If you caught a video of Wyndham Clark on the Open Championship course, you may have done a double take. That was actually the veil of the cloak in his hands. And as strange as it seemed, there was a purpose behind it.
In a press conference, Clark shared that Mondays are usually reserved for his technical work, and this week was no exception. Despite finishing T13 at the Genesis Scottish Open, Clark wasn’t satisfied with his swing in the final round. So, he arrived at Royal Birkdale – coat hanger in hand – and headed into the range to get things back on track.
Although the coat hanger is a new development, the drill is tied to one of the key changes Clark made this past year with swing coach Pat Coyner, GOLF 100’s Senior Instructor. Coyner explains that when they started working together, Clark’s wrist was already overextended – a subtle change that left the clubface open and more difficult to control.
As a result, Clark had to make adjustments to remove the open clubface and square it with touch. That adjustment – intentional or not – has created a number of football-related problems, including inconsistent starting lines and frustrating two-way misses.
The solution, Coyner says, wasn’t to rehabilitate Clark’s swing — it was to restore structure to his lead wrist. And the coat hanger, Clark says, is just a tool to help reinforce that feeling.
“The coat hanger is for the wrist arm, I’m trying to stretch it a bit on my left wrist so I can add a face,” he said.
While the coat hanger does draw attention, it’s not just for looks, and we’ll see if it works for Clark.
Now, the focus is shifting to whether those changes will hold up under the intense pressure of the championship. We’ll get our first look Thursday afternoon when Clark comes out at 3:04 pm alongside Cameron Young and Ludvig Åberg.
