Who Is He?

The little guy with the big swing, and potentially, a really big future. Kyle Stanley weighs only 170 pounds and is 5 feet 11 inches tall yet currently ranked ninth on the PGA tour long drivers list. With one victory to his name, Stanley certainly looks to have a game to win more tournaments in the near future.

What He Does

In order for Kyle Stanley to compete with the physically bigger, stronger and heavier golfers, he has to make a very efficient movement with the slight frame that he has. Stanley starts with a very athletic set up position and creates a super wide backswing move to a full top of the backswing position. His signature move is then an incredibly quick and snappy hip action during the transition and downswing phase, which in turn accelerates his hands, arms and ultimately the club head towards the golf ball with incredible speed.

What Can You Learn?

Stanley proves that technique can be more important than physical size in order to hit the ball a long way. If you feel that you are in a powerful position at the top of the backswing, yet still struggle to deliver the club with any real force into the back of the golf ball, you could copy Kyle Stanley's fast releasing hips. Focus on rotating your belt buckle aggressively towards the target during the downswing phase. This shifting and rotating motion should encourage your hands, arms and club head to accelerate to the ball and ensure that you're making the most out of your powerful backswing position.

What Should You Avoid?

Golfers who unwind their hips in this aggressive fashion like Kyle Stanley can often find that the golf club becomes too flat behind their body. This is a position that we often refer to as being trapped, where the golf club feels stuck behind the golfer. A golfer then either struggles to release the club head resulting in an open face at impact or the golfer has to aggressively release the golf club through the impact area, which can result in an inconsistent and sometimes closed face contact position.

If you are going to copy Kyle Stanley's fast, aggressive hip action try to ensure that the golf club moves down in sync with your body turn and does not become trapped behind you.