Weir Splits with Stack and Tilt Gurus

Stack and Tilt in Happier Times: Former students Mike Weir and Aaron Baddeley, pictured with Dean Wilson, Mike Plummer and Andy Bennett

According to a well-placed source I spoke with today, Mike Weir, once the face of the “stack and tilt” instruction method, has split with Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett after working with the teachers since 2006. Under Plummer and Bennett, Weir returned to steady play after two difficult years, beat Tiger Woods in 2007 at the Presidents Cup and won again on the PGA Tour. Last year he won nearly $3-million.

According to sources, the split with Bennett and Plummer is amicable, and Weir had said last year that he was only using elements of stack and tilt. The split was confirmed by Weir’s agents, IMG. The golfer has an elabortate facility in his Utah home, including a video system used for swing analysis. I’ve regularly heard that Plummer and Bennett are all or nothing type instructors; in other words, either you drink the kool-aid, or you’re not part of the plan. Recently Aaron Baddeley, the other stack and tilt star, also stopped using the instructors.

Apparently Weir is now back working with Mike Wilson, his instructor from 1996 to 2006. Weir continues to use parts of the stack and tilt theory in his game, but is looking to Wilson to add more feel.  It wouldn’t appear the split is over results — Weir has made seven of nine cuts and $1.1 million so far this year — though he looked sharper in the earlier months and was a non-factor at Augusta.

You’ve also got to wonder whether the golden shine on the stack and tilt concept is wearing off. With Baddeley and Weir gone from the fold, the teachers have lost two of their highest profile golfers.