Comments on: More Stack & Tilt Analysis

By: Mike Gray

Mike Gray — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:28:19 +0000

Hi Matt,

When I tried out the Stack and Tilt as an experiment, I was able to get the positions and hit good shots very quickly (within 20-30 shots). But, as you know, that’s a different thing from feeling comfortable with a swing and having it be second nature.

It’s hard to say how long it should take to feel comfortable, but I would think it’s going to take the same amount of time it would take you to feel comfortable with any other significant swing change.

With me, I typically expect to hit at least 1000 balls before I get comfortable with a change. I might feel comfortable making swings sooner (i.e. not feel odd), but feeling natural on the driving range is a far cry from having a swing be second nature on the golf course, especially under pressure.

Depending on the quality of practice, if it were me, I would expect to spend 3-4 weeks at 2-3 times per week before I start feeling comfortable. During peak season, that would be 100-200 balls per session, or anywhere from 1000-2000 shots. It might start to click sooner, but that would be my expectation and I wouldn’t be concerned if it wasn’t coming together sooner than that.

Of course, every person is different, so it might happen much quicker, or it might take even longer, depending on how you spend your time working and if you’re disciplined and deliberate in your practice.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:03:19 +0000

Obviously I have heard about the stack and tilt golf swing, but have never really bought into the philosophy until recently. I happened to be at a book store today, and I was thumbing through the stack and tilt book, which I found very interesting.

I am currently a 3 handicap, but with better ball striking I feel I could become a scratch player. Solid wedge game and putter, but the ball striking has always been a glaring weakness in my game. I know everyone is different, but assuming I can hit the range 2-3 times a week to work on these things, what is an approximate time frame to start feeling comfortable with the stack and tilt swing?

By: Thomas Jensen

Thomas Jensen — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:30:34 +0000

Maybe it’s been adressed before, but in your ‘top of the swing’ picture, you draw a line showing that Tigers centre of the shoulders is above his right hip. As I see it, that line is simply drawn incorrectly. It’s way left of the actual centre, with that corrected there really isn’t much difference between the two positions except that Tiger has a fuller shoulder turn.

Rgds

By: sunday

sunday — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:27:08 +0000

I started 3 weeks ago with the stack and tilt swing….
I understand that some people are sceptic about the concept, and it is not for everyone. My problem was hitting the ball fat and preferred having the ball in the semi rough over the fairway, so i could get the club underneath it.
Not anymore !

Now I love tight lighs, prefer the fairway, lowered my handicap from 9 to 7,4 (in three weeks!)and more importantly, enjoy the game again. Going forward in golf is great, and the sound and feel of compressing the ball much better is just great!

I am sold !

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:58:55 +0000

Forgot one more thing…Once the backswing is complete, what starts the down swing? Are the hips sliding laterally toward the target? Are the rotating back to square and then sliding laterally and up (extending the spine)? On my video, by the time I make contact with the ball, my lower body has shifted so much to the right that the ball is almost at my right arm pit and my right knee has bent in so much that it is actually inside of the golf ball (RT handed golfer). This seems like too much of a lateral shift to start the downswing.

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:52:12 +0000

I have a question about the backswing on the ST. I have taken some video of my swing and it seems that the club is laid off at the top and that my left knee is pointing more towards my right foot than at the ball. I think this is because I am not straightening my right leg completely, there is still a slight bend in it. I think the club is laid off at the top because I am taking too long of a backswing. The club isn’t parallel with the ground, but it is close.

So…how long should the backswing be and should my right leg be completely straight so my left knee doesn’t point at my right foot?

Thanks

By: Stack and Kill it

Stack and Kill it — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:31:53 +0000

Especially if you are somewhat strong the S&T is for you! I have been playing for 6 years and shoot in the high 70′s. As everyone above has mentioned they are on an eternal quest to “pure” their irons. My only thought when I play is to have my hands as far ahead of the ball as possible. While this may seem like it would smother the ball, the steep angle from S&T has me hitting high draws all day. My friends always comment on the size of my divots, and I say “I didn’t know you were the superintendent”. One common flaw with S&T is thinking a short backswing needs to be fast. Not true. Good luck

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:09:15 +0000

Hello All,

I have been reading the posts here and got the DVDs last week. After watching them, I headed out to the range to try it out. When I first started golfing, I played for the first 5 years or so without any lessons. The firs lesson I took, the instructor told me I was straightening my right leg on the back swing and it looked like I had a reverse pivot. This felt natural to me, but I took his advise and started using it. I have had moderate success with it, but it never stuck. I would have good days and really really bad days. When I heard of the stack and tilt, I figured I would give it a try because it was what felt natural to me.

So I went out yesterday to hit some balls. I hit some really nice shots and some not so nice ones. I have to say that for the most part my contact definately improved with the irons. I was even drawing some balls with a 7 iron and I didn’t slice it (a big problem of mine). However, I was pushing and pulling some shots too. I have to agree with most of you, the drive and woods aren’t really responding to the ST swing. I found that if I hover the clubhead at address, it helped some. I think I just have to keep at it and pratice practice pratice.

Overall, I am impressed witht he ST swing.

By: Double Eagle

Double Eagle — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:35:44 +0000

Tom,

Based on three years worth of feedback from a lot of people, I’d have to say yes. If you commit to it and actually spend some time working on developing the fundamentals, I see no reason why you wouldn’t see success with it.

Best of luck!

By: Tom Duggan

Tom Duggan — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:00:18 +0000

I enjoyed your articles very much. One question. I am a high hanicap golfer (15), 59yrs old who plays once a week. Do you think the stack and tilt swing would be good for me to switch too.

Thanks, Tom