When Dr. Bob Rotella talks about and with Rory McIlroy, he tries to avoid one word like his client does water or sand, though that word may tell this story best.
The four letters were eschewed in 2010, when McIlroy first met the renowned sports psychologist, who’s worked with around 80 major winners — he’s lost track of the exact number — various stars across other sports and quite possibly even you, should you have dialed up the good doctor or read one of his books.
The word and all of its synonyms also weren’t broached after the first round of the Masters last month, when McIlroy picked apart Augusta National for four birdies over his first 14 holes, only to cough up two double bogeys on his way to the house, leaving seemingly everyone else muttering: Again? After his 16 previous Masters starts, McIlroy had left Georgia feeling mostly confused, despite enjoying success nearly everywhere else. Since 2014, he’d been a Masters win short of the career Grand Slam, a feat achieved only five times — and a press-conference question McIlroy couldn’t escape.
Even now, as McIlroy heads to this week’s PGA Championship as a Masters winner, Rotella still won’t say the word.
Past.
“Never,” Rotella said. “Like, I have never had a discussion with him about any of that stuff.
“All of our conversations are about what we need to do and how to do it. Any more than I’ll have a discussion with him about any shots he missed. I don’t care about those. We’re all about how you’re going to respond to this stuff. We accept before the tournament starts, you’re going to miss a lot of shots and putts. It’s the game. It’s like, can you handle it? I mean, so you get to a major that you want really badly and so does everybody else, it just emotionally, it makes it harder to deal with it and accept it, happening that week when you get a bad break or something.
“And it’s like, OK, good, that’s why they’re majors. Most people can’t handle it. Can you?”
As you can see, other words are said, though. Many of them.
CHASING A FEELING. That was the thought for McIlroy at Augusta. But let’s back up. Some introductions are in order. Sheepishly, Rotella said he couldn’t remember what he told McIlroy during their first talk. They’d met when McIlroy first came on tour, around 2009 or 2010. They’d spent time together at McIlroy’s first Masters, in 2009. But in 2021, they connected more closely. Rotella said McIlroy had made a commitment.
“I want to really get good at this stuff.”
How? Ahead of this year’s Masters, McIlroy said his work with Rotella centered around “chasing a feeling,” and our session with Rotella will begin there.
We’ll touch on a Scottie Scheffler concept, too.
NP: McIlroy mentioned ahead of the Masters that one of the things you guys were working on was chasing a feeling and making that the most important thing. Can you explain that a little bit to me? How did that start and what’s the goal behind that?
BR: Well, the goal is real simple. We’ve got to make that our purpose, our mission statement. And we’re doing that to give ourselves our best chance to win the tournament. Because there’s a mindset in a mood state that he knows when he’s in, he can really play. And if you get tight and careful because — and understand, most people get tight and careful because they start thinking about the outcome. They start getting too concerned about winning or not winning. And so we wanted to make the feeling state more important than the outcome. So let’s do the stuff we need to do to have our best chance. And we can live with that, you know. Like, if we can come off the golf course every day and say, man, I just look in the mirror and say, man, I loved how I felt out there today, we’re going to be a happy guy.
We’re obviously happier when we win and complete it. But we can be happy with ourselves if we gave it our best chance and someone just lit it up. If you went back in time in the last few years, probably at the Open at St. Andrews, the U.S. Open in California at L.A., even in Pinehurst, he did some great stuff. He played really great golf, and someone played a shot or two better than him. And the world was, like, devastation. But, I mean, he obviously would have rather won, and he was crushed for a moment. But in his heart, he loved how he played.
The line I use is if you have to be the winner in order to feel like a winner, this game will really do a number on you. So you got to kind of redefine winning in ways that you have control over because you can’t stop someone from having the best day of their life on your week, you know. And he’s had weeks when he’s done it to other people, and he’s had weeks when other people have done it to him. And that’s part of the game. It’s part of why we love it.
NP: With top-level athletes, is that hard to accept, or is that hard, in your role, to coach that mindset?
BR: Well, I don’t ever walk up to anybody and tell them they ought to work with me. So when guys work with me, they’re ready to address it. In other words, they want to win more, and they haven’t, or they want to win a major, or they want to win all the majors, or they want to — they’ve seen what they’re capable of in a practice round or in a tournament round, and they’re not doing it regularly.
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So they are already chasing something they’ve experienced, and they’re not letting themselves do it regularly. They know there’s something inside of them that says, I can do this, and they’re not letting themselves do it on days that are really important to them. …
So, I mean, at some point, you got to learn how to do it. And, you know, everyone marvels at Rory’s swing, but they don’t realize it looks beautiful because it has such freedom and flow to it. Well, I mean, you can’t get that freedom if you’re worried about where you don’t want it to go. I mean, you got to be just seeing the shot you want. And he’s pretty darn good at it most of the time, but no one’s perfecting it. We’re all human. It’s a game of mistakes.
NP: It keeps us coming back.
BR: Yeah. Thank goodness.
NP: One of Rory’s focuses that he had talked about in the early part of the year was that he was trying to emulate Scottie Scheffler, that he was going to try to limit mistakes, be OK with pars. For a player of Rory’s skill level, is it difficult to, I guess, take your foot off the gas and just be patient and let scores and good play come to you?
BR: Well, when you ask me if it’s hard to do, I’d say yes because you’re capable of doing incredible shots. And when you pull them off, it’s a lot of fun.
People don’t know this, but as a result of working with Tom Kite, I was the first person to ever do a statistical analysis of Tour stats. And when I say I did it, I had Tom get me the stats, and I brought him to our research bureau at the University of Virginia. And a professor there named Bruce Gansneder and I — and it was very clear that you can be pretty darn conservative. I mean, we’re very aggressive when we get a wedge in our hand.
I remember Rory saying that. We didn’t really talk about Scottie. I think he’s a good example of it. I think Jack was the best example. I think Tiger was the second-best example. I would say Jack and Tiger were very conservative, patient golfers. Now the media made Tiger like he was an aggressive player. But Jack and Tiger, who won a lot of tournaments, they were very patient and conservative. It takes discipline. And so we’ve talked about mental discipline a lot.
And, yes, but when you’re talented, you can do some pretty incredible things. But it’s like, well, what’s the risk versus the gain? Is it worth the risk? Is it worth the pressure it puts on your game? Coming to grips with the fact that every time you win a tournament, you’re going to make a lot of pars, that’s hard when you’re really talented to accept, but it’s the truth. So you got to pick your spots.
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And, you know, Augusta is a big tease. You know, maybe the front nine even more than the back nine, but it’s a big tease and it’ll hammer you. That’s what makes it great. How someone designed it that long ago, it’s pretty amazing.
NP: I think about that a lot. It’s stood the test of time.
BR: I remember in ’89, I spent a whole day with Ben Hogan, and he told me he’d never made a hole in one. And he said, I didn’t know you’re supposed to aim at the flags. And I have a beautiful colored poster, an oil painting he gave me of his shot at Merion. … And he signed it to me, Ben Hogan and Bob Rotella, which I cherish. But Hogan’s story on that shot was, he said, I hit it about 70 feet left of the flag, and that was the general area I was aiming for. And he gave it to me and signed it because he said, I want you to tell the players you work with, they want to win, you got to be patient. And he was a very patient player. But you’d think from reading about him that he’d just shoot at every flag as good as he hit it. But it’s hard to hit it that good if you shoot at every flag.
But the discipline it takes to look at your target and not let your eyes and mind wander over to the flag when you’re shooting towards the middle of the green, that’s discipline.
THURSDAY AND SUNDAY. Those days, along with the whole Masters week, Rotella stayed in a house with Team McIlroy, while the pro bunked nearby. Was there outside hype ahead of the opening 18? Plenty. McIlroy had already won at Pebble Beach and the Players this year. No one had shown better form.
Was there deflation then after the Thursday 72? Or on Sunday, after a two-stroke 54-hole lead vanished after one hole?
No.
NP: Was there a moment during Masters week, be it maybe early in the week, sometime on Sunday, where you thought this was the time he was going to win?
BR: Thursday night when the round finished, between then and Friday morning teeing off, doing what I do, I said, OK, this is going to be the day we’re going to win the golf tournament. And we had some really good talks about how we’re going to respond to this. Because it’d be really easy to finish the way he finished. You know, like, 15, he had a great drive, great second shot, and he was really playing a great round of golf on Thursday. Late in the day, those greens got really firm and fast and pressing. Only he didn’t know that some other people had the same experience on 15, but he hit this nice looking pitch shot that didn’t even think of stopping and it goes in the water, and he turned it into a double. So, I mean, it’s even more challenging when you felt pretty good about the shots you hit. You make two doubles and ruin a four-under round. You know, it could easily have been five or six and turned it into even, which made a big difference. And to me, the tournament was won on Friday when he went out and played so great on Friday after what happened Thursday.
And so I mean, to me, that was a big moment. And, you know, the fact that he accepted the idea that there’s time. There’s lots of time, and you’re playing great. Let’s not turn this into something like you’re playing bad. …
Then came Sunday.
Double on 1.
Birdies on 3. And 4. And 9. And 10.
Bogey on 11. A wedge into Rae’s Creek on 13. Bogey on 14. And Justin Rose wasn’t missing.
Birdie on 15. And 17.
Bogey on 18.
Playoff.
BR: We talked a lot about you got to be like steel. You got to be like nothing affects you. …
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And that wedge shot he hit on 18 [during the playoff], he has been practicing for the last two and a half, three years a lot, and he’s really improved. And to see that little three-quarter flighted wedge and stuff it was so wonderful. It’s nice when you get rewarded for working on something and trust it and have it work out.
And then make the putt, you know. People go, well, it was a little four-and-a-half-foot putt. I go, no, a little four-and-a-half-foot putt to win the Masters. I laugh when people say, yeah, it was a really easy putt. I go, yeah. And so he had to let go of any other thing, and we’ve talked so much about let’s just make it in our mind. Let’s not relive mistakes. So, you know, when people ask me, so have you talked to Rory, I go, I don’t talk about these mistakes. We talk about his good stuff, and we talk about what you need to do. And that’s what we keep focusing on the good stuff, and god bless him.”
But what if McIlroy hadn’t won?
And he was still searching?
Maybe that’s unfathomable to think about now, but Rotella was willing.
BR: The other funny thing that’s come up a lot in interviews is people say, we know if Rory hadn’t won, he would have been done. And I go, no way, that’s the most ridiculous statement I ever heard. Because if he was like that, he would have been finished a long time ago. That’s not what Rory’s about. It just makes it a better story. It’s more of a statement, you know. He may have been born with speed. He added passion, and he’s added mental toughness and resilience. And that’s what you got to do. And god bless him.
But believe me, we would just start all over again and gone for it next year.
NP: Is it safe to say then as Sunday was being played out that you weren’t worried? You were confident that he would be able to bounce back after some of the setbacks?
BR: This is probably hard for some people to understand: I wasn’t ever thinking about winning or losing. We already were comfortable with the idea of winning. We already had peace of mind with winning. We were thinking about what we had to do on every shot and how we had to respond to whatever happens. And we’re going to just let winning take care of itself. It’s a heck of a challenge. And like I talked to Rory, the second, if a thought of outcome — winning or not winning — crosses your mind, you got to catch it so fast. You can’t get lost in those thoughts of outcome for more than a moment. You got to catch it. If you let it last a hole or two or even for three, four shots, it’s way too much. You got to catch it so fast.
And in an ideal world, you’re just so into — there was a certain way we wanted to feel out there, and that was our goal. And we trusted that if we did that, we liked our chances. And that’s what being in the present is all about. But it’s doing the stuff you got to do rather than thinking about what this would mean for mom and dad, what it would mean for my wife and kid, what it would mean for all of my coaches and people around me, what it would mean — if you start thinking that stuff, boy, this game gets hard real fast. But it’s there. It’s a potential distraction, but it’s not a distraction. It’s only a potential distraction. And when we talk about steeling your mind, we do mental preparation where we’re not thinking about that stuff while we’re playing. And some people find that very hard to comprehend, but athletes get really good at it when they’re having great days.
WHY? It’s a fair question. All of the words above are big and bold, but couldn’t they have been offered earlier? Why didn’t McIlroy win the Masters in 2011? Why didn’t he win the U.S Open last year? Or the previous year’s, at Los Angeles Country Club? Or the 2022 Open Championship? He could’ve won. Maybe should’ve.
NP: Why did Rory win this year as compared to some of the near-misses of past years? What was the difference this time?
BR: Well, when people ask me about changing people’s attitudes, I go, well, I coach it, I teach it, I keep hammering the stuff I know they need to do over and over again, but they do it when they’re ready to do it. I would say Rory in the last couple of years has been really ready to really learn everything he could about his mind and emotions. And he did it when he’s ready.
But I mean, people do stuff when they’re ready to do it, not when I’m ready. I mean, it’d be a lot easier if they did it when I was ready. And some people do it when I’m ready. But I mean, in general, people do it when they’re ready. And I think that’s true for most people because changing anything is very difficult for most people. But you got to want something pretty badly. And he obviously — when you saw the emotion, you could see how much it meant to him.
NP: Considering Rory’s skill level and his success elsewhere, why do you think the Masters and the majors became so difficult for him to win over the past decade?
BR: Let’s begin with the fact that in today’s world, as the money went up and the publicity and the TV coverage of golf has gone through the roof, we have more big, strong, athletic people playing golf from a very early age. I’ve been doing this 50 years. … In America, those big guys were playing football, basketball and baseball. Now a lot of those guys are playing golf. Their parents are saying, you haven’t got a chance in those other sports. Man, you can do this forever. God, you can make a lot of money, be famous and you control your destiny. You’re not dependent on a GM deciding you’ve got it, you know? You go shoot a score, they can’t stop you.
But, I mean, if you compare today’s world, even from when Tiger was dominant, the athletes are just — there’s so many more people hitting the ball 315 yards or more now that can play. So the depth of talent. You know, when people ask me about LIV or some other tour, I go, well, it’s really the depth of talent. The PGA Tour tries to beat people up. And can you handle shooting four under and missing the cut three weeks in a row? It’s easy to start questioning everything. And getting really messed up. But if you look at the last three majors Rory almost won, man, he shot really great scores. And someone beat you. Those used to win majors by a lot. I think you could argue the fairways are probably wider. The rough isn’t as deep. You know, there’s some of those things that add to the scoring. But it’s just a depth of talent, and it’s only going to get, you know, better. Now, players get paid a lot more when they win, but it’s a lot harder to win. And the players are better. I can’t think of a sport where the athletes aren’t better than they were 50 years ago. Ultimately, you got to believe you can win. I mean, there’s a lot of players who have skill good enough to win on the tour or win majors, but they don’t because they don’t believe. So at some point, you got to believe.
But, I mean, Rory, he’s a believer.
WHAT NOW? Maybe you’ve been thinking this about McIlroy. How do you move forward when you’ve caught what you’ve been chasing?
How do you mentally reset when the next major, this week’s PGA, starts just over four weeks after the Masters? The U.S. Open soon follows. And the Open Championship after that. Is there a letdown?
Or a take-off?
Just look at those majors, though. PGA? McIlroy’s won four previous times at Quail Hollow. U.S. Open? Oakmont should favor his booming manner of play. Open Championship? Royal Portrush, in Northern Ireland, is a home game.
NP: As we’re a few weeks past the Masters now, what have you and Rory talked about? How do you recalibrate after him accomplishing a goal that he has long pursued like he has?
BR: First of all, it was just really enjoy it first. Have a great time. … Try to get some rest and recover. … The next step is it starts all over again. And that’s what’s beautiful about it. In tennis, you get ranked, and you play a lower-ranked player till you get to the semi or quarters. In golf, you play everybody every day. So, it’s no advantage that you won. So there’s good news when you win. There’s bad news when you win is it starts all over from even the next tournament. And the good news when you don’t win is it starts all over from even the next week. That’s what’s cool about golf.
Now is he going to a golf course that he likes? Yep. But there’s some other guys that like that golf course. I’ve worked with Justin [Thomas], and Justin’s won there. It’s a big-player golf course, but it’s a heck of a golf course. But I think Rory, from the start of the year, kind of liked all of the courses where the majors were going to be this year. And I was like, OK, this is an opportunity. I like my chances on these courses. Let’s put whatever we have into this. Let’s go see what we can do.
NP: Is there a thought that after winning the Masters that Rory could be freed up now with less pressure on him?
BR: He certainly has made that comment to me, yes. We haven’t spent a whole lot of time talking about it, but now that it’s passed, he’s telling me it’s going to be easier to be freed up. And believe me, we’re constantly talking about being freed up. But yeah, pretty obvious.
NP: From the work that you do then, how do you go from the opposite of whatever freed up is to now being freed up? How does your coaching change going forward?
BR: First of all, in a dream world, we probably won’t change anything. The only thing that we might change, and we haven’t had the discussion, but normally, Rory is just going to be Rory. And he’s going to chat with guys when he’s playing and just lock in when it’s his turn to play his shots. The Masters and the Grand Slam thing was so big that I pretty much brought the idea to them that I think we really need to go into a bubble and just get lost in our own little world for this tournament. But we aren’t always doing that for the entire round. And it was just pretty much him and his caddie in their own little world.
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Normally, he’s going to be a lot more, just be Rory and and he’s going to be talking a lot more in between shots. And just lock in for a few moments on each shot. But, my guess is we’ll see more of that. I don’t know. We haven’t discussed it yet, but we’ll have that discussion.
NP: How do you see the rest of his year play out and maybe some of the years down the road?
BR: The way I see the year play out is our challenge is, OK, you accomplished something pretty unbelievable, but you’ve got a lot more dreams. Now are you going to have the discipline to have a great attitude, be emotionally strong and resilient every time you tee it up? Or are you going to go on a victory celebration for the rest of the year?
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