When it comes to ballstriking, there are few people in the world better than Rory McIlroy.
The 34-year-old Northern Irishman resembles a magician with a club in his hands and is capable of putting his ball pretty much anywhere he wants to on the golf course — and the stats back that up!
During his PGA Tour career, McIlroy has never finished ranked outside of the top 10 in SG: Tee-to-Green and finished 2nd in that category during all of last season. So when it comes to advice on how to improve your ball-striking and shot-shaping, he’s the man for the job.
McIlroy recently joined GOLF Top 100 Teacher Chris Como on NBC’s GolfPass to discuss shot-shaping, and he gave some great pointers for how to hit draws and fades with your irons. Check out his masterclass session below.
Rory McIlroy’s keys to shaping your golf shots
While many amateurs (myself included) may struggle with the idea of shaping golf shots, McIlroy tells Como that doing so can actually be pretty easy.
“A lot of this stuff, to be very simple, you can do through your setup,” McIlroy says.
Although McIlroy admits that the introduction of data from launch monitors has changed how players shape their shots, he explains how he initially learned to hit a draw and a fade — which is a good beginning guide for players hoping to learn the ball-striking skill.
“The way I learned how to hit a draw and a fade [before we had all these numbers from launch monitors], was you set your body up to where you want the ball to start, you set the clubface up to where you want the ball to finish, and you just swing it along your foot line,” he says.
McIlroy then gives a very basic guide for hitting both a draw and a fade.
“[For a draw], you want to make sure you’re aiming right of your target,” he explains. “You want to have the clubface a little left of where you’re swinging the path of the club.”
The opposite is true when hitting a fade.
“Same on the other side,” he says. “You want to be aiming left of your target and have the clubface just a little right of where you’re swinging.”
As for the position of his hands, McIlroy says he keeps them in the same spot regardless of which type of shot he’s hitting.
“At no point am I thinking that my hands have to be ahead or behind,” McIlroy adds. “I’d say my hand position for both shots is pretty consistent. So that would be my way of trying to simplify if you’re trying to hit draws and fades.”
While shaping shots is tricky, by following McIlroy’s tips above, you have a simple guide to take to the range to practice with. As you get more comfortable with both the setup and swing adjustments, you can build trust and gain confidence to take to your next round.
