Newstalk Magazine is available now for free from the Apple app store.

When Rory McIlroy sat down with Ger Gilroy in the Off The Ball studio in October, the Northern Irish wunderkind admitted, “It hasn’t been the best season for me. I had a few struggles early on.” But McIlroy (as of writing, the world number 6) couldn’t hide his optimism for forthcoming events and his commitment to getting back on top of his game.

“I had a decent round at the PGA,” he told Ger. “A top ten there was a good way to finish off the last major of the season. I’ve still got a bit of golf this year, and all I’m trying to do is end the season well and build some momentum for 2014.”

Luckily, in the month or so since the interview, McIlroy has managed to make good on those words. Most prominently, he managed to beat Tiger Woods in an exhibition match held on Hainan Island in China—not a major tournament, but an extremely impressive display for a golfer who had struggled his way through a year’s worth of high-profile contests. Certainly a payday in excess of €1 million for his China victory shows it was a rather noteworthy win.

Despite the Off The Ball teams’ playful suggestions that his visit to Newstalk helped signal a turn in fortunes for the player, McIlroy has his own philosophy for pushing through the tougher times. “You think back to the struggles you’ve had before,” he observed. “Last year [2012] was my best season to date, but I still had a couple of months where I struggled—May, June and even July. It just shows you how quickly it can turn around. After that, I went and won my second major at the PGA, won a couple of FedEx cup events. Golf is very fickle and it can turn around very quickly.

Photo: INPHO/Cathal Noonan

Many observers have cited Rory’s change from Titleist to Nike clubs as a significant factor in his ‘off-year’. McIlroy has few regrets though, explaining, “I would have had to have done it sooner or later, and I’d rather sacrifice three months of my career, and it’s a long career, we have twenty years or more hopefully to really work on getting everything exactly right. It’s not a long time in the bigger picture. I wasn’t necessarily thinking it was going to be a pain in the ass, but I was thinking it’s better to do it now than to maybe not change everything and then a year down the line think ‘I’ve got to do all this now.’”

McIlroy believes it will always take time to fully adjust to these kinds of changes. “You talk to the engineers and the guys you work with, and thankfully I’ve got a great driver now,” he said with relief, but stressed, “It’s all about on the course. You can stand up with any driver in the world and hit it great on the range. But once you get out on the golf course… that’s when your true colours and its true colours really show.”

When the 24-year-old spoke to Off The Ball, he was visiting home in County Down on a short holiday. “I try to get home as much as I can,” he told Ger. “It keeps your feet on the ground. You go and play golf with your mates, and go out for a few beers, and they slag you and still see you as the same person from before any of this all happened. It’s great to keep that connection with home and the people who know you best.”

Although you might think he’d want to actively stay away from the golf course during such rare breaks from professional tournament and the intense practice regimen, McIlroy still finds a round of golf a fun, social activity. “It’s the only reason I would go out and play golf with my friends,” he said. “It’s more for the enjoyment than anything else. We’ll always have a good game. That’s the great thing about golf—with the handicap system, any four players can get together and have a good match.”

It’s not just friends and professionals Rory gets to play golf with, his superstar status affords him the opportunity to meet and play with some unexpected course partners. He recalled how he’d just enjoyed a round with Bill Clinton the day he was in studio. “He is fond of dropping another ball or two and taking a few mulligans, but I guess when you’ve been President you’re allowed do that sort of stuff,” McIlroy joked, before explaining, “he’s got a big passion for the game, [although] he said he played more golf when he was in the White House. He loves his golf, he’s a decent player.”

In terms of competition play, McIlroy is far from complacent. “I think the first win will always be the most special,” he acknowledged. “But I think it’s very important to back it up with a second one. I backed it up quite soon after… I won majors in consecutive seasons which is very tough to do. I always said a lot of guys—and no disrespect—have won one major, but to be a multiple major champion means a lot more. Once I won that second one, all I’m trying to do is win my third and go on.”

Rory McIroy kisses the Wanamaker Trophy 94th PGA Championship in August 2012 ©INPHO/Getty Images

For Rory, a victory in golf is not necessarily like the sudden burst of joy and adrenaline players in other sports might experience. He explained, “You work so hard and you wait quite a long time for it. It’s not like a split second reaction. A golf tournament is over the course of four days and there’s a lot of time to think about shots to play. It doesn’t come down to one split decision or reaction. It’s more just a really deep sense of satisfaction.”

With his equipment change having settled in and a strong end to 2013 behind him, odds are Rory McIlroy will not have to wait too long to feel that deep sense of satisfaction once again.

Listen to Off The Ball’s full interview with Rory

Off The Ball Mon – Thurs 7-10pm, Fri 7-9pm, Sat 2-6pm, Sun 1-6pm

This article originally appeared in Newstalk Magazine for iPad in November, for more details go here.