Wyndham Clark is putting on a clinic through two rounds at the U.S. Open. Over 36 holes at Shinnecock Hills, the 32-year-old has raced out to a four-stroke lead over the field, thanks in large part to some sublime ball striking.
Through two rounds, Clark sat third in the field in SG: Approach, and 22nd in SG: Off the tee. Add in a hot putter, which has netted him another 2.3 strokes over the field average, and you have the perfect recipe for a run at a major title.
“I’ve really progressed as the year has gone on,” Clark said. “You start really building confidence. I was doing not only that, but then things off the course, as well. Yeah, all that together kind of just built momentum and we find ourselves here.”
A couple of years ago, fresh off his victory at Los Angeles Country Club, Clark joined GOLF’s Dylan Dethier on an episode of Warming Up (which you can watch here). During their chat, Clark shared one of his favorite swing drills — and it’s one that can help just about every golfer.
At the beginning of every range session, Clark always sets up the same way. He has one alignment stick at his feet pointing down his target line, and another bisecting his feet through the middle of his stance.
These two alignment sticks help in a couple of different ways. The alignment stick parallel to his stance helps ensure that his aim and alignment are correct on every swing, while the rod through his stance helps keep a consistent ball position on each swing.
Additionally, Clark said he likes to tee up each shot he hits during the early part of his practice.
“I tee it up every time for two reasons,” Clark said. “For ball position and setup, because I’m always trying to start at neutral. And then the other thing is the tee is huge to make sure I don’t get too steep.”
Clark explained that when he is swinging poorly, he has a tendency to get steep with his attack angle with a swing path that is overly out-to-in. This tendency is one that many recreational players are familiar with, and one that Clark said comes out in high-pressure situations.
With the ball on a tee, however, it forces him to shallow out his attack angle and swing more in-to-out.
“What I’m trying to do here is neutralize that [miss] and be the opposite,” Clark said. “So when into competition it’s in where I want to be.”
If you’re someone who gets super steep and cuts across the ball, give Clark’s drill a try. If you can focus on the feel of picking the ball cleanly off the tee while you are practicing, once you get on the course, you will have a much shallower angle of attack that results in cleaner contact.
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