

The hip-thrust and spine-stretch lengthen arms, resulting in a truer release.Just think of how a baseball slugger uses hip release to generate power. We are often told to keep our hips in the same position during the swing as they were during address, but this limits rotation and kills momentum. Releasing the forward tilt of the hips adds power.Sliding the hips lets you hit a gentler curve while also shallowing the club descent and setting up your body to support the swing - all of which adds up to a more solid strike. Golfers are traditionally taught to turn their hips through the shot, but that can pull the club across the ball. Sliding your hips helps prevent slicing and provides more power to the swing.Called by some people a "reverse pivot" or a "reverse shift," tilting forward is the natural posture when you turn your shoulders in a circle while keeping your body centered over the ball. Tilting the spine forward at the top allows your shoulders to swing in a circle, keeping the swing clean and maximizing its force.Many golfers find this hard to do consistently, so they end up hitting off the back foot instead. A traditional swing requires you to shift your weight to the back foot on the backswing and then back onto the front foot on the follow-through. Keeping your weight on your front foot improves consistency and puts the power where you want it.

Now that you know the basics of the swing, let's take a look at why stack and tilt is worth learning. When practicing, try ending your swing halfway, with your arms held parallel to the ground, to habituate yourself to the feeling of extension. Stretch out your arms to complete the swing. The effect will be to push up and through (note that your belt is nearly level and much higher than in a typical swing).įinish the motion, continuing to push the hips forward and extend the spine, shifting 90 percent of your weight onto your front foot. Your shoulders should be square at the point of impact. Spring up on the ball as you release your hips from their address tilt and don't let your head go forward. Keeping your head still on the downswing, slide your hips forward and flex your torso forward as well, so that your spine tilts away from the target. You should feel like you are swinging down on the ball, not laterally through it. Do not shift your shoulders or hips back (this is probably the most noticeable difference for most golfers).Īs you begin your downswing, keep your hips tucked underneath, lean a bit more into your front leg, straighten your back leg a bit and flex your front knee to set up the downswing thrust. Turn your shoulders in a circle and tilt your spine toward the target, creating a steep downward angle with your shoulders vertically aligned over the ball. Your hand remains "packed in" throughout the swing. In the next section, we'll break down the stance and swing in more detail.Īs you begin your backswing, swing your hands inward, using your turning body to create an inside swing path. It must rotate while remaining at a constant inclination. In the stack and tilt, the spine actually adjusts its tilt during the swing. And whereas most magazines, books and television shows instruct golfers to maintain the same spine angle throughout their swings, Bennett and Plummer argue that the key is to maintain a consistent inclination. The traditional swing also has much more lateral movement in the hips and shoulders. This differs from the traditional swing, in which a golfer's weight shifts from front to back during the backswing, and then forward on the downswing. With the stack and tilt swing, the golfer's weight remains "stacked" on the front foot throughout the swing while his or her back "tilts" forward to keep the spine and shoulders over the ball. With this in mind, Bennett and Plummer developed a swing that would increase consistency for the golfer and make the ball fly straight and far. Beyond that were idiosyncrasies unique to each golfer - how he or she holds the club, where he or she aims the club face, how he or she positions the ball, where he or she aimed. They realized that it boiled down to two things: an ability to consistently control where the club hit the ground and the ability to hit the ball far enough downrange to score low. This realization inspired them to look at what the golfers did share in common.
