The Stack and Tilt Golf Swing - Some Comments

In a recent issue of golf digest (June 2007) a "new" golf swing being promoted by golf coaches Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett is featured. This new approach to the golf swing is called the "Stack and Tilt" swing.

In describing the Stack and Tilt swing, Peter Morrice, the author of the article, indulges in a bit of overstatement when he says "Their secret...contradicts almost everything being taught in the game today." But is this swing really that unique?

The Key Difference

The biggest difference with the "Stack and Tilt" swing is that it completely downplays the idea of shifting your weight to your back foot when making the backswing. In fact this "new" swing encourages the golfer to keep his or her weight on the front foot, and, if anything, move it more directly over the front foot during the takeaway.

Some older golfers will think this looks like a "reverse pivot" where the golfer seems to be leaning towards the target at the top of the swing. Teachers of the typical modern swing have their golf students draw the club back and stack their weight over their back leg when the club hits the top of the swing. But Stack and Tilt encourages the golfer to lean towards the target while the club is taken up.

Some Subtle Differences

For many golfers it may be hard to spot the differences at first, but there are some significant ones. For one thing with the typical modern swing the back leg remains bent with a slight flex at the knee. With the Stack and Tilt the back leg straightens out. The photos featured in the golf digest article (p.122) demonstrate how the back leg straightens out as it pushes back towards the target.

As a result the front side of the body is "stacked" over the front foot, and the trailing side of the body is "tilted" towards the target.

For a comparison with the typical modern swing look at photos of Tiger's swing of the last few years, or see the photo of V.J. Singh's swing on page 43 of the same issue of golf digest. Singh's upper body is "stacked" over his back leg at the top of the swing, and the trailing side of his torso is perpendicular to the ground as he pushes his weight back over his back leg. This is quite different from the way the torso is angled towards the target with the Stack and Tilt swing.

It's All Been Done Before

If you are familiar with the teachings of most modern golf coaches this may sound like a radical departure from golf orthodoxy. But the fact is, there have always been alternative schools of thought which questioned the simplistic "weight shift" idea. In particular, look at old photos of Jack nicklaus, Ben hogan or Sam snead. None of these golfers make the major shift over the back leg like you see with tiger Woods, for instance.

Or have a close look at the famous 1930s videos produced by Bobby Jones. There is no obvious shift towards the back leg. Jones remains centered over the ball throughout the swing and is more concerned with rotation around the center point than he is with the lateral weight shift characteristic of the typical modern swing.

Points of Interest

There are clearly some aspects of the Stack and Tilt swing that may help the average golfer hit the golf ball more squarely and more precisely.

The first is the lack of emphasis placed on the weight shift. For many golfers this idea is misleading and results in a lateral shift that basically turns the golf ball into a moving target. Shifting one's weight to the back also results in a "shallower" swing which increases the chances of bottoming out too early. Depending on a variety of factors this can either result in fat shots or thin ones. As an alternative, pressing into the front foot as you take the club back very definitely forces a steeper approach to the ball and should result in fewer topped shots. It also results in a lower trajectory since it de-lofts the club, and this may give you greater run on certain kinds of fairways.

The second point is that Stack and Tilt promotes a flatter swing. A flatter swing is less vertical and more rotational, and is the way Stack and Tilt compensates for being more on top of the ball when the downswing is begun.

The third point is the fairly advanced idea of the "pelvic thrust" which the Stack and Tilt teachers claim helps get the club approaching the ball correctly. This is probably where Stack and Tilt becomes too difficult for many average golfers. With Stack and Tilt, since one's weight and shoulder position are forward, the approach to the ball will be significantly steeper than normal. The pelvic thrust, along with the more rotational swing, helps to "shallow out" the swing. You achieve this by rapidly rotating your hips around and pushing your front hip up and towards the target. This creates the sensation of almost jumping up and striking the ball while on your toes. If you've ever seen Natalie Golbus swing a golf club you've got a fairly good idea what this looks like.

If these seem like technical points that are beyond your level of expertise, just give the "weight forward" idea a try. All you have to do is start with noticeably more weight on your front foot, and then press into that foot as you take the club up. You will probably find that it feels quite different from what you are used to. This move should result in fewer thin hits. But it may also result in more pushes, especially with the longer clubs, so you may have to adjust the positioning of the ball. You may also find it more physically taxing - requiring more body contortions - and for most of us that is not a good thing.

Rick Hendershot is an avid golfer who writes about the golf swing, golf travel and other golf stuff. Catch his blogs called The Weekend Golfer and Golf Around the World

The Sims 2 Yoga Meditation

Working From The Heart

There are two forces at work in your life: Fear, and Love. There are two places that give you messages, the mind and the Heart, and sometimes they give you conflicting and opposing information. Your mind, many times gives you wrong or distorted information. Your heart on the other hand, is connected to the truth. To access your heart takes patience, trust, silence, and calm. Your mind is a place of agitation and unrest. If you trust the mind, it will lie to you all the time, and you will be spun this way and that way and you will feel pressured, pained and guilty. If you learn to trust that inward spirit in the heart, you will feel collected, peaceful, calm, joyful and incredibly loved, and you will know what to do in all situations.

To access your heart, first you have to stop responding to your mind. You have to shut her down. Just observe your thoughts and watch them all go by; do not engage or connect to any thought. Next, you must shut down any feeling of guilt or any impatient thought. Next you have to go to a private place and you have to get very quiet. Turn off the radio, television, your phone, the beeper, pager, computer, etc. You have to remove yourself momentarily from your friends, and from the world, as you know it.

Then sit very still and very quiet in a comfortable position, so that your back, legs or arms do not get tired. Close your eyes. Suspend yourself in the darkness and the silence that you have created. Began to breathe slowly and imagine that this breath is going right down into your heart. The breath is accompanied by an even bright light. As you breathe this breath, and this light moves right along into your heart. With each breath you get more calm and quiet until you are very still and very calm. Then wait, and listen. Breathe in this light, wait and listen. This is the beginning of a heart mediation.

When you are very quiet, you will begin to feel a light presence filling your chest and coming into your mind. This is the Spirit of light. Acknowledge her, and allow her to encompass the space. Just relax. This is not an evil spirit, or anything like that. This is the all- knowing part of you. This is the part of you that is extremely ancient and has unlimited wisdom. And you are now accessing it. Now you can begin to ask some questions. The Spirit of light knows everything. There is nothing that this all- knowing part of you does not know. The question and answer period goes something like this: Is this the right thing for me? The answer will come in different ways. It might be an audible yes or no. It might be a physical feeling, like a tightness in your chest, or in your stomach. That is an uncomfortable answer. Which means that something about what you are asking is making you physically uncomfortable. You could say that it is a no answer. These physically feelings are directly related to you and how you specifically receive information.

If you have met a person and you receive this physical feeling of a clamping of your chest or stomach, or the feeling of nausea, do not ignore this strong physical feeling. This is warning for you about this particular person. If you receive this same feeling every single time that you encounter this person, this is a clear indication that this is not a person that you should spend time with, or one that you should give any energy at all to. Most definitely you would do well to avoid contact with this person. The same thing is true if you feel this clamping of the chest or stomach when in contact with a certain group. If upon the very first encounter with this person or group you feel this, know that something is very wrong. Trust that. Prior to getting into any relationship with this person or this group, check in with your spirit. It has already put out a warning about that.

Now. The Spirit of the light has not had your attention very often before so it gives you information, and then it will see if you will act upon that information or if you will ignore it as you used to do. The more that you listen and respond to the information, the more it will come back and guide. If, on the other hand, The Spirit of light gives you information, and each time, you say, I dont believe that, that is bull_ _ _ _, or that is my own imagination, remember that imagination is always related to your mind and your mind causes agitation and unrest. If you keep writing off the wisdom as your imagination, then the Spirit of light will not come without a lot of work and patience. Every time that you access her deep wisdom and she offers you guidance and you follow, you will become more adept at listening, more adept at the communication, and more adept at receiving the information and the reward. She will show you how to get anything that you desire.

Remember that imagination can also be a tool. You can receive brilliant book ideas, song titles, plays, great inventions that can make you rich. But the key is following the prompting. If it feels good, and it makes you joyful, it is a good leading. It is your choice to listen to these good feelings, these super ideas, and use the Spirit within to guide you.

If when you asked your original question, Is this right thing for me? You receive this a peaceful, joyful feeling which seems to fill you inside your chest, or throughout your heart, or anywhere physically, this is a comfortable physical feeling, this would be a yes response to that question. The key then is to trust that feeling, and say yes to it and move ahead with what you were asking about. Do not doubt your answer now. It is a clear answer to move ahead. The same thing if you meet someone, and there is just such a good feeling inside you. Its another way of saying that you are getting a very good vibe about that person. Trust that.

If for some reason you dont follow that negative guidance about someone or something, something will happen with that person or thing in almost the first encounter. You will clearly see behavior that you will find repulsive, disgusting, weird, disturbing, gross etc. That is the second sign and warning that this is not the person for you, and you will get seriously hurt if you engage further with this person, group or thing. Now if you choose to continue it is with open eyes, knowing that this person is about to cause you serious harm. If you continue you do so at your own risk. Do you understand? We see it, but we just choose to ignore it, because we want it to be something that it is not. We dont want to see it for what it is because we are lonely, needy, or weak. If you think or feel about past mistakes, Im pretty sure you will know that you saw several warning signs or you felt several bad physical feelings and you chose to ignore them. If you ignore these feelings too many times, you will remain broke, hurting, have feelings of inferiority, and be filled with self-loathing. If you start to listen and spend time with the Spirit of light, she will heal you, correct mistakes, take you away from dangerous people and situations, lead you, and show you how to build wealth, get out of debt and live debt free, and live with joy. You will enjoy more of life than you ever did before. You will feel great peace all the time. You will live your life on a super conscious level. It is your choice. And baby, you do have a choice whether you believe it or not.

Other ways that you may receive information are visually, with pictures, or images, or audibly; you might hear something. To receive something visually happens in a couple of different ways. You might actually see a vision that involves you or what you have been asking about. You might see a future event, and know that it is the right thing for you, or you might see a collage of images. These are like puzzle pieces.

When you are receiving any information, it is helpful to write down what is being given to you in a notebook or a journal so that you can go back over everything once you have received the information.

In the puzzle pieces you might see something that you do not understand, but write down the image as best as you can. Then you ask the Spirit of light its meaning. Now you see another puzzle piece come as an answer. You write this down, too, without any judgment. You might say to the Spirit of light, I dont understand the meaning of this but I accept that the answer is coming when it is supposed to. Then another piece comes for you and still you dont understand it, but you are writing them all down. Very soon with each page and with each image that you have recorded, you will have the whole complete concept of what you have received.

With each idea or image you have to ask yourself if there is any special meaning to you. For example, lets say that your images were a picture of a lit torch, and a jeweled box, and hands, and you touching these people.

You have to ask yourself if the torch gave you any impression. Do you feel anything when you bring the image to mind? Does it have any special meaning to you? Was it significant in any way? You might get an impression inside you, such as guidance, or light, which might mean something to you. Write down these confirmations or answers. Somewhere in your heart, you may know that this feels right even though you dont fully understand it. The concept is becoming clearer. Do this with all the other images until you start to get clear confirmations that you are on the right path.

It is also helpful to put the notebook down for a few days so that you can come back and look at it fresh. Believe me, the answers are there. You have a lot of clues now. Just work your way through it. Besides asking yourself these questions, you have to listen with your whole heart. You have to expect that the absolute right answer is coming for you. If you need the answer quickly, start saying, I receive the correct information quickly.

You also have to be aware of answers coming from time to time in other forms, and know without a doubt that the answers are meaningful for you. You might hear a song, you might see a magazine, you might hear a voice clearly speak to you, you might be led somewhere like a magnet and choose just the right book from the bookstore shelf; someone could speak to you with an answer that you understand but they do not. Feelings, impressions, and dreams all become important. You have clues coming in all the time. Your work is in deciphering these. With the help of the Spirit within, and ancient wisdom that we all have as part of us, you will be led.

There have been many times that I have heard new lines for a play, or a story for a movie, line after line after line. I try to write down at least an outline of what has been given to me, and fill in the play or movie story later. I have heard whole dialogues in my head and the tone that they need to be said in. I have heard the title, and seen which actors will play it with success. Because I enjoy writing I keep a dialogue book and write down what I hear. I dont have a character yet, but I just write down the dialogue or the story ideas.

Whatever youre into, you will receive a bundle of fresh ideas about how to do something with more ease or efficiency, or how to make it successful. Success comes in the listening and acting upon what you have been given. Trust the process, trust the guidance.

Walking with the Spirit of the light is like walking with a very funny, loving, bright friend all the time. I do suggest that you dont try to analyze your journal or all the thoughts and feelings with a friend or your family because they may respond with negative comments, with discouragement, or with jealousy. You have this friend on the inside that offers you complete trustworthy information, guidance, and unconditional love without judgment, and will never think that you are crazy.

Yoga Kat--aka Katheryn Hoban is a yoga teacher and reiki Master Teacher with twelve years experience. She teaches children's yoga ages 3-6, and Adults privately in NJ. She is the author of the book -Masters of ConsciousnessA Guide Book for the Cosmic Traveler. She has created a children's affirmation CD (ages 3-6) and an affirmation CD for adults. Yoga Kat is available for speaking or writing and can be reached at or 201 970-9340 http://www.thecircleofpeace.com and sign up for our newsletter and See me reading from my book on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDd_JyIActw

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Marble Blast Ultra Heading To Xbox Live Arcade

GarageGames, the leader in independent games, has announced that they will launch Marble Blast Ultra on xbox 360 live arcade.

"multiplayer functionality and HD graphics represent an amazing evolution in the Marble Blast franchise, and unveiling Marble Blast Ultra alongside the launch of xbox 360 is a historic moment for GarageGames and independent game developers," said Mark Frohnmayer, President of GarageGames. "We hope xbox 360 users have as much fun playing Marble Blast Ultra as we have."

If you are unfamiliar with the Marble Blast, it takes place in a futuristic arena suspended high in the clouds. Players can compete with each other by maneuvering with marbles through moving platforms and endless hazards.

"We are thrilled that Marble Blast Ultra is now available on xbox live arcade on xbox 360", said Ross Erickson, Games Portfolio Manager for xbox live arcade. "This enhanced version of Marble Blast represents a quantum leap forward in graphical fidelity and gameplay fun over the original Marble Blast. GarageGames has done a fantastic job of taking advantage of the unique technologies in xbox 360, creating a great single-player and multi-player experience for xbox live arcade."

"Marble Blast Ultra has an extremely high fun-factor and a high level of visual polish that we were able to achieve in a relatively short timeframe using our Torque engine technology," commented Jay Moore, GarageGames and Torque Evangelist. "The Torque Shader Engine allowed us to quickly and easily take advantage of the extensive graphical capabilities of the xbox 360, while our award-winning netcode delivers high quality and fast-paced Live! play, while maintaining rock solid performance."

The Torque Shader Engine on the Xbox 360, enriches the game through the enhances graphical ability marbles have reflection and power-ups glow using the glow shader.

Currently, the demo is available for free on xbox live.

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