A Look at the Stack and Tilt

I've gotten a couple of e-mails and PM's discussing the Stack and Tilt and mostly my reluctance and dislike for the method.

Here's the main reason why I don't care much for the S&T method. Just take a look at the stats of the main proponents of the method:

Driving Distance

Aaron Baddeley...............290.3 yds
Eric Axley.........................287.7
Tommy Armour III........287.7
Tom Scherrer...................287.7
Tour Average............287.6
Charlie Wi.........................287.4
Mike Weir.........................284.4
Dean Wilson......................276.2


Driving Accuracy

Charlie Wi.........................67.3%
Tour Average............63.4
Tom Scherrer..................63.4
Tommy Armour..............63.4
Mike Weir........................62.5
Dean Wilson.....................61.7
Aaron Baddeley...............59.5
Eric Axley.........................56.4


Total Driving

Charlie Wi.......................140
Tom Scherrer.................182
Tommy Armour III......183
Tour Average...........197
Aaron Baddeley..............223
Mike Weir.......................225
Eric Axley........................264
Dean Wilson....................301


G.I.R.

Tommy Armour III..........66.5%
Charlie Wi...........................66.4%
Tom Scherrer....................65.8%
Dean Wilson.......................65.6%
Tour Average.............64.8%
Mike Weir..........................64.6%
Aaron Baddeley.................62.0%
Eric Axley..........................61.2%


Total Ballstriking (Total Driving Rank + G.I.R. rank)

Charlie Wi.......................199
Tommy Armour III......239
Tom Scherrer................253
Tour Average..........296
Mike Weir......................334
Dean Wilson...................378
Aaron Baddeley............389
Eric Axley......................444

Some of these numbers are mediocre, some of them are bad and some of them are alright. Now I know, these guys could wax me up and down the course all week long, but by tour standards nothing is really 'wowing' me right now. And the S&T poster boy, Aaron Baddeley, put up some poor numbers last year.

From what I've been *told*, the S&T is more or less Mac O'Grady's low trajectory shot with a wedge method. O'Grady supposedly has different types of swing methods according to the club and trajectory he wants to hit (and I say supposedly because I'm just going off what I've been told as I've never taken a lesson from O'Grady himself). And supposedly O'Grady has a swing method for low trajectory, high trajectory and medium trajectory shot with the long irons, then the short irons, the mid irons and the driver. So the S&T is allegedly the low trajectory wedge swing method, but for all of the clubs.

The thing I like about the S&T method is that is gets the weight on the left foot at impact which I feel is crucial regardless of the pivot method used. What I don't like about it is that I feel it constricts the shoulder turn and back pivot in the swing and that kills power while not exactly ensuring accuracy. Sam Snead had 140 degrees of shoulder turn in his prime and not only killed the ball, but was accurate too. Hogan had about 110 degrees of shoulder turn. The S&T guys seem to have 90 degrees or less shoulder turn. And by looking at the stats, I consider being average length on tour to be long in the grand scheme of things, but none of the S&T'ers are really hitting bombs nor are they deadly accurate. Again, I acknowledge they are FAR better than myself, but when it comes to revolutionary methods, I expect revolutionary results from the poster boys for me to change my swing methodology. And I think there's ways just as easy to accomplish what the S&T method accomplishes without losing that power.

Anyway, here's S&T inventor, Mike Bennett's, golf swing




3JACK