Aaron Baddeley Drops the Stack & Tilt

Aaron Baddeley has officially dropped the Stack & Tilt method and plans on returning to his old golf coach in Australia. Baddeley was considered a promising future superstar in the game and then dropped his old swing coach for David Leadbetter. When that did not work out, he then switched to the Stack & Tilt method being taught by Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer. He won pretty quickly after incorporating the method and because of his popularity and prospects, he became the poster boy of the method.

Only there was one problem.

It wasn't working very well for him.

And now he's on the cover of their yet to be released book and their DVD series.

Not good.

Anyway, here's a look at Aaron's Stack & Tilt golf swing.








Here's what S&T teacher Dana Dahlquist had to say about Aaron's problems (http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=241841&st=40&start=40)

(Clubface) Too shut at the top end, too arched left wrist coming down, leads to handle raise at impact to oget the face back to open. Bingo bango, right to right.

There also has been talk that Bennett & Plummer tried to work on Aaron's hips which supposedly spin too much.

Here's some things I noticed about Aaron's swing before coming to the S&T:

It looks like Aaron's problems that Dahlquist pointed out were happening before he even went to the S&T pater as his clubface looks a *little* closed at the top of the swing and there is some arching of the left wrist at impact.

The S&T pattern can work for some people, but like any swing pattern it's not for everybody. Strangely, Bennett & Plummer tried to market it in that fashion despite both of them having studied and believed in 'The Golfing Machine' which essentially catalogs the almost countless ways to effectively hit a ball.

The S&T pattern can be effective because it attempts to get the golfer to keep the proper low point in their swing. It also tries to do away with the golfer's spine leaning away from the target which can result in moving the golfer's low point too far backward and the flip and hook motion.

However, that may not exactly be the problem for many golfers or there are other ways to get a golfer to maintain a consistent low point and to not 'hang back and flip.' Furthermore, the S&T pattern is not exactly a power move and power is the great equalizer in golf. Especially in today's game where somebody like JB Holmes may not be the sharpest all around player, but is playing every par 72 out there like it's a par 68.

Either way I just don't think the S&T was a good fit for him or at least at the moment. Instead of trying to change his pattern of swing, it would probably be best to take his old swing and just get him to square up the clubface at the top of the swing, get a flat left wrist instead of an arched left wrist at impact, and getting his hips to not spin so fast on the downswing. And that may be something that needs to be worked at one at a time.

Trying to fix those flaws and change a pattern is probably too much for anybody.

As Homer Kelley wrote 'change the factors that are easily controlled to fit those that are difficult to change.'





3JACK