Rory McIlroy’s ability to drive the ball long and straight is a sight to behold. Despite his 5-foot-9 frame, the Northern Irishman can wield the big stick with the best of them — and he’s ridden that superpower to five major titles and a career Grand Slam.
If you look at the best drivers on the PGA Tour for the 2025 season, you’ll find McIlroy’s name on top. This is not foreign territory for him, either: He has ranked inside the top 10 on Tour in SG: Driving for each of the last 10 seasons.
Pair McIlroy’s average clubhead speed (120 mph) with accuracy that ranks above Tour average and you’ve got the makings of a lethal weapon at the top end of the bag. When it comes to driving the ball, there may be no one better.
So, what’s the secret behind McIlroy’s prodigious driving ability? GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jonathan Yarwood explains in the video below.
Rory’s 2 driving keys
1. Steep to shallow
The first thing that makes McIlroy such a great driver of the ball is his in-to-out swing path. He gets the club moving in this way by getting the club steep during the backswing and then shallows it out during his downswing. This allows him to swing in a way that produces high, towering draws off the tee.
“That club coming shallow is quite important,” Yarwood says. “Because it gets the path out to the right and gets the attack angle going upwards.”
It’s not a requirement that you swing this way with the driver, but when you do, it makes it a heck of a lot easier to deliver a powerful blow.
2. Bump then shift
To make a powerful swing, it’s important that you know how to shift your weight and pressure properly. This is something that McIlroy does to perfection.
As he begins his swing, he slightly “bumps” his weight into the trail side. Then, as he nears the top of his backswing, he shifts toward the target to initiate the downswing. Once he’s in the downswing, his head hangs back and his left side extends up.
“You can see that the pelvis shifts forward and up as his head goes backwards,” Yarwood says. “That is a real key move of a lot of really good drivers. Shift and then drop back.”
There’s no guarantee that following these key moves will have you driving the ball as well as McIlroy. But if you can replicate them, you’re sure to be pounding the driver down the fairway in no time.
