GOLF LIFESTYLE - PERFECTING YOUR SWING

After rising to prominence and solidifying his reputation as one of, if not the greatest current golfer, we can all learn a lot from the way Rory McIlroy plays and his golf lifestyle in general. His swing is amongst the most impressive ever seen on the PGA Tour, and to come close to emulating it requires a tremendous amount of practice to improve your athleticism, balance and flexibility.

Making The McIlroy Swing Work For You

For the majority of us, reaching the heights of playing the PGA Tour is always going to remain a pipe dream.  There are, however, aspects of the way Rory McIlroy plays that we can all learn and utilise to become greatly improved players.  For those looking to add more distance and power to their drive, much can be gained from copying the way he stores energy, before unleashing it as he drives the clubhead through the ball’s impact zone.  If you are prone to slicing balls far and wide, emulating his stance of closed shoulders with hips more loose and open in the downswing will help immensely.

Getting The Basics Right

It all starts with your stance.  If you haven’t got that right, everything else that follows won’t be right either.  Rory McIlroy’s starting position is interesting for several reasons, but the most important lesson to take is his relaxed stance.  Free from any tension or anxiety, your body is in a much better position to strike the ball cleanly, as tensing the muscles in your shoulders and arms makes it more difficult to swing and make decent contact.  Another of McIlroy’s traits to consider is the strength in his left hand position.  If you are a player that suffers from regularly slicing the ball, a stronger left hand grip will reduce this drastically, especially if, like Rory McIlroy, you prefer to draw the ball from right to left with the driver.

Working On Your Balance

In order for your body to move as freely as it possibly can, you have to master control over your balance.  Perfecting your balance will free you from constraints you may never have realised were there, and allow you to improve areas of your swing you never felt were possible.  Ideally, your weight should be distributed across the middle of your feet, then try pushing your hips back and angling your spine towards the ball in order to set good posture, and flexing your knees slightly to help with stability.  To improve your balance, you can try taking half-shots with your right foot crossed over your left, which will help train your body to balance whilst highlighting the perfect mixture of arm swing and body turn.

It is easy to be content in who you are as a golfer, rather than really putting in the hours to become the player you can be.  ETIQUS makes the distinction between those who ‘play golf’ and those who ‘are golfers’; it is only with hours of dedication and practice to the true golf life style -  which all starts with your swing - that you can become more of the latter.

Thanks for reading our latest golf lifestyle piece!