Augusta: Rory McIlroy received plenty of criticism for playing a round of golf with US President Donald Trump this year and on Tuesday, the Northern Irishman said he would "think twice" before accepting a second invitation.

World No. 2, McIlroy, who will launch his bid to complete the career Grand Slam of golf's four Majors at this week's US Masters, has said playing with Trump was not to be confused with an endorsement.

"It's a difficult one," McIlroy, 27, said at a news conference at Augusta National. "I felt I would have been making more of a statement if I had turned him down... but it was a round of golf and nothing more.

"Would I do it again? After the sort of backlash I received, I'd think twice about it."

McIlroy, a four-times Major champion, has previously said he was called a "fascist" and a "bigot" for accepting the invitation to play 18 holes with the president at Trump International Golf Club in Florida in February.

The former world No. 1 said on Tuesday that he was not interested in talking politics with Trump, but rather in taking in the scene that accompanies him.

"Whenever an invitation or a request comes my way, I don't want to say I jump at the chance. But at the same time, you know, to see the Secret Service, to see the scene, I mean, that's really what I was going for," McIlroy said.

"I mean, there was not one bit of politics discussed in that round of golf. He was more interested talking about the grass that he just put on the greens."

Coming back to the tournament, McIlroy had not forgotten 2011, when he was in the lead going into the final round. But then he carded an ugly 80 to blow his chances.

After top-10 finishes in the last three years, however, he believed he now had the experience to deal with any conditions at Augusta and he received advice this week from six-times Masters champion Jack Nicklaus.

"He said to me that he took on too much a couple of times and it cost him a couple of Green Jackets," McIlroy told reporters on Tuesday. "He said, it is a golf course that can tempt you into doing a little bit too much."

McIlroy remembered a costly error of judgement on the 11th hole of his third round in 2016 when he drove the ball into the pine straw bordering the fairway. "I'm trying to hit this low hook around and catch the hill, and trying to get it up on to the green and hit this heroic shot, and it goes in the water and I make a six. That's the last thing I needed," he said.

"Even if you make five, five is better than six. Take the water out of play. Just little things like that where the golf course tempts you to do something. So it's just a matter of being smart, taking your medicine when you have to and moving on."

McIlroy, 27, has had a quiet start to the season, missing several weeks due to a rib injury, but he has enjoyed his low-key preparations for the year's first major.

"The break allowed me to work on a few things in my game that whenever you're playing week-in, week-out you may neglect a little bit," he said.

"So I spent a good bit of time around the short-game area and the putting green. Obviously, it's of huge importance this week to have your short game as sharp as possible," McIlroy added.