BOLTON, Mass. — Count “Bubble Boy” James Driscoll among PGA Tour golfers who believe the much-maligned Stack & Tilt swing system gets a bad rep.
“People [who denigrate Stack & Tilt] don’t know what they’re talking about,” Driscoll said Monday during an NEGM promotional fitting session at The International Golf Club & Resort’s TaylorMade Performance Lab. “There are a lot of good things about Stack & Tilt.”
On the bubble for fully exempt tour status next season at No. 125 on the money list before this week’s event in Orlando, Driscoll fired a 6-under 66 to share Thursday’s first-round lead with world No.1 Luke Donald and five others. Monday, he defended an approach to ball-striking that Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett began promulgating on tour in 2005 — facets of which Driscoll’s and Tiger Woods’ swing coach, Sean Foley, incorporates into his instruction.
The basics of the system entail “stacking” the weight over the front leg and tilting the spine toward the target. The most controversial aspect of the methodology involves a minimal weight shift from the front to the back foot at the start of the swing. “Just staying centered” is how Driscoll would describe it.
Driscoll recognized that the system represented a major swing modification that may not work for all golfers. “It did hurt some people’s games I think because it can be a big change,” he said. “If you overdo it, you’re in deep trouble….You won’t get a 3-iron 10 feet off the ground.”
For Driscoll, getting too wrapped up in Stack & Tilt meant not putting enough weight on his right foot and “loading up” too much on his left side. “When I overdid the Stack & Tilt I couldn’t hit a driver, couldn’t hit a 3-iron,” he said.
Since he began working with Foley in May, Driscoll said he has enjoyed a distinct improvement in his ball flight and distance.
“I’ve gained like 20 yards,” said Driscoll, who has had two lessons with Foley in the past four months. “I can hit it so much farther than I did a year ago.” The Boston native’s stats indicated he had gained about five yards in driving distance, from some 294 yards on average in 2010 to about 299 this season.
Despite the many touring pros who Driscoll said still employ Stack & Tilt principles, the approach continues to garner bad press. Driscoll suggested the theory needed a better moniker.
“People are quick to judge Stack & Tilt and I’m not sure why,” Driscoll said. “If you watch the guys do it on tour, on the range, they’re pretty good. All Foley’s guys are a version of Stack & Tilt, Tiger’s Stack & Tilt now.
“It’s a bad name,” Driscoll opined. “It just doesn’t sound right, it’s too gimmicky.”
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out on the The A Position, Waggle Room, Boston Golf Examiner, National Golf Examiner, and GottaGoGolf websites. You may also follow Kay on Twitter @golfexaminer.)
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