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Twitter The Stack & Tilt: What has it done for you?
Several months ago, the Stack and Tilt, a swing theory taught by Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, revolutionized golf teaching after being printed in Golf World and Golf Digest. This month, Golf Digest printed another article on the key fundamentals of the Stack & Tilt.
Since the issue met newsstands, the move has contended for a U.S. Open (Aaron Baddeley) and a British Open (Mike Weir). Moreover, the first round leader at the Wyndham Championship, Will Mackenzie, is also a Stack and Tilter.
Personally, I have fell in love with the move. After coming back from a long trip in which I had not swung a club in two weeks, I decided to make the risky choice to try out the S&T. The results were truly marvelous. While the magazine does offer decent advice on using the move, I used the article as a springboard in re-shaping my golf swing.
From what I've heard, some players have struggled with the move, or have even over-complicated it. The best advice I have heard came from a college golfer teaching with m
e at the local First Tee chapter, "Just load the left side as much as possible, and feel like your really leaning." For right-handed players, the move is as easy as trying to lean over the left hip as much as possible at the top.
e at the local First Tee chapter, "Just load the left side as much as possible, and feel like your really leaning." For right-handed players, the move is as easy as trying to lean over the left hip as much as possible at the top. Aside from that, I have a few idiosyncrasies and minor comments that have made me hit the ball more effectively while still utilizing the move. If you have tried the move and disagree, feel free to post what changes have helped you.
First off, in the article, Bennett and Plummer recommend flaring your feet outward (as is a line were coming from both feet, the lines would form a V pointing away from your body). Having not known this information when I began trying the move out, it never seems to have an effect on my game. However, when I did try it from the "Stack & Tilt: Part 2" article, I felt awkward and was unable to make the solid contact I had before. In my opinion, if you feel comfortable with your stance, keep it.
Also, many players have struggled to hit their driver through long irons while using the move. However, I never really struggled with this issue. My advice: straighten your right leg (if right-handed) less when hitting the longer clubs. Essentially, I use only a miniature Stack & Tilt, which allows me to still strike the ball with some zip, but makes solid contact much easier.
For those of you who have already embraced the S&T, some players get lazy weeks later and begin to lose some of the components of the swing. In my experience, my "hip thrust" and tilted spine tended to decrease as I started to think less about how the swing should be made. I recommend trying the tip in the first article: lean far to the left after taking your stance without a club, and practice to the pop upward.
From your experience, how the the Stack & Tilt worked out for you?
The S&T is definitely an easy move that can really help a lot of golfers.
I dropped 10-12 strokes off my average score using the stack and tilt. It's hard to believe that no one has thought of this before, or at least brought it to the public's attention like Bennett and Plummer did.
makes sense .....had best ever ball striking session on range and am sticking with it.
advice-dont be afraid to swing around your body its better than upright
finish spine in reverse C on followthrough
I really like it but I am having trouble hitting a fade. I like the control more with a fade, but I want to stick with this swing. I was a +1 HDCP and now I am a 2, only because on a few holes a round the dreaded snap hook comes out, I hate that shot. What can I do?
S&T originated by Mac O'Grady he was B&P's guru in Palm SPRING. Mac is a secrecy person he teach only few persons with a sworn that they wouldn't tell anybody. Few PGA players back then including McCord, Elkington and Grant Waite adopted S&T theory and lately Aaron Baddely plus Sergio ... I tried it 2-3 years ago and I dump it because it ruin my back and cause OTT too (may be because I did it wrong), I got the S&T theory second hand from Mac old buddy back then with a sworn too, Mac is a difficult guy to be near and I can't afford to pay him, I just waited his promise to publish in a book in 2006, but it never happened. Anyways, S$T only good for short irons up to 7 iron max.
Yeah, I've heard the Mac O'Grady knockoff story a couple times. I think Plummer and Bennett addressed it in their last article with Golf Digest.
I tried it and felt I had the backswing down, with weight left and swinging inside. However, I struggled with the downswing. I hit the ball solidly but hit pulls and pull hooks which I think is due to me not getting the hip thrust tilt right in the downswing. Any help with that anybody?
THAT IS MY PROBLEM TO, i HIT IT VERY SOLID BUT GET THOSE DREADED PULL HOOKS AT THE WORST TIMES.
everyone i know hits low pull hooks with it. the problem is people take it too literally... no one, including their poster boy Bads, does this. with the shorter irons, scoring irons, most players have some of that look - only because they are trying to keep the ball down, in addition they are also rarely hitting these scoring clubs full. no one does this on tour. i think it can be a good 'FEEL' - but taking it literally is a joke. i watch people do it around the greens with their pitch shots and bunker shots....NO CHANCE. if you have improved from this move it is only because you were excessively inside to out....now you will be outside to in with a closed face = pull hooks. I teach golf for a living and like most theories out there... they don't work. Work on the physics of face, path, and impact and you can't help yourself but improve. like natural golf, dalton's str8 shooting golf, and AJ boner, this too will fall to the wayside and be passed along as a fad. If anything, it shows how powerful the mind can be when you truely believe that something can work....once a person starts to hit poor shots...the move will cease to work. i play many tournaments a year, everyone that i have seen incorporate this move hits vicious hooks and cannot pitch it on a green from 10 feet. good luck to all who do this... 2 steps back??? No way, try 50.
Been trying S & T for a year...went from hitting in the 90's to consistently hitting in the 80's. No more fat or thin shots. Apply pressure on the forward foot as you start the backswing
I found out that S & T is great for all clubs except driver. I still load up my weight on the right side. The beauty of S & T is no more "fatties." Stand tall at address and apply left side foot pressure throughout. You will not believe the results!! Went from 16 to 12 handicap using this method.
I am 68 years old and have had a number of surgeries in the past 3 years. I never thought I would ever be able to play golf the way I had before the surgeries. In the past 2 months I have been using S&T and I am a new man. I have gone from averaging 86 per round to averaging 80. I hit my driver terrific and am getting more GIR than ever before. I even got a hole in one about 3 weeks ago. I would recommend that every try it.
I've tried S&T 3 times on the range and I've never hit the ball better. I'm the typical inconsistent player and was looking for a simpler swing to help create more consistency. The long irons came slower but eventually I worked it out. I've taken S&T to the course twice so far with mixed results. Crazy but my misses are fat and thin low shots to the right. I feel as though I'm not shifting back to the right. Any help with correcting my misses is appreciated.
I see why the teaching pro who commented (pezzi) is terrified of the stack and tilt...because it works! And if people knew this they'd stop wasting money on teaching pros. Look at all the other comments and then look at this guy exaggerate and panic that people may actually try the move for themselves! Hilarious!