The Secret Behind the Swing
Wyndham Clark didn’t just win the 2026 U.S. Open. He absolutely dismantled the field at Shinnecock Hills, and anyone paying attention noticed his swing looked fundamentally different than it did a year ago. That victory wasn’t some fluke; it was built on a specific, unglamorous tool he’s been using long before the final round started. According to Golf.com, swing coach Pat Coyner helped Clark fix a nasty flaw in his backswing: a lead wrist that extended way too much at the top. The solution? A training aid called the ProSENDR (yes, it’s a mouthful, but it works). It’s a tiny device that gives instant feedback, stopping the golfer from making a bad move without forcing the body into some rigid, unnatural position.
Clark’s win showed four days of pure ball-striking. But the foundation was laid months earlier on the practice range, away from the cameras. Coyner noted that the goal was to create a repeatable motion that wouldn’t break down under pressure. “Priority No. 1 has been establishing better wrist angles for Wyndham,” Coyner says. The ProSENDR became the key to that plan. “The ProSENDR has been a huge part of this,” he adds. This tool doesn’t do the work for the player. It simply shows when the wrist is wrong. That’s a massive difference from other gadgets that just lock the body in place and hope for the best.
Why Wrist Angles Matter
Most golfers know that a bad swing starts with bad angles. The lead wrist position controls where the clubface points. If the wrist extends too much, the clubface opens up. This makes the ball slice or fly offline. The ProSENDR stops this by limiting how much the wrist can move sideways. “The ProSENDR is a great reminder because it limits how much radial deviation he can get at the top,” Coyner explains. It also fixes the tendency to extend the lead wrist. “It really helped combat any tendency to get his lead wrist extended at the top,” he says. These small changes add up to a much better shot.
When the wrist stays flat, the clubface stays square. This leads to a better path through the ball. “Better wrist angles create a better clubface position, and then the width on the downswing shallows his attack and allows him to pivot properly through impact,” Coyner says. The result is a swing that looks smooth and hits the ball straight. Clark used this to control his shots under pressure. He didn’t have to guess where the ball would go. The feedback from the aid made the feeling automatic.
The Work Still Comes From the Player
The best training aids don’t fix a bad player. They help a good player get better. The ProSENDR is valuable because it requires effort. It doesn’t just hold the arm in place. The player must move their body to get into the right spot. “The best thing about it is Wyndham still has to do the work,” Coyner says. This is why the change stuck. Other tools might feel good for a few minutes. But they often fail when the player steps onto the course. The ProSENDR teaches the body to feel the right position. It builds muscle memory that lasts.
Clark’s story proves that small changes can lead to big wins. The U.S. Open is the hardest test in golf. The course at Shinnecock Hills was fast and tough. But Clark’s swing held up because it was built on solid basics. The aid helped him find the right angles.
