About Stack and Tilt

Stack and Tilt innovators Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, when asked to explain Stack and Tilt in just two words answered… WEIGHT FORWARD. Their secret is truly a geometry-based swing model that contradicts almost everything being taught in the game today.

Following extensive research and hundreds of lessons it is our belief that the biggest problem holding back golfers today is that their weight is too far “back” (right foot for a right handed golfer) throughout the swing. This causes golfers to bottom the club out behind the ball (sometimes to an extreme) and too swing severely OUT to IN. It is this OUT to IN swing path that has created generations of slicers. We believe that by getting the golfers weight forward the club will strike the ground in the proper place and, purely because of the geometry (of the circle) involved, the club will swing to the ball from the inside. If golf instruction had focused on these procedures for the past 100 years we would likely have a society of golfers who push and draw the ball… rather than pull and slice it.

Here are some photos and details on how it works:

Setup: Picture two distinct locations at the belt buckle and the center of your sternum (or shirt buttons) these are your upper and lower swing centers. They must be stacked in a vertical line… one on top of the other. The grip is neutral, the weight 55-45 on the front foot.

Half Way Back: The spine is flexed toward the ball at address, and when the player swings back, that tilt moves to the right. So to keep the spine over the ball, which is the goal, the player must, the entire time, tilt to the left (though slowly). The first move going back is this tilting action. It causes the shoulders and hips to turn on a steep downward angle while the right knee straightens and the left knee flexes downward. The hands are moving in circular rotation around the body while the arms stay connected to the rib cage with no lifting whatsoever. When the left arm reaches parallel to the ground, it should be angled well inside the stance line. This will feel very far inside to most golfers.

A good sensation: The hips are level at address, but because the spine tilts toward the target going back, the right hip turns much higher than the left. It should feel as if the right hip is moving up and behind the body.

At the Top: The spine has gone to vertical which makes the player feel as if he/she is tipped towards the front leg (head feels as if moving forward). There is now more weight on the front foot than at address.

This position creates tremendous torque (we hear this from student’s frequently… as if they are “wound” up. The arms are very much low and inside with great depth – this is because they are moved by tilting and body rotation. No independent lifting of any kind. The head is extremely heavy so it is important that it stays in place to make for the most efficient strikes.

Half Way Down: The weight very much moves forward at this point with a noticeable “leaning” on the left knee. Like all great players the goal is to get the swing centers in front of the ball at impact.

The turning body is supplying the initial acceleration, so the player must maximize rotational speed. The hips have limited turning capacity when they’re tilted, so they now come out of their tilt to keep accelerating. The move that releases the hips is a springing up of the lower body, where the butt muscles push the hips upward and toward the target. The correct sensation is to put pressure into the ground under your front foot for a long time — before “jumping up” as the club finishes the downward motion (imagine soccer style field goal kicker).

Impact: The upward thrust of the lower body that releases the hips and keeps the leg and butt muscles pushing forward also helps deliver the club to the ball from the inside. Because the body is leaning on the front side, the club comes down steeply and will crash into the ground unless the swing shallows out. It is this lower body action (upward) and pelvic thrust that helps shallow out the bottom of the swing.

The upper arms stay on the rib cage, and the hand path comes from well inside. The pelvic thrust allows the hips to keep turning, which keeps the clubface closing at a constant rate and the hands swinging on a circular arc. The club releases without any conscious hand or arm action. At impact, the swing centers are in front of the ball, so the club catches the ball first then the ground.

Finish: With the hips released toward the target, the torso extends and the butt tucks under the lower back. Notice the spine tilts away from the target for the first time. The belt is level (this will feel like the belt is higher than the tailbone) and several inches higher than it was at address.

As the torso stretches, the arms can extend and the hands don’t drop over the left shoulder. The hips and shoulders have continued to turn. The release at this point is the body releasing from its forward tilt, not a manipulation of the hands and arms to control the shot.

A good sensation: At finish our student’s like the sensation of sticking out their “Santa Claus” belly to the target. This gets the student to push their hips and butt forward while tilting their spine back away from the target for the first time.