For all that we hear about Rory McIlroy’s improved wedge play, now employing more three-quarter shots and nailing down his yardages, we still hear relatively little about his short game.
This has never been a weakness but we rarely focus on what is now a key strength of his game. Over the past decade he has averaged around the 40th mark for Strokes Gained: Around The Green which represents a very decent return for someone who plays more tougher courses than most and is under more pressure than pretty much anyone.
At Augusta this year his driving was famously off but the closer he got to the green, the better he became. The six-time Major winner (that sounds good, doesn’t it?) is up to 14th this year for his Around The Green efforts which is outstanding.
McIlroy has hit some out-of-this-world chip shots in recent times, the spinner at the 2023 Ryder Cup late on Saturday quickly springs to mind, but the general commentary is that we’re still undervaluing his skills with his wedges.
He actually likes to keep things very simple around the greens and, through a collection of short-game videos, this is how he sees certain shots and how we can all learn from the two-time Masters champ.
The bump and run
You’re going to want to take a wedge or an iron that’s a little lower in loft. Usually I chip around with a 60˚ or a lob wedge, I’ll play this with a 52˚. It’s all about set-up; you want to try to keep the ball a little bit back in your stance and, if anything, try to get a little bit closer to it and get the shaft a little more vertical.
And then from there, you just want to try to lean a little bit of pressure on your left side to drive the ball forward and to make it run when it’s on the green.
Then it’s just about rocking your shoulders back and through, picking your little target on the green where you want to land it, and then just let it go.
I really try to make it like an elongated putting stroke in a way and I try not to have a lot of wrist break. I will try to keep my wrists and my hands pretty quiet and I feel like I keep my right arm long, trying not to break it like you would in a golf swing.
I do a lot of chipping practice with one hand trying to keep my right arm really really long and then that just helps me pull it and to find the low point. Then it’s just about keeping my body moving.
Being short-sided
My first thought is to just give myself a putt for par. The worst thing you want to do is try to be too cute with it, leave it in the bunker and then you’ve really got your work cut out just to make bogey. So for me, I’ll just try to pick a spot on the green where I’ll try to land it.
So give yourself a little margin for error and then I try to visualise the trajectory that I want this ball to go on to land at that spot.
In terms of technique on how to hit the shot, obviously you want to open the club up a little bit so that you can get a little more loft on it, a little more height.
Chipping on Bermuda
I’m not going to try to go into the ground as much and I’m going to try to clip it off the top a little bit more.
I feel like there’s not as much hinge on the way back. My right arm doesn’t stay straight but the feeling is that it stays more straight so I can be shallower coming in.
The ball position will be a little forward. The more forward you have the ball, the more you can keep your weight on your left side and that will be probably 70-30. So then just try to stay on that left side and that can guarantee the strike.
I’ll always rehearse it before so it’s equal back and through and just quite wide. I have a lot of right-side feels in my game so my right arm will be straight and then I try to cover the ball with my right shoulder and then that automatically gets the chest to open up.
The hop and stop
This is a shot that I guess is a little higher risk but, maybe if you need to go over a little slope on the green, it’s a good shot to have in your bag. So basically what I try to do with this one is I try to set up pretty square.
If anything, I’ll open the clubface slightly just to get a little more loft on there. That encourages the ball to stay on the face a little longer to impart that spin that we need to try to hit this shot.
So in set-up, I’ll try to stand square to it. I’ll try and not have my weight too far forward. I still want maybe 55 per cent of my weight on my left with the shaft at address pretty vertical and all I’m trying to do is get that shaft back to vertical at impact and then release it under the ball – and that will impart the spin on it.
So hopefully if I do that, get my set-up right, try and return this club to where it is at address, it should work pretty well.
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