The Stack System Review and Progress Thread

[Hoyoymac]

27 minutes ago, Backofthecup said:

Great work but it's impossible to gain 29 yards in 4 sessions. I'm starting to question this app. 

The estimated distance is pretty generous based on the assumptions that are inherent in their calculation.  Temperature, elevation, launch conditions, etc.

I probably don’t swing with maximum intent on the course either.

What I’ve seen so far on the course is that my best drives are going further than before and my worst drives are also further.

I’m encouraged and will continue with the program.

[GolfSpy BOS]

I am terrified to open the app today...  After being on a cruise for a week and missing the last few days before we left I don't want to see just how low my grit score can go! 

Looking to get back into in in the next day or two, but I'm expecting to see a dip in speeds for a few sessions. haha

[DonnieGolfs]

8 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

I am terrified to open the app today...  After being on a cruise for a week and missing the last few days before we left I don't want to see just how low my grit score can go! 

Looking to get back into in in the next day or two, but I'm expecting to see a dip in speeds for a few sessions. haha

Maybe not, just make sure youre caffeinated and have a good warm up, sometimes that little break might be just what you need. Also a good destress to help lighten the tension in the swing. Just believe you're going to smash it and I'd bet you going to.

[Backofthecup]

19 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

I am terrified to open the app today...  After being on a cruise for a week and missing the last few days before we left I don't want to see just how low my grit score can go! 

Looking to get back into in in the next day or two, but I'm expecting to see a dip in speeds for a few sessions. haha

All my best sessions are with the lowest grit score. You might be surprised.

[MIHIGO26]

21 hours ago, MrKSTOKES said:

Have you had a pro look at your swing?

Adding extra speed to sound mechanics would generally result in extra distance.

extra speed with fundamental issues could definitely lead to worse golf.

I say this as someone who spent 6 months this winter working with a pro to make sure my swing could function with the new speed I was starting to achieve with the stack 

 

Well as a mid-high handicapper I was never good at golf but you know I could occasionally hit a golf ball well. Now I can't strike a ball at all, and when I do it goes miles off target, not because I have increased distances as such. Dealing with a 4 way miss is not confidence inducing on the course. It could be short/long/left/right or a combination of two of them. Off the toe/heel/top/thin, you name it I've got it.

I had a bunch of lessons from October to around February time just before I started with the stack. The lessons done nothing from a technique point of view or a ball striking point of view. That was despite countless hours on the range and practice. The coach would say I was "on track" from a swing point of view but all I saw in the end was a lot of effort and energy being put in from me, and money spent for no improvement where it matters. I had an on course lesson to see if that made a difference, it didn't. All I learned from that was some basic game management stuff that in truth I probably already knew. I've been meaning to look back through bank  statements just to see how much I've actually spent on trying to improve but I just get the impression it would make me feel worse. 

That isn't the first time either, I've seen I think 5/6 different coaches over the last 5/6 years and to be honest I don't think a single one has improved me as a golfer. Each time would be off-season, I'd thought I'd try find a different coach to see if they would work, I'd try my best to practice hard and effectively, to still be trash. Then I'd make a mental decision not to go for lessons and just go out and enjoy myself on the course, and that is generally speaking when I shot my best scores usually. That's not to say the lessons worked, it was more me just playing with whatever I had.  Obviously I am the common denominator here and I fully understand that it could well just be me. As you'd think out of 5/6 coaches, a ton of practice and effort, that at least one of those would work and improve me a little bit. I'm not confused or anything, I go all in on the lessons at the time, so it's not like I have multiple messages in my head. I'm focused on what they are teaching and that only.

For the money I spent on lessons I seen zero improvement on the course from a ball striking or a scoring perspective.  Last year I won a couple of club comps, basically because I was playing off 17 and I was scoring 4/5 under my handicap so had a couple of low 80's. Averaged mid to high 80's for the most part prior to that with a great round being low 80's and a bad round around 90-92. The rest of last year was completely garbage. I struggle to break 90 these days. It's hard to put into words how deflating it is, spending a bunch of cash, putting so much effort and energy grinding away at the range and on the course and still going round and shooting 90+.

Ended up ranting there, because I feel quite deflated. I thought adding a little bit of speed would help me shoot lower scores, in truth, it's ruined whatever swing/technique I did have. I'm going to power through the rest of the foundations program, then get on a Trackman, see what's going on from a speed perspective if I have made any gains and then try smooth things out there from a ball striking POV. Club championship qualifiers are at the end of May (for my hcp bracket), and I really want to be in a good spot by then but at this rate I wont' even get past the qualifier. I qualified last year, and was feeling really confident and fancied my chances of winning it, but sadly I had to withdraw last minute due to some personal stuff. So this year I really want it.

So I was already trending downwards again prior to speed training, but I'm confident in saying I would have found a bit of form as the comps started this year, I think the speed training has accelerated the downward spiral and is partly responsible for me being even worse than what I was when I was off form last year.

To answer your question, I've had a pro look at my swing in the last couple of weeks. Used Skillest and got a moderately priced one with a good reputation. In truth due to the rising cost of living I can't really afford another bunch of lessons just now, so it's probably going to have to be something I figure out myself if I want to do well in the comps this year. I've done a fair whack of practice from the analysis that pro gave me but I can't say for certain I am confident it will work. 

3 hours ago, Backofthecup said:

Your experience is emulating mine. I started the Stack System as a +1.1 and now I'm a 2.4 and going up. My ball striking has fallen off tremendously. 

Yeah I feel ya man. My game is now a complete mess. I think the speed training is partly responsible for that.

Edited April 30, 2023 by MIHIGO26

[Feynman22]

1 hour ago, MIHIGO26 said:

Well as a mid-high handicapper I was never good at golf but you know I could occasionally hit a golf ball well. Now I can't strike a ball at all, and when I do it goes miles off target, not because I have increased distances as such. Dealing with a 4 way miss is not confidence inducing on the course. It could be short/long/left/right or a combination of two of them. Off the toe/heel/top/thin, you name it I've got it.

I had a bunch of lessons from October to around February time just before I started with the stack. The lessons done nothing from a technique point of view or a ball striking point of view. That was despite countless hours on the range and practice. The coach would say I was "on track" from a swing point of view but all I saw in the end was a lot of effort and energy being put in from me, and money spent for no improvement where it matters. I had an on course lesson to see if that made a difference, it didn't. All I learned from that was some basic game management stuff that in truth I probably already knew. I've been meaning to look back through bank  statements just to see how much I've actually spent on trying to improve but I just get the impression it would make me feel worse. 

That isn't the first time either, I've seen I think 5/6 different coaches over the last 5/6 years and to be honest I don't think a single one has improved me as a golfer. Each time would be off-season, I'd thought I'd try find a different coach to see if they would work, I'd try my best to practice hard and effectively, to still be trash. Then I'd make a mental decision not to go for lessons and just go out and enjoy myself on the course, and that is generally speaking when I shot my best scores usually. That's not to say the lessons worked, it was more me just playing with whatever I had.  Obviously I am the common denominator here and I fully understand that it could well just be me. As you'd think out of 5/6 coaches, a ton of practice and effort, that at least one of those would work and improve me a little bit. I'm not confused or anything, I go all in on the lessons at the time, so it's not like I have multiple messages in my head. I'm focused on what they are teaching and that only.

For the money I spent on lessons I seen zero improvement on the course from a ball striking or a scoring perspective.  Last year I won a couple of club comps, basically because I was playing off 17 and I was scoring 4/5 under my handicap so had a couple of low 80's. Averaged mid to high 80's for the most part prior to that with a great round being low 80's and a bad round around 90-92. The rest of last year was completely garbage. I struggle to break 90 these days. It's hard to put into words how deflating it is, spending a bunch of cash, putting so much effort and energy grinding away at the range and on the course and still going round and shooting 90+.

Ended up ranting there, because I feel quite deflated. I thought adding a little bit of speed would help me shoot lower scores, in truth, it's ruined whatever swing/technique I did have. I'm going to power through the rest of the foundations program, then get on a Trackman, see what's going on from a speed perspective if I have made any gains and then try smooth things out there from a ball striking POV. Club championship qualifiers are at the end of May (for my hcp bracket), and I really want to be in a good spot by then but at this rate I wont' even get past the qualifier. I qualified last year, and was feeling really confident and fancied my chances of winning it, but sadly I had to withdraw last minute due to some personal stuff. So this year I really want it.

So I was already trending downwards again prior to speed training, but I'm confident in saying I would have found a bit of form as the comps started this year, I think the speed training has accelerated the downward spiral and is partly responsible for me being even worse than what I was when I was off form last year.

To answer your question, I've had a pro look at my swing in the last couple of weeks. Used Skillest and got a moderately priced one with a good reputation. In truth due to the rising cost of living I can't really afford another bunch of lessons just now, so it's probably going to have to be something I figure out myself if I want to do well in the comps this year. I've done a fair whack of practice from the analysis that pro gave me but I can't say for certain I am confident it will work. 

Yeah I feel ya man. My game is now a complete mess. I think the speed training is partly responsible for that.

I feel your pain. This game is enough to drive anyone insane at times.

I was going to recommend Skillest as there are a few really good options on there that are brilliant value. There's a guy I see in person who's only 30 USD on there and specialises in adding distance. Can pass on details if anyone is interested.

Stick at it though. Once you get strike back it will all just click in time for the summer 

[Feynman22]

5 hours ago, Backofthecup said:

Great work but it's impossible to gain 29 yards in 4 sessions. I'm starting to question this app. 

What I think most people see is the stack speed being pretty low relative to their real life driver swing speed for the first couple of sessions as most are not used to swinging without hitting the ball. Some see a 10 to 25% reduction in speed by taking away the ball.

Your body adjusts quickly and you see the stack speed shoot up unnaturally fast (unfortunately it doesn't continue like this). So that initial Foundations programme does tend to look quite inflated, I agree.

[Clemsonfan]

On 4/19/2023 at 8:52 PM, Althouse99 said:

I saw a Twitter post from Sasho saying that most of his tour players do their Stack session after a round if they don't think their speed will suffer.  He did preface it with the fact that they are in really good golf shape and can get away with doing it this way.  

I am impressed! I tried to validate my warmup after two different rounds and could not come close to validating with proper swing speed. Had to wait until the next day in each case.

[Jlocke22]

Hey Guys - just joined from another site to follow some other Stackers. Had some great progress on first program (Full Speed Spectrum). Neural Drive is up next as a recommendation. Been a fun ride this winter in Michigan to mix this up with some more golf specific golf training. Interesting results so far and working on smoothing some mechanics out to start the year. 

[GolfSpy AFG]

Just now, Jlocke22 said:

Hey Guys - just joined from another site to follow some other Stackers. Had some great progress on first program (Full Speed Spectrum). Neural Drive is up next as a recommendation. Been a fun ride this winter in Michigan to mix this up with some more golf specific golf training. Interesting results so far and working on smoothing some mechanics out to start the year. 

Welcome!  Not sure what other sites you're referring to, but I encourage you to poke around here and get immersed...it's a GREAT community.

And bravo...those are some damn impressive speeds.

[edingc]

1 minute ago, Jlocke22 said:

Hey Guys - just joined from another site to follow some other Stackers. Had some great progress on first program (Full Speed Spectrum). Neural Drive is up next as a recommendation. Been a fun ride this winter in Michigan to mix this up with some more golf specific golf training. Interesting results so far and working on smoothing some mechanics out to start the year. 

Welcome from another Michigander, and great results! What radar system are you using?

[Jlocke22]

4 minutes ago, edingc said:

Welcome from another Michigander, and great results! What radar system are you using?

Thank you! Using the PRGR Black. I tested with Trackman a few times and very consistent with my on ball CHS numbers. 

[Feynman22]

4 hours ago, Jlocke22 said:

Hey Guys - just joined from another site to follow some other Stackers. Had some great progress on first program (Full Speed Spectrum). Neural Drive is up next as a recommendation. Been a fun ride this winter in Michigan to mix this up with some more golf specific golf training. Interesting results so far and working on smoothing some mechanics out to start the year. 

Very nice! What was your gaming / on course speed before starting any speed training?

[Jlocke22]

1 hour ago, Feynman22 said:

Very nice! What was your gaming / on course speed before starting any speed training?

Kind of floating in that 115 ish camp. Started to notice a decrease in average speed at winter sim league so wanted to try and reverse that

[MIHIGO26]

 

5 sessions to go and the progress check. Next session tomorrow evening followed by a day of rest and two sessions over the weekend which will leave me with two to do come early next week then it's time to work on trying to strike a golf ball again.

[Aurelio]

I’m 70 years old and still pretty flexible. My average drive is 190. Is something like this worth it to increase my distance? My swing speed is around 90

[Feynman22]

3 hours ago, MIHIGO26 said:

 

5 sessions to go and the progress check. Next session tomorrow evening followed by a day of rest and two sessions over the weekend which will leave me with two to do come early next week then it's time to work on trying to strike a golf ball again.

Hit pitch shots and half or 3/4 shots with irons focusing on strike. Should be much easier then build up to full swings 

[Feynman22]

18 hours ago, Aurelio said:

I’m 70 years old and still pretty flexible. My average drive is 190. Is something like this worth it to increase my distance? My swing speed is around 90

I believe it would be worth it. I'd recommend checking out the reviews section on the stack website if you haven't already.

https://www.thestacksystem.com/pages/review-page

The reviews might help convince or allay any doubts. 

Edited May 3, 2023 by Feynman22

[Hoyoymac]

Sixth session of the Foundation workout program completed.  A few personal bests in my workout today, but my Stack speed seems to be going backwards after good early progress.

 

 

[edingc]

44 minutes ago, Hoyoymac said:

Sixth session of the Foundation workout program completed.  A few personal bests in my workout today, but my Stack speed seems to be going backwards after good early progress.

 

 

From my experience, this is totally normal. My speeds were very dependent on that day's activities prior to Stacking, the temperate and nutrition as well.

[WaffleHouseTour]

Been there bought the tee shirt...  I've been keeping track of what I do before the Stack workout to what yields better results.  I know my bests do not usually come after 40 minutes on the elliptical machine (though not always) - I seem to do well after a yoga class (though not always).  I think that I tend to do better when I'm wearing my golf shoes rather than my running shoes - doesn't matter inside or outside - which I attribute to more lateral support build into the foot bed.   Life circumstance dictate that this is a morning routine - on the weekends my yoga class is done by 10:30 so I've never stacked later than 11.   I have not kept track of how much I've swung a club the night before (I've had a very dedicated practice routine this winter indoors) or at the range.  I've never really understood the concept of "rest" - either in my personal life or in terms of "resting" for a period of time between Stacking.  The club is going to get swung...

[GolfSpy MPR]

Here's a post that has two purposes:

1. The first is to say, I have a long way to go to get better at golf.

2. The second is to say, there's a reasonable chance that doing speed work will improve your swing mechanics rather than destroy them.

Here are two swing sequences. The actual driver swing is from a brief range session last week, when my boys and I were able to sneak in nine holes before it snowed again. The second is from my Stack session today. (Yes, for anyone new here: it's in a church. I'm a pastor. I swing clubs in the church.)

I find it astonishing how much closer to "textbook" my all-out, max effort 195g Stack swing is compared to my actual attempts to hit a ball (other than the obviously crazy-long backswing):

[Feynman22]

7 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

Here's a post that has two purposes:

1. The first is to say, I have a long way to go to get better at golf.

2. The second is to say, there's a reasonable chance that doing speed work will improve your swing mechanics rather than destroy them.

Here are two swing sequences. The actual driver swing is from a brief range session last week, when my boys and I were able to sneak in nine holes before it snowed again. The second is from my Stack session today. (Yes, for anyone new here: it's in a church. I'm a pastor. I swing clubs in the church.)

I find it astonishing how much closer to "textbook" my all-out, max effort 195g Stack swing is compared to my actual attempts to hit a ball (other than the obviously crazy-long backswing):

The move looks great! Funny it does seem to be the case - I noticed it myself. The body must know how to self-organise etc. Really cool!

[Omnitrader]

2 hours ago, Feynman22 said:

The move looks great! Funny it does seem to be the case - I noticed it myself. The body must know how to self-organise etc. Really cool!

I think it has a lot to do with having a balls vs no ball, and the psychology of trying to hit it vs just swinging hard. 

[Emlow]

Ive been using the Stack for about 12 weeks now. I have a mevo + and used it regularly for a year, so I know My baseline swing speed was 107 mph, with carry distance 265 yards. Now on the course a baseline swing is 112-113 with carry 280 yards, some higher. Basically my bad shots now are where my good ones were before. Ball speed is almost to 170, where before if I crushed one it was 162.

Ive noticed the 'Stack Speed' doesnt always correlate to how I swing the driver on course. LIke Id do a session, have a dip in 'stack speed', but then go golf the next day and see improvement.  Just know if youre putting in the work the results will come! 

I also seem to swing..or the mevo reads, my swing speed slower when Im not hitting a ball. 

 

I also lift weights, and have found that doing a stack session the day or 2 after a weight training session lead to slower results. So Now I try to do a stack session on the same day but BEFORE my weight session. Rest is key! Listen to your body. I hit my highest max swing speed (116.8 mph) after taking a week off. Once this session is done I will do the Cruiser mode until summer tourney season is over..then resume. Hoping to get my gamer ball speed over 170!

[Hoyoymac]

8th session completed this morning.  A few personal bests.  Starting to see the results on course with longer drives and about 1/2 club longer with my irons.

 

[DonnieGolfs]

Has anyone done the putting beta? I plan to start it this weekend and was looking for any insights? Course 2 blocks away has a large putting area.

[Feynman22]

Latest update from me...

 

FSS is the first program after the initial Foundations stage and been enjoying it so far. I've picked up 2 or 3 mph in FSS to this point. Still in phase 2, so I'm keen to see how it ramps up into phase 3 and 4 - hoping for more gains then.

I took the PRGR out on the course on a couple of tee shots at the weekend and sitting comfortably around 115 without going after it too hard. More than happy with that as I firmly fell into the 100-106 range before.

Worth noting a disclaimer: on top of the stack I've been doing some swing work as well as general strength and mobility stuff. The Stack is a massive part (one of the best golf purchases ever made) but can't say it's all down to it. 

Edited May 9, 2023 by Feynman22

[Hoyoymac]

For those of you following along with this thread that might be on the fence about swing speed training I’m here to tell you that it works.

Not only am I seeing my drives going further, but all of my other clubs are going further too.

The results on the course are noticeable.  Today in our Men’s group I had 6 birdies and pulled 41 points against my quota of 33.

I waited a few years before taking the plunge and all I can say is that I wish that I had done it sooner.

[revkev]

So here’s something interesting - 

My driver length when I started was Taylor Made’s stock - 45 3/4”

I went to a fitting a week ago and was fit for 441/2 so I dutifully made that change to my profile. The espeed estimates have now been reduced by 3 mph’s on my 195 gram swings.

On the launch monitor there’s no difference in SS and a 3 mph increase in ball speed because my smash factor has increased. 
 

I will be interested, very interested in live results on Saturday.