This is the third installment of the Student's Guide on How to Translate Information into Progress. Today we're going to explore how to build a golf swing using a process called stacking — a concept that transforms abstract swing theory into concrete, measurable progress.
Chuck introduced stacking in his video, "5 Minutes to the Perfect Takeaway." It's a foundational concept for mastering the RST golf swing, so we're going to examine it in detail here.
We've all seen the hierarchy of learning. We approach each element in a deliberate sequence, stacking one on top of the other to build a solid RST golf swing from the ground up.
This stacking process is remarkably similar to the construction of a building — and the analogy runs deeper than you might expect.
Describe the Building
If someone asked you to describe the building on the left, you might say, "It's a three-story building. It's fairly large. Looks like a college dormitory."
There's nothing particularly remarkable about it to the average passer-by.
A bricklayer, however, would see something entirely different.
A bricklayer would say, "There are 100 courses or more of brick in this structure," and would immediately notice the concrete lintels over the windows, the mortar joints, and countless details that a casual observer would walk right past.
The same difference in perspective applies to the RST golf swing.
Let's examine the bricklayer's viewpoint more closely and discover what it reveals about our own golf swing learning experience.
Bricks come in many sizes, but a standard brick is only 2 1/4" tall, with half an inch of mortar between each course. A single floor requires 40 courses — or rows — of carefully laid bricks.
When we think back to that three-story building, we begin to appreciate just how many individual courses of brick it contains — and how much precision went into every single one.
Building From the Ground Up
Where does it all start? It starts in the ground, of course. Hogan said he "dug his swing out of the dirt."
If you're going to construct a building you start in the ground, excavating footers.
There's nothing glamorous about the process — you have to dig trenches, insert rebar, align your corners with precision, and eventually pour concrete.
That final pour is always the most critical step because once concrete sets, it's permanent.
When it's done, you have a level surface to start laying bricks on. It may not look like much above ground, but there's an enormous amount of preparation and effort beneath the surface.
There's far more there than meets the eye.
This is directly analogous to the golf setup. If your setup doesn't provide you with a "level" and fundamentally sound foundation to build upon, then your entire golf swing will suffer from that point forward.
Of course, human beings don't set firm forever like concrete. Positions can drift from time to time, so your foundation does require ongoing maintenance and reinforcement.
Building on the Foundation
Once you've established a firm foundation, the actual bricklaying isn't a particularly difficult job.
There's significant knowledge required in specialty areas, but simply laying a row of bricks isn't rocket science.
The critical requirement is getting everything level, plumb, and straight.
The bricklayer relies on spirit levels to confirm each course is plumb and level, and chalk lines to verify the rows are straight — because once the mortar sets, correcting mistakes becomes extremely painful, especially if the error is buried several rows below the surface.
The deeper in the building the mistake lies, the more painful it is to correct — and the same principle applies when learning how to build a golf swing. If the setup isn't solid and the takeaway isn't correct, nothing built on top of them will function properly either. For a data-driven assessment of how each element of your swing mechanics is stacking up, try a free AI swing analysis.
Chuck incorporated numerous stacking elements in the "5 Minutes to a Perfect Backswing" video.
Just as the bricklayer uses a level and a chalk line to verify that everything is correct, Chuck provided us with a list of checkpoints we can use to systematically build the golf backswing.
It's tempting to watch a video and say, "Hey, that's good information," but the checkpoints are far more than just good information.
They're your chalk line and spirit level.
Use them diligently to make sure you're stacking the elements correctly — because just like the bricklayer, when you reach the top floor you don't want to look down and discover a crooked row of bricks near the ground that undermines the entire structure. To practice each element with real-time AI coaching that checks your form on every rep, check out a free AI golf lesson.
Lessons From a Hero
We'll leave you with a powerful thought. Author Jim Collins wrote a landmark book called Good to Great.
Countless organizations have used this book to transform their performance. Part of Collins' research focuses on retired vice admiral and Congressional Medal of Honor winner James Stockdale.
Stockdale was a pilot in the Southeast Asian conflict and spent years as a prisoner of war.
He endured severe physical hardship as a result of that experience. When Collins interviewed him, he asked, "How is it that you made it through?"
Stockdale's answer was, "I always knew how this movie was going to turn out. I always knew I would make it."
Collins pressed further: "What about the guys that didn't make it? What were they like?"
Stockdale recalled, "They were optimists. You could always pick these guys out ahead of time because they were optimists. They would say, 'I'll be out by Christmas,' 'I'll be out by Easter.'
Christmas would come, Easter would come and they were still there, and after a few cycles of this they eventually got dispirited and gave up fighting."
As the two men walked down to the courtyard, Stockdale hobbling at this point in later life, he reached out, grabbed Collins, and delivered this:
"This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end - which you can never afford to lose - with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."
As we're learning how to build a golf swing and we're stacking our bricks, we need to use our chalk line. We need to use our level, and confront the brutal facts of how those bricks line up.
Don't be afraid to rip out a few courses and go back and get them right. Until every element is stacked plumb, level, and square, you won't have the powerful, repeatable golf swing that you're working toward.
Watch part 2 now to see how you're moving your body in the opposite direction of the pros!
Stacking elements from "5 Minutes to a Perfect Backswing"
Describe the building
The simple brick
A lot of work goes into building a solid foundation
There are tools designed to help assure accuracy
Chuck provided many checkpoints. These are your tools as you build your backswing.
Good to Great
Admiral James B. Stockdale (1923-2005)
Admiral Stockdale
