Sunday’s final round of the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic could be a big day for Aaron Rai, a professional golfer who wears two gloves and covers his irons when he plays. But there’s method to his madness, and it might make you want to root for the Englishman, who is tied for the 54-hole lead with Akshay Bhatia at Detroit Golf Club in his quest for his first PGA Tour victory.
Rai, 29, a two-time DP World Tour winner but not since the 2020 Scottish Open, will play his 85th career event on the PGA Tour this week. Why does Rai play with gloves on both hands like Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey? As a child, he was given a pair of gloves by a glove manufacturer, and it became his habit to play with two gloves. But later, when his father forgot to put both gloves in his bag, he realized that this was his way.
“So I could only play with one glove. It was terrible,” Rai said. “I couldn’t hit the ball and couldn’t feel the grip, so I’ve been wearing two gloves ever since.”
For a professional golfer, using an iron set is an even stranger thing to do. But Rai, who comes from a working-class family, has a loving explanation for his odd behavior. It also ties back to a childhood where his father always made sure he had the best equipment, even if he didn’t always have the money. That included a set of Titleist 690 MBs, which he considered a prized possession when he was just seven years old.
“I cherish them very much,” Rai recalls. “My dad used to buy me equipment from the time I was 4 years old. He paid for my membership, entry fees. To be honest, we didn’t have much money, but he always bought me the best clubs. When we used to go out for practice, he would use a pin and baby oil to clean every groove, and to protect the golf clubs, he thought it would be best to put iron covers on them, and from then on, I put iron covers on almost all my clubs, just to make me realize the value of what I own.”
The story behind Aaron Rai's use of the iron cap will make you feel guilty for ever making fun of it🥲
“It’s more out of principle and more out of the value of not forgetting what you have and where you are.”pic.twitter.com/y2n2O1CLSy
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) June 29, 2024
Today, Rai gets his gear for free, but he still cares for his gear in the same way as a tribute to how his father worked so hard to get him to this point.
“This is more out of principle, more out of the value of not forgetting what I have and where I am,” he said. “The cover will remain.”
It may be a big day for Rai, but whatever the outcome, he will never forget his humble beginnings and how far he has come in his career.
