success stories with stack and tilt swing

I just wanted to start a thread about success stories with stack and tilt or somepeeps who need help with this technique swing. I'm from the chicago area and got to play at cog hill yesturday and shot a 79. I have been tweaking wit this swing for about 2-3 weeks and i would like to share my experiences with it and how i swing with it. The article say that you must tilt and to restrict turning off the ball since they focus on the centers. Well i tried what they said was blocking everything to the right or skulling shot due to the push off upward. I discovered with tooling around with the swing is that you can turn but you should also tilt also to keep the centers over the ball. I've read that you must pull up for the downswing, you may hit it crips but it can lead to flipping of the hands or pushes to the right. So i experimented with turning the hips out of the way so that hands have a path to swing since u are swinging your hands inside and it has helped me gain distance and control of the shot. For those who have trouble with the driver i have found that this helps out with the pull shots, you also have to make sure that your left arm matches the shoulder plane, if not youll be to much around your body and cause wild shots. I would love to hear back from others who have tried it, i don't think this stack and tilt is the next best thing but just a swing thought that has made me a better player.

You shot a 79 with a 36 Handicap? Wow. Nice round.

Well, if this turns a 36 capper into a 70's shooter overnight, shit, I'll need some more information on this stack and tilt.

My current swing is really dysfunctional - the range pro wondered out loud how I've managed to make it work.

Edit: I can't post a video - bought a camera but don't know how to work it - but I'll try to describe it. When I hit driver, I take it back really far (watch John Daly hitting driver), sometimes reverse pivoting, although I'm trying to get that out. Then in a halfassed attempt to extend the swing, my torso goes down and forward, and the club straight out (If I can find someone's swing who resembles this I'll try to point it out). Sometimes I end up with more weight on my right side than what I started with. The follow through varies, but the best example is Arnie hitting driver, except I think I'm a bit more flexible.

Funny thing with this whole "Stack and Tilt" phenomenon is that it turns out I've been doing this exact move for the past five years.

Because of a history of back problems, I've always addressed the ball with my spine lined up directly over it. Regular playing partners have always commented on my "reverse pivot" backswing, which again was a result of me trying to create torque while limiting stress on my back. Pushing down with my left leg in the downswing created compression/explosion through impact, straightening out my left leg to an upright finish.

I've always considered my swing a little flukey. Funny that it's now the new "big thing."

IMO trying to make that swing is akin to devoting articles to Jim Furyk and trying to swing like that...

At its base, it is not a sound swing. A sound swing is based at the very least in proper weight shift.

You cant base a philosophy on the prescious few with natural ability enough to make it work...

Though I'm an inadvertent stack-n-tilter, I agree with you. It took many years of refinement to make my flukey swing work for me. It wasn't until this article came out that I realized what I'd been doing, and why it was able to work for me.

I'd hope that others don't honestly think this is a cure-all for all that ails them.

I could be the exception to rule (and in fact I was wondering if I was) but when I tried this swing out it was love at first sight. All the terrible habits I've been fighting with my "normal" swing (keeping my hips from flying everywhere, not swinging inside, swinging at a natural rhythm, etc...) were all *magically* cured with the stack and tilt. The swing seems so natural and makes hitting the ball so ridiculously easy I can't stop talking about it. I don't feel like I swing at the ball anymore, I can best describe it as "unwinding" and the ball happens to get in the way. So long at a couple of pretty simple points are done correctly during my backswing, the rest of the swing seems to take care of itself. In a single session at the driving range I was hitting the ball way more consistently and about 20 yards further with my irons and about 50 yards further with my driver! In a single week I've gone from shooting around 100 to shooting in the mid to low 90's. I'm confident I'll break 90 this summer, a week ago I would have never made such a claim.

I'm curious to see what my instructor has to say about this swing when I go for my first golf lesson on Monday...

It worked for me at first. But then it stopped working for me. So I'm back to my old swing. I had to stop using this swing because I was just hitting to many bad shots.

That HAS to be what it did for me. An early short-circuit, but once my wiring started working again I began hitting some of the worst shots of my life, and that's saying something.

I've done some casual online research regarding S&T; results for the average golfer. Just fingering through threads on other message boards basically....and this seems to be the theme. Most say it worked initially with great results, then suddenly everything went south, quickly. Although for a few here and there it seems to have stuck. The early buzz surrounding this swing was overwhelming, but it seems to have worn off. I too am curious of any long term success that it might offer to some people. And a 79 for a 36 handicapper? Come on. Either he didn't shoot 79 or he is not truly a 36 handicap.

Huh, I hope that's not the case but I can atest to the fact that when I've made very drastic changes to my swing in the past, it's really worked well for a bit and then just like you say "the old bad habits come back". I will report back in a few weeks and let you know if things are getting steadily better or worse.

I think whenever you make a swing change you have to guard against old bad habbits coming back. Or over emphasizing a certain move, which I think might be the case with this swing. If you look at the videos, articles, etc. some of the moves are exagerrated. Then watch Baddeley, Elkington or whoever on slow motion during a golf tournament. But there are always going to be ups and downs with a swing change. Not just the S&T.; I think that should be expected and I don't think you should quit once it "stops working."

For me I am another one who has always had a "similar" move but got away from it at the beginning of this year because I felt I needed a better weight shift. I struck the ball poorly to start the year but am striking it better lately, after reading the article in Golf Digest. And it hasn't been just a one week thing. Yes, there are days I hit the ball as good as I ever have and days where I hit it poorly. But I know that "good" swing is in me and I have to keep working to find it more frequently and fortunately the poor shots are becoming a little more infrequent. Also, let me say I don't necessarily take everything from that article. I have tried to simplify things with my swing. Keeping my centers over the ball is key and helped me simplify my move.

I agree with you on all points. I actually just got back from playing a quick 9 at lunch, the first 3 holes were terrible and I couldn't figure out what was going wrong, then I did exactly what you just mentioned. Simplified the swing, concentrated on keeping my weight over the ball and instantly got my swing and game back!

I've read many times that the S&T; spells disaster for most amateurs. Just need to simplify your swing and stick with what works-sounds easy doesn't it?

sorry i haven't replied in awhile and no i am not a 36 handicap, i haven't played enough. I've tried many swings and had trouble, my teacher has told me to just keep the weight on the front foot or even. When i get weight on the back foot is where i get into trouble. My weight shift is poor. I dont care about distance. I just wanna improve my GIR. id rather 2 putt instead of chippin out of the rough or blasting out of the sand

Good point... there is also a physical reason related to the hips why it does help some people, but I do not believe this to be long term success.

You could teach Baddley to swing standing on his head and he'd be close to winning tournaments.

I know you're joking around but that's just a bad analogy. Baddeley was really struggling with his swing before he got hooked up to this method.

Nice! Now if I can only listen...