Stack and Tilt Golf Swing

The stack and tilt golf swing is a newly developed swing whose proponents claim that it adds length and accuracy to golf shots. It simplifies the swing by avoiding the weight shift from the front to the back foot during the upswing of a conventional shot followed by the shift back to the front foot before striking the ball. With two weight shifts during the conventional shot, there are plenty of opportunities for inconsistencies to develop in the swing. Stack and tilt avoids these problems by avoiding the weight shift.

The swing was developed by Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, and is being used with some success by PGA tour professionals such as Dean Wilson, Mike Weir, Aaron Baddeley, and Eric Axley as well as by amateur golfers. In its basic elements, it has many similarities to a swing being taught by Mac O'Grady since the 1980s even though it's being touted in some quarters as a brand-new swing. The June 2007 issue of Golf Digest featured an article about the stack and tilt swing along with a step-by-step explanation of the mechanics of the swing and its differences from a conventional swing.

The "stack" part of the stack and tilt swing refers to the upper body position during the shot. The shoulders rotate during the backswing but the point around which they rotate remains in place, being "stacked" above the ball. The spine is therefore kept in alignment with the ball throughout the backswing and the head remains still. The "tilt" part of the swing refers to the tilt to the left required by a right-handed golfer to keep the spine in alignment over the ball during the backswing.

Because the weight stays on the front foot and is not transferred to the back foot as in a conventional swing, the shoulder rotation takes place around one central point rather than two, as would be the case during a weight transfer. This is a compact swing, with the arms staying close to the body and the shoulder turn being more vertical than in a conventional swing. The trajectory of the club is much farther inside than in a normal swing. At the top of the swing there is a pronounced tilt toward the target, resulting in the back leg straightening up. Because of the angle of the spine, the stack and tilt swing requires the player to have considerable physical flexibility, and some players using this swing have complained of stress on the back.

The more vertical angle resulting from the absence of the weight shift means that the downswing is steeper than in a conventional shot, so that there is less likelihood of topping the ball at impact. The steep angle of the downswing requires a flattening out of the swing before impact, which is achieved by an upward thrust of the hips as a result of firm downward pressure on the left foot just before impact. The developers of the swing refer to this pressure on the left foot as being like crushing soda can under the foot. This sudden upward thrust is another potential source of stress on the lower back but is a necessary part of this swing.

Although lower back pain has appeared to be a problem for some golfers, others have not experienced any problems and yet others have reported that previous back pain cleared up when they started using stack and tilt. The swing seems to be more successful when used with iron shots than with woods, and it can be difficult for inexperienced players to use with a driver. There have been reports of players showing an initial improvement followed by problems after switching to stack and tilt, there have been reports of players having problems from the beginning, and there have been reports of consistent improvement. This swing isn't for everybody, but it is certainly advantageous for some.

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This article was written by Lucia Mia with reference to this Stack & Tilt Golf Swing article

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