[no_mind_golfer]

We live in a three dimensional universe.

This means there are 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) which fully describe the motion of any three dimensional object in it. They are 3 translations and three rotations. We're (me, myself and I) talking about only one of those 6 DOF's. We're talking about ROTATION about the Z axis in our arbitrarily defined golf swing coordinate system.

That Z axis is defined by a line through instaneous center of the instantaneous plane of rotation of the golf club. It just so happens that the COG of the Clubhead (by the very definition of centripetal acceleration resides (ALWAYS) on that instantaneous plane. Any club part that are not co-linear with said "line of action" will, when subject to a torque about said "Z" axis, move OFF OF the plane of the swing. Ergo... when the golfer's hands provide the torque which closes the club face, the hossel moves away from the target and the toe of the club moves towards the target OFF OF THE INSTANTANEOUS PLANE of the golf swing.

Jeff ... what you are saying is correct ONLY when the butt end of the grip where the golfer's hands are located, is not co-linear with the line of action of the instantaneous swing plane. During the release, for all practical purposes they share the same line of action.

Confusing as H*** isn't it.... The real difficulty is getting us all on the same page via type-written word.