Stack & Tilt® Golf Swing

Weight at Impact

Melainey Gunning — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:57:10 +0000

Many professional golfers may have different ways to swing the club in their backswing. However, all highly skilled golfers have some similarities at impact with their weight and their spine.

Here, at the Academy we strive to keep our students centered over the ball, we believe it makes the entire process of swinging a golf club an easier, simpler, repeatable model.

But, we are going to discuss impact.

Whether you shift your weight, re-route the club, or conform to great geometry on the backswing, ALL GOOD GOLFERS have a similar look when they hit the ball.

Their lower body weight is forward (on their left side) their spine is tilted (not straight up and down) and the arms are extended. This has been consistent over decades, this is not a new revolution in golf.

How does this happen? On the downstroke your lower body weight needs to be moving laterally forward, this shallows the club and tilts the spine, as well, as allows the arms to extend.

Here are some players demonstrating this principle:

You can practice this principle by starting with your weight forward, arms straight and your spine tilted slightly at impact. Hit small chips shots to learn what it feels like and then you can start lengthening your swing.

June 16, 2012, One-day School -Atkinson, NH

stackandtilt — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:15:00 +0000

Join Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer at Atkinson Resort & Country Club in Atkinson, NH for a full day of comprehensive Stack & Tilt golf instruction.

Location: Atkinson Resort & Country Club, Atkinson, New Hampshire

Date: June 16, 2012 – full-day instruction – 9 AM to 4 PM – cost is $1000

Limited to 8 students.

For more information about any golf schools with Mike and Andy, contact info@stackandtilt.com

Cancellation policy: Receive a full refund if canceled prior to 30 days of your first scheduled school date. If you cancel within 30 days of your first scheduled school date, we will refund 75% of the purchase price. If you cancel within seven days of your first scheduled school date a refund will not be issued and you will have one year to reschedule.

What Can You Expect from a Stack & Tilt® School with Mike and Andy?

With small class sizes, there will be plenty of opportunity for you to receive one on one instruction from Mike and Andy.
You will gain access to the teaching philosophy that has resulted in many PGA TOUR wins by Mike and Andy’s clients.
Mike and Andy have devised the system they teach, not just by studying how the professionals hit the ball, but by applying the rules of science. They have found evidence of these principles in the best players, past and present. They use a vast database of photos of these players to help you understand what you need to work on in your own swing.
You will receive detailed explanation of the Stack and Tilt® system, based upon years of painstaking research into what the fundamentals of the golf swing really are and will see Mike demonstrate all the elements of creating the exact ball flight he wants- every time!
No where else can you get this level of one-on-one instruction from some of the best instructors on TOUR for such a reasonable price. sign up now!!

About the Atkinson Resort & Country Club

Nestled on over 400 acres in beautiful Atkinson, New Hampshire, Atkinson Resort & Country Club is a multi-story, 75,000 sq. ft., majestic post and beam building that overlooks the 18th hole of a true championship golf course.

For directions to the golf course visit: atkinsonresort.com

How do you Practice?

Melainey Gunning — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:36:49 +0000

I have had the opportunity lately to help out some fellow golf professional friends, which has been very fun and flattering that they would trust their golf swing with me. We are very fickle about our own golf swings, especially as golf professionals. We want to display our skills at the highest possible level. (at least I do) What is truly great about the Network of Stack & Tilt® instructors is that they are raising the bar and caring about not only knowing, but demonstrating. I believe this is incredibly important as a golf instructor to have the ability to demonstrate. By that, I don’t mean you should have to step up and hit like a tour player, but we should be able to demonstrate the principles that we so strongly believe in.

All of that being said, I would like to comment on practicing. We all need to learn how to practice more effectively, so we can in turn improve at a faster rate. The Stack & Tilt® system simplifies the learning process and allows us to organize the order of which we need to make changes. This allows the golfer to improve faster and for the changes to be repeatable and sustainable.

So, how do you practice? One of my favorite statements that Mike Bennett makes is not to react to the ball….

That is a tough one, but sooo necessary. When you are learning a new skill, you need to give yourself time to learn how to find the golf ball in a new way. So, lighten up

When we practice with Bennett, he makes more swings in slow motion than anyone I have ever seen. He’s trying to change to picture and associate the new Feel with the new Real!

Make small swings, under control. Most commonly, amateurs struggle with hitting the ball with consistent contact, so scratch a line on the ground and practice hitting the on or in front of the line, this will help you with controlling your weight.

Next step, hit the ground with straight arms (still waist high to waist high).

Then, lengthen your finish, by tucking your hips with your weight forward and your arms straight.

Finally, add your backswing.

This is a great way to warm up as well. You shouldn’t have to hit thousands of balls to play adequately, what you need to focus on is the quality of the movement.

If you have a particular part of your swing that you are working on, make a swing either in slow motion or a small enough swing, so you are able to isolate that part. When improving, isolate the pieces and make each one better. Your golf swing will be better as each piece improves.

Hope this helps!

I am including a clip of Mike Bennett practicing, it should help demonstrate what we are discussing in this blog.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10100956459928531&set=o.33100537967&type=3

Happy Stacking!

Melainey Gunning

“Stack & Tilt® Golf, A Woman’s Point of View” with Melainey Gunning: Melainey talks about all things Stack & Tilt® and shares her observations as a S&T Authorized Instructor. She works at the Stack & Tilt® Golf Academy in West Palm Beach, FL. Check back often for more from Melainey.

PGA & Champions Tour Highlights

Ray Rodriguez — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:50:05 +0000

A successful week for PGA Tour players Charlie Wi and Brad Faxon…

PGA TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

PGA Tour Player Charlie Wi played great golf at the Valero Texas Open tying for fourth, and ending the week with 19 birdies. Click on link to see his beautiful birdie on Hole 18 in Round 4 where he hits his 147-yard approach shot on a par-5 and taps in the 1-foot putt for birdie. ( PGA TOUR HIGHLIGHTS VIEW VIDEO ).

CHAMPIONS TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

On the Champions Tour, Brad Faxon teamed with Jeff Sluman playing a great three rounds at the Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf Tournament in Savannah, Georgia, tying for third. They finished the three rounds with 1 eagle, 25 birdies, and 28 pars, turning in a scorecard of -27 at 189.

Bubba Watson…how and why is he so good?

Melainey Gunning — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:23:55 +0000

Congratulations to Bubba Watson on his Masters win, this past Easter Sunday!

There is a lot of discussion being had all across golf communities about Bubba Golf and its rawness and simplicity. There are some very important factors in why Bubba is successful in how solid and far he hits the golf ball.

Fundamental #1, Bubba controls the low point in his golf swing – this allows Bubba to hit the golf ball solid every time.

Fundamental #2, Bubba has enough power to play the golf course in a reasonable amount of strokes. He kills the golf ball! How does he do this? He allows his rear leg to straighten (he actually locks it), this gives him maximum hip turn and maximum shoulder turn in his backswing. Bubba also does some serious jumping and extending in his follow through allowing him to use the ground as a catapult. This gives him some serious leverage and power. He is literally in the air while hitting the ball.

Fundamental #3, Having a repeatable pattern. Well, this is where he would need to spend the most time, in our opinion. Bubba’s pattern is, there is no pattern. He is ranked 134th in driving accuracy, per PGAtour.com. He can hook it or slice it off the earth. His wedge game and putter saves him from needing to conform to a repeatable pattern, like most people (because he hits it so far).

There has also been a tremendous amount of discussion about the fact that he has never had a day of instruction. Now, if that is true….more power to him… However, most of us need some direction. That doesn’t mean you need to revamp your entire swing or existence as a golfer to improve. What becomes important, is finding an instructor that can bring a systematic approach to solving problems in a simple manner by organizing the order of needed improvement, so a golfer focuses on the most important part of their swing to allow the golfer to improve the fastest.

Happy Stacking!

Melainey Gunning

Stack & Tilt® Academy – Philosophy

admin — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:08:56 +0000

For many years, Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer have closely examined thousands of videos and photographs of the golf swing and have clearly seen patterns. Its often been said that Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer have invented the golf swing, Mike and Andy have never made that claim, Mike and Andy have simply been the first to accurately explain how the swing works. Stack and Tilt is a system for measuring and classifying the golf swing. Over the years they have assembled photo spectrums to exhibit a range of positions for every part of the swing. So, what is behind Stack & Tilt is comprehensive measuring and classifying golf swings of both average players and the top touring pros.

Mike and Andy believe that the priorities for learning golf are being taught out of order. The actual accepted notion of what the “fundamentals” are in reality are not anything in common with the best players. What makes Stack & Tilt different from conventional teaching is that our system is organized. We implement each piece in a systematic way to help the golfer improve the fastest. Why change the golfer’s grip when they can’t make solid contact with the ball every time? This is learning golf in the incorrect order which will ultimately hold the golfer back from reaching their fullest potential. When you watch all the best players on TV, here is what they have in common:

#1 – The first measurable difference between golfers of different skill levels is the ability to hit the ground in the same place time after time (this is the ability to control the low point of the swing). The skilled player can swing the club and hit the ground in the same place consistently, also hitting in front of the ball with slight varying degrees. The less-skilled player hits the ground farther back and with a wider dispersion from one shot to the next, nearly in direct proportion to their ability level, with the least-skilled player not making contact with the ground at all.

#2 – The ability to hit the ball far enough to score well. A player needs to have enough power to play the course with a reasonable amount of strokes.

#3 – The ability to control the golf balls’ curvature in a predictable pattern.

#1 and #2 is where the average players need the most attention, as most players haven’t mastered these two areas.
#3 is where the better players focus because they have mastered #1 and #2 and need to focus on repeatable shot pattern.

Conventional teaching has brought most golfers to work on grip, stance/posture and alignment which has the biggest impact on the direction of the ball. We are looking to reduce the barrier of the entry to the game by teaching golf in the correct order, so that golfers can improve at a faster rate. By teaching golfers to hit the ball first and have the proper amount of power to reach the holes, allows the success rate to be much faster and sustainable.

Upcoming Instructor Training Dates

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:22:54 +0000

These are the currently scheduled Instructor Training dates.
If you haven’t already, please make sure you have completed our Prospective Instructor Application Form. For more information about attending these or future dates email us at info@stackandtilt.com

May 26, 2012 – Wäsby Golf – Host Javier Nigard

www.wasbygolf.se

May 29, 2012 – Bedford, England – Host James Ridyard
Kartell Golf Performance Centre
Manton Lane, Bedford

Justin Rose “resembles the stack-and-tilt”

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:05:39 +0000

The April 2012 issue of Golf magazine includes a swing sequence of Justin Rose with a couple prominent mentions of Stack & Tilt.

Namely, the headline says.”With a newfound belief in his stack-and-tilt swing, Tour veteran Justin Rose may be primed to win his first major.”

In the body of the article, the writer states, …..”Justin has developed a motion that closely resembles the stack-and-tilt method of Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett. In his backswing, Justin neatly pivots around his spine while keeping his shoulders pretty much centered over the ball. Coming down he aggressively shifts his weight toward his left side and slides his hips to the left more than you normally see, even with Tour players. That’s because Justin’s goal is to get all his weight onto – and all of his force against – his left leg, the hallmark trait of the stack-and-tilt.”

Well, that might not be exactly the way we’d describe it but no doubt Justin is showing off the ten words of the Stack & Tilt Golf Swing: weight forward, shoulder down, hands in, arms straight, and tuck hips.

The editors at Golf magazine no-doubt love the timing of this story, which was likely written in January given the lead-time of magazines; hitting the street right on the heels of Rose’s recent win at Doral.

Pre-Order the New DVD Today!

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:03:04 +0000

The next generation DVD set, Stack & Tilt® 2.0 Understanding the Numbers is coming, order yours now!

Click Here!!

5 day school – April 10th-14th

admin — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:33:30 +0000

Stack & Tilt® Florida Golf Academy is excited to offer a 5-day inclusive golf school!

This school will start Tuesday April 10th, 2011 and end Saturday April 14th, 2011.
The action-packed five days will include:
- Hotel accommodations single or double (with a roommate) occupancy
- Breakfast each morning at the hotel
- Daily lunch at the golf course and
- Transportation to and from the airport as well as to and from the hotel to the golf course.

Instructors and are from the official Stack & Tilt Golf Academies.
The instructors participating are Steve Sieracki, Melainey Gunning and Dave Quinn.
We are excited to include Certified Aimpoint Instructor, Sara Dickson for a 2 hour Aimpoint clinic ($200 value)

The week will cover full swing analysis with high speed video cameras, short game, and on course play.
Each student will receive a personalized binder with before and after swings, as well as progress throughout the week and swing models.
Each student will also receive an autographed copy of Mike Bennett’s and Andy Plummer’s book, The Stack and Tilt Golf Swing.

Ironhorse Country Club
This 5-day event will take place at the Academy’s home, Ironhorse Country Club in sunny, West Palm Beach, Florida.
Ironhorse is a beautiful Arthur Hills championship design featuring large teeing areas, flowing fairways and mildly
elevated, undulating green complexes. Forty five sand bunkers dot the layout, and water comes into play on 15 holes –
including a lake which runs for over 1 mile forming a shoreline on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes. Lush conditions,
abundant preserves and wetlands, and a variety of indigenous wildlife make this one of the Top 15 Courses in Florida
and it was honored as one of the 50 best development courses in the United States by Golfweek Magazine.
www.ironhorsecountryclub.com

The hotel accommodations will be at the Double Tree Hotel in the popular vacation spot, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The hotel is a Hilton Hotel

Property and is 10 minutes form the golf course, 5 minutes from pristine shopping at the Palm Beach Gardens Mall, and 15 minutes from the beaches.

For more info: www.doubletreewestpalmbeach.com

Schedule of Events for the Week
Each day starts at 9am and ends at 4pm

Tuesday
9am-10:30 – Explanation and Demonstration of the Stack and Tilt System
10:30am-12:30pm – Individual Swing Analysis
12:30pm-1:30pm – Lunch/questions/review individual view with V1Software
1:30pm-4pm – Full Swing/short game

Wednesday
9am-10:30 – Review of principles and layout individual practice for each person
10:30am-12:30pm – Individual Swing Analysis
12:30pm-1:30pm – Lunch/questions/review individual view with V1Software
1:30pm-4pm – Full Swing/short game

Thursday – Aimpoint Clinic!
9am – 12pm – Aimpoint Putting
12pm – 1pm – Lunch with Instructors and review video
1pm – 4pm – On course play with Instructors

Friday
9am – 12pm – Full Swing/Shortgame/Putting
12pm – 1pm – Lunch with Instructors and review video
1pm – 4pm – On course play with Instructors

Saturday
9am – 11:30am – The week in review, creating a practice plan, complete individual binders
1:30am – 12:30pm – Lunch with Instructors
12:30pm Play 18 holes of golf

Rates
We will accept a maximum of 8 players for the week and the cost for this inclusive 5-day school is $3,500 single occupancy.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via email at: stackandtiltgolfacademy@gmail.com