21 December 2011Last updated at 15:19

Rory McIlroy plays sky-high in Dubai

How do you top off a year when you became one of the biggest stars in your sport? US Open champion and Holywood native Rory McIlroy took to the skies over Dubai to practice his swing

The helipad of the Burj Al Arab hotel, 211m (692ft) in the air, must surely be one of the world's most spectacular driving ranges

Rory was recently named BBC Northern Ireland's Sports Personality of the Year for 2011 and he is now number three in the world rankings

The 22-year-old capped a spectacular year by winning the Hong Kong Open by two strokes at the beginning of December

Back when he was 9 years old Rory told BBC reporter Rod Nawn he wanted to win all of the golfing majors

At the time Rod remarked: "Remember the swing and remember the name, for at just nine-years-old Rory McIlroy from Holywood is following in the footsteps of his golfing hero, Tiger Woods."

The helipad has previously been used as a tennis court by Andre Agassi and Roger Federer and Ronan Keating used it to shoot the music video for his song 'Iris'

The Burj Al Arab is 321m (1,053 ft) high and was built on an artificial island linked to Dubai by a private bridge. It claims to be the world's only seven star hotel

Accepting the award for BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year, McIlroy said 2011 had been an "an amazing 12 months of my life". "It's been a year I will always remember, not least because I won my first major," he said.

"That victory at the US Open in Washington would not have been possible without the fantastic support from my family. I would also like to thank all the great support from everyone in Northern Ireland. Looking forward to getting to Belfast for Christmas - and then in 2012, hopefully bringing more silverware back home."

Northern Ireland

Rory McIlroy plays sky-high in Dubai

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