Padraig Harrington used this aid at the PGA. Here's how it could help you

Padraig Harrington used this aid at the PGA. Here's how it could help you Joshua Berhow You may have seen photos or videos of Padraig Harrington on the range at Aronimink Golf Club on Wednesday, hitting balls with a large training aid positioned in front of him as he prepared for the opening round of the 2026 PGA Championship . It was a peculiar aid — especially for a known-tinkerer like Harrington.

Curious about the new tool, I reached out to Dr. Alison Curdt, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher , to break down what the device does, why it works and whether it deserves a place in your own golf bag. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dr.

Alison Curdt । Golf Instructor & Coach (@alisoncurdtgolf) What it does According to Curdt, the training aid Harrington uses in the picture above is essentially an oversized alignment rod that provides both visual and physical feedback for the swing plane. She said it’s like Ben Hogan’s pane-of-glass concept. Harrington’s aid is incredibly helpful when monitoring two specific aspects of the swing: shoulder tilt and spine angle, and the overall swing plane.

As players make their backswing, Curdt says the alignment rod provides them with immediate feedback. This allows them to check if their shoulder and spine angles are staying underneath that “pane of glass. ” “The golf club is a lot easier to reference if it’s parallel to that angle of the alignment rod in the ground,” she says.