What Is A Stack And Tilt Golf Swing?

Most golfers will have heard of the stack and tilt golf swing but what exactly is it? It’s not as simple as you might think so we’ve drafted in PGA pro Ben Emerson to explain in the video and article below…

Stack and tilt is a swing construction that enables golfers to control three things: the low point, which will improve the quality and consistency of strike; power, so the delivery is more efficient; and control itself, so the curvature of the ball in flight.

The idea of stack and tilt is a good one, in that it’s designed to ensure the weight is on your lead side. Where the stack comes from is the upper half on top of the lower, with the tilt being a consequence of the left shoulder pointing downwards in the backswing.

That’s in direct contrast to what we see in most golf swings, whereby the weight shifts away from the lead side going back, which then makes it more difficult to sync everything up again in the downswing. So, if you don’t move off the ball, it becomes easier to produce a more consistent club delivery pattern.

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Stack and tilt golf swing: How to do it

If you think this is a technique that could help you play better golf, here are some handy checkpoints to keep in mind. At address, work on feeling like 60 per cent of your weight is on your lead side and your hands should be ahead of the ball.

Also, in a stack and tilt golf swing, the angles in the set-up don’t have to be so pronounced. For example, you can introduce a little more roll in the back without compromising your ability to hit good shots.

Then, from this position, you want to make a nice big turn, getting the left shoulder under your neck and staying low, with the hands working nice and deep. If turning effectively is something you struggle with, flaring your feet out at address will make it easier to get the club further back, and therefore deliver more power.

In the downswing, you want to feel like the weight is still on your lead side as you bump the hips forward slightly and turn through, ensuring the hands are ahead of the club and ball at impact. That’ll give you a really efficient and powerful contact on a more consistent basis.

Finally, as you’ll likely be hitting down on the ball more, continue rotating with the body into a nice follow-through to produce a really stable and penetrating ball flight.