Rory McIlroy Putter Grip Training Aid and Headcover at the 2026 BMW Championship?
Watch the full breakdown on YouTube here → https://youtu.be/hyrOjWAe1Fw
Rory McIlroy turned up to the 2026 BMW Championship at Bellerive with two of the simplest, cheapest training aids you'll ever see a world-class player use: a putter grip fitted to his 7-iron and lob wedge, and a headcover tucked under his right arm. Both are aimed at the same fault — a trail arm that was getting disconnected and unsupported in the backswing — and the turnaround was dramatic. A week after finishing 66th of 68 at the FedEx St. Jude, he was in the mix at Bellerive with by far his best ball-striking week in months.
Here's exactly what he's doing, why it works, and how you can train the same feels at home.
The putter grip on his 7-iron and lob wedge
McIlroy had a couple of "Frankenstein" practice clubs made up — a 7-iron and a lob wedge, each fitted with a Flat Cat putter grip set at roughly a 45-degree angle. He starts every range session by hitting a few balls with these before touching a competition club.
Why? Because the flat side of the grip gives his hands a reference point. As he swings to halfway back, his right hand sits on top of the flat part of the grip — exactly where he wants it. In his own words, it helps his right arm work better and gets the club "more supported at the top."
That matters because Rory's miss comes from a specific place. When he gets sloppy, his right arm stays too straight and gets a touch disconnected in the takeaway, the club drifts across the line at the top, and the trail arm loses its structure. The angled grip forces the right hand and arm to sit under and on top correctly, so the trail arm gets more extension and support, with the right arm sitting more stably into the shoulder joint. Better structure going back means a better-supported club at the top — and from there, as he puts it, he can hit whatever shot he wants.
He's paired the aid with a new pre-shot rehearsal: before many shots he takes the club back to about waist height, checks the position visually, resets, then hits. Simple, but it reinforces the exact feel the grip trains.
A quick honesty note: these modified clubs are strictly range/practice tools — a non-round grip like this isn't legal for competition, so it's for grooving a feel, not for playing.
He's not the only tour pro doing this
If the idea sounds familiar, it should. Matt Fitzpatrick keeps a second driver in his bag fitted with a Flat Cat putter grip at the same 45-degree angle, for the same reason: to get his right hand more on top of the club and keep the face square. When two of the best ball-strikers in the world independently land on the same trick, it's worth paying attention.
How to train this at home
The good news: you don't need a Flat Cat, and you don't need to spend much at all. This is something I do with a lot of my own clients.
Grab an old 7-iron or wedge and fit an oversized grip. It doesn't have to be a Flat Cat — personally I find that one too big for a lot of golfers. A standard jumbo grip, or a SuperStroke 1.0 or 2.0, does the job nicely. (Rory's own gamer putter, for what it's worth, wears a SuperStroke.)
Orientate the flat side to suit your fault. Rory has his set to help his right hand sit on top. But you can turn the flat side so it's perpendicular to the clubface to train pure face awareness, or angle it differently depending on whether your tendency is too open or too shut at the top. This isn't one-size-fits-all — position it for what youneed.
If you'd rather have a dedicated, ready-made aid that trains the same "hand on top / square face" feel without building a Frankenstein club, the Hanger is one I rate — it clips onto the club and gives you a clear reference for your wrist and face position throughout the swing. To be clear, it's an at-home alternative I'd recommend rather than part of Rory's actual kit — but it trains exactly the same idea.
👉 The Hanger — 15% off through this link (discount applies automatically via the link — no code needed)
The headcover under his right arm
The second aid tackles the other half of the same fault. Alongside the grip work, Rory has been hitting shots with a headcover tucked under his right arm.
The job here is connection. When Rory gets disconnected in the takeaway, his right arm flies away from his body at the top — the exact separation that costs him structure and control. Keeping a headcover pinned under the trail arm stops that early disconnection and keeps the arm working closer to the body going back. Crucially, he lets it fall out naturally on the follow-through, so it's never restricting the finish — a lovely, simple way to train connection without choking off the release.
How to train this at home
This one's essentially free: any headcover, glove or small towel under the trail arm will do the job. Hit soft three-quarter shots and let it drop out through impact.
If you want a dedicated connection trainer with a bit more feedback, the aid I'd point you to is the TRS Slider. It does the same job as the headcover but gives the trail arm a little more freedom to slide in the backswing — genuinely useful if you feel a headcover restricts your turn — while still keeping you connected. The trade-off is slightly less freedom through the follow-through, so it's worth being aware of both sides of that. It's the aid I use and recommend most for exactly this fault.
Rory's other long-standing connection aid, if you've followed his range setups, is a foam ball between the forearms (like The Connector) — worth knowing about if it's the lead-arm/both-arms connection you're chasing rather than the trail arm specifically.
Did it actually work?
In a word: yes. The week before Bellerive, Rory was 66th out of 68 at the FedEx St. Jude and looked genuinely lost off the tee. With these two aids and the new rehearsal, he opened the BMW with a 64, backed it up, and charged into the final group for Sunday — comfortably his best ball-striking week in a long while. That's about as clear a real-world endorsement of "simple beats complicated" as you'll get.
Quick-reference summary
Aid | What it's for | How to copy it at home | My recommended aid |
Putter grip on 7-iron / lob wedge (Flat Cat, 45°) | Right hand on top halfway back; trail-arm structure & clubface awareness | Fit a jumbo or SuperStroke grip to an old iron; angle the flat side to suit your fault | The Hanger — 15% off via link (no code) |
Headcover under the right arm | Stops the trail arm disconnecting and flying away at the top | Any headcover, glove or towel under the trail arm; let it drop through impact | TRS Slider — 10% off with ROSSEVES |
FAQ
What training aid is Rory McIlroy using at the BMW Championship? Two: a Flat Cat putter grip fitted to a practice 7-iron and lob wedge at a 45-degree angle, and a headcover tucked under his right arm. Both target his trail-arm connection and structure in the backswing.
Why does Rory McIlroy have a putter grip on his 7-iron? The flat side of the grip gives his right hand a reference so it sits on top of the club halfway back. That improves his trail-arm structure and gets the club better supported at the top.
Who came up with the drill? Rory developed it with his long-time coach, Michael Bannon, after heading home to Florida for a reset following his poor week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Is a putter grip on a 7-iron legal? Not for competition — a non-round grip like this breaks the Rules of Golf, so it's a range/practice aid only.
Can I use these training aids as a normal golfer? Absolutely, and cheaply. An oversized grip on an old club and a headcover under your arm cost next to nothing and train exactly the same feels.
Affiliate disclosure: Some links above are affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, and any discount codes are genuine. I only point you to aids I've used and rate — and where a pro uses kit I don't have a link for, I'll always say so.
About the author
Ross Eves is a PGA Professional with a Master's in Sports Science, and he coaches everyday golfers to train, practise and gear up the way tour players do. He uses many of the aids he writes about with his own clients — including the grip and connection drills covered here — so every recommendation is one he's put to work himself.
Comments