Equipment

Tour Drills: 2 incredibly simple drills Adam Hadwin uses on a PGA Tour range

Published

4 years ago

Feb 17, 2022

Having inside-the-ropes access to the range at a PGA Tour event means I often see and hear things that most amateur golfers aren’t privy to. While some may think there are “secrets of the trade” that PGA Tour players use to get so good at golf, it often comes down to a combination of incredibly hard work and pure talent.

There are, however, a number of drills and gadgets that Tour players use to practice smarter and get the most out of their practice sessions and abilities.

As I’m busy covering equipment news week-in and week-out on the PGA Tour, I also want to highlight some of the simple drills that PGA Tour use during tournament weeks. It’s important to note that you should absolutely consult with your local professional first before implementing any new drills into your own practice routine, but “Tour Drills” will highlight the things that PGA Tour players use and why. Hopefully they can be helpful for you in some way.

This week, from Riviera Country Club’s range at the 2022 Genesis Invitational, Adam Hadwin breaks down two incredibly simple drills that he uses during tournament weeks, and why they’re effective. To perform these, you’ll simply need an alignment rod (which you can find at most local hardware stores or golf shops), your clubs (obviously) and some range balls.

1) Stick an alignment rod directly on your target line, then hit fades and draws around it

Hadwin says: “The biggest thing I’m trying to do is find the club face, really, and I do that through exaggeration. I’ve got the alignment stick in front of me, and I’ve got to hit cuts and draws around it. But, before just hitting a standard cut and a standard draw, I kind of do it by hitting a pull cut and a push draw, just to feel that club head and that club face awareness in my swing to start out.

“Then I’ll start hitting some shots by aiming left and cutting it back to the target, and aiming right and drawing it back to the target. Again, it’s really just trying to find an awareness of, OK, my body is here, the club is here, the shot did this, and the alignment stick just helps with that visual to exaggerate things.

“The idea is to try and let the athlete react. It’s not as easy as that some days, but a lot of times, for me, my miss with a cut has been a pull, and I just need to feel the club head and my arms out-race my body a little bit more. Because I feel like I’m holding it off, but it never holds off. I think it’s just that the club kind of gets in behind my body a little bit too much, and then from there, it’s not really a cut anymore. It becomes sort of a push. To really feel that cut I sort of have to feel like the arms are out-racing the body and swinging around left of them, plus I’m holding off the club face.”

2) Turn your driver upside-down, then swing it both righty and lefty at increasing speeds

Hadwin says: “My trainer (Jason Glass) literally just put this drill in. I don’t want to say that I’ve done speed training, because I really haven’t done any. But, as for everybody, distance is very important and it obviously plays a very important role in the game. I’ve tried to increase that a little bit. So he just thought it’d be a quick and easy way during tournament weeks to fire up the nervous system a little bit while on the range just to keep that speed up while warming up before going out and playing.”

Make sure to check out all of our photos from the 2022 Genesis Invitational here.

Equipment

Interesting clubs at top of bag – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

7 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, users are talking about top of bag setups that are non-traditional or thought-provoking in some way. Original poster @SuperSpurs106 inquired about other members who might use unorthodox set-ups to help with gapping issues or weak spots.

They wrote:

“I currently have a PING G430 driver, TM Qi35 3W and a TM Qi4D 7W. Driver and 7W are fine but can’t get on with my 3W and have always struggling with this club over the years. Thinking of adding a 2H which I know would look odd. Just wondering if anyone else had a weird set up at the top of their bag?”

Our members in the forum have offered up their thoughts and personal experiences with non-traditional top of bag set-ups, and their reasoning for thinking outside of the box to begin with. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

BowMain42: “Don’t worry about what “looks” odd. If the club does what you need it to do, it’s the right club.”
scooterhd2: “I cant hit 3 woods either. Thats why I roll with a unicorn XL Hibore 2 wood. 400 cc head at 16 degrees of loft and its just a monster 3 wood off the tee. Off the deck, we are playing the f6 baffler. 5 wood at 41.75 inches and its easy to control.”
phizzy30: “I had driver, 3 metal, 2/4 hybrid once upon a time as a higher ss player. 4 hybrid is gone and in place is a driving iron nowadays. I don’t think what you’re proposing is weird in anyway, however the yardage gap might be glaringly huge between driver and 2 hybrid. What is it about your 3 metal that has got you all messed up? You could always go 4 metal with shorter shaft and see if that works.”

Entire Thread: “Interesting clubs at top of bag”

If you aren’t a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today!

Equipment

Members of the Mini Driver Club – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

7 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user has gone searching for fellow users of a mini driver. In a post, @TightFade asked for other mini driver users to chime in with their weapon of choice, the reason for employing a mini, and what club follows it in the bag.

@TightFade asked:

“What mini are you playing? What spot in the bag did it take over? What’s the next club after it? For me: Elyte mini 13.5. Replacing 3w. Next up club looks like it’ll be 5w.”

Our members in the forum have been sharing their own bag setups featuring the mini driver, and the various reasons they purchased one in the first place. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

RCGA: “Ping G430 Max 12* ‘Thriver.’ Next club is a 4w and 2i (I play a weird course).”
JMB3: “R7 at 12.75 with Diamana BB 63s. 3w replacement. Next Club: Elyte Ti 5w at 17*.”
ColdOkieGolf: “R7 15.5 turned down to 13.5 It replaces the 3w. I found it surprisingly easy to hit off the deck, and it’s very rare that I need or want to hit something beyond 250 from the fairway, so next club is my 7w.”
ChaosTheory: “I’m sub-90 MPH with driver. But I’m able to hit DOD. I have been wanting something like the R7 15.5, so I just ordered one. I have a spot in the bag so nothing has to go. But I could see it replacing my trusty 4 wood, which I never use for approach shots. Just tee shots and lay ups. If I drop the 4 wood, I will turn my 7 wood down to ~20 degrees and will have good gaps. I recently tried a thriver build: 12 degree driver turned to 14, with a heavier 44 inch shaft and added head weight. I hit it great. Very accurate and not overly high, but the problem was that it sometimes went as far as a typical drive. And that’s not what I needed. So I will probably turn the 15.5 up to 16.5 or even 17.5. It’s all theoretical at this point. ?”

Entire Thread: “Members of the Mini Driver Club…Check In.”

If you aren’t a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today!

Whats in the Bag

Chris Gotterup WITB 2026 (June)

Published

7 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Chris Gotterup had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Drivers: TaylorMade Qi4D (8 degrees), Ping G440 LST (9 degrees @8), Ping G440 LST (7.5 degrees)
Shafts: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Grey 6.5 TX 70 g, Project X HZRDUS T1100 Handcrafted 6.5 TX 70 g, Project X HZRDUS Smoke Grey 6.5 TX 70 g