Stack & Tilt: My Swing At The Top

Continuing with the GolfTec Analysis of my swing, here's me stacked up against Ernie Els (left) and the Stack & Tilt (S&T) model swing (from Six Steps to Stack & Tilt). Here's where the fun starts. First, the GolfTec analysis.

Let's look at Ernie Els (left frame) first. At the top, Ernie is very stable, loaded on his right side, left leg bent a little with left foot on the ground, his head moved back from center about one-half cap width, back leaning away from the target in the "power-V" position, left arm fully extended, ninety-degree angle between the left arm and the golf club, lots of width between the hands and the head.

My S&T swing is leaning toward the target, right leg straightening, head move six inches toward the target, good extension, good wrist hinge, but my right elbow is jammed up against my body (stuck), shoulder turn is 75 degrees (tour average is 89), hip turn is 33 degrees (tour average is 48) which is 42 degrees of X-factor (shoulder turn minus hip turn, for me 75 - 33, tour average is 41 degrees, 89 - 48).

I'm trying to turn on top of myself. Surprise: flexibility is not my problem (I have one more degree of X-factor than the tour player--isn't lack of flexibility why I started S&T?). My rotation is low because I didn't turn into the right space. My top swing position forces me to cast (an early release of the club as you'll see in later stills). In order to hit from the inside, I have to release my wrist angles (the flying wedge) early. My body is in the way for me to make an on-plane downswing.

Compared to the S&T model swing (right image), my swing is way too flat and way too tilted. But, this is where I ended up trying to do S&T from the book. A S&T instructor, I'm guessing, would have pushed my hands a little higher in the air at the top of the backswing and not had me lean as much toward the target. For whatever reason, I never got to that position by myself.