fbpx
lanny wadkins phil mickelson

What Training Aids Are Tour Players Using At The Open Championship

What are the best players in the world doing this week to sharpen their game? Jack Backhouse comments on different training aids spotted already this week at The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

 

The best players in the world are always looking for ways to sharpen and improve their games, and using training aids is a brilliant way to accelerate developing feels. So what training aids are tour players using at The Open Championship this year?

Putting Aids

Scotty Scheffler is having one of the best ball-striking seasons of all time, and despite already winning $19,000,000 on the PGA tour, he could have won more had his putting been better. We’ve spotted him this week on the putting green at Royal Liverpool with Visio putting training aids, a mirror and putting mat.

scottie scheffler putting

The purpose of the mirror is to get his eye/forearm/shoulder alignment all square and this gives him the best chance of starting the golf ball on line. The putting mat and start line gate aid are designed to train him to get the club face back to square, with the idea that a good stroke hits the ball through the gate, giving him instant feedback if he makes a bad stroke.

You can buy a Visio putting mat HERE and a mirror HERE

Putting Grip On a Driver

Matt Fitzpatrick has been coached by Mike Walker, one of Pete Cowen’s disciples for his whole golfing life, and this is one of their favourites. Seen at many Peter Cowan driving ranges, a putter grip on a normal club is one of their go-to golf swing drills and golf training aids.

putter grip on driver

You can buy this two-thumb putter grip to put on a golf club HERE

This training aid is brilliant for golfers as it helps set the wrists correctly on the right swing plane and also helps train clubface awareness in the downswing. Rory McIlroy was seen doing this drill during his brief spell working with Pete Cowen in 2022. Fitzpatrick might see that driving accuracy is a premium this week at Hoylake, so is working on keeping the face in a more correct position at impact.

The ProSENDR

This training aid has kicked up a lot of fuss on social media in the last couple of months since its release. A brainchild of legendary swing coach Sean Foley and David Woods, the ProSENDR has many uses and has been seen all over driving ranges on tour used by top players.

mickelson chipping

This swing trainer has quite a few uses; swing speed training, managing wrist angles, or drilling the short game like Phil Mickelson has been seen doing this week. The training system features a compression ball that sticks between the wrists via velcro (so it’s not a pain to pick up when it falls out), which helps keep the wrists working properly. This is essential for chipping and pitching off of firm, tight lies.

GC Quad

Launch monitors are just a normal part of day-to-day life on tour now, with pretty much everyone either having one or using one regularly. Players use them on the golf course to know how far shots into elevated greens play or how far the ball goes in a new temperature or altitude compared to their normal climate. This may seem a lot like overkill or like losing some of the skill and art of the game, but everyone is looking for that extra 1% over the field and using a GC quad might just be that difference.

GC QUAD

Have you seen some other training aids at The Open Championship this week? Let me know with a  tweet.  

Need more tips?

We will have new tips videos every week in association with Callaway, so make sure you’re subscribed to the Hannah Holden NCG YouTube channel to get them direct to your phone, or you can find them on the NCG website.

What’s In My Bag?

Jack Backhouse

Callaway Epic Max driver review

Jack is a PGA Golf Professional who specialises in coaching, teaching golf to beginners and top-level amateurs for 10+ years. He also loves his golf equipment and analysing the data of the latest clubs on the market using launch monitors, specialising in blade irons and low-spinning drivers despite having a chronically low ball flight.

Although Jack has no formal journalism training, He has been reading What's In The Bag articles since he started playing at 12 and studying golf swings since his dad first filmed his swing to reveal one of the worst over-the-top slice swings he reckons has ever been recorded, which set him off on the path to be a coach. His favourite club ever owned was a Ping G10 driver bought from a local top amateur with the hope that some of the quality golf shots would come with it (they didn't), and worst was a Nike SQ driver he only bought because Tiger was using it.

Jack is a member of Sand Moor Golf Club and regularly gets out on the golf course to prepare for tournaments. Jack uses a TaylorMade BRNR Mini driver, a half set of TaylorMade P7MB irons, MG4 wedges and a TaylorMade TP Reserve putter.

Latest Posts

Long game

How To Transfer Your Weight Properly

By

Read full article about How To Transfer Your Weight Properly
golf club distances

Long game

How far should you hit your golf clubs?

By

Read full article about How far should you hit your golf clubs?

Driving tips

Master The Most Important Part Of The Swing

By

Read full article about Master The Most Important Part Of The Swing
HOW TO hit a fade

Driving tips

How To Fade The Golf Ball

By

Read full article about How To Fade The Golf Ball

Driving tips

Rory McIlroy Is Using TWO Different Swings At The Players

By

Read full article about Rory McIlroy Is Using TWO Different Swings At The Players

Driving tips

Build A Perfect Backswing For Better Golf Shots

By

Read full article about Build A Perfect Backswing For Better Golf Shots

Driving tips

How To Draw The Golf Ball

By

Read full article about How To Draw The Golf Ball

Long game

Takeaway Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Swing!

By

Read full article about Takeaway Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Swing!
How To Hit The Golf Ball High

Long game

How To Hit The Golf Ball High

By

Read full article about How To Hit The Golf Ball High