Rory McIlroy hits it a mile like Bubba Watson although he’s not one of the biggest guys out there at 5-feet-10 and 160 pounds.
So it seems to be a good idea to take a closer look at his swing and technique. Besides, his swing is a beauty to look at anyways.
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His average driving distance is above 300 yards yet his swing seems to be effortless. So let’s find out where Rory gets his power from. But first let’s watch.
Address Position and Takeaway
[clearboth] Rory sets up strong behind the ball. Take a look at how his left arm and the club form a straight line.
He seems to have his weight slightly more on his right side, supporting him to stay behind the ball.
He does a one piece takeaway. His wrists start hinging not before the club reaches the parallel point.
He gets even further behind the ball with his hip turn. Take a look at the huge gap from his takeaway to where he will be at impact. This “getting behind the ball” encourages his aggressive hip action during his downswing.
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Backswing
At the top of his swing Rory McIlroy has made a huge shoulder turn of about 110° moving the club a bit past parallel.
His hips start the downswing action aggressively as he has a big gap to fill until impact.
This aggressive coil up gives him a lot of power which he knows to transfer over to the impact position.
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Downswing and Impact
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Rory compresses during his down swing and keeps hist wrist angle.
[clearboth] During his downswing he stays compact and keeps his wrist angle.
His hips move aggressively. He’s almost in the opposite position to where he was during his backswing. His right leg straightens as he shoots upwards through the ball.
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Finish and Conclusion
[clearboth] Rorys finish is great to look at. He’s balanced and standing strong on his left leg. His right heel is completely off the ground. In fact he’s barely touching the ground with his toes. A great finish to mimic.
If you want to generate a lot of power like Rory does. Here’s a few key concepts to incorporate into your own swing.:
- Keep your body behind the ball with a huge shoulder turn.
- Use aggressive hip action to close the gap towards impact transferring all your weight towards your front leg.
- Finish balanced and standing tall with your hips towards the target.
If you keep these things in mind you might add some extra yards to your drives. But always check your balance when you try to be as aggressive as Rory is.
It’s easy to get into a swaying motion or falling sideways when turning your hips too fast. If you are capable to end with a balanced finish like Rory does you are on a good way.
[…] over the ball with a big body tilt. If you compare his setup to textbook-setups like the ones of Rory Mcilroy or Tiger the difference becomes very […]