Monday 2 December 2013 14:38, UK
It's not been the best season for Rory McIlroy, he's the first person to admit that, but no other golfer who isn't named Tiger Woods has had his game scrutinised more than the Northern Irishman, but he is sure that 2014 will bring about a resurgence.
Golf is a particularly mental sport, and McIlroy said that eve just the different sound of his new golf ball gives him more confidence, although it has also been performing well since he recently started using it in tournament play. "A lot of golf is about feel, and it's strange to say but the new ball just sounded to me like I had more control of it and that in itself gives you more confidence right away, so for me that's been a huge thing so far." In particular the way McIlroy has found the ball and driver combination of particular comfort, but in his irons he has been missing plenty of greens long, as he's found that he has even more yardage from his new set-up - a frightening thought for someone who already hits it a mile. "I've gained about half a club with this new ball. So that has just taken a little bit of time to adjust to, as I found I was missing a lot of greens long," McIlroy noted. "The larger face on the driver helps forgiveness on misses. When you're swinging a driver at 120 mph, you're not going to hit it out of the centre every time - or at least I'm not. Even if you look there are tee marks on my driver face that are more towards the toe and heel. "My ball flight has also tightened up a bit, which makes you more confident so you can go after it a little more. That's been big for me, just having that confidence to go after it a little more and know that even if I don't put a good swing on it, it's still going to go in that general direction."
