FROM THE ARCHIVES
Rory’s Swing, Pre-PGA Tour The Masters champion demoed it for us shortly after turning pro BY RON KASPRISKE
Michael Bannon: “Rory’s swing does have a lovely flow to it; always has. You can tell how comfortable he is by the speed at which he plays. We always focus on Rory’s posture, alignment and ball position. They are where we want them, but we keep a constant eye on them. If he’s been playing in windy conditions, he sometimes lets the ball creep back in his stance. He also has a tendency to narrow his stance a wee bit too much for the short irons. I like the width to stay constant so he can stand into his right leg on the backswing.” Turn the page to see Rory’s swing, circa 2009.
Rory McIlroy’s victory at last year’s Masters, which com- pleted a career grand slam
core stability and flexibility, which has helped make me longer. Plus, I like to swing with no fear. I’m a grip-it-and- rip-it guy. I’ve always played that way, and I’ve quickly found out that nearly everyone on tour does, too. “Over the ball, I think about nothing other than the target. I don’t focus on technique. But under pressure, I do use one simple swing thought: I
(winning all four majors), made us a little sentimental about the then 20-year-old fledgling pro who appeared in Golf Digest’s July 2009 issue. John Huggan interviewed him and his long- time instructor, Michael Bannon, for the piece. Here’s what they had to say about Rory’s still-developing swing. Rory McIlroy: “People are always amazed by how far I hit the ball off the tee. I’m not the biggest guy out here, at 5-feet-10, 160 pounds, but I’ve always been long for my size. I have a lot of nat- ural speed. In the gym, I work on mostly
pick a spot a foot in front of the ball and hit over it– hard. That takes my mind off the outcome of the shot and keeps me in the process.”
NOW AND THEN McIlroy debuted with a hard swing—and still had it at the 2025 Masters ( above ).
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 35
MAY 2026
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