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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 most important difference with the "Stack and Tilt" swing is the way it encourages golfers to keep their weight forward - on their front foot during the entire swing. Stack and Tilt does away with the normal "weight shift" concept during the different parts of the swing. With Stack and Tilt the golfer starts with about 60% of her weight on the front foot, and presses even more weight towards the front when taking the club back. 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. Other Subtle Differences It may be hard for many golfers to spot the differences at first, but some of these differences are significant. For one thing teachers of the typical modern swing want the back leg to remain slightly flexed at the knee. But with the Stack and Tilt swing the back leg straightens out as it pushes back towards the target. See the photos featured in the Golf Digest article on page 122. 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. Lessons from the Past If this looks like a major departure from what has become golf orthodoxy, it probably is. But the modern orthodox swing featuring the weight shift to the back is a relatively new invention. Before the emphasis on "athleticism" that has taken place over the last 15 years, acceptance of the simplistic "weight shift" idea was not nearly as unanimous . You only have to look at old photos of Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan or Sam Snead to see that these golfers do not make the major shift over the back leg like you see with Tiger Woods. Or have a close look at the famous 1930s videos produced by Bobby Jones. There is no obvious shift towards the back leg. Jones remains centered over the ball throughout the swing and is more concerned with rotation around the center point than he is with the lateral weight shift characteristic of the typical modern swing. Points of Interest Having said that, there are several interesting points made by the advocates of the Stack and Tilt swing, each of which may help the typical golfer having trouble hitting the ball squarely and powerfully. The first is the idea of keeping your weight on your front foot. Shifting one's weight to the back inevitably promotes a shallower swing at the same time as turning the ball into a moving target. This increases the chances of bottoming out too early. Depending on the golfer and the course conditions this can either result in fat shots or thin ones. Pressing into the front foot as you take the club back is a good way to force a steeper approach to the ball and a way to eliminate topping the ball. It also results in a lower trajectory since it results in de-lofting the club face. Unfortunately it also puts more strain on the front knee. The second has to do with the position of the back elbow and the flatter swing advocated by the Stack and Tilt teachers. A flatter swing is a more rotational one, and in advocating a more rotational movement the Stack and Tilt theory has something in common with other "alternative" swing concepts like the Single Plane Swing recently adopted by Tiger Woods (compliments of Hank Haney.) I'm not sure why a flatter, rounder swing is essential to the Stack and Tilt swing, but I suspect it has to do with the relative difficulty of getting the club going when you have your weight forward. In the jargon of some teachers this weight forward position is what might be called an "unathletic" one. So the idea is to maximize club head speed by taking advantage of the rotation of the torso. The third point is the not-much-discussed idea of the "pelvic thrust" which the Stack and Tilt guys claim is necessary in order to get the club approaching the ball correctly. 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 helps to "shallow out" the swing. You achieve this by whipping your hips around and thrusting your lead hip up and towards the target. In other words you have the sensation of jumping up and striking the ball while on your toes. For examples of this see photos of Natalie Golbus or Sergio Garcia, or a younger Gary Player. The best way to see if Stack and Tilt has anything to offer your golf game is to just give the "weight forward" idea a try. Just set up with noticeably more weight on your front foot, and then as you take the club up press more weight into your front foot. It should feel quite different from what you are used to, but it should result in fewer thin hits. Unfortunately it may also result in more pushes, especially with the longer clubs. The easiest fix is to adjust the positioning of the ball by moving it slightly forward. You may also find this swing more complicated and more physically taxing - and for most of us that will be enough to keep it on the shelf.
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Rick Hendershot is an avid golfer who blogs about golf courses, golf destinations around the world, golf travel and golf swing ideas. Visit his blogs called The WEG and Golf Around the World. Visit our stack and tilt article directory for a completely unique version of this article.
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