Rory McIlroy has been doing all sorts of interesting stuff on the range recently. After a well-earned three-week vacation, his golf swing came back a little rusty (as most do).
But Rory McIlroy doesn't become Rory McIlroy without knowing how to whip his golf swing into shape in short order, which is exactly what he's been doing. After a poor first round at the FedEx St. Jude Classic two weeks ago, Rory steadily recovered and almost proceeded to win the BMW Championship a week later.
Throughout it all he's been grinding away on the range with a variety of interesting drills that we don't normally see from Rory. So let's do a quick breakdown of them...
A takeaway fix
Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler have been the pioneers in the strange-training-aid-grips-on-clubs world, and now Rory's getting into the game.
Starting at the BMW Championship last week, Rory added a flat cat putter grip to his 7-iron. The grip is flat on both sides, and installed so the grip is turned away from the target at a 45-degree angle.
This nestles the flat part of the grip in the palm of his right hand, and as CBS on-course analyst Mark Immelman explains in his fantastic post below, Rory's goal is to feel the grip stay horizontal to the ground on takeaway.
Why it helps
This helps Rory keep the club "more in front of his hands," as Immelman explains, which is important for Rory. His tendency is to move his arms out, and roll the club inside his hands, which can result in two-way misses.
He's worked on this in the past with a ball training aid in his arms, but he's going with the grip now, perhaps searching for a different feel.
A release fix
You may have also noticed Rory on the range swinging with a headcover under his arm. Athletic golf reporter Gabby Herzig captured some great pictures from this week's Tour Championship below.
It's pretty simple: Rory places a headcover under his right armpit, and his goal is to keep it there when he hits the ball.
Why it helps
I asked Rory about this myself at the FedEx St. Jude, and he explained that he has the same tendency a lot of draw players have: To thrust his hands out to the right through the ball. Rory wants to feel like his right arm is staying closer to his body as he turns through. The headcover forces him to do that.
"I like the feeling of being able to release it, so like rotating enough of my lower body to then be able to feel like I shake hands with the target type of thing. Sometimes if I don't turn enough, my right arm thrusts out the ways, instead of like down the line, and that was really what we were talking about. So just making sure my body rotation is enough to then feel like I can shake hands with the target basically."
One thing for his backswing, and another on his downswing. Both seem to be working just as planned.