Most swing plane drills use a fixed angle. One rod, one setting, applied to every club in the bag — driver, irons, wedges. The problem is that every club in your bag sits at a different shaft angle at address. Training one plane for all of them means your feedback is accurate for exactly one club and approximate for everything else.
Janean Murphy built her pathpal drill around a different principle: match the tool to the club.
The drill
Janean Murphy — 2024 LPGA Global Teacher of the Year, LPGA Top 50 Best Teacher (2022–2027), LPGA Midwest Section Teacher of the Year (2022, 2024), Golf Digest Best in State (Missouri, 2026–2027), OP36 Master Top 50 Coach, and Director of Instruction at Meadowbrook Country Club — uses the pathpal's 14-angle system to match the rod precisely to the shaft angle of whatever club is being hit.
- Set the pathpal to the angle that matches your club's shaft angle at address — approximately 60 degrees for a 6-iron
- Visually confirm the rod matches the shaft coming out of the clubhead
- Swing slightly over the rod on the backswing — staying on or above the plane
- Shallow the club under the rod on the downswing — the over-under sequence
- Recalibrate the angle for each club as you move through the bag
The rod prevents the club from going too far inside on the takeaway — the most common fault that forces a steep, over-the-top downswing as a compensation. When the takeaway stays on or above the plane, the downswing has a viable path to shallow and approach from the inside.
Watch the drill
See Janean Murphy demonstrate the Shaft Plane Match Drill at Meadowbrook Country Club — including how to set the 60-degree angle for a 6-iron and what the correct over-under feel looks like in practice.
Watch on YouTube: The Shaft Plane Match Drill with Janean Murphy →
Why it works
The shaft plane match principle works because it makes the feedback club-specific rather than generic. A wedge swings on a more upright plane than a 5-iron, which swings on a more upright plane than a 3-wood. When the pathpal is set to match the club in hand, the over-under feel is calibrated to that club's geometry — the muscle memory you build is the one that actually transfers to on-course performance.
The over-under sequence is the kinematic signature of elite ball-strikers. The club goes slightly above the address plane going back — setting the stage — and then shallows below it on the way down, creating the inside-out delivery that produces pure contact and effortless distance.
The pathpal's 14-angle system is what makes that calibration possible across the entire bag. Most shallowing drills are generic approximations. This one is personal to the club you're actually hitting.
Why the inside takeaway is the root problem
When the club rips too far inside on the takeaway, it gets below the shaft plane immediately — and from that position, the only efficient route back to the ball is over the top. The backswing path dictates the downswing path. The pathpal rod matched to the shaft angle creates a visual reference that prevents the club from going below the plane on the takeaway, giving the downswing a fighting chance to shallow correctly.
Who this is for
Different plane, every club
Golfers whose swing plane feels different between clubs and who want calibrated plane feedback for the full bag.
Working on shallowing
Players training the shallow move who want to ensure the feel they're grooving is accurate for their specific irons.
Too inside on the takeaway
Anyone told their takeaway is too inside who needs a visual reference — not just a feel cue — for the correct plane.
This drill is also ideal for instructors looking for a versatile plane training aid that adjusts to every student's individual club geometry.
Try it
Take three clubs — a wedge, a 6-iron, and a hybrid — and set the pathpal to the correct shaft angle for each one. Hit 10 shots with each club, focusing on the over-under sequence for every swing. Notice how the feel changes slightly between clubs as the angle adjusts.
That calibration is the point — and it's what makes this drill more transferable to the course than any fixed-angle alternative.
Continue your training
The Shaft Plane Match Drill addresses what the club does on the way up and down. These three drills connect directly — either building the posture underneath the plane, reinforcing the same over-under principle with a simpler cue, or training what happens to the swing after the shallow is complete.
PGA Master Professional Eric Barlow teaches the same over-under concept in four words and zero balls — a pure rehearsal-swing approach that builds the plane relationship before you ever hit a shot. A natural companion to Janean's drill or a clean starting point for golfers who need the concept before the calibration.
The plane the Shaft Plane Match Drill trains is only accessible when your spine is correctly tilted at address. Brad Pluth's Slapshot Drill locks in that perpendicular spine-to-shaft relationship — the posture foundation that makes efficient rotation on the correct plane possible.
Janean's drill trains the backswing and downswing plane. Brian Jacobs' drill trains what happens after impact — the forward swing exit plane. For golfers who have the over-under shallowing feel but still slice or pull, the exit plane is often where the ball flight problem actually lives.
About Janean Murphy
Janean Murphy is the 2024 LPGA Global Teacher of the Year — the first St. Louis-area instructor to receive this national honor. She is an LPGA Top 50 Best Teacher (2022–2027), LPGA Midwest Section Teacher of the Year (2022, 2024), Golf Digest Best in State (Missouri, 2026–2027), OP36 Master Top 50 Coach, and Director of Instruction at Meadowbrook Country Club.
Follow Janean on Instagram · janeanmurphy.com · Follow pathpal on Instagram
Precise plane training for every club in your bag
pathpal adjusts to 13 precise angles — matching the shaft plane of every club from your wedges to your woods. One tool. Club-specific feedback. Transferable results.
Shop pathpalFrequently asked questions
How do I set the pathpal for the Shaft Plane Match Drill?
Set the pathpal to the angle that matches your club's shaft angle at address. For a 6-iron, Janean recommends starting at approximately 60 degrees. Hold the club at address and visually match the rod to the shaft angle coming out of the clubhead. Because shaft angle varies across the bag — wedges sit more upright, longer irons and woods sit flatter — you'll recalibrate the setting as you move between clubs.
What does "over on the backswing, under on the downswing" mean?
On the backswing, the club travels slightly above the shaft plane defined by the rod — this is "over." On the downswing, the club drops slightly below that same plane as it shallows into the delivery slot — this is "under." The over-under sequence is the kinematic signature of an on-plane, inside-out delivery. A club that retraces the backswing plane exactly, or comes above it, produces an over-the-top path and a slice.
Why does an inside takeaway cause an over-the-top downswing?
When the club goes too far inside and drops below the shaft plane on the takeaway, the only efficient path back to the ball on the downswing is over the top of that plane — steepening the delivery rather than shallowing it. The backswing path creates the downswing path. Keeping the club on or slightly above the plane on the takeaway preserves the downswing's ability to shallow correctly.
Why does each club need a different pathpal angle?
Shaft angle at address varies because lie angle and shaft length change across the set. A wedge sits more upright — around 65–70 degrees — while a 5-iron is closer to 55–60 degrees, and a driver flatter still. Training on a fixed angle produces accurate plane feedback for only one club and inaccurate feedback for everything else. Janean's drill calibrates the reference to the club actually being hit, so the muscle memory you build is specific to each club's geometry.
How is this drill different from other shallowing drills?
Most shallowing drills use a fixed obstacle or a single angle — designed for an average shaft plane and applied universally regardless of the club being hit. Janean's approach is personalized to the specific club in your hand. By matching the pathpal to the actual shaft angle at address, the plane reference is accurate for that club's geometry rather than a generic approximation — making the feedback more precise and the muscle memory more transferable to on-course performance.
