Stack and Tilt Golf Swing For Seniors (Overview)

Written by Todd in Online Golf Instruction

Tired or frustrated with your current golf swing?  

Seeking consistency to take your game to the next level?

Whatever age a golfer might be, they continue to seek new and improved ways to swing the club and to play better golf.

Whether we are a 100, 90, or 80s level golfer, we always want to be better.

That is what makes the game fun, right?  The journey of taking on the physical and mental challenge that golf is.

Many seniors get to the point in their golf journey, where they have faced the frustration of some days hitting the ball great, while struggling on other days to even shoot their average score.

The Stack and Tilt Golf Swing provides a  system one can follow.  Below we will dive deep into the Stack and Tilt Golf Swing from a Senior Golfer perspective. 

I believe this swing method can work for golfers of all ages and that seniors might play their best golf yet.

Hit more greens and be more consistent with Stack and Tilt!

Should Seniors Consider Utilizing the Stack and Tilt Golf Swing Method?

Yes, senior golfers should take the Stack and Tilt into consideration.  The Stack and Tilt golf swing provides a system for golfers to follow that has a focus on the three fundamentals: 

  • Consistent ball contact by controlling the where the ball strikes the ground 
  • Controlling the curve of your ball through face and path control
  • Having enough distance to play the course by increasing swing speed.

Below we will dive into the following topics:

  • What are the fundamentals of the Stack and Tilt Golf Swing
  • Why the Stack and Tilt would be good for the senior golfers
  • 10 key words to Stack and Tilt
  • How to read your own ball flight
  • Drills you can use to get better at golf
  • Do any Pros Use the Stack and Tilt

What Are The Fundamentals of the Stack and Tilt Golf Swing?

The Stack and Tilt Instructors said it best when they described what they believed were the fundamentals of golf.  They explained it somewhat similar to this:

  • Fundamental #1: The golfer’s ability to control the bottom of the golf swing.  The best golfers will hit the ground in the intended spot, close to 100% of the time.
  • Fundamental #2: The golfer’s ability to control the curve of the golf ball. The best golfers are able to start the ball to the right or left of the target line and have the ball curve towards the target without the ball over curving past the target.
  • Fundamental #3: The golfer’s ability to have enough power to play the golf course.  This means they are able to hit the ball far enough to play the course in regulation.

You can reach your full potential with different golf stances, setups and alignments as long as your 3 fundamentals stay strong. 

 Don’t be scared to fully study all and experiment when you get the chance with each one to see what is best for your game.  You might learn something from one setup that you can apply to the other.  

Utilize the three fundamentals above to assess where you are at with your game currently and then do a post assessment after you try out one or more of these approaches/methods to the golf swing!

Maybe you will want to dive fully into the Stack and Tilt Swing Method and become an expert at it.

Why The Stack and Tilt Method Would be Good for Senior Golfers?

The Stack and Tilt approach is built on starting with 55% of your weight on your front side and using a front side pivot as the main engine in the swing. 

As you get older and might lack some of the athleticism or balance from your younger days, the ability to pivot and turn around your front foot just might help the majority of senior golfers.

The Stack and Tilt swing does not take great flexibility or athleticism, but it can truly help all golfers with the 3 fundamentals as the swing was design to help the golfer become proficient in each of those areas.

With the weight on the front side throughout the swing, the golfer increases in chances of controlling the bottom point of the swing. 

The weight shifting from back to front makes it difficult to control the ground contact point no matter how athletic you are, unless you have endless hours to practice.

Some of the more modern swings rely on a greater level of rotation in the down swing, which can be difficult as you lose flexibility.

As you become a senior, the number of balls you can hit each day and still stay fresh for your actual arounds start to decrease. 

Having that solid ball contact is fundamental number one and is essential to playing quality golf.  It is difficult to focus on other areas until you are making solid contact. 

Once that is accomplished, we can start worrying about which way the ball is curving.

The swing is built to maximize and out to in swing, which will produce the greatest amount of distance and help you hit the natural draw.  If you dreamed of hitting a draw your entire life, you have to check out the Stack and Tilt Method.

10 key words to Stack and Tilt

  • Weight Forward
  • Shoulder Down
  • Hands In
  • Arms Straight
  • Hips Tucked

You can practice each of these sets of words one set at a time.  To start, just simply put your weight forward and hit 5-10 balls.  Next focus on turn your left shoulder down and hit 5-10 balls with your weight forward. 

Next move to the hands in, while keeping the other two components are built in going.  You can see the progression that you can make.

You will find that the weight forward and shoulder down help you compress the ball.  The hands in allows you to hit from the inside along with straight arms. 

This keeps you on an inside to out path to help produce the draw shot.

The hips tucked on the downswing and follow through helps with the extension and distance.  This swing was truly engineered to create a consistent strike, that strats on a consistent start line and curves back towards the target with enough distance to play the course. 

I love how the swing was designed to be simple and with the mindset that the golfer can read the ball flight and make adjustments as needed based on the system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1uY1sc57Cc

How To Read Your Own Ball Flight in Golf? 

If you understand the ball flight laws it is easy to understand what causes certain shots in golf.  The ball flight laws are easy to understand and I believe every golfer should have a general understanding of the ball flight laws.

Why? If you understand the ball flight laws you can start to become your own swing instructor and make corrections on the range or the course by reading the flight of your golf ball. 

Too often golfers turn to the video of their swing when everything you need to know can be read off of your ball flight.  Did you know that your ball flight can tell you the following:

  • Where your club face was at impact.
  • If your swing path was left or right of the club face.

Once you know these two items you can make the corrections by checking out our 2nd Tip on understanding what swing thoughts can help you get the proper matchups.

So let’s dive into the ball flight laws:

  • Generally speaking, the golf ball will start where the club face is aiming.
  • The golf ball will then curve away from the swing path.

There are two different lines that we must understand.  The target line and the start line.  The best golfers start the ball left or right of the target line and then curve the ball back towards the target.

Let’s go over some examples to help you better understand the ball flight laws.

Example A:  Let’s say that the club face is 3 degrees right of the target line and the swing path is 5 degrees right of the target line.  What will the ball do?

Answer: The ball will start right of the target line and draw back towards the target.  This is known as a push draw.

Example B: Let’s say the club face is 3 degrees right of the target line, same as in example A, but the swing path is only 1 degree right of the target line.  What will the ball do?

Answer: The ball will start to the right of the target line and will fade to the right.  Keep in mind that the ball will curve away from the swing path.  In this example, both the club face and the swing path are to the right and the ball will curve away from the path.

Example C: Let’s say the club face is 3 degrees to the left of the target line and the swing path is 5 degrees left of the target line.  What will the ball do?

Answer: The ball will start to the left and curve to the right.  This would be a pull fade or pull slice.  Keep in mind that even though the face is closed to the target line, it is open to the swing path and the ball will curve away from the swing path.

Example D: Let’s say the club face is 3 degrees to the left and the swing path is only 1 degree to the left.  What will the ball do?

Answer: The ball will start left and curve left.  This shot would look like a pull draw. 

Hopefully, these examples help you understand the club face and swing path correlation and how they match up.  Once you understand these ball flight laws, it will help you read your own shots and possibly make in round adjustments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7JlGMBUZlk&t=3s

Drills You Can Use To Get Better At Golf

Regardless of the system that you pick you must be able to hit the three fundamentals previous discussed.  Here are three drills/routines you can use to build skill in these areas:

  • Fundamental 1 – Draw a line on the grass in your backyard with some simple paint.  Practice hitting on the line or just on the front side of the line.  This is helping your develop control of the bottom of your swing and your impact position.  The best golfers can do this 20 out of 20 times.  The worst golfers will hit before and after the line with no real pattern.
  • Fundamental 2 – Practice your start line.  Set up an alignment stick 6-8 down your target line on the driving range or in your golf simulator space.  See if you can get 8 out of 10 balls to start to the right of the alignment stick.  This will show that you are on an in to out path.  Once you have accomplished this, start to note if the ball curves back towards the target.  If it doesn’t, consider the ball flight laws and work on making the proper adjustments.
  • Fundamental 3 – Everyone wants more distance.  As a senior golfer, you should consider training for speed.  Even if the goal is not to lose speed every year.  If you are losing 5 yards per year, it can quickly deteriorate your game.  I would highly recommend the SuperSpeed Golf OverSpeed Training System that only takes 10-15 minutes every other day of the week.  They promote that most golfers will see a 5-8% increase in swing speed which is 20-30 yards for most golfers.  This can happen as early as the first training session.

Do any Pros Use the Stack and Tilt?

Some of the more recognizable names to utilize the stack and tilt include Aaron Baddley, Mike Weir, Charlie Wie and Grant Waite.  However, many golfers on tour have elements of the Stack and Tilt Swing and MIke Bennet and Andy Plummer have helped revolutionize the game.

Regardless, the system created helps you read your ball flight, make adjustments and be more consistent.  Every golfer dreams of being more consistent and this is what the Stack and Tilt Method can provide for you!

Final Thoughts

The Stack and Tilt Method has revolutionized the game.  We now see more golfers staying centered, keeping their weight forward and having reduced follow thoughts.

If you are someone that has struggled with ball contact and has fought the slice your entire golfing life, then it is worth diving more into the Stack and Tilt and learning more.  They do offer a membership site for a reasonable monthly price that has a ton of quality content.

To learn more about the Stack and Tilt, make sure you check out the 10 things you should know about the stack and Tilt Swing here.

Golf is a game of adjustments and no system better prepares you and educates you to be able to make those adjustments.  Stop settling for the status quo in your game and take a chance to get better.

Are you looking for more speed.  Check out one of these two awesome options:

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you?  I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor.  Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed.  Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier.  Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system?  It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

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