The Cardinal Planes of Motion

All human motion can be broken down into the three cardinal or primary planes of motion.

By Jeff Banaszak - Posted August 21, 2006

“Golf Biomechanic 101: Relating the Swing to the Cardinal Planes of Motion”

By Jeffrey S. Banaszak, PT, CSCS, MGFI

Human motion is complex…The golf swing is no different!  In fact, the golf swing maybe one of the most studied and over analyzed movements in all of sport.  No matter what type of professional you are (i.e.  Teaching, conditioning or medical), a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of the swing motion will help you relate your specific expertise to the needs of your golf athlete.

I suggest breaking things down to the very basics as an ideal starting point!  All human motion can be broken down into the three cardinal or primary planes of motion.  If we understand these basic planes and can directly relate them to the ideal swing motion…the formula becomes much simpler.

The primary movements a golfer will encounter while playing are walking, bending, rotating and a weight shift or transfer.  It is easy to experience and visualize these movements whenever we watch or play golf.  As we become more scientific about it we can actually breakdown these movements further into three “Primary” or Cardinal Planes.

The three cardinal planes are the frontal, saggital and transverse planes:

   1. The frontal plane includes all movement that occurs from side-to-side in line with the body.  In golf, the frontal plane motion will consist of the specific lateral weight shift or transfer that is essential as a right-handed golfer moves to their left side.  Golf requires consistent control of this required motion along with precise timing of its occurrence.

   2. The saggital plane includes all movements that occur front-to-back or perpendicular to the line of the body.  In golf, motion in this plane should be minimized as the golfer maintains their posture during all phases of the swing.  Bending and walking primarily occur in this plane.

   3. The transverse plane includes all rotational movements throughout the body.  In golf, the head, shoulders, spine and hips all rotate around the body’s center axis.  Ideally, most successful golf swings will maximize motion in this plane! 

Finally, understanding the planes of motion will help us explain why golf is so difficult for “new” golfers.

    *    If in general, most individuals function and live in a primarily saggital plane world!

    *    How can we expect someone to move well in a “new” plane of motion, the transverse plane, to now be successful!

When studying golf biomechanics, I often ask myself one question…What is the dominant motion or which plane is most utilized by this golfer?  It should always be the transverse plane!  If we see excessive frontal or even minimal saggital plane motion we should question why.  As a medical professional specializing in golf, I then spend my time searching for physical limitations or postural presentation that may be dictating or limiting the athletes’ movement choices.  Give this thought process a try, it works!