Newsmakers 2007: Stack and Tilt

By Peter Morrice

Photo By J.D. Cuban

November 23, 2007

Of all the questions surrounding Stack & Tilt, the new swing theory from teachers Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, the one we like most is, which guy's Stack and which one's Tilt? In truth, the name refers not to the swing's inseparable creators but its radical positions, such as the spine tilting toward the target on the backswing. Wait a second, isn't that a reverse pivot? "We teach that the weight stays on the front foot," says Plummer, 40, a native Kentuckian and aspiring tour player in the mid-1990s. "If that's what you call a reverse pivot, so be it." Traditional instruction holds that the body turns over a right axis going back and a left axis going through, but Plummer and Bennett say shifting off the ball requires perfect timing at impact. With a single-axis swing, they say, the player can hit the ground in the same spot every time--and that's the first key to becoming a good golfer. On the PGA and Champions tours, six players have won in a year and a half using Stack & Tilt: Aaron Baddeley (pictured), Mike Weir, Dean Wilson, Eric Axley, Will MacKenzie and John Cook. Converts also include: Jesper Parnevik, Steve Elkington, Charlie Wi and about a dozen others. Plummer estimates they'll add 10 more tour students before next season. But the Plummer-Bennett plan sees the tour as just a stopover. "Teaching tour players gets you great exposure, but we want to change the way the average person plays golf," says Bennett, 39, who grew up in upstate New York and still tries to Monday-qualify for tour events. "It's the simplest way to swing a club," adds Plummer. "For the same reason it works for the best players, it works for everyone. The geometry doesn't change."