Rory McIlroy is one of the best ball strikers in golf and the best ball handler of his generation.
Perhaps the best driver ever.
So why does he adjust his golf swing?
Because that’s what top players do – and that’s a good thing! If you stand still at the top of the sport, you go backwards. Amateurs tend to think it’s all-or-nothing when it comes to swing changes, both for themselves and for pros. If all goes well, don’t touch it. If not, blow it all up.
In reality, professionals are constantly making smart and subtle upgrades to their technology. This is how they stay at the top over the years.
Which brings us back to Rory…
I go into it in more detail in the video below as I wrote hereRory’s golf swing has become increasingly over-the-line (meaning the club points to the right side of his target) over the years. If you look closely, you’ll also notice that Rory’s left wrist is slightly more cupped as well.
Here’s a comparison of 2014 to 2024…
Again, different isn’t necessarily bad, but in Rory’s case, with his arms moving deeper and his bat pointing more to the right, the bat would tend to trail behind him. which would cause a wide right missespecially with his irons. Every now and then he pulled it to the left, as a kind of overcorrection.
That’s why he makes this his off-season golf swing project.
Speaking to Golf Digest last week, Rory explained that the cause lies in takeaways.
When he pops the clubhead out, Rory says it leaves his right arm too high, making the clubshaft more vertical. Instead, he says he wants the end of the club to point more toward the ball, keeping his right elbow low.
“If the club gets too vertical, my right arm stays high, and that causes the hollow and slanted appearance,” McIlroy explains.
“If I set the correct arm and wrist structure early in the takeaway, I can just rotate it upward.”