Rory McIlroy’s advice to ‘really follow someone’ with the driver? 4 moves

Rory McIlroy, after a short warm-up, recorded a clubhead speed of 126.2 mph, and a ball speed of 187 mph, with his driver.

Then a 126 mph clubhead speed and a ball speed of 187.8 mph.

Then 126.7 mph and 189.8 mph.

Then 127.2 mph and 185.9 mph.

Then 126.6 mph and 188.3 mph.

Then 127.4 mph and 191.1 mph.

After that, the voice wondered, perhaps jealously: Was there ever boredom?

“No,” McIlroy said.

“Very good.”

Indeed. But one does not need to be angry, he thinks. Information may be transferred. The four-time major winner was speaking in a video recently posted on YouTube star Grant Horvat’s channel, and the show was part of an answer to Horvat’s question about whether McIlroy can close the hood, say, and eat what makes his driver go.

He had four tips. First, though, have a look at the video below, and below that, we’ll talk.

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Setting up

“When I try to hit it a lot, I think a lot of it starts with the setup,” McIlroy said during the video. “Like building a good foundation to go from there.”

In particular, right-hander McIlroy will adjust his ball position.

“So if I go after one,” McIlroy said. “I’m going to try to raise it a little bit in my stance. So I feel like it’s almost off my front foot. So pretend I’m already behind the ball. So I will try and work my way up. I won’t do anything with my left foot, but my right foot, if it’s usually like here in my normal driving, I can just give it a little – a little wider base, just my right foot.”

He also said that he equates the left arm with the shaft. “They create this one straight line.”

The swing

On the swing itself, McIlroy said he was “hands-on” in getting the club back quickly, but he’s more focused on what’s next.

“It’s like when I load up, I’m going in on my left side,” McIlroy said during the video, “but then I’m really trying to feel like I’m hitting the golf ball with my right hip.”

He asked Horvat: “So you try and be clear? You’re trying to feel your lower body.”

Said McIlroy: “… There are different ways. People say you take your left knee out of the way. Or like a Tiger [Woods] he used to say, slapping his left knee. But basically it’s just trying to be as clear and open as possible for impact. So your upper body acts like a slingshot and you just go.”

Target

Become aware of the target as you work on swing speed, McIlroy said during the video.

And work on speed skating.

“For me, when I opened up more speed,” he said, “I was swinging the range and I didn’t care if I missed.” And I was missing the distance. And then you can bring it from there. But if we just work at speed…”

Horvat said he thought he was trying to make ‘golf swings’ with his efforts.

“Try and move the thing as fast as you can,” McIlroy said during the video. “That’s all you’re trying to do here. … Don’t even think about the target. … Try and move that club as fast as you can. Don’t even think about football. Just get rid of that thing as soon as possible.”

Exercise activity

McIlroy said the medicine ball drill also worked well. The move looks like he’s throwing it like he’s going to shoot.

“So I’m going to have a ball here – they’re like Kyle Berkshire,” McIlroy said, referring to the long drive world champion. “So you’ll push to the left, I’ll slide to the right, then I’ll plant and go that way. So I try to feel the same thing with my golf swing where it feels like I’m going left, right and then I feel like all my weight is going forward.”

Editor’s note: To watch the full video with McIlroy and Horvat, please click here.

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