Symptom: Can't seem to hit long irons, knockdown shots, or get yourself to deliver a descending blow to the ball. Or, maybe you can do these things sometimes but not always, and you are not sure how to improve your consistency.
Description: The central tenet of the Stack and Tilt swing is that you "tilt" your spine TOWARDS the target on the backswing, such that you feel almost as if your head is moving AHEAD of the ball. From this position at the top, your downswing will naturally come on an inside path, with a descending blow. Your head will also stay more still, giving you more consistency.
Why it Works: The Stack and Tilt golf swing has been described many times, with much hype, on TV, magazines, with DVDs and training programs you can buy, and so on. The Stack and Tilt Swing doesn't look too different from a regular golf swing, at first glance. There is one key philosophical difference, though, that does distinguish the "Stack and Tilt" philosophy from a more conventional or traditional golf swing.
In the Stack and Tilt is that you try to tilt your spine TOWARD the target on the backswing. This keeps more weight on your front foot than you would otherwise have, prevents you from swaying to the left on the backswing, and perhaps most importantly, ensures that your head stays VERY STILL on the backswing and the downswing.
From this position at the top, you will need to clear your hips very fast, allowing for an inside path on the downswing, giving you that coveted descending blow, and good lag that are mandatory for power and consistency.
Whether you adopt the Stack and Tilt swing for all your shots is up to you. I have found it to be a useful swing thought and practice drill for longer clubs, because it does tend to shorten the backswing and thus prevent over-swinging. This swing thought is also very useful for hitting knockdown or three-quarter shots (as in the five-iron backoff drill). Perhaps most importantly, I have found that the "spine angle towards target" swing was very easy to do -- a couple practice swings and a few shots was all it took for me to start hitting good quality shots in this style.
So give it a try next time you are on the range. You might just find something new and exciting for your game in the Stack and Tilt philosophy.
Posted by GolfTipEditor
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
