Wyndham Clark is putting on a two-round clinic at US Open. Over 36 holes in Shinnecock HillsThe 32-year-old has taken a four-shot lead on the field, largely thanks 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 ball that has given him another 2.3 strikeouts, and you have the perfect recipe for a run at a major.
“I’ve really improved over the year,” Clark said. “You really start to build confidence. I was doing not only that, but then the off-course stuff as well. Yeah, all of that together just built a moment and we find ourselves here.”
A couple of years ago, fresh off his win at Los Angeles Country Club, Clark joined GOLF’s Dylan Dethier on an episode of HEAT (that you can look here). During their conversation, Clark shared one of his favorite swing drills – and it’s one that can help almost any golfer.
Clark’s favorite workout
At the start of each interval session, Clark always sets up the same way. He has an extension stick at his feet that points down his target line, and another that bisects his feet in the middle of his stance.
These two stretch sticks help in a few different ways. The club’s alignment parallel to its stance helps ensure that its aim and alignment are accurate on each swing, while the rod through its stance helps maintain a consistent ball position on each swing.
Additionally, Clark said he likes to score every shot he hits during the early part of his practice.
“I see it every time for two reasons,” Clark said. “For position and ball placement, because I always try to start from neutral. And the other thing is that the tee is big to make sure I’m not too slanted.”
Clark explained that when he swings poorly, he has a tendency to lean with his angle of attack with a swing path that is too outside. This tendency is one that many recreational players are familiar with and that Clark said occurs in high-pressure situations.
However, with the ball on the tee, it forces him to soften his angle of attack and swing more in-and-out.
“What I’m trying to do here is neutralize that (miss) and be the opposite,” Clark said. “So when I’m in competition, that’s where I want to be.”
If you’re someone who does a lot of slanting and cutting the ball, try Clark’s drill. If you can focus on the feeling of getting the ball clean off the tee during practice, once you get on the course, you’ll have a much shallower angle of attack resulting in cleaner contact.
