The Rory McIlroy move that very few amateurs do which would help hit the ball much further with driver

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There is probably not a single golfer on the planet who would turn down the ability to be able to drive the ball like Rory McIlroy.

Rory McIlroy has been a phenomenal driver of the golf ball throughout his career. There is no question that the Northern Irishman has one of the most aesthetically-pleasing swings the game has ever potentially seen.

And it has reaped huge rewards over the years. The 36-year-old has won five major championships while he added a seventh Order of Merit title on the DP World Tour to his tally this past season.

Clearly, being able to drive the ball exactly like McIlroy is not possible for most amateur golfers. However, there are lessons which can definitely be learned from his swing.

How Rory McIlroy generates so much power when hitting the driver

McIlroy was the second longest hitter on the PGA Tour in 2025, with only Aldrich Potgieter ahead of him. McIlroy averaged 323 yards off the tee throughout the season.

And speaking recently on his Tee Time Tips channel, former professional Nick Dougherty highlighted exactly what McIlroy does to generate so much power.

He also shared the moment where it so often goes wrong for amateur golfers.

“He has great balance and poise, even though he’s trying to hit it really hard. For me though, the superpower comes in the transition,” he said.

“And what you’ll notice with Rory, and every great player, but you really see this with Rory, as he changes direction, the first thing to start coming down is not like most amateurs, which is the hands and arms, because we’re holding on so long to the club, we think, ‘go on, I’m going to hit this really hard’. He doesn’t. You can see as he finishes his backswing, the lower half is already starting to go the other way and that creates this beautiful torque and what shallows the club out beautifully as well.

“And then from here, he sort of sinks down into it, almost that squat and jump, that power move, down, and that’s why so much of his exercise in the gym is around squat jumps as well.

“Squats down, and then the power comes from using the ground. And that’s that pushing away and you’ll see him go up through strike and fully extend his lead leg. And it’s that squat and jump that transfers that energy out to the club, but not from the top.

“So, simply smooth in transition, painting the fence, super smooth, feeling like he starts with a lower half. And for me, that’s a lovely feeling of almost feeling like you had a pedal under your left foot, or your lead leg, and as you’re finishing the backswing, you’re going to push into that pedal, just inspiring that lower half to start disassociating and going the other way.

“Smooth, but then we’re going to crank down on the power. Sink down, wait, get loads into that left side and push up through strike. That’s where his power comes.”

Rory McIlroy’s driving statistics on the PGA Tour in 2025

It is not exactly a hot take to say that power is so important to the way McIlroy uses the driver. Only three players on the PGA Tour were less accurate with the longest club in the bag this past season.

But that has not negatively impacted him. He is inside the top five for strokes gained off the tee in 2025. That is a remarkable performance when you consider how erratic he can clearly be.

McIlroy will be remembered as one of the greatest golfers of all time having now completed the Career Grand Slam.

But perhaps it is fair to say that he still does not get quite enough credit for how consistent he has been in being one of the longest hitters year after year.