‘Stack and tilt' method isn't for everybody

By John Lombardo

Monday, August 27, 2007 11:29 AM EDT

“Stack and tilt” your way to better golf. Golf swing instructors Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer have “invented” a system of swinging a golf club that teaches many concepts opposite of traditional style golf fundamentals.
Golf Digest's Sept. 2007 issue has fielded the second part of the “stack and tilt” method article that calls the system a “complete assault on traditional instruction.”

A description from the Digest is as follows: At address, you stack your shoulders over your feet, flare out both feet, put 55 percent of your weight on your left foot, and tilt your chin down to the ball. On the backswing, you turn your shoulders on a steep downward angle, shift more weight on to the front foot at the top, tilt your spine toward the target and straighten your right leg while flexing your left. On the downswing, slide your hips forward as you tilt your spine away from the target, keep your head still, stand up to release your hips from their forward tilt position and turn your shoulders square at impact. Finally at the finish, continue to push your hips toward the target which extends the spine, shift 90 percent of your weight to your front foot and keep your arms stretched out to finish.

That's it in a nutshell.

According to Plummer and Bennett, there are three key moves in the system.

The first is to stay on your front foot on the backswing.

The second is to tilt the spine forward at the top.

Finally, the third is to slide your hips toward the target.

Reviews of the system are mixed, although many PGA Tour players are using the system with varying results. People who have adopted the method report a dramatic increase in iron play accuracy but also report a lack of control with their drivers and longer clubs, although Bennett and Plummer in the article give another set of instructions for swinging the driver.

More traditional approaches point out that the “stack and tilt” method teaches faults instead of good habits and the method seems to be particularly taxing on the body, which requires a real athletic golfer to have any success.

Butch Harmon, the No. 1 golf teacher in America according to Golf Digest says, “it's not for everyone.”

If you look at frame-by-frame analysis of Tour players who use the method, most of their swings look basically like they have always looked, while they mimic the individual key swing positions in one picture shots.

Other top-100 teachers say that the “stack and tilt” teaches the dreaded reverse weight shift problem and makes it extremely difficult to make the compensating move to get yourself out of the predicament.

Plummer says “there are mathematical reasons why the ball goes where it goes, so of course we teach the same move, no matter who is swinging the club.”

Get yourself a copy of the magazine and find out for yourself.

Charlie Stebbins won the President's Cup this past weekend at Dutch Hollow with net rounds of 59-65 to lead a field of thirty-four players. Mike Brigandi shot a scratch 67 for a net 62-70 to come in second.

Ron Reed finished third, followed by Ed Wasilenko, Jerry Ryan, Bob Hawkins, Andy Kuczek, Marty Wisniewski, Tom Taylor, Ned Tutt, Greg Pasik, last year's champion Craig Sharp, and Bill Koon.

See you on the links!

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