Golf superstar Rory McIlroy isn’t entirely satisfied with the current state of the game – and would like to see five changes in particular.

The Northern Irishman has his sights set on seeing at least five significant rule changes in the sport as he plans to scale back his playing schedule come 2025. After a 2024 where he “hit a bit of a wall,” playing in 24 events and yet again not securing a major win, McIlroy is seeking some transformation within golf.

In particular, his second-place snag at the US Open, where he just lost out to Bryson DeChambeau, was a particularly hard pill to swallow. And as he gears up for a lighter load in 2025, The Mirror US has highlighted the quintet of rule tweaks McIlroy believes could be on the horizon.

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Introduce a shot clock

McIlroy, 35, recently joined forces with Tiger Woods to push Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL), an in-studio, high-tech tournament that pits players against one another in a virtual arena. The duo announced TGL in a collaboration with the PGA Tour in 2022, and fans have been lapping up the novel format that puts celebrated golfers front and center in an exciting new way.

Quizzed about if TGL had any takeaways for PGA Tour events, McIlroy said: “Look, if you could somehow implement the shot clock in some way and be able to police it consistently, I think that would be a really cool thing.”

The 40-second time limit has injected a thrilling sense of urgency into the game, but McIlroy admitted it could be a challenge to apply under regular golfing conditions. He added: “Much easier to do in this controlled environment compared to a golf course that spans 100 or 200 acres.”

Ryder Cup selection

With the 2025 Ryder Cup on the horizon, McIlroy has also expressed his unease regarding the eligibility of Team Europe players who are now playing for LIV Golf. His concern is understandable, considering Jon Rahm’s crucial role in Europe’s triumph over Team USA at home in 2023.

European golfers wishing to partake in the Ryder Cup have to complete a minimum of four starts on the DP World Tour, which is tougher for some following its decision to suspend players associated with LIV Golf. While Rahm remains eligible to play on the DP World Tour amid his ongoing appeal against suspension, McIlroy has expressed his views that an official resolution is necessary.

“Jon is going to be in Bethpage in 2025 so, because of this decision, the tour are going to have to rewrite the rules for Ryder Cup eligibility, absolutely,” he told Sky Sports in 2024. “There’s no question about that. I certainly want Jon Rahm on the next Ryder Cup team.

“I’m going to miss competing against him week in and week out. He’s got so much talent, he’s so tenacious, he’s a great team-mate in the Ryder Cup.”

Fewer players

Last month, when asked about the PGA’s slow-play dilemma, McIlroy didn’t shy away from suggesting smaller fields are needed. That’s despite knowing it might ruffle some feathers due to its similarity to the controversial LIV Golf format.

“There’s a lot of different answers, but not every answer is going to make everyone happy,” he said. “Smaller fields would help pace of play, but that takes away playing opportunities from people and that’s going to p*** some people off.”

Tour card exclusivity

In line with other changes inspired by LIV, McIlroy has also supported the idea of issuing fewer PGA Tour cards, which is linked to trimming down tournament field sizes. And it may not come as a shock that he advocates for reserving competition slots for the truly elite performers given he has long fallen into that category.

“No, I mean, I’m all for making it more cut-throat, more competitive,” said the veteran in September 2024. “Probably won’t be very popular for saying this, but I’m all for less players and less tour cards, and the best of the best.”

Quicker tee times

The Irish great has also thrown his support behind the idea of reducing the interval between tee times to quicken the pace of play. With pace being a major concern in golf – especially during weekend rounds affected by poor weather – he suggests tighter scheduling could help.

“I think as well, the other thing is when we play this time of the year, the tee times have to be a little bit tighter together so that they can get everyone through with daylight and everything,” he said. “If you could be able to space the tee times out a little bit more, that would hopefully make things flow a little bit better.”

However, McIlroy was less adamant about this solution, acknowledging the potential for significant change is limited. Factors such as course design and shot length mean there’s only so much room to adjust tee time intervals.

“I think as well, nowadays most people go for par-fives in two, so you’ve got to wait on that. You’ve got longer par-threes,” he continued. “There’s a lot of different things that go into it. I don’t know. It seems like you can maybe improve it by 15 or 20 minutes, but that’s still a five-and-a half-hour round into a five-hour and 15 [minute] round. Is that really improving enough to make a huge change?”

While Rory McIlroy is still grinding to get that long-awaited fifth major, his fellow Northern Irishman and mentee, Tom McKibbin, seems peaceful with the idea of never competing in one.

The 22-year-old made a bold move by ditching his hard-earned PGA Tour card and signing with LIV Golf, joining Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII. McKibbin secured a coveted PGA Tour card through his impressive DP World Tour performances. And guess what? He’s completely unbothered by what he’s giving up.

“The opportunity to get to play with guys out here more often and more consistently was definitely a huge factor. But I think I wasn’t in — I’m not in those majors anyway at the minute, so it really didn’t bother me too much,” McKibbin said about missing out on the majors and the Ryder Cup. For McKibbin, this $4.9M worth move wasn’t a last-minute, impulsive one, he’s been keeping an eye on LIV Golf since it launched and he surely liked what he saw. “I’ve watched this for the last couple of years since it started, and it’s something that I’ve really liked to watch, something very different, something that probably appeals to more people my age,” he said.

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LIV felt more exciting and more modern. It gave him a chance to tee it up with some of the biggest stars like Bryson DeChambeau, Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, and many more; “I think sort of the opportunity to get to play with these guys here and learn from some of the best players in the world week in, week out is something that appealed very, very nicely to me.” 

Now that he has teed off at one event, the LIV season opener in Riyadh, he has more clarity on how he likes the league. “I really liked the music. I think the music was super cool, and then that halftime show standing on the fourth tee watching that was pretty awesome. I think all of us in the group really, really enjoyed that.” Clearly, he’s thrilled, and so is his skipper. Rahm made that very clear after round one of LIV Riyadh.

It’s been amazing to get Tom as an addition. To get such a young player with his experience, already established and a winner as a professional multiple times is hard to come by. I’m thrilled that he decided to join the team or join the Legion.” Adding McKibbin will ensure a more consistent year for Rahm. You see, for the first time, all four scores will count in each round for every team, and the Spaniard believes his team will benefit from the change.

“I like it. I like it. I think it benefits a team like ours. I think we have four really strong players that are really consistent. So, I think it’s better for the league in general for everybody to matter every single day because Sunday is usually really, really fun. At least last year, it was incredibly fun in that regard.” He not only praised him he even shared how easy it was to get him onboard.

“We got very lucky that we were able to sign such a fantastic player at a young age. And if I’m really not mistaken, without a lot of opposition, right? That we were the only team really going after him. So thrilled to have him on the team. I hadn’t really played a lot. I think it shows he wanted to come here. You put him in a very unusual week. You’re in Saudi Arabia under the lights in a golf course that he hadn’t seen and hurt himself already.”

Indeed, Rahm is confident about McKibbin, but there’s one person who definitely isn’t celebrating this move—Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy and McKibbin go way back. Both grew up playing golf at Hollywood Golf Club, and the World No.3 has long been a mentor figure to the young star. So, naturally, when the LIV offer came knocking, McKibbin reached out to McIlroy for advice. And as expected, he wasn’t on board. “As soon as he got the offer, he rang me. We had a really good conversation and I talked to him multiple times over the course of December to get a feel for what he was thinking, and what he was going to do. All I could do is give my perspective.”

McIlroy who is also a LIV critic was quite straightforward with his stance saying, “I really like Tom as a person, as a player. I think he’s got a ton of potential,” McIlroy added. “I said to him, ‘If I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice than the one you’re thinking of making.’” For McIlroy, the biggest frustration seems to be that McKibbin worked so hard to get his PGA Tour card, only to walk away from it.

“I think, you know, working so hard to get your Tour card in the States, something that he did, to achieve that goal last year was a big achievement. But if I were in his position and I had his potential, which I think I have been before, I wouldn’t make that decision. But I’m not him. I’m not in his shoes. He’s a grown man at this point and can make his own decisions. All I can do is try to give him my perspective.”

Still, McIlroy made it clear that while he doesn’t agree, he won’t stand in McKibbin’s way. “It would personally for me it would be a little disappointing if it were to happen but again, I made it perfectly clear: I am not going to stand your way if you need to make the decision you feel like you need to make for yourself. But at the same time, I feel like he’s giving up a lot to not really benefit that much,” McIlroy said.

While not everyone has given him a thumbs up for his decision, at the end of the day, McKibbin is sticking with it. His career, his choice, right? Now, it’s up to him to prove it, and have no regrets later.