How Rory Attacks Par 5s | Ask Rory | GolfPass

How Rory Attacks Par 5s | Ask Rory | GolfPass

[Music] welcome into a new season of Ask Rory I’m Gary Williams with of course Roy Moy We’re at the East Course at Hunter Run in Boon Beach Florida It’s great to be with you Good to be with you All right we’re going to change it up a little bit this year I’ve got a glove on which means you’re going to see me hit golf shots What a treat Perfect All right but we got tons of questions from Golf Pass members and we’re going to play some holes and we’re going to pepper you with a lot of questions because people certainly as you know want to know your perspective on how you play the game at the highest level So here we are We’re on a par five Let’s get it started where you make your living on holes like this Here’s the first question and this is one that I think so many amateurs have to deal with and that is what’s the biggest mistake am trying to hit the ball farther they see a par five they’re like I want to take advantage of that What’s the common mistake you see Yeah I would say I probably make this mistake too I mean one of the biggest things the only way you’re going to be able to go to for a par five and two is if you hit the fairway So I think sometimes people concentrate on the wrong thing on a par five where they’re trying to get it up there as far as possible when probably the better um the better way to do it is to is to try to you know hit the fairway still hit driver but make a smooth swing and concentrate on the strike rather than trying to get absolute distance out of it And if you can put yourself in the fairway in par fives obviously it makes it a lot easier to to go for them in two and and try to take advantage that way As you look at this hole but more in general this is another thing that I think is an area of neglect Amateurs don’t have a routine They don’t rely on doing things over and over again Take us through your routine as you get ready to play this hole Yeah So for me I’m I’m sort of looking out there and I’m looking at um okay there’s some fairway on the right but it runs out pretty quickly I think And then there’s a little more fairway to the left but that’s a a more aggressive line All you’re trying to do is just take in the information that you’re seeing and you’re just trying to come up with the best strategy to play the hole And that’s really it And sometimes depending on where a a hole location is or sometimes I’ll try to play the hole backwards Okay if I’m up at the green where do I want to leave the ball Okay I want to leave it on the left side Okay so then where do I need to hit the T-OT to enable me to hit the second shot there So you’re sort of you know it’s a little bit of a game of chess Sometimes you have to think two or three shots ahead That’s what I try to do All right I’m going to give you the honor You I appreciate that Thank you All right so there’s definitely fairway up the left side The fairway runs out on the right into some water So there’s a tree over there I’m going to try to hit it over that Is that close to your line or a little left That’s perfect Okay I think that’s perfect Let me ask you as it relates to to percentages when you get up on a par five and obviously it’s going to be wind uh either aided or a bedded as far as percentages of par fives that you think you generally have the mindset of going for two or hitting a stock driver uh that you know it’s going to be a three shot hole I would like to think that most parfs that I play I’m able to go for them in two but it’s again it’s all dependent on if I hit a good T-ot Um so the T-shot’s really important and um you know I know that if I get a good T-shot away I’m going to be able to I’m gonna be able to go for the green and two So again it’s for me trying to swing within myself trying to hit a nice drive out there not trying to get too much out of it And if I can do that then I always know I’ll be in a good position hitting my second Okay Now I want you to notice how different my line is from yours You got a little more fairway up there to play I do I do Now they call me a pointto-point golfer There you go Perfect Very manageable Yeah Great And the fairway Good So good start Last thing as far as you know par fives that like you said overwhelmingly it is going to be where you are you you know you’re in the mindset of going for two Is there a particular hole you play on a regular basis annual basis semiannual basis that you feel like it’s not generally Uh is there one that’s out there So you don’t play Firestone anymore No like 16 at Firestone Uh I would say there’s been times like the 13th at Augusta because sometimes that second shot’s a little dicey Yeah Sometimes I’m on the T- box and I’m thinking I want to hit a good T-shot but if I don’t I’m not going to be too disappointed because then I can lay it up and just hit a wedge onto that green Um but yeah 16 of Firestone’s a good example I’m trying to think of um like four at Bay Hill is is long You know you have to that’s another one you got to hit a good T- shot Um not many there’s not many anymore Um Firestone is is definitely one of them Too bad they went away I know that’s in the middle of one of your great runs The senior The seniors get to play Firestone Exactly There you go All right Cart golf There’s an efficiency to doing this How How much cart golf do you play I play a little bit of cart golf Um I’d say my my preferred way to play is to walk So if I go and play seinal with my dad it’s walking only and it’s walking and it’s really nice But if I’m you know usually I’m playing at the Bears Club or the Grove it’s usually in carts Um and it’s look it is it’s efficient and you can get around quick You can play 36 if you want to Um but I my preference would always be to walk I that’s my And I think as well like I want to play at the same cadence at home to the way I play on tour Yep So you know cart golf and then what we do out on tour is is obviously very different The um the great walks like there are a lot of there’s a lot of wonderful ones but but they’re particularly wonderful when you’re in that moment It’s your moment Yeah What are some ones that stand out for you Uh yeah I would say um the ones where you’ve got a nice cushion walking down the last are always very nice Um 14 at the open the open championship the guy going to win Yeah that’s cool The big grand stands you know I’d say um walking down the last congressional having a really big lead Uh Father’s Day my dad’s there looking for him in the crowd That was really special Um even this year at uh Pebble Beach you know winning on one of the most iconic venues that we have in the game and um being able to being able to do that Um and having one of my best friends in the group as well and sort of cheering him on to try to finish second on his own like that was sort of cool Absolutely Um but yeah it’s always nice to to walk up the last with a bit of a cushion How about how about Canada when you’re you’re blowing the field away but you’re also trying to you’re trying to do something inside of winning as well Yeah So uh yeah first time I won Canada in 2019 I had a I needed to birdie the last to shoot 59 I think I was leading by seven at the time or eight at the time So I knew I’d got the tournament wrapped up So it’s funny like you’re you’re trying to enjoy the walk and enjoy what you’ve just done but then at the same time you’re also trying to accomplish this little personal goal um which is which is really interesting Um so that was a that was a cool walk I wasn’t able to I wasn’t able to shoot the 59 in the end But um it’s sort of cool to know that you’ve got one thing wrapped up but you’re still trying to achieve something else You know that’s a that’s a pretty cool thing And then when I didn’t do it I had to remember you know I was sort of a little disappointed but I had but I had to remember that I’d won a golf tournament So that was a good drive Not bad for an old man Yeah Point to point It’s me Just Just right over 243 to the 239 to the front I’m I’m basically I’m going to I’m going toward that cart Go That’ll be close Go A little skinny again Yeah All right I’m done All right Rory you were able to thread the needle off the tea So you’ve got 190 to cover the water You got 214 to the hole before you hit your shot Got a question from a golf pass member Bill Connell who says “Hi Rory I know you guys on tour are so good with your wedges from any distance which makes going for the green and two on a par five a no-brainer for us 10ish handicaps Would you recommend laying up to more of a full wedge or a nine iron number or is it always better to just get as close to the hole as you can Uh so I think there’s two different trains of thought I think if you speak to any stats or analytics guy they’re always going to say the close the you’ve got more of a chance for birdie that just the closer you get to the green is what the stats suggest But sometimes you know you could get a 40 or 50 yard shot that’s a little awkward that’s over a bunker that you know some people aren’t really comfortable with So it really depends on your level of comfort I would always say you know to a 10 handicapper you know work a little bit on the range figure out what your you know what a preferred number is and and try to lay it up to that spot So if that’s a you know 85 or 100 or or whatever it is that’s a that to me I think you’re going to it’s a ve it’s a much more um stress-free way to play golf And I think you’re going to give yourself um a few more opportunities for birdies if you play that way Okay So so this shot right here lies a little bit down Yeah Little hang and lie Yeah Um little bit of wind helping Yeah Little shade Little shade of help off the left Okay Yeah So that’s going to you know with the wind and with the slope it’s going to um encourage the ball to go a little bit to the right which is you know not really what we want because of the water So I’m going to hit a sixiron just because the wind’s helping I actually think it’s a pretty good number So I’m just going ahead and try to to aim a couple yards left of this pin and try to hit a a good full sixiron and hopefully it should be a good club Okay Is that right there on the left edge Yeah just on the left edge of the green Yeah I think it’s pretty good Okay Like 20 feet 25 ft All right You have had as you talked about so many opportunities on fives but at the culmination of golf tournaments Let me have you exercise your memory here 2014 Honda Yeah 230 5wood Yeah Trying to force a playoff What do you remember about that shot Yeah it was um I remember the wind was like a little in off the right Um so it was a good My fivewood at that point probably went like 255ish So it was a it was a nice number to like hold one up into the wind to take a little bit of distance off it Pin was on the right you know that when that pin is on the right hand side of that green at the last at PJ National it there’s not a lot of room over there but I I needed a birdie I needed an eagle to win birdie to for the playoff Uh and I hit this like just gorgeous shot that was exactly what I saw in my in my mind You knew it too I knew it Yeah As soon as I hit it I was like “Okay this is this is really good.” We got it to land soft and you know give myself a putt to win the tournament Uh didn’t quite work out but yeah definitely you know one of the one of the best shots I’ve I’ve hit under pressure in my career 2016 Irish Open Yeah Closing hole Yeah Second shot That’s one of the alltimers Yeah that was cool Um I hit two great uh fairway woods in in the last three holes there Um the 16th hole I would think I was still tied for the lead at that point with Russell Knox and I had a long wait I hit a 3-wood into the heart of the 16th green and made birdie um to give me a one shot cushion playing the last couple holes So that was big And then yeah the fivewood I actually had the same number um in the proam on Wednesday and I tried to hit a three iron and overturned it and went in the water and then I I dropped another one and hit the exact same shot with that fivewood So I’d practiced that shot that week and I was like perfect This is the exact same as I had in the proama Wednesday and just hit this lovely again like like floaty little cut in there sort of similar to the one at Honda Um and that was a obviously a really nice way to to close out that turn Yeah the aerial of that ball from from up high when they showed it again like you said it was just just melted Yeah exactly like I’m sure you envision it [Applause] Rory I’ve got 63 yards Yeah this is a very discomforting yardage for a lot of people Yeah me included Um generally speaking like I’ve got my 60 Does that make the most sense to you It does if you’re trying to land it on the green Um you know I’m really not okay I mean I’d rather try to kind of skip my 54 Well the thing is you can do that because and this is a more comfortable shot You’ve got a down slope that’s going to help you do that Yep You know so you’re really only trying to land this thing Okay It’s 63 yards but you’re only really trying to land it 40 Yeah On that little downs slope And And that seem that’ll be that’s just more of a long chip and run Yeah And that would seem to be So you’re sort of trying to hit it you sort of at that like sprinkler just left of the hole and just let it feed to the right Okay sit down I hit that too chunky The the the distance was not bad It just didn’t have enough grab to it It landed it probably a little too far Yep Um but yeah not not terrible because yeah I I think if you’re trying to land something on the green and get it to stop and it’s you know some that might be out of the realms of possibility for a average golfer So to play a shot like that it’s definitely the more percentage play right That but that look for from what that that is that’s practical It’s an average result Yeah But again to me as opposed to trying to flight it with the 60 onto the green to me that’s a more difficult shot Yeah it’s the it’s the that’s sort of like the worst result you could have done with that shot where the worst result with the 60 could have been much worse Okay So all right Rory before this this eagle putt from just off the green we’ve actually got a question uh from a Youth Encourse member Hannah Speitzer So let’s roll that See what she has to ask you All right Hey Rory I’m Hannah Personally some of the most intense moments of golf are the ones around the greens Whether it’s a lengthy putt a tricky chip or a crucial up and down That’s when the pressure really starts to build So what are some drills that you can recommend to me that I can do to mimic that high stakes feeling around the practice screen I like that It’s a good question Yeah it is Yeah So I would say to Hannah like try to uh like gify your short game practice So um I like to play a little game called par 18 So I’ll I’ll I’ll pick like um nine locations around the the chipping green and I’ll put a ball in each location and I’ve got I’ve got par eight So see if I can if I can shoot even par if I can get all of those nine balls up and down Um and set yourself a target Like that’s a a good thing to say okay I can you know I can play I can play these nine up and downs in 20 shots and if I do that I can move on to something else But if you don’t do that then you have to do it again Like that’s a way to add pressure Yeah And then another thing that I do I I put TE’s around the hole from 3 to 8 ft and I have to haul all of them in a row and if I miss one I have to go back to the start So that’s another one where you’re simulating a competitive environment Yeah And you’re you’re adding a little bit of pressure Um and once you get to the end of you know if you know that you’re on you’re you’re you know you’re on track to do it the pressure builds as you get later on in these drills Um and that’s a good way to simulate at least feeling a little bit of pressure in practice When did you start to to really hone in on the idea which is a great term gamify the short game in practice Um been a long time haven’t you Yeah I’ve always tried to do it I’ve always I mean I think when you practice as much as us you try to make it fun you try to come up with ways to make it fun Um even like I’ve started at tournaments you know I’ll do some you know chipping competitions with Shane Lowry at times just around it just to try to all right let’s play for dinner tonight or let’s do something because that instead of just chipping ball after ball after ball it gets you into the sort of mindset and the the mode that you’re going to be in when you’re out on the course when you actually have to do it So um yeah that’s that’s a big thing for me Okay All right So you’ve got putter in hand take us through one the decision and then what you have to navigate here Yeah Um well we’re playing cart golf The cart’s too far away to go get my wedge No no I’m joking No this is this this would be a putter for me all day long Um I don’t have a lot I’ve got more I’ve got a little bit of this uh first first cut or fairway cut to get through but it’s it’s mostly fringe and then greens I mean I only have to go through what’s that like five feet of of surface that’s not green and then you get on And I think as well it’s a little downhill to the hole So I think it’s just going to be easier for me to to control my speed with the putter than a than a wedge Uh expectations on on a a thing that you know you can hold It’s you know you’re you’re 25 28 feet away Yeah What is your expectation here Uh just to get the speed right All I’m concentrating on is the speed If I can get the speed right and you know get this within a a reasonable distance to tap it in for my four I’m I’m happy to move on to the next hole Um if it drops in for a three that’s a bonus But I’m really just looking to get this down into get put good speed on this first one to to somewhere inside um you know a pretty makeable comfortable range And the fastest way to be wasteful on par fives is to try to make eagles If you if you’re trying to make eagles you’ll make a lot of pars But if you can sort of make birdies and be comfortable with you know not trying to be too aggressive you know that’s when you’re going to play play the par fives the best The um whether it’s for eagle or for birdie Nicholas always employed the idea of the three-foot circle from from distance Brad Faxton who you spend time with I did a five-part series It was all short game and he’s like I don’t subscribe to that I’m trying to hold putts I’m trying to hold it from 20 30 40 feet Are you kind of a tweener in that I’m a little Yeah Like I’m not I’m Look I’m You’re still trying to hold this putt but you’re trying to hold it at the right speed And if it misses you know it’s not going to go too far away That’s So to me yeah I’m I’m still reading this putt to try to to make the putt but always in the back of my mind that the speed is going to be more important than than the line with a putt like this Okay What do you see here So it’s going to go left off this first slope early and then it’s going to go back to right going to go back to the right at the end So um a bit of a double breaker So with these I always try to try to imagine if I started this ball straight at the hole where would it go to and would it come back enough So to me you know I think if I started this ball straight at the hole again the line is is one thing Um I think I need to go just a touch a touch left of of so like maybe like just outside the left edge and it’ll move left and then start to come back to the right Okay Oh that’s the speed you were talking about Yeah exactly Everyone says you don’t want to leave an eagle putt short but you you also don’t want to hit it six or eight feet by So that’s a good lead for birdie I don’t see much in this at all Little left to right Yeah just a smidge and kind of a little It’s a little bit into me first four feet and then down Yeah Get there All right Kind of stayed right there It almost borrowed too much It tried to It sort of was starting to go left at the It really was I assume this is good but I thought maybe you’re doing the full Matt Fitzpatrick here Yeah You know from two and a half feet with the flag stick in Perfect Now I just hope that they don’t put up some full screen graphic of where you are after one hole And I am because I won’t be back if they do that because that would be cruel All right Rory we’ve got a question from a golf pass member Steve Jenko and he says “When you’re putting from far away versus inside 10 feet are you focusing on the same things or do you focus on speed for longer putts and more line for closer putts?” Yeah sort of going back to what we were saying there Um yeah for longer putts you’re focused on the speed because I think you don’t there isn’t one particular line you need to hit the ball on for the ball to go in You can hit the ball on five different lines depending on your speed and and just sort of matching that speed up with So yeah for a longer putt um you’re Yeah the speed is the speed is definitely more important Um but inside 10 feet but inside 10 feet as well you’re you speed is important too because you could have a putt that breaks a little bit and if you hit it firm it’s right edge If you hit it a little softer it’s just outside right or if you just try to bleed it in it could be a cup on the right So you know the speed is always important I think if you can control your speed really well it makes green reading a lot easier So I you know I do drills on the on the practice screen for speed and just try to you know if I set up a a grid where you know I have to get a certain amount of balls in that grid from say 30 feet and you you know every ball has to go a little bit further than the last ball just to try to you know to to practice your feel and to practice speed I think that’s a that’s a good drill to do Very good [Music] [Music]

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Rory McIlroy reveals the biggest mistake amateurs make trying to add distance, teaches how to play off sidehill lies and shares his Par 5 strategy when going for the green in two. Gary Williams hosts.

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How Rory Attacks Par 5s | Ask Rory | GolfPass