5 Things you can learn from Rory McIlroy

A little while ago now we had the pleasure of meeting up with the one and only Rory McIlroy. As you’ll see in the video below we went head to head in a match-play comp, but don’t worry we didn’t forget to pick his brains for some great advice that we could pass on to you guys.

Rory was kind enough to give us 5 absolute gems and so today we’re passing them on to you, because we’re nice like that.

Also check out the YouTube video below to also see Piers hit the shot of his career to give us a chance against Rory during a one-hole match. 😏

1. One shot at a time

It’s fair to say that no professional golfing career is complete without its fair share of hardships and the occasional slump, and Rory gave us some great advice when it came to situations where you’re not playing your best.

Both ourselves and Rory are of the mindset that you should play a round one shot at a time.

“Thinking too much gets you really bogged down in it, and you get inside your own head, which is not great in golf”.

He thinks by playing this way, it puts less pressure on you to perform and ultimately that’s when the best shots are played.

2. Controlling your emotions

In the same vein of thought, when it comes to dealing with your emotions on course, Rory says that controlling them ultimately comes down to patience and experience.

We love his point that you need to try and get away from that first negative thought, replace it with a positive and think of the opportunities you have coming up for the rest of the holes.

That’s not to say you should be playing all those shots coming up in your head, but just to remind yourself that it’s not all over if one bad hole is played.

3. Understand the conditions

As well as the mindset advice, Rory also threw in a few technical tips during our match (it’s almost as if he thought we needed them).

He correctly pointed out that a vast majority of amateur players do not account for the difference in direction when compensating for the wind.

When playing a shot into wind you need to compensate more than playing a shot that is down wind.

So, it might be a 2-club difference into wind, but for the same wind speed downwind you will likely only need a 1-club difference.

Something to bear in mind as most countries now enter winter golf mode. 

4. Applying the right pressure

When it comes to grips, one of the most common questions we get is ‘how hard should I grip the club’ and Rory gave a great explanation to this one.

He says it is hard to keep a completely consistent grip strength throughout the swing, as naturally you’re going to grip it tighter at impact- however aiming for about a 7/10 is a great place to aim for.

Interestingly, a lot of players seem to be worried about gripping the club too tightly, however Rory thinks it’s more detrimental to grip it too loosely, and we have to say we agree. 

5. The Pre-Putt Routine

Finally, we managed to bag a great putting tip from Rory, and who doesn’t love one of those.

Let’s also just point out that after giving us this tip he managed to sink the birdie putt, which may or may not have beaten us (find out below).

He likes to start off by visualising what would happen to the ball if he were to hit it straight at the hole.

By doing this he says he can usually then just move his aim more accurately to either side of the hole depending on how he saw it, and this really helps him to see the break in the putt more clearly.

He then likes to pick a spot a couple inches in front of the ball (something which Andy also loves to do), along the target line so he has a spot that is easier to aim at, and he knows if he hits that spot that the ball will follow his intended line. 

All in all, this is one of our favourite videos we’ve ever done, largely because we did it with such a special golfer. Fingers crossed we’ll be able to bring you a brand-new video with Rory early next year.

So, if those tips have tempted you to watch the video in full that we did with him, where he may or may not have beaten us 😢 then check it out below.

It’s the taking part that counts, right?