Answers
Sort of.
1. Resultant Path — More Down equals more out/ More up equals more in.
2. Secret of the Straight Ball - You HAVE TO SWING LEFT to hit down and make the ball go straight.
First let me restate that I am 100% in agreement with Brian's post, no issue and great information.
Maybe trivial -however understanding the context of a statement or manipulating contexts for the researcher are important issues. In addition, if you assume a given context and your student is looking at it from a different context then you'll never be able to communicate it clearly to them.
#1 assumes the context of any one particular swing - on a constant particular plane. So you imagine a plane and the clubhead traveling on a circle (close enough) on that plane. The more the clubhead moves vertical during the orbit say at halfway down you measure it's movement for 8 inches of the orbit - the more out it moves, compared to the more horizontal it moves for that same particular distance (say 8 inches around low point) the less out it moves.
Here is the context where that statement would be incorrect. If you are comparing resultant paths of two swings. One swing is flat and one is on an upright plane. We compare these two resultant paths at the same section of the orbit - say halfway down when the clubhead is making it's most direct vertical line at the plane line. Now, when you were to talk about these two resultant paths - here would be the correct answer in this context - more down equals less out and more up equals less in, i.e. steeper plane for any particular distance of travel has less out than the same distance on a flatter plane.
#2 As Golfdad alludes to - the idea of swinging left - can be a confusing concept without a clear understanding of the context. Aiming the plane line left of the target (on paper) would be necessary with a descending blow with an iron in order to hit a straight shot at the target. But is "swinging left" the best term for that? And what are the other contexts that someone could use "swing left" in?
Certainly in the context of the clubhead- we don't want that swinging left at impact - needs to be moving right at the target or "On-line". Even with your plane line a few degrees left, a player could move his hands and arms in relation to his trunk/body where he could sense that he was swinging left or right of his "body", even if they move more left of the target line than a square plane. That's the biggest potential mis-cure takeaway for somebody - that they'd actually swing more left in relation to their body in order to achieve "swinging left". So the context in #2 is to say the plane line direction is aimed left in relation to the target. "Swinging left" is not a correct context for the clubhead movement through impact or necessarily the movement or feel of the hands, arms or club in relation to the midline of the body.
