Rory Mcilroy Iron vs. Driver

[@lasvegasmikey]

I am a 15 hcp. Been playing seriously (practice/play min. 3 times a week) for 8 years. Thanks for the analysis. I hit the wedges pretty good, but struggle with driver consistency. Glad I found your lecture.

[@ruddermayhem]

Dead on analysis, as usual, Zach. As you said you can really see a difference in amount he's opened up his body (hips and shoulders) for each shot, and how much more his arms are in front of him in the iron and behind him with the driver (on the downswing). Really think your videos teach the right stuff.

[@MrMaxpriest]

After golfing for so long, I actually only recently found the difference accidentally ... I now able to hit crisp irons shots (both long and short irons) ... Your video reinforces my findings ... Thanks, Zach!

[@Tubularvillous]

Spot on. That is exactly my problem. Can't wait to try it out. Thank you very much.

[@golfmaniac007]

great job zach! like the insights and analysis.

[@xCEREALzKILLERx]

Thank you so much! This helped me with one of my biggest problems.

[@ABshookme]

This is really good, thanks. I have played golf all my life but first started knowing about this for a couple of months ago. Really embarrassing. When my coach started teaching me about it I wasn't sure if I should trust him lol.

[@ptkambo]

Great Vid

[@ciccioeur]

Good video. Of course the basics of the swing are the same but one hits the ground one slides it. There are BIG set up differences, and you want to keep it short with short irons, medium with long irons, and release it all with the driver as long as you have strong legs and core and good flexibility. Otherwise keep it all short and simple!

[@GENODELMAROATL]

GOOD VIDEO A GUY GAVE ME LESSONS AND SAID THE SAME THING SAME SWING WITH ALL CLUBS I DISAGREE MY IRONS ARE CLOSER TO BY BODY THAN DRIVER

[@sean9267]

Hilarious, I just started taking lessons and my instructor was telling me how driver and iron is basically same swing and that my takeback and release with the driver was too "low" or "sweeping". I'm doing what feels natural, which the pros also do.

[@PrimalMotoVentures]

As a golfer, you don't ever put this much thought into the difference in swings. It is mainly the setup that is different. The difference in lengths of the clubs makes the swings path different also. This is just going to make golfers think too much, take too long to hit the ball, and possibly make their game worse.

[@electricworrier]

Then why am I a +2 playing 60-3w and a 4 with driver in? And why are Tiger and Phil the greatest iron players in history and comparatively sub-mental with the long stick? Too much thinking - incorrectly? Is Rory, who's hands down the best driver ever, a really good iron player? Only when he wins. In his words, he's normally inconsistent. It's puzzling, at best. The ol' 'total shift in mindset'? Nicklaus says it's one swing and that he had five swing thoughts per Hogan said the shot he needed to hit dictated how he swung That's a lot being harnessed by 2 of the top 4 genies. Or is it? In a perfect world the course tells you where to put the ball and you just obey. It's not a game of individuality; it's one of subservience! Who's commanding whom?

[@TeamLockDownMLG]

As Tiger has always said he swings his sand wedge the same as the driver it's just the length of the club that's altering the swing. No one "traps" their 3 iron as much as their sand wedge.. You'll most likely hit your 3 iron fat but you still hit down on it.

[@longlivechina7538]

Great video thanks

[@srscrippler]

you will find the only difference you see in the swings is the unwinding of the uppere body will happen on more of the tilted spine angle because the ball is closer to the left foot, where as of course on iron or wedge will be further back in his stance having less tilt in the spine because of the fact.

[@최은재-o9n]

Nice vid

[@emncaity]

TeamLockDown: Nicklaus built his game around that idea -- that outside of specialty shots, you shouldn't consciously try to have different swings with different clubs, and that you should intend to have one swing all the way through the bag. Before him there were others, of course. Jack Grout was the one who instilled that basic idea in him, for instance.

[@emncaity]

Also: The "trap" thing is mostly just a feeling, not a reality. It tends to produce the right kind of configuration through impact, but spin and trajectory are produced by the clubhead's action on the ball, not on squeezing or "trapping" it against anything.

[@adamutuber]

Hi Zach, @2:43 - are you happy with the position of Rory's right elbow on both driver and iron? My elbow would be close to this position but I've been told to bring it in, closer towards my left elbow.

[@jp12245]

great video zach! -john

[@shayattack]

One of the biggest difference is the squatting that occurs with the driver but he keeps his hips more level with the wedge. One for power, one for accuracy and consistency.

[@oscarc618]

You do not go into his Squat and Spring which drives the pattern of his hip movement.

[@golfprogress]

Zach: Thanks for the video. You mention trapping the ball against the turf. That doesn't actually happen. The ball always slides up the clubface to some degree after impact, doesn't touch the turf.

[@BILLUPS811]

this is not worth comparing, the iron your trying to hit a certain yardage, the driver your just trying to hit as far as possible. The driver has a longer flatter plane than the irons.. whats there to compare with an iron and driver swing if they're so different?

[@gogogodfrey]

His right arm seems to release away from body through the ball, counter to what you said about right arm, doesn't it?

[@MLGshzlss]

alright, how about a fairway wood? is it more like a driver or an iron?

[@vantrago9063]

Zach, it is physically impossible to trap a ball between the face of a club and the turf. What do you really mean by that?

[@baronje2010]

9:00 56deg in 2011 vs driver in 2009. Still an interesting comparison though.

[@MrMblaze8597]

If you want to shoot 10+ par then do it but if your serious about getting better then it’s the same swing throughout jack nicklaus the greatest to ever swing a club says one swing so does tiger it’s all about your athleticism and your physical ability to do the one swing for all clubs. But I promise it works.

[@srscrippler]

a lot of this analysis does not take into account the shape of the shots he is playing, if you notice he is hitting a high draw with the driver considering the shape of the fairway and with the iron he is really just hitting a 3/4 swing 9i or even wedge judging on the length of the shaft, that changes completely how he naturally uses his body with the different shots. To do a true comparison you need a full blooded 9i high draw or it is gonna look different.

[@fredfish3100]

Read Greg Norman's book about how to swing each club/chapter and every chapter/swing in the same. Read one chapter, you've read the lot! I was amazed at how boring practice must be for the pros.

[@T4YZ4R]

+Fred Fish do you know the name of the book?

[@bellers]

the video is a good idea but there is a good couple of years between these two swings...his swing has changed, as other videos on this site suggest, so not the best comparison.

[@cowpiez33]

I think he meant your swing feels that way instead of a sweeping motion as will the driver. You don't really want to hit just your ball with an iron. Too high of a risk of skulling it. That's for me anyway, maybe not for everyone. I like getting just a little chunk of grass. It's more forgiving than skulling it.

[@justjames1111]

Surely he's just turning his shoulders perpendicular to his spine, irrespective of the club. Also, hasn't hi-speed video proved that the idea of 'trapping the ball against the turf' simply doesn't occur.? The ball is only propelled upwards from the face of an iron or a wood.

[@Silly.Old.Sisyphus]

50 yards width at 300 yards driver distance is an error range of plus or minus 25 yards. this is the same accuracy as 25/3 = 8 yards error at 100 yards ( = 300/3) wedge distance if the average green is 25 yards wide, an accuracy of plus or minus 8 yards gives you an extra 9 yards (=25-16) room for error. so it's easier to hit a wedge on the green than to hit a driver on the fairway. so no; distance is not the most important thing with the driver; accuracy is. would you rather be 300 yards in the rough/water/trees or 250 on the fairway? that's why McIlroy et al often take a 3-wood off the tee on a par 5. how about giving us hackers a video showing us how to get more accurate (rather than longer) drives? slow your swing down and hit the ball further as well as straighter! - because the harder you swing, the less controlled it is. even Rory goes off the rails sometimes. a slower swing has a better chance of hitting it in the sweet spot, which is why it goes further on average than the average result of a heave-ho "crush the ball" mentality. be nice to the ball and give it a little smack on its behind and it will thank you for it by going straight and true. it works on women too (but don't tell them i said that)....:)

[@DrMichaelMoroney]

Mcilroy missed on fairway in the last round of his major, was hitting 300m off the tee with his driver - eagled the last par 5 :-) But point taken ... players need to consider risk and reward - once watched a very old fella in an argument with his buddies on a local course - he was used to using his putter very reliably and regularly from 40m off the green - his friends were telling him it wasn't proper golf and were kind of upset that he was always getting closer to the pin than they were when they used the "proper" clubs.

[@Silly.Old.Sisyphus]

i will leave Texas wedges to the Texans and stick to learning to chip with a putting stroke unless the grass between me and the green is all flat with its nap lying towards the green. from 4m off the green maybe, but 40, never! :)

[@DrMichaelMoroney]

Those fellows were hitting over something akin to a half-reclaimed swampland up onto slow elevated greens - best tool would have been a hockey stick probably ... and yes, putting stroke and keeping the ball as close to the ground as possible seems like a good strategy - works for me too... so thanks to youtube coaches :-)

[@mayorganism]

its more of a contrast analysis.

[@watson442]

Great video, just a note Rorys hips actually go backwards through impact...you cant teach that!

[@8613942187]

swing always is the same. differences occur because of bigger shaft length and the bigger power of the club. you always swing the same. only difference is how much you turn your shoulders

[@MrMblaze8597]

Don’t listing to this dude im a single digit handicap golfer been +2.8 at one time and have shot 8 under before and several under a lot. All swings the same hands arms feel all the same. Ball position and your distance from ball changes a bit... but the feel and tempo doesn’t change much shot 3 under on 9 holes today so do yourself a favor. Learn a great 9 iron swing and mimic that with your driver in terms of feel and hands and just lengthen the follow through and you will enjoy golf

[@ire003celtic]

Its a golf term...

[@Fraserr1992]

Ok 1 thing it's a completely different angled video that's twice you have done that. You can't make an accurate analysis because of the angles good effort tho

[@golfkenkyusyo]

シェアーさせて下さい。

[@MrTigerwoods01]

That was a complete waist of time, he is bang on plane definitely not outside with a wedge. That angles are all wrong. Come on Man your a golfer

[@alanlee67]

0:32 You don't trap the ball against the turf... /NLf3dlcZPKU?t=44s Watch this slow-mo of Tiger striking an iron....I can't believe people who teach golf are telling people that we "trap the ball against the turf." Maybe you're referencing a "feeling," at least I hope.