In May, in one of the many bags of clubs surrounding Bryson DeChambeau during our cover shoot with him, I saw it: a regular-sized club with a comically undersized iron head. I pulled it out of the bag.

“I’ve hit a lot of golf shots with that,” the 2020 and 2024 US Open champion said.

I came across it in a tour teacher’s studio a few weeks later, and then last month I saw it again. This time in Joaquin Niemann’s bag.

“I use this every time I’m on the range, probably for about 20 minutes,” he said.

Here’s one of Joaquin Neimann hitting a a training aid called the Pure One Training aid.

It’s the length of an 8-iron, with a clubhead just a hair larger than a golf ball. Says he spends 20 minutes during most range session hitting it. pic.twitter.com/eSOX1pDV1G

— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) October 2, 2024

The training aid

Niemann used a PureOne golf training iron. DeChambeau used the PSP “Little One” iron. Different brands, but the same idea: regular club, tiny clubhead.

The point of the training aid is pretty simple. These mini-clubheads force you to hit the sweet spot because that’s literally the only spot there is to hit. I bought one myself.

What it’s like using it

It’s scary at first, but you get used to it surprisingly fast – and it’s not quite as difficult as it looks. It’s about the length of an 8-iron, which makes it a great club to work on your golf swing with. Even though you may be making changes, you’re forced to remember priority No.1: putting the clubface on the golf ball.

It makes sense why it keeps popping up in players’ bags. Centre contact is a major key to distance control; to maximising your distance; and towards overall happiness on the golf course. If there’s one thing that can make golfers happier, it’s hitting the ball out of the middle, more often.

Then, after about 20 shots, your regular irons start to look like frying pans. They seem impossible to mis-hit, which makes it a major confidence-booster.