Rory McIlroy went to see Tiger Woods’ long-time coach Butch Harmon last week, and his daughter Poppy made him chuckle on the way out the door!
Rory McIlroy shared that his daughter Poppy offered him valuable advice as he was leaving for a golf lesson with Butch Harmon.
“McIlroy, who is 34 years old, shared his thoughts during an episode of the ‘I Can Fly’ podcast with former PGA Tour professional Morgan Hoffmann.
These comments were made prior to the Texas Open, where McIlroy is considered the favorite to win at TPC San Antonio.” The Northern Irish golfer continues to work with his coach Michael Bannon, whom he has been with for a long time.
However, he sometimes seeks advice from Tiger Woods’ former coach Harmon for a second opinion, as he did last week.
McIlroy visited Harmon for a lesson after not achieving any top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season.
This meeting took place just two weeks before The Masters, which begins on March 27th.
Woods won eight majors and 34 PGA Tour titles during his time with Harmon from ’97 to ’04.
Harmon started work with Woods in 1993.
But while McIlroy was more than happy with his decision to see Harmon last week, the World No.2 was given reassurance about his golf game before heading out the door by his three-year-old daughter Poppy.
Scroll below to watch:
McIlroy revealed on the ‘I Can Fly’ podcast:
“I went last week to see Butch Harmon for a golf lesson. I’ve seen him maybe like once every few years I’ll say ‘Hey Butch, can I just come see you and you can take a look and see what you think’. So I’m leaving for the airport last Wednesday morning and Poppy said to me ‘Dada, where you going?’ I said ‘I’m going to go for a golf lesson, I’ll be back in a couple of days’. And she goes ‘But Dada, you already know how to play golf!’ I was like ‘That’s probably the best piece of advice I’ve gotten in the last few years’.”
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE
McIlroy wanted to meet Harmon to get a second opinion about his swing, in particular his iron shots.
The four-time major champion currently ranks 119th in SG: Approach To Green.
Last season he was ranked eighth.
He told the Telegraph:
“The one thing I love about Butch is he’s worked with so many players. So, if you’re trying to explain to him, ‘Look, I’m trying to do this or I’m trying to create that feeling,’ the database of players that he’s worked with over the years, he could say, ‘Well, Freddie Couples felt this, or Tiger did this or DJ felt that. It’s always nice to have that reference.’”
McIlroy added:
“I have this amazing feeling with my woods at the minute, but when I try to recreate that feeling with the irons, it starts left and goes further left. I think it’s because you turn harder with a wood, you’re sort of clearing [your body] harder.
“I love this feeling of firing my right arm down the target line, and I can do that with my woods really well. But then when I try to do that with my irons, the club face closes over and goes left. It’s almost like two different swings. I have a swing thought for my woods and I need a different swing thought for my irons, and that’s what I’ve been working on.”
This week at the Texas Open, McIlroy will strive to achieve his first PGA Tour victory since the Genesis Scottish Open in July of last year.
He will then attempt to achieve the career grand slam by winning The Masters.