Dan Alton’s 3 Boundary Golf Swing — Genius or Gimmick?

Welcome back to the LGA! In this episode of Evaluate the Evaluators, we take a closer look at Dan Alton’s 3 Boundary Swing Theory, what he teaches, what works, what doesn’t, and whether it’s genius or just another golf gimmick. As always, this is my opinion as a PGA Master Professional who’s taught thousands of golfers.

The only way to truly understand the golf swing is to understand your own, your DNA, your limitations, your time, and your talent.

This video is based on my opinion watch this video, check his channel out, and form your own opinion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By1k0gd5Qgs&t=4s

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00:00 Introduction
01:13 Dan’s 1st Boundary
02:25 Dan’s 2nd Boundary
03:57 Dan’s 3rd Boundary
06:48 Who is this good and bad for?
07:48 My Final Take

[Music] face into what’s called a cut release. And during the opening process, it squares. I’m hitting my folding point and then I’m taking the face and I’m cutting it like that through the ball. And if I do that correctly, [Music] [Music] Welcome back to the LGA. And this one has been requested for a while. It’s another lineup in our Evaluate the Evaluator series where we look at golf gurus around YouTube, break down what they’re teaching, evaluate whether they actually do what they teach, and give you my opinion on who it may or may not work for. And today, we’re taking a look at Dan Alton’s three boundaries golf swing theory. And this specific video has been requested by you guys. So, let’s check it out. We’ll go through what he’s teaching in this video, what checks out, what doesn’t quite hold up to physics or biomechanics, and how you can decide if the concept fits your swing or not. Dan’s first boundary is discussing the swing plane. So, let’s hear what he has to say. The first one is the plane. So, when I go to the top of the swing, there’s an imaginary line running from the ball right under my trail elbow. That’s the swing plane. You can see when I do that, my club runs right down in the middle of the ball. If I go over that plane like this, like many high handicappers do, then my club head gets outside and I cut across it. or if my club gets underneath that plane down in here, I’m going to get stuck. A lot of lower handicaps trying to get better down in here and then they’ll have to roll the face and getting timing involved. So being on plane is the number one bound. Basically, what he is saying is the idea that if the club stays on that plane, it’ll return square into the ball. You go over it and you’ll cut across and you go under it and you’ll get stuck and have to roll your hands to save it. Now, that’s not wrong. Staying roughly on plane definitely helps minimize compensations. Trackman data backs that up. If your swing direction or plane angle gets too far off, you’re going to need perfect timing to square the face. Where it gets a little oversimplified, though, is assuming that there’s only one correct plane. And the truth is, there’s a range of them. Plenty of elite players are slightly above or below that textbook line, and they still hit it straight because their path to face matches up to neutral. So, while the under the trail elbow visual is a good checkpoint, it’s not really universal. Think of it as a reference line and not a fixed rule. Next on Dan’s list of boundaries is boundary number two, the folding point. And Dan will talk about what he calls the folding point. Boundary number two is the folding point of the golf club. So if I just held the bottom of the club right here like this and I pick the club up like that, I just fold it up. It goes to right here and I press this back down. I fold it back down. You can see that that folds happening right in this region right here. So if I fold the club up to the top and I hit that plane and I fold that club right here, just like that again, you can see that the club head’s running right into the bowl. However, if I go up to the top and I’m on plane and I miss the folding point, I go too far. You can see the club falls underneath the plane, the club faces wide open, the ball’s going to go out to the right. Or if I’m too early with the fold, my club goes over the top of the plane and I’m hitting the outside of the ball again. I can hit a big hole. I’m cutting across it. So, basically, he’s saying that if you hit that fold at just the right time while staying on plane, the head runs perfectly into the golf ball. Too late, the face stays open. Too early, and you’re going to come over the top. Now, the general idea of matching release timing with your plane makes complete sense. That’s solid coaching. Every good player times a release to match their sequence. But the claim that there’s one exact folding point for everyone isn’t really supported by bad mechanics. In reality, release timing changes depending on grip strength, flexibility, swing length, and tempo. What matters most is consistency. Being able to do it over and over with minimal margin of error. Having your release window match your body and your pivot is critical. So the idea behind it is good, but the way it’s framed as a single universal point is more of a teaching model than a measurable fact. Now let’s take a listen to boundary number three. And this is where things get a little interesting. Boundary number three, no transverse rotation, which means horizontal twisting of the body. And that goes for the club face as well. We don’t want to roll the face from right to left through the ball. It wants to do that anyway. So just letting that happen, leaving it up to chance, not a great idea. So the first thing there is instead of twisting the body like this where now we’ve gone underneath that cross-section plane where now we’ve already explained I’d have to come over the top of my upper body like this. Then I’d come across it or I’d have to play from underneath there. I’d have to pull the handle and turn my hips. But now I’ve broken that forward barrier. I’ve broken the folding point. That ball’s either going to go right or I’ve got to transverse roll the face over itself. I’m probably going to hit home. So to take care of this, we just want to pick our club up and on our chest kind of just drift with it. And that should sit right over my trail toes just like that. So all I’m doing is that right there. I’m not trying to make a deep twist. Now the club face. What do we do with that? Well, most amateur golfers when they go take a lesson or told from the club pro, we’ve got to get right here and that face is open and during the closing process it squares. Whether they’re teaching you to swing from in to out and during the closing process, it squares. Or whether they’re telling you to take the handle and pull it, turn your body until it shuts. Both ideas of going from open to close and having it square. Not a great idea because like I said, the club face wants to do this anyway. And that’s going to result in a big block or a big hook. What tour players do is they go up to the top just the way we showed you like this. Then they fold it down to that folding point like that. And you can see my club face is already shut. And we work that face into what’s called a cut release. And during the opening process, it squares. So again, it’s already shut. And during the opening process, that squares when we hit the ball, getting rid of the high volatility of that club face wanting to turn over to begin with. So Dan says there should be no horizontal or twisting rotation of the body through the ball. And the same goes for the club face. He promotes what he calls a cut release where the club face starts slightly shut then opens to square through impact. Now, I get the intention behind it. He’s basically trying to simplify face control and reduce volatility. But here’s where physics and realworld data tell a different story. The center of gravity in every golf club is offset. It’s not directly in line with the shaft. And because of that, when the club is rotating through space, torque naturally makes the face want to close. That’s not a flaw, that’s physics. Every tour player in the world, without exception, has a cup face that is closing through impact. The rate of closure might vary, but the direction never reverses. Even if you’re holding it off, you are still closing it, just slower. And high-speed camera data and 3D motion capture confirm this over and over. So, while the idea of minimizing roll or cutting through makes sense as a field cue, describing it as the face opening at impact doesn’t align with what actually happens. And when it comes to body rotation, every elite player rotates, pelvis, torso, shoulders, all of it. That’s how speed and sequence are created. The key is controlling how much and when you rotate, not eliminating it completely. So, what’s true and what’s not? Well, there’s plenty of good in Dan’s concept, especially if you’re someone who tends to manipulate the club face or over complicate the release. The structure he provides gives players something clear to feel and that can build consistency pretty fast. But there are also parts that don’t line up biomechanically, namely the no rotation concept and the idea of an opening face at impact. The reality is the body rotates, the club face closes, and everyone’s matchups are slightly different. The swing is not geometry. It’s physics. It’s sequencing and timing working together. So Tony, who will this work for and who might it not? Well, if you’re a player who’s constantly flipping or overrolling the face, or you fight pulls and hooks, well, Dan’s model could simplify your motion. It gives you structure and removes a lot of the excess hand action. But if you’re already a rotational player or you use your body effectively to square the club, this might hold you back. Trying to prevent natural rotation could kill your speed or force you to compensate somewhere else in the motion. So, is it right or wrong? It just depends on who you are, what your swing looks like, and what your tendencies are. So, my final take is this. I think Dan Alton communicates very well. His videos are clear, and he’s consistent in what he demonstrates. But at the end of the day, no theory or method can explain your golf swing better than understanding your own cause and effect. The only way to truly understand the golf swing is to understand your own. Your DNA, your limitations, your time to practice, and of course, your talent level. Everyone’s fingerprint is different, and the goal isn’t to fit into someone else’s boundaries, but it’s to learn your own. Hope that helps you. Let me know in the comments who you want me to get next, and I’ll see you next time. FBS and Greens. A huge thank you to these incredible supporters on the screen. And to you watching this video, your support helps us bring our golf curriculum to low-income children around the world at no cost to them. Just like our location in Cape Flat, South Africa, in partnership with the Hillard program. Please like, share, and consider subscribing. Together we can give the gift of golf to kids who need it the