Comments On The stack And Tilt Golf Swing

In a recent issue of Golf Digest (June 2007) a "new" golf swing being promoted by golf coaches Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett is featured. This new approach to the golf swing is called the "Stack and Tilt" swing.

In describing the Stack and Tilt swing, Peter Morrice, the author of the article, indulges in a bit of overstatement when he says "Their secret...contradicts almost everything being taught in the game today." But is this swing really that unique?

The Key Difference

The biggest difference with the "Stack and Tilt" swing is that it completely downplays the idea of shifting your weight to your back foot when making the backswing. In fact this "new" swing encourages the golfer to keep his or her weight on the front foot, and, if anything, move it more directly over the front foot during the takeaway.

To some golfers this looks like a "reverse pivot." That happens when the golfer seems to be leaning towards the target at the top of the swing, and it is a move that has been completely banished from the teaching of the last fifteen or twenty years. Teachers of what we might call the "typical modern swing" have their golf students stack their weight over their back leg as the club reaches the top of the swing. By comparison, Stack and Tilt has the golfer actually leaning towards the target while the club is taken up.

Subtle Differences

To the golfer who is not familiar with the subtle variations promoted by various teachers, it may be hard to spot the difference at first. For one thing with the Stack and Tilt Swing the back leg does not remain flexed as in the typical modern swing. The photos featured in the Golf Digest article (p.122) demonstrate how the back leg straightens out as it pushes back towards the target. When the club is at the top, there is almost a straight line running thru the back leg along the torso neck and head. This line is angled about 10 degrees (from vertical) towards the target.

As a result the front side of the body is "stacked" over the front foot, and the trailing side of the body is "tilted" towards the target.

For a comparison, look at photos of Tiger's swing of the last few years, or see the photo of V.J. Singh's swing on page 43 of the same issue of Golf Digest. At the top of his swing Singh's upper body is "stacked" over his back leg, and the trailing side of his torso is (more or less) perpendicular to the ground - not angled towards the target as with the Stack and Tilt swing.

Shades of the Past

If you are familiar with the teachings of most modern golf coaches this may sound like a radical departure from golf orthodoxy. But the fact is, there have always been alternative schools of thought which questioned the simplistic "weight shift" idea. In particular, look at old photos of Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan or Sam Snead. None of these golfers make the major shift over the back leg like you see with Tiger Woods, for instance.

Or look closely at the famous teaching videos produced by Bobby Jones in the 1930s. He does not shift his weight to the back. Nor does he shift it to the front. He remains centered over the ball throughout the swing with his focus on rotation around the center point rather than the lateral weight shift advocated with the typical modern swing.

Can Stack and Tilt Help You Improve?

There are clearly some aspects of the Stack and Tilt swing that may help the average golfer hit the golf ball more squarely and more precisely.

First there is the downplaying of the the weight shift to the back. For many golfers this idea has always been misleading and probably quite unhelpful. It tends to turn the golf ball into a moving target and adds a dimension of complexity to the swing that makes it harder to be consistent. Shifting one's weight to the back results in a "shallower" swing and this increases the chances of bottoming out too early. As most golfers know, this can either result in fat shots or thin ones. Stack and Tilt recommends pressing into the front foot as you take the club back and this forces a steeper approach to the ball on the downswing. This should result in fewer topped shots. It should also result in less flipping of the hands and therefore a lower trajectory and more distance because of the de-lofting of the club that takes place.

The second point is that Stack and Tilt promotes a flatter swing. A flatter swing is less vertical and more rotational, and is the way Stack and Tilt compensates for being more on top of the ball when the downswing is begun.

The third point is the fairly advanced idea of the "pelvic thrust" which the Stack and Tilt teachers claim helps get the club approaching the ball correctly. This is probably where Stack and Tilt becomes too difficult for many average golfers. With Stack and Tilt, since one's weight and shoulder position are forward, the approach to the ball will be significantly steeper than normal. The pelvic thrust, along with the more rotational swing, helps to "shallow out" the swing. You achieve this by rapidly rotating your hips around and pushing your front hip up and towards the target. This creates the sensation of almost jumping up and striking the ball while on your toes. If you've ever seen Natalie Golbus swing a golf club you've got a fairly good idea what this looks like.

If these seem like technical points that are beyond your level of expertise, just give the "weight forward" idea a try. All you have to do is start with noticeably more weight on your front foot, and then press into that foot as you take the club up. You will probably find that it feels quite different from what you are used to. This move should result in fewer thin hits. But it may also result in more pushes, especially with the longer clubs, so you may have to adjust the positioning of the ball. You may also find it more physically taxing - requiring more body contortions - and for most of us that is not a good thing.