Rory McIlroy has been one of the very best drivers in the game throughout his career, with his golf swing up there with golf’s elite, such as Tiger Woods.
The Northern Irishman, when on tip-top form, is one of the best in the business – and that’s resulted in the 36-year-old winning nearly everything the sport has to offer.
In particular, his driving was in full flow during his finest performance this calendar year when winning The Masters in April. Since – McIlroy has struggled to regain form.
That said, his fairway finder is usually impeccable, and sometimes that even surprises the former world number one.
Rory McIlroy shocked when he hits his fairway finder
Speaking to Tiger Woods in a video for TaylorMade, McIlroy explained what he does to hit the fairway finder and what surprises him about the shot.
“If I want to hit that shot, if I really need to hit a fairway, I’ll tee it down a little lower as well. My attack angle’s always been quite a lot on the up, so if I tee it down, it levels out my attack angle. I’m still [hitting] up, probably around two [degrees]. But whenever I hit the big one, I’m up five or six,” he said.
“We’ve talked about this a lot, but I feel like I’ll stand a little more upright to it. And then again, I feel like I keep my right side higher through impact, and then that brings the launch down.
“I’m always surprised at how high the ball speed is, because I feel like I middle it more. That was 182 ball speed there. I’m always surprised it’s not lower.”
“When you’re on top of it like that, it’s amazing how much faster you’re able to stay,” Woods added.
Tiger Woods is a fan of McIlroy’s swing
McIlroy almost succeeded Woods as the blockbuster driver of the golf ball on the PGA Tour. There just seemed to be something different about how the duo hit the ball.
So it’s a huge compliment that Woods is a great admirer of what McIlroy does in his swing.
“One thing I have always admired over the years is I love how strong your face is at address. I love that,” Woods said.
“If I’m strong here, then it encourages me to go left. I’ve always loved that because if I have a strong face at address or I feel strength in the club face through the swing, I have to use my body,” McIlroy replied.
You certainly feel that McIlroy is going to need his driver to be on its best behaviour this week if he is going to stand any chance of winning the US Open.
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