[O.B.Left]

Can hinge action be summed like so...
Horizontal= clubface closes to the inclined plane
Angled= clubface stays perpendicular to the inclined
Vertical=clubface opens on the inclined plane
?

A lot of people have reduced it to this perhaps but it lacks precision. Which can be the difference between a par save and a bogey. So Id say the answer is no. You're close but its worth the effort to fully understand the alignments.

Get a ping pong paddle and stick it in your left hand and try moving it back and forth while keeping it (the paddle) perpendicular to one of the three basic planes. You'll notice also that your left hand grip can be a little turned on the paddle's handle like it would for a common golf grip. Thats a good thing, thats ok just watch the paddle, keep it as the de facto left hand. Watch the paddle , then make the same motion without the paddle and watch the left hand (still turned its the new flat or perpendicular).

You've got a good guy here in EdZ......he's got some insight on this business. You could search this using his name or Yoda's. You could buy the Alignment Golf c.d., you could check out the free videos which cover this. There are some animations somewhere....

Dont give up till you can reproduce the three hinge actions......with little chips or pitches (Basic or Acquired Motion) and then from the three ball positions (Forward, Back and Middle) and the different plane lines..... and the different face angles (open , square , closed). By this point you're going to feel Phil Mickelson good with your short shots and your long game'll seem way easier. But even then there's being able to do it Hitting or Swinging......and then the different minor basic strokes within each .....the Pull, the Paw, the Push , the Bat etc ..........this is the road to mastering the game, to having a masters level of execution and precision.

It all about precision , precision alignments reproduced by the associated feel.