News: Instruction

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, TOUR Academy

Good for Kyle Stanley, who fought back and turned the table just one week after losing his big lead during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open. The impressive right hander from the Pacific Northwest posted an impressive six-under (65) to overcome what I am sure was a very difficult week.

What I really like about Stanley’s swing is how he keeps his left arm in-line with the club shaft during the takeaway. One of the most common errors in the golf swing is the left arm and club shaft comes out of line to soon – this can be a result of the lead wrist either cupping or arching. Although these movements can be compensated for, it is recommended to keep the lead wrist flat during the backswing.

This pattern is what’s referred to as a one-piece takeaway. I would encourage you not to look at a one-piece takeaway as a result of the entire triangle which would include the right arm but rather the relationship between the club shaft (club head) and lead arm.

TRAVIS’ TIP

One of the drills we do at the TOUR Academies to help understand a one-piece takeaway is the “One arm only drill”. Hold the club with just the lead hand and extend it in front of you so the club shaft is directly in-line with the lead arm — all the way to the lead shoulder. From here, if you were to “cup” the lead wrist you will notice how the club head would be more to the left of the hands (closing effect to target line) and if you were to “bow” the lead wrist (opening effect to target line), it would be more to the right of the hands. These movements are causing the club head to travel without the support of any shoulder turn and it influences the club face alignment in relationship to the target line.

The correct way as demonstrated by Kyle Stanley is keeping the left wrist flat so the club head stays in-line to the lead shoulder as the shoulders move everything away. This pattern is not only more consistent because the club face is now square but also more powerful, as a result of the shoulders turning to move the club head rather than independently through the lead wrist.

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here