Rory McIlroy's simple tip for how amateur golfers can improve

Earlier this week, the PGA Tour released a video, where Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Haotong Li surprised five junior golfers at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, to deliver some one-to-one coaching. The players watched the rising stars closely and helped them where they could and provided some interesting insights as to how they can improve.

Schauffele had some advice for one of the junior golfers. "Play with someone that's older than you or better than you, that will also progress your game. I'd say just keep doing what you're doing and you'll be good to go."

Learning from the best.

Five rising stars got the lesson of a lifetime at the WGC-HSBC Champions. pic.twitter.com/vKDtRPTwS8

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 31, 2019

Later on, McIlroy was asked by a reporter whether he had found a playing partner who was older than him or who he didn't like, that helped him improve his game.

“I think for me, I was always the youngest to play, whether it be at my home golf club or in competitions,” he said. “So I was always playing with people that were better than me, and I think that — even my caddie now, Harry, he’s basically five years older than me, and he was a very good player, and I always played with him. So Harry was always better than me growing up as a kid, but that made me a better player because I saw what level I needed to get to.

“I don’t think you necessarily, you know, you don’t have to not like the person that you’re playing with,” McIlroy continued. “But I think it’s a wonderful piece of advice to find people that are better than you and to play with them, because it shows you what you need to do to get to that next level.”

If there's someone to take advice from, it's Rory McIlroy. So if your game is struggling to improve, try playing with someone older than you who plays a higher standard of golf and see how you get on.