How to Play Golf in a Single Plane

About the Book

This Book was not written on the life and legend of Mr. Moe Norman, rather on the contributions he made towards the single plane swing and the game of golf itself. What I am trying to do in this book is to relay to the reader what I have learned over the 13 ½ years I spent teaching this method. Mr. Norman took a natural movement used for chopping wood or nailing nails and perfected it into the single plane golf swing we know of today. That’s why this movement has been referred to as, “The Hammer Affect”. The genius of the man was not to completely invent a new golf swing “no”, but rather to revert back to a movement that we humans have been using since the dawn of time. He did not alter that natural motion, as stated above, but adjusted his setup to fit it and by doing so he defined the meaning “Square Tracking”. The second most dramatic change the single plane swing gives the golfer is that the forward motion is initiated by a shoulders down (upper body) movement rather than the feet up movement as in the covenantal swing! Because of this setup and upper body swinging movement there is less stress in the low back, less back pain! Through years trial and error he produced the most repeatable and consistent swing in the game of golf. The same swing which allowed him to shoot the three 59s in tournament play. I’m convinced that if Mr. Norman had the charisma of other Pro’s, half the golfing world would be swinging in a single plane. Join me in this book and learn this wonderful swing.

About the Author

Biography “WHO AM I” and what makes me think I’m qualified to write this BOOK? I was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1944. Throughout my life I have played many different sports and games—from hunting, fishing, football, and softball as a youth—to archery, chess, and bass fishing as an adult. When I was young in the Deep South, golf was a sport that only the well-to-do or privileged had a chance to enjoy. If I had told the people I was raised with that I would be a golf professional when I grew up, I may not have made it to adulthood! Boy, how things have changed! I joined the Marine Corps when I was 17. The Corps instilled in me that I must al-ways do the best job no matter what I do. This has guided me throughout my life, especially in the most challenging sport I have ever tried—golf. I was introduced to golf by my father when I was 32 years old and played my second round when I was 36. Since golf is an individual sport and so challenging, I immediately got hooked. Because of my nature and training, I could not (as we say in the Marine Corps) “half-step.” I boughta second-hand set of J.C. Penney fiberglass golf clubs and set out to learn how to play without any formal instruction. I have always been a pretty good athlete and a very good mimic. After watching pros like Tom Weiskopf and Jerry Pate swing the golf clubs I did my best to imitate them. After 10 years, I managed to get my handicap to a six. By then, I had hit a plateau in my golf, so I finally sought a good pro and took a series of lessons. I only completed three of the five lessons, for the pro was only telling me what I already knew but did not have the confidence to perform. I feel sure that if I had taken the lessons before all the years of struggling I would have reached and passed this plateau years sooner. But just like everyone else, I didn't think at the time that I needed help, so I spent 10 years “beating myself in the head.” Although I am the type of person who cannot accept mediocrity in my own performance, I do not judge anyone else, for they alone must judge themselves. All I can do is try to help my students become the best golfers they would like to be; it is their decision, I can only help. I have been married 49 years to my beautiful bride Penny. We have raised four children and as of this date we have 13 grandchildren. I started teaching golf to my children as they were growing up. All four played golf on the high school team, and this is where I fell in love with golf instruction. At this time, I was a mechanic in a can plant in Jacksonville Florida. At age 51, the company that I worked for downsized and put me into retirement. By that time, I had managed to get my handicap down to a two. This was the year I won the club championship at Pineview Golf and Country Club in Macclenny Florida. At this point, I was wondering what to do with the rest of my life. It was my wife who suggested that I do what I love to do, and that is teach golf. So I got my certification as a Teaching Professional in the United States Golf Teachers Federation in February of 1997. I then, however, had to make a personal decision—which did I want to be more, a player or a teacher? I chose to become a teacher of golf and give up considering myself a player. This is not a decision I took lightly, but rather a realistic one. In my heart, I knew that I would never be good enough as a player to make a living. But I did consider myself good enough to teach and to help my students learn this great game. I must say that I have never regretted that decision; it was a turning point in my golfing career. In January 1998, I received my certification as a Master Teaching professional in the USGTF. When I was going through the Masters Certification program, I was introduced to Natural Golf by Mr. Dale Hanson. He invited me to participate in a certification class in February 1998 that Mr. Ken Ellsworth and he were conducting. At that time, Ken was the