Tom, your course is great. But I am wondering why at the top of the back swing you recommend a straight vertical body line at the lead side resulting in the backward K. But when I watch Ben Hogan in your youtube article, he is pointing his lead knee back towards the ball and his body line on the lead side is somewhat curved in, although still lots of weight on the lead side as evidenced by his bent lead knee. Eventually his form does become a straight body line but later in the downswing.
It seems like Ben's way would provide more power since it results in more momentum in the forward directon. At any rate until I joined your course I practiced using Ben's bent knee backward. Thanks so much for your help. AJ
Hi AJ,
Mr. Hogan's post-accident swing was not textbook Stack & Tilt because he had that brief shift in pressure to his rear leg before getting into his front side at the top of his backswing. I am not advocating or teaching any shift into the trail side - and yes, in S&T that lead knee works straight down in the flared out orientation that we preset in order to keep the weight forward and the swing center intact - but beyond that the majority of Mr. Hogan's swing contained so many great elements that we can all benefit from, and which also fit perfectly within the realm of S&T!
So.... did Mr. Hogan tilt, turn, and extend while maintaining his swing center? Yes. Did his lead arm match his tilted shoulder plane at the top of the backswing, signifying no independent lifting of the arms? Yes. Did he take his hands in deep to access the tremendous power source known as "angular momentum"? Yes. (And by the way, THAT is the type of momentum you unknowingly crave, because it ideally harnesses physics and geometry without compromising the swing center.) Aside from the brief temporary shift of pressure into his trail side at the start of his swing, was his weight otherwise forward throughout as evidenced by his bending front leg and straightening trail leg? Yes. Did his motion facilitate an unrestricted 45 degrees of tilted hip turn to promote another 45 degrees of effortless tilted shoulder turn (for a full 90 degrees)? Yes!!
So it's completely up to you if you want to try to do some kind of hybrid thing. It is YOUR swing, after all. I will say, however, that from the ground up there is nothing superfluous in the Stack & Tilt swing - in other words, everything with a purpose, and a purpose for everything. So if you want my recommendation, start from the very beginning (Chapter 1, Lesson 1) and master the S&T setup basics, because that provides the foundation for everything else you are going to learn in the school!!
Cheers,
Tom