Kyle Stanley walks like a big man, talks like a big man and swings a golf club like a big man. But big, he ain't. He's all of 172 pounds. And that's up from a college fighting weight of 137. So when he takes a rip at the ball, you're both amazed and jealous. How in the world does a guy of his size carry it more than 300 yards?"I kind of have a rubber-band effect," he says."Good flexibility, good timing.I can whip the club through the hitting area. I also work out quite a bit. In the off weeks, I'm in the gym five out of seven days."Stanley's swing is rapidly becoming the modern prototype: golfers with snap-quick lower-body action that allows them to swing as hard as they can to get the club in the correct position at impact. In fact, if they don't swing hard, the club will be left behind."What you see today is guys working out, getting much stronger, more flexible. They can rip it," says Mike Taylor, Stanley's coach. "It's not just that Kyle's hips are fast, his whole body is. He makes a really fast pivot through the hitting area."Stanley's powerful swing and noticeable bravado--follow him on Twitter (@kylestanleygolf) to get a taste--have made him one of the PGA Tour's rising stars. In just his 32nd start, he won the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February. And that was after he nearly won the previous week at the Farmers Insurance Open. Needing only a double bogey on the final hole at Torrey Pines, Stanley spun his approach on 18 off the green and into the water and made a triple. He lost in a playoff to Brandt Snedeker. If not for one wedge shot with too much juice, Stanley could have secured a spot on this year's U.S. Ryder Cup team only five weeks into the season."But the important thing is, I came back and won the following week," he says.Stanley's focus is on accuracy. Not only has he developed a "knockdown-driver" shot for tight fairways, he also has tightened his mechanics and is now a respectable 28th on tour in greens in regulation percentage (68.13 percent).His flaw is a laid-off backswing that gets his clubshaft pointing too far left of the target at the top. This causes him to come into the ball from too shallow an angle. The clubhead often trails too far behind his body, causing hooks and blocks.Taylor says they want Stanley's club to stay more in front of his body as he takes it back and point parallel left of his target at the top. This will allow the club to come back into the ball at an angle and pace that match his super-quick body rotation."But he's at the point now where he's not even thinking about his swing," Taylor says. "He can go out and just play golf."
Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Kyle's hips stay quiet as he takes the club back.Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
*Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.*
*Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.*
He creates tremendous clubhead lag by unwinding his lower body quickly.Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
*Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.*
*Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.*
How fast does he swing? The shaft wraps around his neck.Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Down-The-LineAnalysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Down-The-LineHe's got the club in front of his body. Great position.Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Down-The-LineAnalysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Down-The-LineI'd like to see the shaft more parallel with his target line.Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Down-The-LineAnalysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Down-The-LineHis hips have cleared so he can deliver a lot of power into the hit.Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Down-The-LineAnalysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Down-The-LineAnalysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Up-The-LineHis arms are hanging comfortably. No tension.Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Up-The-LineAnalysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Up-The-LineAnalysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Up-The-LineHe's really coiling against his lower body.Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Up-The-LineAnalysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Up-The-LineAnalysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Up-The-LineThis is great extension. No flipping with his hands.Analysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Up-The-LineAnalysis by Mike Taylor, instructor at the Sea Island Golf Learning Center, St. Simons Island, Ga.
) and Charles Howell III look so effortless when they swing. For them, the club, arms and body move in sync. By starting right, you can have that, too.](http://golfdigest.sports.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/2015/07/21/55ad99acadd713143b437df2_instruction-2007-11-inil01_andrews.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.231.231.suffix/1573467010575.jpeg "instruction-2007-11-inil01_andrews.jpg")
