The New Tour Swing

'Stack and Tilt' vs the conventional swing

By Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett

Photos By J.D. Cuban

June 2007

Setup

Stack and Tilt

The hips are level, and the left shoulder is slightly higher than the right only because the right hand is lower on the grip. The spine is straight up and down, with the head centered over the ball. This promotes a rotational move going back with no lateral shift.

Conventional Swing

The shoulders are tipped back, and the hands are pushed well in front of the ball. The spine is tilted away from the target, with the head behind center. Weight favors the back foot. This promotes a shift to the right side on the backswing.

Backswing

Stack and Tilt

The spine tilts toward the target, causing the right leg to straighten. Torque created in the torso stores a huge amount of energy. The shoulder and hip centers stay over the ball, and the left shoulder turns down. There will be no need to shift back to the ball coming down.

Conventional

The head and shoulders shift to the right because of a pivot at the base of the spine, but little torque is produced. The left hip pops forward to counterbalance the body move to the right. The body will have to make a big shift to the left for the club to make solid contact.

Downswing

Stack and Tilt

Downward pressure into the left leg shifts more weight to the front side. The lower body is ready to spring upward. The head and the swing centers are in front of the ball for a downward blow that compresses the ball against the ground.

Conventional

The lower body slides toward the target, and the hips start to spin open. The head stays back, tilting the spine away from the target and leaving the swing's low point well behind the ball. The result of this move will be a fat shot or thin contact on the upswing.

Finish

Stack and Tilt

The body has straightened up, with the hips turning to face the target and the torso flexing forward. The spine elongates and tilts away from the target to counter the springing action of the lower body. Ninety percent of the body weight has moved to the left side.

Conventional

Forward rotation diminishes through impact, because the body has not released from its posture. The arms have outraced the body, rolling over through impact and collapsing on the chest. Too much weight has stayed on the back foot.