Rory McIlroy: The Sweetest Swing Currently in the Game

When a player of the stature of 14-time major winner Tiger Woods concedes that new US Open champion, Rory McIlroy, has a superior swing to his at a similar age, it is little wonder why the golfing world is predicting a huge future for the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland.

McIlroy propelled himself in to golf’s big-time last month when becoming the youngest player since Bobby Jones in 1923 to win the US Open.

He finished the four rounds at Congressional with a record score of 16 under par, a full eight shots clear of Australian, Jason Day, in second place. They were just two of the eventual 11 US Open records that he broke when winning the title.

This win was even more remarkable in light of the way McIlroy "blew up" in the final round of the Masters back in April, which he went into with a four-shot lead, but ended up firing a disastrous round of 80 and finishing only in a tie for 15th place and leaving fans and media questioning his mental steel to win a major at the tender age of 22.

That final round at Augusta was one of the very few times that the otherwise magnificent swing of the Ulsterman went slightly awry, causing him to hit waywardly off the tee. The fact that he overcame his swing difficulties by the time the US Open came around bears testimony to the fact that his swing is almost perfect and only required minor tweaking to get him back in the groove at Congressional.

The strength and stability of his swing is a big reason why McIlroy was able to shrug off the disaster he had in the final round at The Masters. Amidst the media frenzy that ensued after that collapse, McIlroy merely pointed out that he would put it to the back of his mind and get on with the next tournament and do that he certainly did!

Teeing off for the first round alongside four time Major winner Phil Mickelson and the huge hitting Dustin Johnson, McIlroy was quick to assert himself, hitting the perfect spot on the opening fairway, while his playing partners were both wayward off the tee. He went on to birdie the hole, effectively setting the precedent for the remaining 71 holes; his swing was back at its best.

McIlroy's swing is all about rhythm, there is never any unwanted movement, never any twitches; never any head movement. The club goes up behind in a very single smooth action and comes back seemingly equally as smoothly.

Unlike a lot of golfers, he manages to generate considerable power during the transition from the back swing to the ball strike by using his squat like stance as leverage on the ground. This allows him to hit the ball prodigious distances if necessary but it always provides him a very high percentage of accuracy.

McIlroy makes it look like a simple process but to mere mortals, it is hard to equal and one must think that with further experience, he is only going to get better.

It may come as a surprise to learn that McIlroy has only won three tournaments since turning professional. However, a look at his record reveals that this young man is often in contention in most tournaments.

Since July 2009, McIlroy has enjoyed 27 top-10 finishes, including his US Open win. We all know that he should have won the Masters in April and in the final two majors of 2010, the PGA and Open Championships, he finished tied for third in both.

Next up for McIlroy and his mercurial swing is the Open Championship at Royal St George's, Sandwich, England; the same venue where Ben Curtis shot to glory in 2003.

Having made no attempt to hide his preference for links golf, Rory McIlroy is sure to relish this course and following his efforts at the past four majors, the one round at Augusta aside, who could seriously back against the current 'sweetest swing' in the game winning back-to-back majors?