This training aid powered Justin Rose's latest dominant win

Justin Rose’s smooth swing has already propelled him to a PGA Tour victory this season at the Farmers Insurance Open. While his success is built on meticulous preparation and elite athleticism, much of his consistency comes down to the fine-tuned technical guidance under his coach, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Mark Blackburn.

While fans rarely get a glimpse into the inner workings of a coach-player relationship, a recent interview on the Smylie Show offered a fascinating peek behind the curtain.

The key focus in Rose’s swing

According to Blackburn, one of the most important elements in Rose’s swing is his right leg — specifically his trail knee during the downswing.

“One of the things Rosie likes to feel as a player, is he likes to be quite passive through impact,” Blackburn says. “So he has a tendency at times for his right knee and right leg to work a little too inward, towards the ball, which then leaves his torso backing up a little bit and then he has to straighten his arms out.”

Together, Blackburn and Rose focus on getting his trail knee to track more toward his lead knee during the downswing. By keeping the right knee moving toward the target (instead of collapsing toward the ground) Blackburn says Rose can stay centered and turn through the shot.

“He [Rose] wants to have a lot of rotation in his golf swing, that’s what he likes to feel,” Blackburn says. “His ‘bad golf’ is played with a lot of slide and tilt and arm throw out.”

Blackburn continues, explaining that Rose’s best golf is played when he has a bit more depth in his backswing while staying centered.

“Then he sort of lowers, gets the club back in front of him, but the sweet spot behind him, then he turns,” he says.

Rose’s trusted training aid, explained

To reinforce this centered, controlled swing, Blackburn has Rose attach a Smart Ball just above his trail knee. The simple device encourages the leg to move correctly toward the lead knee while giving Rose a clear cue he can feel and see. If his trail leg drifts toward the ground instead of the target, his hands would likely clip the ball — offering him instant feedback.

What’s even more impressive is that Rose and Blackburn only added this drill a week before he won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

“We kind of threw this in this week,” Blackburn says, “He [Rose] likes it [the drill] because it then allows him to to reflex or cover the golf ball and be quite passive through the hit.”

“And obviously that is definitely in indicative of how he played this week. Lots of straight lasers, but that’s how he like that’s how he likes to play. He likes to stock shot kind of straight to falling left. Um and this just allows him to do it,” he says.

For Rose, it’s clear that a great swing comes down to tiny details that set off a chain reaction of better motion. By training his trail leg to move correctly, he stays centered, rotates efficiently, and hits with precision and power. It’s a reminder that sometimes all it takes is a small tune-up, focused work and the right drill to turn those feels into repeatable results.

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