In golf, the rules say that the ball must be at rest in order to play a stroke. This means that the ball will always be on the ground and we will be standing to the side of it. This causes the club to swing two ways: up and around. The correct blend of these two motions is the swing plane.

Baseball and golf are similar mostly due to the arc or the roundness of the swinging motion. In baseball, we stand to the side of the strike zone, so our swing would be around our body. There must be rotation to accomplish this. Try this some time: take a club and swing it back keeping the clubface square to the ball (not the arc of the swing). Notice how the club head never traveled around your body and how the angle of the shaft has steepened. Now, cock the club up so that it is in front of you and waist high. Swing it back and through while rotating your left arm and notice how the shaft stays at the same angle. That is a pure baseball swing.

The criteria for a good hit in baseball is much less than in golf. The batter does not have a clubface to keep square. The bat is round and you can use the entire length of the barrel. You have from 1st to 3rd to keep the ball in play (with no penalty for a foul ball). On the PGA Tour, the fairway is 25-45 yards wide and bordered by rough, hazards or out-of-bounds. In baseball, you can hit a grounder, a pop fly or bunt and still be productive.

Hockey players tend to have little trouble making the adjustment from hockey to golf. This is because they keep the end of the stick in front of their body. And they are always aware of the face of the stick.

Let's get back to the swing. Because you are facing the pitcher, the bat tends to be upright. From there, it can flatten and have more distance to travel, which gives the bat increased momentum, similar to making a back swing. Once the bat flattens onto a more horizontal plane (which is conducive to swinging around), then the baseball swing becomes much like the golf swing. From here, let's talk about the x-factor - the fact that most pitchers stay away from the middle of the strike zone.

When this happens, you have to be able to check your swing (the equivalent of not releasing the club). Do this and you will slice the ball. Most batting coaches will tell you to roll your right arm or hand over your left. Again, there is no clubface. Do this with golf and you'll probably hit the ball low and left. This is because there is such a small window for the clubface to be square and have loft. That is why most batters are pull hitters. What you want to do is this: rotate your left arm to square up the bat or clubface. Using the left arm to rotate the club allows us to maintain the proper amount of loft on the club.

The truth is that most golfers slice. This is due to an open clubface, usually derived from not having enough arc in their swing. A majority of those who slice would benefit from making some baseball swings. They need to feel more rotation in their left arm. Rotation keeps the face square to the arc. So you see, your baseball swing could actually help your golf game.

Mark Moore, Head Instructor
Hank Haney Golf Center @ Cityplace
Dallas, Texas 75204
(214) 520-7275