Rory McIlroy using device to monitor glucose levels as he looks to maintain momentum into 2023

How do the best athletes maximise their chances of success? Rory McIlroy, the World’s Number One golfer, is hoping thinking outside the box can help him in his pursuit of continued success in 2023.

Away from the week-to-week hours of practice or tournament action, there are often health trends and technological advancements that can be explored.

McIlroy, a four-time Major winner, has enjoyed a stellar year on both sides of the Atlantic – topping both the season-long standings on the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR but he is still striving to improve his game.

Speaking to us at last week’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai – where McIlroy finished fourth to secure his fourth Harry Vardon Trophy – he revealed how he is using a skin sensor to monitor his blood sugar levels.

“Obviously, you need to fuel up, but you want to make sure that you are fuelling up with the right stuff and you are not spiking your blood sugar too much,” McIlroy told the DP World Tour in Dubai.

“I started wearing it probably about five or six weeks ago. Just to see what effect different foods have on my body and what I react well to and what I don’t react so well to, especially coming into an off season where I’m trying to go into the gym, trying to build some muscle, not wanting to fuel up with stuff that is no good for me basically.”

The device, the size of a £2 coin, is worn on your arm and constantly checks your glucose levels during the day. Any worrying trends can quickly be spotted, with people who have type 1 diabetes in England given access to the wearable technology earlier this year.

“It’s been good, it’s been an education over the last few weeks,” he added. “I’ll maybe wear one until the end of the year and then that should be it. But there’s been some really good learning from it.”

McIlroy, who finished as European Number One for the first time since 2015 after eight top-five finishes in ten DP World Tour starts, is renowned as one of the leading golfers for the fastest average ball speed.

While he acknowledges the device’s use is not to help build mass, the Ryder Cup star believes that it will help him structure his off-season training this winter.

“If you have a little more mass the more you are able to produce speed, and the more mass is going to hit the golf ball. \[But\] it’s not really for that,” said the 33-year-old, who is set to make his first appearance of the 2023 DP World Tour season at the Dubai Desert Classic in January.

“You know, we all travel so much, we all expend so much energy throughout the year I’d say a lot of us \[players\] weigh lighter at the end of the year than we did at the start of the year just from all of the stuff that we do.

“It’s about trying to bring that base level up a little bit knowing that you’re going to lose a little bit of weight as the year goes on but trying to get to a level that if you lose a few kilograms here and there it’s not going to make a big difference.”

Last week, McIlroy became the first player to be World Number One, top the DP World Tour Rankings and FedExCup champion in the same year.

Confidence in winning a first Major title since 2014 next year would be well placed due to his momentum – something he hopes to maintain with the aid of real-time continuous glucose monitoring.