What many golf fans are already noticing about Rory McIlroy’s new swing after changes made

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Rory McIlroy made an interesting claim about his swing during his pre-tournament press conference ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links.

The Northern Irishman is competing for the first time since the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and is in pole position to land a sixth Race to Dubai crown.

After coming close at the BMW PGA Championship and Irish Open, McIlroy has been practicing at home, and the four-time major winner revealed he’s been taking no notice of his ball flight.

“I sort of committed after the Dunhill that I wasn’t going to watch my ball flight for three weeks,” McIlroy said. “So locked myself indoors in like a swing studio for three weeks and just hit balls into a blank screen or net and just focused on my swing and focused on the movement of my swing and focused on movement of my body patterns.

“Had a live feed on a TV in front of me of where the club was, and just sort of trying to get the reps in of making the motion that I want to make.”

Golf fans react to Rory McIlroy’s swing changes

Footage of McIlroy has since emerged from Yas Links, and many fans believe the Northern Irishman’s alterations have set him up to rely heavily on a fade.

“Looks much more fade biased,” wrote @cryptigre.

JohnW_Forster added: “Quicker set at the start of the rotation, making the clubface less closed at the top. Less left misses, hopefully.”

Mark Seed also noticed the fade bias. “Less dip. More on top of the ball. Likely a small push fade pattern,” he wrote on X.

Another fan, @OxPuff, added: “Looks like he’s very open to target…Trying to play a fade now?”

@ArronOberholser also claimed McIlroy would be able to play a fade more easily. “More “around”. More down the line at the top, less across. Looks like an earlier set away from the ball,” he wrote. “He’s going to be able to hit fades much easier from here.”

Rory McIlroy off to a fast start at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

McIlroy’s swing alterations appear to be paying off. The Northern Irishman has started fast in Abu Dhabi and currently sits at five under. Tommy Fleetwood leads the way after a round of 62, and LIV Golf star Tyrrell Hatton is also one of the pacesetters at eight under.

As for McIlroy, the Northern Irishman will be desperate to finish his season on a high. The four-time major winner hasn’t quite recovered from his US Open heartache and has failed to get over the line since the event at Pinehurst No.2 in July.

This week’s HSBC and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai provide McIlroy with an excellent chance to get back in the winner’s circle. The Northern Irishman’s last victory came at the Wells Fargo Championship the week prior to May’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.