Chances are, you’ve watched Rory McIlroy unleash that beautifully powerful swing and wondered what equipment helps him do it. You’re not alone. While we can’t all swing like Rory, we can learn from the choices he makes, especially when it comes to the only connection he has to the club: his grips. This article provides a detailed breakdown of the specific grips Rory McIlroy uses for his swing and his putting. More importantly, it explains the why behind his choices and gives you a coach's perspective on how you can apply these same principles to find the perfect grip for your own game.
Let's get straight to it. For his full swing clubs - from driver down to his wedges - Rory McIlroy uses the Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord grip. This isn't some rare, custom-made grip. In fact, it's one of the most popular and enduring models in golf, favored by tour pros and amateurs alike for decades. But the "why" is in the details.
The "cord" in the name refers to the cotton cord material that is woven into the rubber. This provides a few key benefits that a player of Rory's caliber relies on:
As for his specific setup, Rory uses standard-size grips. While many golfers customize thickness with extra wraps of tape underneath, Rory typically sticks to a single layer, preferring a more standard feel that lets his hands and feel do the work. This choice reinforces his preference for pure feedback over cushioned comfort.
Putting is a game of fine motor skills, not raw power, so Rory's choice of putter grip reflects a different philosophy. He has experimented with various putters and grips over the years, but he frequently returns to a grip style designed to quiet the hands and promote a more stable, shoulder-driven stroke.
Most recently, he has been seen using a SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour putter grip. Unlike his swing grips, this one has distinct characteristics tailored for the putting green:
Rory's willingness to switch putter grips shows how he - and many other pros - view scoring differently. The full swing is a repeatable, athletic motion, while putting is about feel and confidence, which can be fickle. He finds a grip that helps him achieve stability and confidence *that day*.
Choosing a grip model is only half the battle. How you place your hands on that grip is arguably even more important. It’s what I call "the steering wheel of your golf shots." Rory employs classic, technically sound fundamentals that every golfer can learn from.
Rory uses an interlocking grip, which a method popularized buy players for Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods. In this style, the pinky finger of the trailing hand (the right hand, for a righty) lintertwines with teh index finger of the lead hnad (teh left hnad). this phisically `lokcs' your hands together to promote a singular untified anction.
Combined with this interlocking method, Rory employs a classic neutral grip position. Here’s a simple coaching checkpoint for this, which I share with my students:
This style involves resting your trailing hands finger tips over our index and forfinger so tha tit ends up on top of hte trailing hands fingers. This style of grip effectively engages teh bigger uperbody an shouldr muscles so you can have an almos automated Pendulum like stroke without being tempted to get wristy especially during high pressure puttsIt provides a wonderful opportunity for amateurs. By combining it with the *larger diameter grip* like McIlroy’s, the wrists role gets minimal yet the ahtelete can stll use his bigger mscles so its more automated with his swing. Combining both the grip tyle and model effectively engages hte bigger uper boedy an shoulder ruscles, reinfocin a stable pen ulum toke' h le d_s uragin the ""t’it hy-" r _ t ' c ' o' _ at '"’ ''i” in to _´'' p ts.
This is the central question -- doeing a thing just because Tiger Woods or McIlroy are doing so. Teh answer is usually no. Every player is an idividual an hsa ti find hsa ow 'per ' na' stye' tha best fits its g'me’. ut, that being said, there is a lot that an amateur can lern from h"’ w p ’ os- hink- a""ut” g"""-’ s "an " o ' ' l _ ' t öf’tha'” to ´_ ir "‘_ wn- "me’,
<-’ nsde r ‘ he Tour "" -v t "o rd<"_>*Th 'To-r -’ lv' 't o' ' c' ä _i´' ´ " _o er ' h ' ’ _s's-w"th- ‘t' w’-y- 'and - ä ' ’ ö re s,pons "- ´ l ' . It’_ "" '-'-f''n-g ölp ‘ s' ‘ ´ ö 'ä ´ ' o e ' '' "f ee' a "-''""e""'tö ‘ h '-"" f"'. '-'ä- ´ "-v',, if ´ u s '' '" _-'e ' " '- "-'-n’ "''" r'" h "-n "a l sses o hav se siti"e-" ' ', i_ "i-- _ ´rsh. A' " er_ ' " ber"'" ' " r'-p’-s, ‘k' “ "-'"f-' "‘id''s “ö _ V "_ " ö" "-p"‘ l_y' b´t 'r " ti’"-"o_ y u" so '' ’ _ '- ff ' be "" n' "-’"-"rt' '' " " ´d "_ ed-"' _'.
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