If it points inside, it is too steep.
How Striped reads your swing plane
Striped works with your iPhone in your front pocket, AirPods in your ears and Apple Watch on your lead wrist. Apple Watch measures each swing at the wrist and traces your hand path. A 2024 study of a single wrist-worn sensor tracked the wrist through the swing on 20 golfers, and its authors relate it to smartwatches.
Striped shows two plane readings.
- Wrist plane: how the wrist wearing your Apple Watch moves through the swing, both its path and how steep it is.
- Wrist consistency: how far your wrist strays from its own swing plane on each swing.
Wrist consistency suits either model. It compares each swing with your own plane, not with an ideal one.
Put your iPhone in your front pocket, your AirPods in, and Apple Watch on your lead wrist. Profile Devices shows whether your Apple Watch is ready.
On Practice, pick irons. Start a session and hit balls with one club.
Open the session report. Playback draws your wrist’s path from takeaway to impact.
Look at both views of the swing. 3D path keeps the motion off the plane, and Fitted plane flattens it.
In Progress, the range is your lowest to highest backswing tilt in a session. Compare days with the same club.
A practice loop for either model
The tee check is one still frame. Striped adds the whole path, on every swing you hit.
- Make a few practice swings, stopping at lead-arm parallel to check the grip end.
- Then hit balls with full swings and no stops.
- Open the report and look at Wrist plane and Wrist consistency swing by swing. The full swings show whether your plane held once you stopped checking.
Keep your tempo while you work on plane
Plane work changes how your arms move. Check your tempo in the same report to see whether your rhythm held. The report shows your tempo first, then how your hips, head, hands and wrists moved.
Striped times your hands. Apple Watch finds the top where your hands reverse. In one 7-iron session, the three swings read 2.8, 2.9 and 3.0 (example swings from one session).
| Swing | Backswing | Downswing | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swing 1 | 0.84 s | 0.3 s | 2.8 |
| Swing 2 | 0.86 s | 0.29 s | 2.9 |
| Swing 3 | 0.86 s | 0.29 s | 3.0 |
| Session | 0.85 s | 0.29 s | 2.9 |
The golf tempo guide explains what the ratio means and how to train it. Setup help is on the support page, and the home page shows everything else Striped measures.
Sources
- Assessment of planarity of the golf swing based on the functional swing plane of the clubhead and motion planes of the body points (Kwon et al., Sports Biomechanics, 2012)
- Keep your club on plane and hit better irons with this simple trick (GOLF.com)
- Golf swing tracking with a wrist-worn single inertial sensor (Kim and Park, Scientific Reports, 2024)
- Striped: Striped times tempo at the hands. The top is where the hands reverse, read by Apple Watch on the lead wrist.
- Striped: One 7-iron session (3 swings), tempo at the hands. (example swings from one session)
Cite or embed
Cite this guide: Nick. “One plane vs two plane swing and how to check yours.” Striped, 28 Oct 2026. https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/one-plane-vs-two-plane-swing/
Embed a diagram
The diagrams are free to use with credit. Copy the code for one:
A flatter swing plane, seen down the line
<a href="https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/one-plane-vs-two-plane-swing/#figure-plane-flatter"><img src="https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/one-plane-vs-two-plane-swing/plane-flatter.svg" width="420" height="282" alt="A down-the-line sketch of a golfer at address with a shallow line drawn through the ball and the hands. The hand path climbs along that flat line to a low top behind the shoulders and comes back down beside it."></a><br>Diagram: <a href="https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/one-plane-vs-two-plane-swing/">One plane vs two plane swing and how to check yours</a>, StripedA more upright swing plane, seen down the line
<a href="https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/one-plane-vs-two-plane-swing/#figure-plane-upright"><img src="https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/one-plane-vs-two-plane-swing/plane-upright.svg" width="420" height="282" alt="A down-the-line sketch of a golfer at address with a steep line drawn through the ball and the hands. The hand path climbs steeply along that upright line to a high top and comes back down beside it."></a><br>Diagram: <a href="https://stripedgolfapp.com/guides/one-plane-vs-two-plane-swing/">One plane vs two plane swing and how to check yours</a>, Striped