All the top golfers love playing on a challenging course that really tests their skills. Only the best can overcome those obstacles and come out on top. As a spectator, their outstanding stroke play from difficult angles caught our attention the most. And Rory McIlroy is no different.

Defending the Truist Championship title at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, the Irishman is not used to playing on this course. His last four wins in this event came at Quail Hollow, which has become a haven for him over the years. But the fairway in Philly has not proven to be a big challenge for him.

In his post-round press conference, McIlroy spoke about the obstacles at the Wissahickon Golf Course. He said, “If the golf ball just went a little shorter, this course would be awesome. Not that it isn’t awesome anyway, but just right now with the distances we hit it it’s probably 500-600 yards too short. It would be amazing to play courses like this the way the architect wanted you to play them,” as confirmed by a tweet by Fried Egg Golf. The Irishman believes that the course is a little too small for long hitters like him.

McIlroy managed to score 3-under par 67 in the second round. It was one stroke worse than his performance from Thursday, where he managed 4-under 66. Keith Mitchell, who sits at the top of the table, 5 strokes clear of the Irishman, has been able to maneuver around the short-range Philly course much better.

Fans expressed their frustration in the Grand Slam champion’s assessment of the course. They were not pleased about how McIlroy tried to degrade the fairway by claiming it wasn’t up to the standards of PGA Tour events.

Rory McIlroy catches heat for ‘insufferable’ take on course

Rory McIlroy may have thought he was delivering a fair criticism, but his feedback about the course made him seem a bit arrogant. As one fan pointed out, “This guy and his microphones. Insufferable.” They can’t stand the fact that the Irishman always has something critical to say in press conferences. He had something similar to say at the Texas Children’s Houston Open earlier this year when he questioned the rules applied for hitting bad shots off the tee. Those comments were also not well received by the community.

Another fan taunted McIlroy for his demands from the course. They commented, “So not a “big boy” course as you like to call them,” suggesting that the 5-time major winner’s ego was not satisfied playing in such a smaller course. Hope he doesn’t get a reality check when he returns to his favorite Quail Hollow course against the best golfers in the world.

The long-range hitter that he is, Rors might be at a disadvantage on more intricate short-distance courses that rely on technique rather than raw power. That is what one of the fans had to say when they commented, “Rory benefits from longer courses, of course he would say this lol.” The Irishman only seems to criticize courses that don’t play in his favor.

Someone also pointed out how there are other ways to make the course more challenging than what McIlroy suggested. Their comment read, “Tighter fairways, longer rough. Make missing the fairway actually hurt. Not that hard!” Modifying the courses to make it more difficult to land on the shorter grass will certainly make them more challenging for players like Rory McIlroy.

The 36-year-old’s comments also seemed a bit regressive to some fans. One of them said, “The object of the game is the same, get the ball in the hole as quickly as possible. Why is golf the only sport that discourages progress?” They seem to believe that the course needs to be adapted to be suitable for modern technology and new-age golfers. Asking the pros to tone down their strokeplay is not the way golf can move forward.

There are quite a few conflicting opinions from Rory McIlroy and the fans on tackling the issues of professional golf. Which side are you on?