Rory McIlroy - 4 Time Major Winner

eagle eye

Saying he's right back is a bit disingenuous, he's four back of 2nd place. He could easily catch those guys. A guy hitting two consecutive 65's at the players is nuts.

He had a bad day but he can easily come back and get into the mix for a high finish. A 65 today would likely put him in contention for a very high finish unless. It's very rare that somebody hits three incredibly low rounds in succession. If Clark has a bad day it brings others back into it.

BoardsMember

I always think the first drive is very informative of where a players head is at. A bad one can happen to a calm/not edgy player, but often it's a sign of being a little wound up.

It also has to be quite unsettling, Rory seems to struggle with bad starts when beginning in contention.

If he calmly nails it down the middle and gives himself a putt for birdie on the first hole it's just a completely different mindset.

I could be projecting here....

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121900653#Comment_121900653

I can't tell you how anybody does things but I can tell you that successful people in sport at all levels never look back. If it's a bad shot or world class it doesn't matter, the target is to make sure your next is a good one.

If you can't get away from your previous effort it's not a good thing.

BoardsMember

And yet, you hear so many people talk about momentum. What you say is of course right, but it doesn't play out in reality. The drive on the 10th in the Masters by Rory is a good example. Playing great, big lead, fell apart with one bad shot.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121900949#Comment_121900949

Being human, I suspect all top sports people are subject to the same feelings of annoyance or regret that everyone else is. You only have to watch their reactions when they make mistakes, the best of them, including Tiger, are prone to the odd flare up when they hit a bad shot.

Russman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121899727#Comment_121899727

I hear ya Fix 😁! Looks like Clark is having a week alright. I still think he's another generic "bomber" not much different to 20 others, but that's the game nowadays. As for getting up and down, he's doing it best this week, but I do think firmer greens should be used - its basically a toothless tiger right now. That would make the rough a factor I think.

Don't know what Rory has to do to get the spark back. Obviously his 65 round Sawgrass isn't to be sniffed at and it not like he's struggling to break 80, but the consistency just isn't there, despite there being a scenario last week where he could have gone to no.1. He's a complete enigma. I really just wish he'd stop trying to set up for a fade and just play his natural shot, but what does a weekend hacker like me know that Rory doesn't. Frustrating as a fan.

The Big Easy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121901367#Comment_121901367

Clark's game at the US Open was almost ugly to me, set up well to the left and and hit an almost slice, albeit 300+

The score is all that matters almost exclusively, but I'd watch Rory hit balls over any other guy playing the game currently

Dav010

Big bombers and deft touch to get up and down is the game now, strength and a light touch. Dont see anything wrong with it myself, but the purists may object.

FixdePitchmark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121902984#Comment_121902984

It does dumb the game down a bit ..not just a bit ..lots .

I love a golfer who has all the shots and shapes and creativity.

There are a few of them

..but they are becoming much rarer..

We probably have to admit that the modern driver ..has taken away a beautiful part of the game..

DellyBelly

And there it is another double bogey....seems every round he posts a big number whick kills him....if he could tidy up those mistakes he'd be there or thereabouts

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121903094#Comment_121903094

Considering McIlroy is one of the biggest hitters off the tee in the game, it’s a bit disingenuous to laud him but not the others.

The best in the game are those who match power with the deft ability in their short game.

Dr. Bre

He needs to cut out the double bogeys . Bogeys is one thing but always hard to recover from a double

DellyBelly

Great finish 3 birdies on the trot....probably is to far behind but still should have a decent finish...

BoardsMember

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121903221#Comment_121903221

100%. There is some nonsense trotted out here.

Mantis Toboggan

21 birdies is a good return in 3 rounds around there, just needs to cut down on the errors, still his game looks in decent shape.

the.red.baron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121903094#Comment_121903094

The 2 best players in the game have been massive hitters, it gives a big advantage that's almost impossible to get back in any other way

The dominated about 30 years of golf

almostover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121903580#Comment_121903580

It's a complete myth though that distance being an advantage is a recent thing. All the greats were bombers, Nicklaus, Arnie, Norman, Miller. All swung hard and fast and for their time were in the top 20% for driving distance.

It's not the driver that's the difference these days as one poster queried. It's the ball. Nothing has changed the game more than the Pro V1. It was the first ball to allow players to swing out of their shoes without generating too much driver spin but yet be able to control the ball in the short game. Back in the 70s and 80s there was a limit to distance because increasing club head speed was limited by an increase in spin due to the ball.

the.red.baron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121903646#Comment_121903646

Nicklaus was still hitting the ball 280 yards, in the 1960s, measured

It's technique as much as anything that stops spin, at the time you had to experiment rather than measure

almostover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121903674#Comment_121903674

Great point, things like trackman allows players to quickly discover how to optimise impact conditions.

Point still stands, the best players were always long hitters. That will never change.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121903646#Comment_121903646

You don’t think club technology and fitness plays a part? I’d be interested to see how swing speed today compares to Nicklaus’s era, I also suspect the average length of courses today have been lengthened to account for the modern player, and their equipment.

bamayang

3 players who finished in top 25 shot worse than -1 today, 2 are outside top 125 and the other is Rory.

What the hell is his story.

the.red.baron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121903726#Comment_121903726

Jack was measured at 58 at 118 mph

If you watch videos of him he was railing the ball, probably similar to Rory

Daly was a poster boy for unfit and was also lashing it

BoardsMember

Wouldn't measured swing speed, ie clubhead speed presumably, be impacted by the tech in shafts evolving over time?

the.red.baron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121912684#Comment_121912684

only length of shaft, they tend to be 2-3 inches longer now you should get more swing speed

ec18

the tech improvements is probably more on the average club speed than peak club speed.

For instance what was Nicklaus's average club speed over a season vs a mid pack tour pro now? My guess is the average is where the delta is rather than the peak

RoadRunner

Tech has allowed players to understand the optimal launch conditions, using this with the correct equipment (driver head and ball) can optimise the launch conditions for a given swing speed for a player.

There's very little in the driver that can help achieve faster swing speeds, tiny aerodynamics upgrades, but these are mostly marketing exercises. The smaller driver heads of the past could likely be swung faster than the big 460cc heads of today purely from an aerodynamics point of view. What happens when those driver heads of the past and the ones of today strike the ball is where the changes are.

Fitness may be better, and players better understand that the ability to hit the ball far is a priority, the pool of young plays has expanded greatly, access to trust funds to play golf is a thing of the past, and access to the correct ways to train and get better has greatly improved over time too.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121912684#Comment_121912684

eagle eye

Not one mention above about the shafts, you'll swing today's shafts a hell of a lot faster than steel.

BoardsMember

YeahI thought that was misinformed too. Well, to put it another way, the shaft tech now probably allows them to determine much more specifically what they are looking for.

DellyBelly

Nice solid start for Rory...69 and a 70 today. What's the most pleasing thing about the opening 2 rounds is that he's only had 1 bogey...no doubles or triples which is the norm this season

Mantis Toboggan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121980975#Comment_121980975

Those few lessons from Butch could be paying off.