Rory McIlroy’s coach tells amateur golfers the correct way to set up when putting

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Rory McIlroy’s coach, Brad Faxon, has explained the textbook way to set up with the putter.

Many amateur golfers will know the phrase, ‘Drive for show, putt for dough,’ but few actually consider the truth of it.

As enjoyable as it is to bomb a driver or flush an iron on the range, the flatstick is by far the most important club in the bag and should be practised accordingly.

The easiest way to save shots is to improve on the greens, so here is some excellent putting advice that McIlroy himself uses.

• READ MORE: Michael Kim tells amateur golfers exactly how to hit ‘the most important’ chip shot in all of golf

Rory McIlroy’s putting coach gives set-up advice

Faxon is arguably the most well-known putting coach in professional golf and is largely responsible for McIlroy’s recent development on the greens.

He recently gave some valuable advice on how to address the ball with the putter because it’s not as obvious as some may think.

“I would say the best players in the world who are conventionally gripped, so right-hand below left for a right-handed player, their hips, knees, and ankles are pretty stacked,” Faxon explained.

“Because my right hand is lower than my left, I am going to have some amount of shoulder tilt, like eight to 12 degrees of shoulder tilt. That is proper.

“The ball position is somewhere just around or off the left heel. The putter, when it hits the ball, is slightly off the ground, moving level to slightly up when you putt.

“When you look at a player down the line, there’s slight knee flex, the hips are back, there’s a little bit of angle or tilt in the belt line, and when the arms hang down, there’s room about a fist width in the thumb distance from your thigh.

“Forearms are parallel to the shaft, close to it, so my forearms are what is square. I think that to me is one of the most important parts of it.

“Your head tilt and your eyes are looking straight down at the ball. If you had a visor on, the visor would just be on the outside edge of the golf ball, and the eyeline would be on the inside edge.

“Those are some basic fundamentals for your set-up, you can work on that in the mirror or find a PGA Professional at your club or near where you live to help you with that.”

Rory McIlroy’s 2025 PGA Tour putting stats

McIlroy usually hits the ball so far and straight that the difference between winning and losing often comes down to his performance on the greens.

The Northern Irishman’s putting was clearly a weakness before he teamed up with Faxon, which has all changed now.

McIlroy ranks fourth on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting in the 2025 season, gaining almost one shot per round on the average player.

He also ranks fourth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, and lower in every other category, suggesting that his putting and driving are now his two biggest strengths.