GOLF IMPROVEMENT INSIGHTSLessons for the Average Golfer From Rory McIlroy’s swing

RORY MCILROY – BEST SWING IN GOLF TODAY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlb-VIIEHMY

4 REASONS TO STUDY AND LEARN FROM RORY’S SWING

• Undeniably one of the best swings in golf today

• It is an incredibly simple swing

• There are very few moving parts

• There is no reason why a mere mortal golfer should not aspire to swing like Rory – whatever your age

WILL YOU BE ABLE TO REPLICATE RORY’S SWING?

Will you be able to replicate Rory’s swing?

• Yes

Can you expect results like Rory’s?

• In terms of reliability and repeatability

• yes if you put in enough effort

• In terms of the power and distance

• probably not

• there is an exquisite degree of strength and timing hidden in the details of this swing

KEY ASPECTS

• Going to use a series of stills from the video at the start of the presentation to highlight key aspects of Rory’s swing

• Description of what Rory is doing

• Draw insights into what can be learned for an everyday golfer

• At the end of this sequence the hope is that you will be able to use some aspects of Rory’s swing within your own golf improvement activities.

BEFORE WE START – GOLF CLOCK ANGLES

• Just before we start – I am going to be referring to swing clock angles within this sequence.

• Clock angles always refer to the position of the hands at a specific point in the golf swing

• If in doubt – refer to the image opposite – courtesy of the golfchannel.com

1 - ADDRESS

• Fairly wide stance – feet are slightly more than shoulder width apart

• Ball in line with left heel

• Left and right arms very straight

• Club shaft looks to be an extension of the left arm

• Eyes on the back of the ball

2 - TAKEAWAY

• At this stage the hands have reached about 7:30 in the clock face

• One piece takeaway.

• Clubhead has moved back along target line

• Arms still straight

• Wrist just begining to break

• Very little hip movement at this stage

• Right leg is firm and braced against the backswing

• Left thigh has moved slightly inwards and there is slightly more flex of the left knee

3 – BACKSWING - 1

• Hands just approaching 9:00

• Wrists beginning to cock

• Right arm now slightly bent

• Still very little hip movement – right leg still firm and braced

• Left knee has flexed a little more but the alignment of the left leg hasn’t changed

4 – BACKSWING - 2

• This shot is milliseconds later than the previous backswing image

• Note that the hands have barely moved but that the wrists are much more cocked.

• There is a hint of hip rotation though there is no sideways movement

• Absolutely no change in head position – this becomes a point to note throughout the rest of the swing

5 – BACKSWING - 3

• A lot happens in the very short time in the backswing in which the hands move from about 8:00 to 10:00

• With his hands at 10:00 there is now 90 degrees plus of wrist cock

• Hips have rotated slightly more –that’s about as much as Rory’s lower body moves in his backswing

• No change in the right leg position

• You have just got to love the head position

6 – TOP OF BACKSWING

• Not that much changes in getting from 10:00 to the top of the backswing

• Essentially it is the continuance of the shoulder turn.

• Left arm remains very straight – club shaft parallel to the ground

• No further movement of hips

• I love the right leg and head position throughout the whole of the backswing – no movement in either!

• This position somehow conveys an impression of balance and power

7 – TRANSITION TO DOWNSWING

• The transition to the downswing is often reckoned to be the key move in golf.

• It starts before the backswing has completed as the left knee subtly moved forwards to a position over the left foot to start the transition of weight – this bit is very difficult to capture using stills. You may want to go back and watch the video again from about the 17s point

• The right knee has bent and the right leg is drivng the hips rotation to the front

• At this stage there has been v.little movement of the arms and shoulders – the change in shoulder position is largely due to the transference of weight to the front foot.

• At the risk of being very repetitive – keep a close eye on that head position

8 – DOWNSWING - 1

• Shoulders have continued to rotate with the hands dropping vertically

• Left knee is now over left foot

• Hips have rotated to be square to the ball

• The head has tilted very slightly to the right with the eyes very firmly on the back of the ball

• If anything the lag angle (angle between left arm and the club shaft has increased)

9 – DOWNSWING - 2

• Hands passing through 9:00

• Hips have returned to square – the belt buckle is pointing right at the ball

• Wrists are still fully cocked – at this point the club shaft is considerably more than 90deg to the arms.

• Downswing now largely the rotation of the shoulder around the spine

• Still watching that head position?

10 – DOWNSWING 3

• This is where we begin to see the power coming into the swing

• The hips have continued to rotate and have now started to face the target

• There has been a subtle, lateral, forwards shift of the hips – look at the hole marker behind him to see what I mean

• Shoulders continue to rotate about the spine

• Now begin to see the movement of the arms as the hands have continued to drop vertically While maintaining the wrists fully cocked

• Keep an eye on that head position.

• While the hips have shifted and the shoulders continue to rotate the head has remained fixed. Consequently Rory’s body is beginning to adopt that classic bow shape that you see with all great golfers

11 – APPROACHING IMPACT

• Hands now at 6:30

• The next 3 images are all with the hands at around the 6:00 point in the swing

• Note the solid left leg with the right leg now driving through.

• Hips have continued to rotate to the target line

• Wrists are just starting to uncock

• The club head is accelerating – the driver head is becoming more blurred

12 – APPROACHING IMPACT

• Hands now at 6:10

• This image is only a couple of milliseconds after the last

• The biggest change to note is the continuing uncocking of the wrists

• Club head continues to accelerate – even more blurring in the image

13 – JUST BEFORE IMPACT

• Hands now at 6:00

• Note how little the hands have moved since the last shot

• The hands have now reached 6:00 but the club head still lags the hands

• Look at that head position

14 - IMPACT

• Hands still at 6:00

• In some ways this shot of the swing at impact tells us no more that the last image just before impact

• Rory seems to have perfect timing and all lag (wrist cock) has now been used

• Notice that the ball is flying off ahead of the club head. Many people don’t realise the degree to which the club compresses the ball and how much the ball bounces off the club face. The pros typically achieve ball speed up to around 180% of the club head speed – that ball is moving at something like 200mph

• Keep looking at that head position – it gets even more interesting in a few moments

15 – FOLLOW THROUGH

• The follow through tells us much about what has

gone before. These 3 images of Rory’s follow

through are, in many ways a mirror image of the

takeaway and the start of the backswing.

• Immediately after impact the clubhead has

continued on the target line with the shoulders,

arms and club all moving as a unit

• Shoulders, arms and club all continue to rotate

around the body

• Only in the last shot do we see the wrists start to

break and the right hand obviously rotating over

the top of the left

• Have you spotted any head movement yet?

16 - FINISH

• The next 3 shots show Rory moving into his

elegant finish position.

• Only now, with his hands passing through the

2:00 position, does Rory’s head start to lift.

When you look at this in normal time it looks like

Rory (and all top golfers) look up to follow the

ball as soon as they hit it. Seeing these stills

shows just how long Rory keeps his eyes fixed

on the original ball position

• Not sure there is too much more to say

• Sure looks pretty

INSIGHTS FOR THE AVERAGE GOLFER?

• For me the big learning points are:

1. The World’s best golfer has a very simple swing with very few moving parts.

2. There is very little lateral movement. Very slight lower body sway at the start of the takeaway.

3. Right leg braced and solid throughout the whole of the back swing. It simply doesn’t move.

4. Head position. I know we are told that keeping the head still isn’t that important –keeping your eye on the ball is what counts. Just look how still Rory’s head is throughout the swing. It doesn’t move until he is well into his finish.

There are so many ways to hit the ball in golf. Most of us can’t learn from some of the top pros – Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk and going back a while, Lee Trevino all come to mind.In contrast, all golfers could learn something from Rory.

OVER TO YOU

• This whole sequence has been about what each of us can learn to help our own swing from watching one of the masters.

• You have seen my analysis

• Now – over to you.

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www.theBetterGolfer.com