Rory McIlroy’s taking an unusual path to fix his golf swing – he locked himself in a simulator room for three weeks, hitting balls without ever seeing where they landed.
It’s a bold move for the golf superstar, especially since he’s chasing his third straight Race to Dubai title.
Name
Events
Top 10
Money
Rory McIlroy
257
125
$90,989,348
“The only way I was going to make a change was to lock myself in a studio and not see the ball flight,” McIlroy told reporters Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. “I’m terrible at sticking with changes when I see bad shots. I usually just go back to my old habits because they’re comfortable.”
Why such a drastic approach?
The 34-year-old has been struggling under pressure lately, despite winning twice this year. He famously collapsed at the U.S. Open, losing a two-shot lead with just four holes left. He also let victories slip away at the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship.
“If I look at my year, I’ve had these chances to win,” McIlroy said. “Sometimes it was the putter, but other times my ball-striking just let me down at crucial moments.”
His schedule hasn’t helped. Next week will be his 27th tournament of the year – that’s a lot of golf with very little practice time.
The simulator setup was pretty simple: just McIlroy, a screen to hit into, and a monitor showing his body movements. No distractions, no watching the ball fly, just pure focus on fixing his technique.
What exactly needed fixing? McIlroy says his swing had become too dependent on perfect timing, especially during the critical transition from backswing to downswing.
“It’s something just to make my golf swing more efficient,” he explained. “And if it’s more efficient, then it’s not going to break down as much under pressure.”
He’s only been back on real grass for about a week, testing whether all that indoor practice will pay off.
The next two weeks will be the real test. McIlroy’s playing in Abu Dhabi and then the season finale in Dubai, where he could lock up his sixth Order of Merit title overall.
“It’s probably still not quite where I want it to be,” he admitted. “But these two weeks will be a good indication to see where I’m at.”
