The point of the dowel drills is to get your mind OUT of the clubhead - which is why there is no clubhead on the dowel. You can use things like tennis racquets to show clubface without clubshaft. Each of those aids is useful in demonstrating one Function, be in clubshaft or clubface (or clubhead I suppose).

OK, but why would one point the dowel at the Impact Plane line when the Inclined Plane of the clubshaft is well inside the ball at ground level (ref 10-5, 10-23, 1-L))?


DRW

Dowels -- Training Wheels For Boss Hands
 

The Golfing Machine® is a system entirely dependent upon Educated Hands. And emphatically, per 5-0, the Hands are not educated...

"...until [they] no longer consciously Monitor the Clubhead or the Body -- only themselves, and automatically dictate total Component compliance with Delivery Path and Delivery Line requirements."

With the dowel drills, you mention you may be "expecting too much." Actually, you don't know what to expect. Not to worry: the gripped-down dowels will teach you.

In Line Left Forearm.

On Plane Right Forearm.

Together, Tracing the Straight Plane Line.

In this case...

Less is more.

Tracing The Plane Line With The Sweetspot
 

The dowel has a Sweetspot at its tip.

The Golf Club has a Sweetspot in the middle of the Clubface.

The Right Forearm and #3 Pressure Point uses both to Trace the Straight Plane Line.

If one takes into account the shaft droop, which aligns the sweetspot w/ the handle right after release - and makes the club in effect a faximile of a dowel - the answer is yes?

One should trace the (Straight) Impact Plane line?

Sorry if I'm asking the obvious, but am recovering from flu and my reading comprehension is around double bogey.


Vaako

I think clubhead droop has greatly been decreased (not eliminated in total) but reading mfg's info on shafts, new technology and of course the force behind the swing will in fact minimize it from I have read.

Even if that is not completely true, clubhead droop on an iron for example would have to move the sweetspot more than 1.5 inches to get it inline with the shaft, changing the longitudial center line of gravity. That is a lot of stress on a shaft and would greatly call into question the torquing experienced which would impact clubface alignment.

I think the correct answer is NO. Clubhead droop doesn't do it.

What To Trace Through Impact
 

Normally, the Impact Plane Line -- the Baseline of your Inclined Plane -- will sit on top of the Target Line. So, just Trace the Target Line, and you automatically will trace the Impact Plane Line. You also will be Tracing the Low Point Plane Line that lies a bit further Down Plane from the Impact Plane Line (and parallel to it).

Martee, I can take a normal grip of my GW, put the head under a big table and easily make it bend the needed 1.5". So, the needed forces are small.

Somebody posted a good pic about droop in rec-golf long time a go - you could clearly see how sweetspot and handle are aligned, thanks to droop. Could probably google it up, if you want.

Seem it was just some fog about diffrent plane lines, after all - thanks, Yoda.


Vaako

Just a note - Your test you performed was testing the stiffness of the shaft. Long time ago, there was a similar method used to measure shaft stiffness. Lock the grip end, apply a weight to the other end of the shaft and based on how much it 'Deflected' that would then determine if it was a stiff, regular, etc.

Droop is a function of the stiffness of the shaft based on the forces being applied through acceleration. The Major force will be CF.

It might be easier to see how much it has to deflect by taking a dowel and hold it along the sweetspot plane angle and then picture what this has to be at impact and what it would do for a given swing plane/angle.

Right Rear Pointer Finger?
 

You'll have to forgive me, but I don't have the luxury of time to read through the entire thread, and maybe my point has been made already. However,I have found that the right rear pointer (index) finger, with the right wrist in a LEVEL configuration, will point back toward the stance line, instep, or even the heel line through the impact zone.

EC