Article by Nancy Quarcelino

Fairways&Greens SL

www.SocietyLifeMagazine.com | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 57

DO YOU PLAY A ONE PLANE, TWO

PLANE, OR STACK AND TILT SWING?

IF YOUR ANSWER IS A SIMPLE

“I DON’T KNOW,” YOU’RE CERTAINLY

NOT ALONE! SOCIETY LIFE’S GOLF

PRO, NANCY QUARCELINO CARE-

FULLY BREAKS DOWN THESE THREE

UNIQUE SWING STYLES TO HELP

YOU OBTAIN BETTER CONSISTENCY

UNDER INCREASED PRESSURE.

Shape?Swing

What’s YourOne plane swing, two plane swing, and nowthe stack and tilt swing. Which one do youuse? Better yet, do you even know what I’mreferring to when I use these terms?

As an instructor of the game, it is neces-sary for me to keep up with the latestswing theories you see being tried out onthe tours and written about in golf publi-cations. All golfers are searching for thatone swing which will give them the addeddistance and consistency they are lookingfor. Unfortunately the same theory doesn’talways work for everyone.

When the stack and tilt swing theory cameout, I decided to study more closely these

three swings to be able to help my studentsidentify which one would work best forthem. Most golfers fall into one of thesethree categories.

When I first started teaching, the onlyknowledge we had about the golf swingwas what had been taught in the past.This knowledge was attained by watchingprofessional golfers swing the club.

When we began using the video camera, wethen began to break down swings and sawthat there are many ways to strike a golfball more consistently and with greaterdistance. Then we began our own D

methods of teaching our students. Ibelieve that there are three swing meth-ods. Likewise, I also believe there arevariations on these methods based uponyou, the student. We all look differentand thus will produce many different golfswings. Come on, you know what JimFuryk's golf swing looks like.

So what shape golf swing do you have?Are you a one plane, two plane, or stackand tilt swing? You may not know. The

differences are very evident and varied. Iam going to show you the different swingsfrom setup to follow-through. Then youcan decide the swing shape you are. _______________________________

Set Up_______________________________

In a “two plane” swing the setup is fairlyupright. The golfer tends to stand to theball with little bend from the hips. Theweight is distributed at setup about 60%on the right side and 40% on the left side.

The shoulders are tilted at setup with theback shoulder lower than the left.Usually the back foot is square and theforward foot is flared open.

The setup for a “one plane” and “stackand tilt” is more bent over from the hips.The “one plane” setup has an even distri-bution of weight.

The “stack and tilt” setup has 55% ofyour weight on the forward side and 45%on the back side. This setup is also morebent from the hips. The hand position inthe “stack and tilt” swing is forwardtoward the left hip and in a down cockedposition. Both feet are flared out in thisswing. The shoulders are level at setup._______________________________

Take Away_______________________________

In a “two plane” swing the left arm clear-ly separates away from the body to pro-vide width on the backswing. The hipsmust make an aggressive turn to createleverage. The club head will be in a toeup position halfway back.

In both the “one plane” and stack andtilt” swings, the left arm stays close to thechest on the backswing. The toe of theclub will be angled closed halfway back._______________________________

Top Of The Backswing_______________________________

In the “two plane” backswing, the shoul-ders turn level on one plane while thearms swing more upright, thus the name“two plane.” The weight distribution isnow 70% right and 30% left with theweight being on the inside of the rightside at the top of the backswing. Thehead clearly moves away from the ball.The right arm position in a “two plane”swing is in an elbow down position.

In the “one plane” and “stack and tilt”backswing the arms swing on the sameplane as the shoulders. The head hasmoved very little at this position in the“one plane” swing. The “one plane”

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weight distribution at the top of the back-swing is now 60% right and 40% left.The left shoulder is clearly lower than theright shoulder at this position.

The “stack and tilt” weight distribution atthe top of the backswing is 60% left and40% right. The head has not moved atall in this position. The left shoulder isdown in this position. This is what wecall a “reverse pivot.” The right arm,elbow, and shoulder all turn back behindthe body on the backswing as if you weregoing to start a lawnmower._______________________________

Downswing Or Transition_______________________________

For all you “two planers” the arms mustdrop from this high plane into impactposition. After this happens, then thebody makes a lateral move to generatepower into the shot. Pulling with your leftforearm down helps slot the club on theinside path.

In a “one plane” transition, the arms arealready on plane and the body rotates tothe target very aggressively. The armswill simply follow the body and stay onplane. Let the right arm drop straightdown and your left arm rotate toward theground. This will keep the club on planethrough impact. Feel your right elbow

stay close to your side. Your arms arevery connected to your body turn andyou virtually cannot swing over the top.

For the “stack and tilt” swing, the headstays steady while the hips slide laterallytoward the target. The arms will movethe club to striking position because ofthe hip slide.

Fairways&GreensSL

Two Plane Swing Mechanics Stack and Tilt Swing Mechanics

_______________________________Impact_______________________________

The impact position in the “two plane”swing has the head staying in back of theball while the hips are shifting to the leftside and turning out of the way. Clearly“two plane” swingers are stacked moreright sided at impact.

Nancy Quarcelino demonstrates the mechanics of the Two Plane Swing.

“If you are inconsistent and you constantly changeyour golf swing, this information should help you.”

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60 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 | www.SocietyLifeMagazine.com

Impact position in the “one plane” swing has the head stayingvery steady while the right arm moves across the chest. Thebody will be turning through the shot as this happens. Theweight is evenly distributed at this point.

The “stack and tilt” impact has 70% of the weight on the leftside. The head is steady and the hips are sliding toward thetarget. The center point of a “stack and tilt” swing has theshoulders and hips in line stacked on the golfer’s left side.

______________________________________________ Follow Through______________________________________________

The “two plane” swing has a taller finish with the hands fin-ishing high. The arms finish higher across the chest. Theshoulders are level and the body is balanced.

The “one plane” swing finish is in balance with the rightshoulder tilted slightly lower than the left shoulder. The armswill finish lower across the chest.

The “stack and tilt” swing has the hips driving more towardthe target, creating the reverse C follow-through. The armsfinish low across the chest while the body is in balance.

Now that you see the dif-ferences in these swings,which swing is for you?Can you see where youmight have the setup ofa two plane swing, butthe takeaway of a oneplane swing? If youhave some characteris-tics of all three swings,you can now see whereyou have inconsistencyon the golf course whenyou get into pressure.

I suggest you go see yourlocal golf professional tohelp guide you to theswing that is best for you. If you are inconsistent and you con-stantly change your golf swing, this information should helpyou. Now let's get to work on creating a more consistentswing and help you lower your scores! ◆

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For more information to improve your golf game, contact the

Nancy Quarcelino School of Golf at 615-778-8823 or you

may visit her website at www.qsog.com.