Certain junior years for a player are critical in developing speed. For juniors, learning to swing the club with speed and quickness while young will benefit their entire future golfing careers.  I have heard many adults in the game tell junior players to “swing easier”.  For juniors this is the opposite of what they should hear and often a misconception in the game.  Juniors, especially in their early junior years, will develop many characteristics of how they swing the club.  The years before juniors reach the ages of 13 or 14 are very important years for creating speed characteristics which may last the rest of their careers.  Many of the best players in the game and many longer hitters learned to swing the club fast and hard while young.  Many players and experts say although it is possible to increase your swing speed later in your career, it is much more difficult than doing so while young.

It is very important for juniors to keep their balance well in this process.  This is an element juniors, parents, and their teachers need to be cognoscente about in the process of developing their speed.  The junior needs to be able to swing fast, but do so while maintaining control and balance.

Another important aspect to teach talented juniors is to play a slight draw while swinging aggressively. In fact many of the best of all time, Tiger Woods included, often played draws through junior years and were very long for their ages.  The trait of length stayed with them their entire careers and they learned to play more neutral ball flights as they got older.  Playing a draw teaches juniors to develop other characteristics which can lead to better distance, especially characteristics through impact and on tee shots.  If you are someone who is helping a talented junior, remember and apply the above information to their game.  I promise you they will thank you later, especially when they reap the benefits a high amount of speed and great distance gives them as an older player.

The post Developing Speed While Young first appeared on Peter Norwood.com.

A tournament week reveals the realist look into a player’s mental strength.  A player’s demeanor and attitude prior to, during, and just after tournaments reveals the most realistic look into their mental strength and level of ability.  Vast differences are seen in players who succeed under pressure and players who struggle under pressure.

Important tournament weeks are not only true tests of players’ abilities, they are the truest tests of mental strength.  They show players’ levels of self belief and confidence.  They expose mental weaknesses and fears.  Attitudes, beliefs, and demeanors during these weeks can be much different from attitudes, beliefs, and demeanors during other weeks.  The weaker the mental game, the more difference is seen between non-tournament weeks and tournament weeks.  A common result for weaker minded players is shooting higher scores in tournament play compared to non-tournament rounds.  If course conditions are similar, yet scores are frequently higher in tournament play, the player’s mental game definitely is playing a role.  A player can then conclude and except this fact.  It is also the point where players need to learn how their mental outlook changes and begin steps to improve it.

There is a difference between nervousness and negative performance anxiety.  The majority of great players throughout the history of the game feel nerves prior to and in moments of tournament play.  The difference between the players who excel and struggle is rooted in their mental outlook and demeanor in these pressure moments.

Players who excel play with great self belief, high expectations of success, and exhibit attitudes of extreme inner confidence.  Players who struggle experience higher levels of nerves, play with low self belief, low expectations of success, high fears of failure and embarrassment, and exhibit low levels of inner confidence.  These inner beliefs and attitudes can be seen in body languages and through conversations to others, spectators, and the media.  I often recognize these elements while talking to, listening to, and observing numerous players in weeks of tournaments.  It is something which occurs in all levels of tournament play, even in the highest levels of the game.

The outlook is similar when comparing top golfers to athletes in other sports.  For example, players who succeed in basketball, baseball, and football have similar mental outlooks to players who succeed in competitive golf.  Players who succeed in these other sports demonstrate similar mental outlooks to golfers who succeed in tournament play.  Players who make winning shots, hits, catches, and throws in moments of high pressure demonstrate similar mental outlooks to golfers who successfully hit golf shots in high pressure situations.  The same applies on the opposite side of the coin.  Players who struggle making important shots, hits, catches, and throws have similar mental outlooks to golfers who struggle facing important golf shots in moments of pressure.

The game’s greatest tournament players demonstrate the highest levels of mental strength in weeks of important tournament play.  They go into tournament weeks with an expectation to win; they believe they are the player to beat.  They believe their abilities are better than all other players in the field.  They fear no one and no moment, their body language exhibits a level of confidence and arrogance.  If you were to observe Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus the weeks of tournaments, you would feel an aura of confidence just by standing next to them.  They walk around tournaments as if they own them.  Great competitors’ minds are filled with thoughts and beliefs of success, memories of successes, and thoughts of winning the current weeks’ event.  Negativity and fear does not exist in their minds at their best.  When you see a press conference from Tiger Woods before an event, especially important events, and he is asked about his goal for the week, you will undoubtedly hear him say, “To win.”  I have never heard him answer with a different reply.  This same level of self belief is found in the other greatest players who compete in the game.

Players who commonly struggle in tournaments demonstrate lower levels of mental strength.  They exhibit low levels of self belief and inner confidence.  They go into tournament weeks with low expectations of winning.  They focus upon other players they unconsciously believe have superior abilities when compared to themselves.   Their body languages exhibit auras of fear, low self belief, and lower inner confidence.  They walk around tournament areas not feeling comfortable, feeling as if they don’t belong.  They walk around anxious and scared.  Their minds are commonly filled with fear, thoughts of failure, memories of previous failures, fears of embarrassment, and negative thoughts.  They commonly play to avoid failure instead of playing to experience success.  When you talk to these players, they commonly mention current or previous struggles, and are fearful of discussing expectations for success.  These beliefs commonly turn into self full-filling prophecies and hold true.  Wins in tournament play come from players who expect to win; failures in tournament play come from players who expect to fail.

If a player finds themselves shooting higher scores in tournament play than outside of tournaments, the player is most likely experiencing some of the mental weaknesses discussed above.  These players need to focus upon improving their mental demeanors and attitudes.  This is more difficult than it sounds, and often will take time and dedication to improve.  I know many players who decide to work with sports psychologist to help improve mental weaknesses.  Although I feel receiving support from sports psychologist can be a beneficial activity for players who struggle mentally, doing so must not be the only process for improvement.  These players must also incorporate some other important activities.  These are the same activities all successful competitors rely upon, activities undertaken by many successful competitor who have never spent time with sports psychologists.

The first of these activities is competing in pressure situations as frequently as possible.  I feel nothing is as valuable for improving mental strength as competing in pressure situations as frequently as possible.  Overtime, players will feel more comfortable prior to, during, and after competitive events.  Overtime, doing so helps negative outlooks and attitudes change into positive outlooks and attitudes.  This occurs because the repetitive nature of competing lowers levels of nerves. It also increases chances for players to experience moments of success in competition.  Both of these elements go a long way in developing mental strength.  I say again, nothing is more valuable for improving mental strength than participating in as many competitions as possible.

Another vital activity players can undertake is improving their overall golfing ability.  Improving golfing ability will often contribute to better competitive performance.  When a player becomes a better golfer, their bad rounds improve.  When these players compete as an improved player, even when struggling mentally, their rounds will be better than the struggling tournament rounds of their past.  Improvement in scores leads to an increase in self belief and confidence, thus starting the cycle for further improvement in tournament play.  I believe this is another vital activity a player can undertake.  Improvement creates higher self belief through the fundamental concept of improving overall golfing ability.

The next activity a player can undertake is preparing properly for specific tournaments.  This encompasses not only practicing current weaknesses in their games prior to specific tournaments, but practicing in manners which aids in tournament success.  This is done by practicing and engraining shots they will face in the upcoming tournament.  If courses require certain types of shots, players increase chances for execution by practicing them prior to tournaments.  Many of the game’s best prepare for the most important tournaments in this manner, including the likes of Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.

Another activity players can undertake is to hire a wonderful caddy.  The most important caddy trait is the ability to raise self belief and confidence in important events and moments.  Nothing is more important from a caddy than this element, an element more important than carrying bags, obtaining and giving yardages, or reading putts.   A great caddy is one who builds and reinforces self belief and confidence.  A caddy can do so in numerous ways, in anything from reinforcing prior successes, making positive statements, helping players avoid negative thought patterns, or just saying the right things in the right moments.  Caddies who raise players’ self belief and confidence in pressure moments are well worth the price.

I have talked about differences in the mental games of top tournament players and players who struggle in pressure situations.  I have not only demonstrated traits from both types of competitors, but also discussed ways to improve mental strength.  If you struggle mentally in pressure, dedicate yourself to the activities I described above.  If you do so, you will see improvement in your future.  Also take security in knowing future improvement only builds further future improvement.  Tournament success is like a snowball rolling down a hill, increasing with each revolution.

The post Competitive Demeanor and Attitude first appeared on Peter Norwood.com.

            All great competitive golfers have inner arrogance.  These golfers have extreme amounts of inner belief; internally they are cocky.  Inside their minds, they believe they are great, a substantial competitor, someone to be reckoned with.   Great competitive golfers play to win, they are not afraid.  They are golfers who win under pressure.

I mentioned cocky “internally”.   Although these players may not voice these beliefs to others, they definitely exist in their minds and hearts.  Having strong beliefs, while not voicing them, is a powerful way to compete in this game.  Voicing strong beliefs about oneself can lead to creating more internal pressure, a result of feeling they need to justify their spoken beliefs by achieving them.   This is why having strong self belief, but not voicing it is so powerful.   It creates high confidence levels with low public and internal pressure.  I assure you, this is powerful.  Never assume soft spoken and quiet golfers are not arrogant about themselves and their ability.  These quiet golfers might be tenaciously cocky and ruthless internally.  They might realize not voicing this arrogance makes it even stronger.  These are the golfers to watch out for; there are many great competitive golfers who fit this bill.

How high are levels of inner arrogance?  Through what lengths does inner arrogance exist?  All top competitive golfers have high degrees of inner arrogance, often even during times of struggle.  These golfers know how good they are, and acknowledge times of struggle as unusual phases which will eventually disappear.  Top golfers feel high degrees of inner arrogance before competition, during competition, and in high pressure situations.  I am not saying these golfers don’t get nervous, because almost all golfers do, including the world’s best.  The difference is they have high confidence, even during nervous moments.  This is much different for golfers with low self belief; for these golfers, times of nerves often lower levels of confidence.

How do I know top competitive golfers have high inner confidence?  I know this for a few reasons.   Many have shared these beliefs to people close to them, such as friends, family, coaches, and sports psychologists.  One can also sense their strong self belief through listening to press conferences and interviews.  Although these golfers may not specifically voice their beliefs, it can often be felt through how they answer and defer questions.  It can be sensed through their body language and overall demeanors.  They walk and play with an aura of confidence.

If you want to play to your own highest potential, inner arrogance and confidence is a fundamental aspect you must acquire.  Remember, though it’s best to not voice these feelings to others, having them internally is essential to reaching your highest potential.  I want you to become the most arrogant golfer you can be, as arrogant as possible, just keep the arrogance to yourself.

The post Inner Arrogance first appeared on Peter Norwood.com.

The relevance of many movements in a player’s backswing should be largely dependent upon their current downswing movements and ball striking characteristics.  Compared to the downswing, there are many more differences seen in the backswings among tour professionals.  A great deal of uniqueness is seen in the backswings of some of the best golfers to ever play.  The backswing is important, but there is much more room for individualism than in the downswing.  Due to this room for individualism, changes made to a player’s backswing need to be very well thought out, and these changes are often best made with the help of a talented professional.

The movements in a player’s backswing do effect the movements of the player’s downswing, but how much and in what way depends upon the player.  Everyone is different in this respect, and this is a big reason why so many differences are seen among the backswings of tour professionals and top players.  Below is a list of some very successful players that have unique traits in their backswings.

Unique Backswings Traits of Some Successful Tour Professionals

Players with Inside Takeaways                     Players with Outside Takeaways

Raymond Floyd                                                Colin Montgomery

Bruce Lietzke                                                   Lee Trevino

John Daly                                                         Fred Couples

Y.E. Yang                                                        Jay Haas

Players Whose Club is Across-the-Target-Line at the Top of the Backswing

Fred Couples

Davis Love III

Tom Watson

Players Whose Club is Laid-Off from the Target Line at the Top of the Backswing

Bart Bryant

Jerry Kelly

Sergio Garcia

Players with Longer Backswings          Players with Shorter Backswings

Carlos Franco                                                  Sergio Garcia

Rory Sabatinni                                                Retief Goosen

Sam Snead                                                       Tommy Armour III

Walter Hagen                                                   Johnathon Byrd

Players with Flatter Backswings         Players with more Upright Backswings

Chad Campbell                                                Jim Furyk

Zach Johnson                                                   Tom Watson

Ryan Armour                                                  Jack Nicklaus

Ben Hogan                                                       Byron Nelson

Players with Closed Clubfaces             Players with Open Clubfaces

David Duval                                                     Ben Hogan

Lee Trevino                                                     Johnny Miller

Boo Weekly                                                     Daniel Chopra

Players with Cupped Left Wrists at the top of Backswing

Paul Azinger

Ben Hogan

Tim Clark

Players with Bowed Left Wrists at the top of Backswing

Rich Beem

Tom Lehman

Arnold Palmer

These are some examples of a few players on tour that have these characteristics in their backswings.  There are many more with the same characteristics.  These different backswing traits work very well for these tour professionals.  I emphasize that although there are similarities seen in many backswings in tour professionals, there is much more room for difference when compared to the downswing.

Although there are many differences seen in the backswings of the best players, the backswing is still important.  This importance is found in understanding how the movements of a player’s backswing affect their downswings, ball striking, and ability to repeat overtime.  Every player should eventually understand what movements in their backswings are relevant for them and what movements are not.  They need to understand that changing some movements that make their backswings unique might do more harm than good, and that these unique movements may not play a penal role in their swing.  They also need to understand what movements in their backswings have an effect on the troublesome movements in their downswings and upon their ball striking.  If a player comes to learn that some movements in their backswing are negatively affecting their ball striking, they then need to learn the best ways to improve upon them.  This process is often best done with the help of an educated and talented golf professional.

So what is the purpose of the backswing?  The backswing’s purpose is to develop a motion that enables a player to create the best and most repeatable downswing, and helps a player to maximize their physical characteristics for creating power and speed.  This applies differently for many players found throughout the game of golf and is why a similar type of backswing cannot be taught to all players.

The post The Backswing’s Purpose first appeared on Peter Norwood.com.

            The power of sitting and thinking, it is a logical and meaningful task many great players undertake.  It’s unfortunately a task most other golfers never undertake.  Sitting down and thinking critically about one’s game can be extremely helpful, especially in moments of struggle.  Sitting down and thinking critically about cause and effect often leads players down the quickest road to improvement and recovery from struggle.

When Ben Hogan used to practice through the years of his career, one of the most important things he did was sitting down in each practice session and thinking about the current state of his game.  Ben would often sit down and smoke a cigarette while contemplating every aspect of his current game and practice strategy.  He would do so especially in moments and times of struggle.  Ben would sit down and think about what his golf shots were telling him about his game.  He would think about his ball flight, his divots, and caliber of contact at impact.  He would think about what he was currently trying to do.  He would then develop a strategy for the future in order to improve.  Ben did so on countless occasions, a process which was witnessed by many players and spectators through his years.  Ben did so in many locations, often while he practiced at home and often while he practiced and prepared at some of the biggest tournaments in the world.

Jack Nicklaus did the same thing throughout his entire career, a process which contributed to his ability to quickly recover from times of struggle.  Jack discovered at an early age that logically thinking about his shots was more beneficial to the experimental search many golfers undertake in moments of struggle.  He always approached practice and playing with a meaningful game plan, a plan he developed from logically pondering the current state of his game, time thinking about cause and effect, and logically developing a plan for near and long term improvement.

It is unfortunate many golfers in the game do the opposite of sitting down and logically thinking in moments of struggle.  I often see struggling golfers undertake a process I would describe as a frantic trial and error search.  I often see golfers begin to struggle, have no reason why, and begin illogically trying countless new things to see better results.  I can’t tell the number of times I have witnessed golfers doing so on driving ranges and on courses.  I often see golfers frantically trying different technique after technique, different swing thought after swing thought, often to no avail of improvement, often even worsening the amount of struggle.  It is a process which leads to many to leaving ranges and courses with great frustration and dismay, and even to quitting playing the game permanently.  To my benefit, it is a process which also often  leads to getting lessons from golf professionals or teachers.  I have seen golfers of all levels go through countless times of struggle and frustration, then to take part in the illogical process of experimentation to see improvement, even some of the game’s best players.

Sitting and thinking greatly aids golfers, it not only helps ease levels of frustration and calm their minds, most importantly it often leads to discovering the most logical approach to improvement and recovery.  Next time you begin struggling I want you to do the same, step back from the range, sit down somewhere, and think about what is occurring with your game.  Think about your ball flight, how your shots are curving in the air, both for good shots and bad shots.  Think about the quality of contact at the moment of impact.  Think about where on the clubface you are striking shots, both good shots and bad shots.  Think about how far you are hitting shots compared to your normal shots in the past.  Finally, think about what you are currently attempting to do and how this might be affecting these shots.  Sitting down and thinking about these factors allows cause and effect to enter your mind.  This is a reason why golfers must have an understanding of ball flight laws and a basic understanding of their own swing tendencies.  If you do not understand these, you first need to learn them through obtaining help from a qualified professional.  Once you have an understanding of these elements, you will be at the stage where sitting and thinking will benefit your recovery from struggle.

After you have sat down, took some time, and reflected on the shots you are currently seeing in your game, you will be ready to put together an approach for improvement.  In this process you need to think about an approach geared towards improving the patterns your current shots are demonstrating.  You need to think about simple changes in technique or a simple feel to use to improve these patterns.  You need to think about a simple feel which suits your swings tendencies, a feel your body can successfully undertake.  If you are going to go back and work on technique, the technical feel needs to have a logical meaning.

Here is an example of how this process might work.  Say you are out practicing full shots one day on the driving range.  You plan on going out and having a two hour practice session to aid in future improvement with your ball striking.  To your dismay, you go out and greatly struggle with the majority of shots you are attempting.  You are quite perplexed by this considering you played a great round just three days prior.  After about 30 minutes, you are completely frustrated and begin to feel the strain of frustration in your body and your mind.  You see a park bench in the distance and decide to go sit down for 15 minutes.  After sitting down for a few minutes your mind begins to settle, and you then begin to think logically about what might be occurring.  You think about how you are tremendously struggling with hitting hooks so far today on the range.  The majority of your bad shots hooked quite a bit to the left of your targets.  You definitely know your current miss in terms of ball flight is a hook.  You now begin to think about your good shots.  You realize your better shots on this day are draws.  On these shots the ball flight begins to the right of the target and then curves to the left and finishes near the target.  You realize your good shots are slightly bigger draws than compared to your normal good shots in the past.  You then think about your divots.  You noticed some of your divots pointed to the right of the target with the iron shots you hit earlier.  You then think about your contact, realizing you did hit slightly more shots heavy and thin compared to the past.  Your distance for the day you would describe as normal.

You realize your ball flight and contact pattern is telling  you you’re currently too inside-to-outside with their swing path through impact.  You realize this would explain the hooks to the left on your current misses, why your divots are pointing right, and why your better shots are big draws.  You then begin to draw conclusions on what might be occurring in your golf swing.  You know from knowledge learned through lessons you have a tendency in the downswing to clear your lower body too fast, often causing the club to fall and travel too much from inside-to-outside through impact.  You realize this is probably why you’re having inconsistent contact and hitting multiple thin and heavy shots at the same time, resulting from the shallow angle of attack of being inside-to-outside.  You then begin to develop your approach for improving your path.  You know feeling a quieter lower body while trying to hit fades has helped in the past, and is a feel your body can undertake in a simple manner.  You decide this will be your first approach when you get up and continue practice for the day.  To no surprise, the feel works great and you begin to instantly hit straighter and more solid shots.

My friends, this is an example of how sitting and thinking works.  As you can see, it is completely based upon logical reasoning, quieting the mind, and thinking about cause and effect, as well thinking about personal tendencies.  It is much more beneficial than hitting balls during states of frustration, frantically trying different feels and technique changes with no reasoning behind them.

Sitting and thinking is a process many of the best in the game undertake in their practice sessions, players like Hogan, Nicklaus, Woods, and others.  I want you to do the same.  Next time you begin to struggle, take some time, find a seat, clear your mind, and think about what is going on.  This is what practicing with a purpose is all about; it is something I teach my students.   I want students to become their own best coach, and without sitting and thinking on occasion, this would not be possible.  It will help you when you struggle, it will help you improve from one level to another, most importantly, it will help you enjoy practice and playing the game.

The post The Power of Sitting and Thinking first appeared on Peter Norwood.com.

            Much can be learned about great golfers’ mindsets from the memories they keep and the memories they forget.  Strong similarity exists in this area among the greatest to ever play.  In fact, memories golfers hold onto greatly contribute to their abilities to recover from times of struggle.  Remember, every player in the game encounters periods of struggle at one time or another; this is just the nature of golf.  Golf is a cyclical game where every player experiences countless times of both struggle and success.  The memories players hold onto contribute to the depth, length, and recovery from the periods of struggle.   These memories are one reason why many great golfers recover from periods of the deepest struggle, and unfortunately why some have not.

Players who recover remember moments of success while forgetting moments of struggle.  I have witnessed this countless times throughout my years with the game.  I have seen evidence in everything from new conferences, interviews, books, and articles.  I now realize how powerful memory is in the mindsets of the game’s best.

Unfortunately in the game, golfers deal with entities which bring negative moments to the forefronts of their minds.  One of these entities is the media.  Unfortunately in the game of golf, big episodes of disappointment are as interesting to audiences as moments of success.  If you follow the world of golf, you definitely hear about and see many great losses, such as collapses in significant tournaments.  You often hear about players who never recover from periods of deep struggle, players such as Seve Ballesteros, Ian Baker Finch, David Duval, John Daly, and many more.  I have seen highlights, replays, and media coverage from many periods of struggle, often on television and in print.  They are stories many people find interesting, and therefore, something golf media outlets give great attention towards.

I now want you to think about players who encountered periods of struggle but recovered from them, even with the attention towards the struggles from media coverage.  These players include Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Greg Norman to name a few.  In fact, they include many of the game’s best.  I can’t tell you how many times I hear individuals swear some golfers will never recover from periods of the greatest struggle.  I hear this every year about golfers on the world’s biggest tours.  I find it sad.  This being said, I’m often interested in learning what differs from golfers who recover compared to ones who don’t.  I firmly believe the biggest reasons are their mindsets and memories.

The players who recover refuse to give attention or meaning to periods or occasions of struggle.  They literally throw these memories out of their minds, they truly do.  I often see these players quickly dodge questions about losses or struggles from media members.  They often blow off these questions in seconds, giving them no thought at all.  I have come to realize over the years, the greatest players are experts at forgetting the negative and remembering the positive.  These players remember periods of success with the most vivid details.  This is how the memory of a top golfer works.  This is the mindset of players who recover from periods of struggle; it is as powerful as it is real.

Let’s talk about the past struggles of Michele Wie.  When Michele was younger, around the age of 13, she was touted as the next golf phenom, the next Tiger Woods.  She was given similar worldwide media coverage to Tiger for a time span.  A few years later, Michele began to experience a period of great struggle, struggle for multiple years.  There were hundreds of individuals who swore she would never recover, that her career was over.  Guess what, it wasn’t.  Michele eventually recovered and won multiple tournaments on the LPGA Tour.  Who knows how great her career will be when it’s over, as she is still young.  A great reason she recovered was her ability to tune out the negative from her mind, even while so many constantly brought up negative moments.  An example was seen in an interview from Golf Digest during the year 2007.  I remember reading the interview, as it came out just when her game was beginning to rebound.  The interviewer kept trying to ask Michele questions about her previous years of struggle and about what changed.  He brought the subject up in numerous questions.  I found it fascinating how Michele refused to acknowledge those questions throughout the interview.  She blew off the questions with the most indirect replies and answers.  She quickly directed the questions back to her current moments of success.  After reading that interview, I felt success would continue in her future.

I have seen this countless times in interviews, new conferences, and articles involving both Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.  Over the last few years, hundreds of media members and players have highlighted Tigers struggles, coverage heard all over the world.  I heard many individuals say Tiger Woods will never reach the level of play seen in his past.  I don’t believe this for one second.  Why, not because his return will stem from his athletic ability, but because it will stem from his mindset and mental strength.  I know from seeing his interviews and press conferences that his mindset has not changed, even with so much media coverage focusing upon his recent struggles.  If you watch closely, you will see Tiger dodging questions in the same manner Michele did, you will see him blowing off negative and reinforcing current achievements.  For this reason, I have no doubt Tiger will come back and finish off the most successful career in the history of the game.

Jack Nicklaus’s mindset and memories worked in the same manner.  So do the most successful champions in the game, throughout all levels of competition.  Keep your eyes and ears open for these traits, you will see them for yourself.  I want you to develop the same type of mindset and memory recognition pattern for yourself.  Quickly forget moments of struggle, give them zero attention and power.  At the same time, remember and reinforce success, give it full attention, think about it as much as possible.  Positive memories will help you develop high self belief in yourself and in your abilities.  Do not let anyone bring you down.  Pay zero attention to negative thoughts and opinions.  If you can do this, you will do for yourself what many champions have done for themselves.  It is a huge reasons they achieved the success they did.

The post Memories of Great Players first appeared on Peter Norwood.com.

Many tour players play straight ball flights, many play draws, many play fades, and many play combinations of each on all of the top tours around the world.  This being said, the movements seen with their clubs from halfway down to halfway through in their downswings are often quite similar.  The reason is because the swing paths of the vast majority of tour professionals are close to “neutral”.  Even with many playing fades and draws, their fades and draws are often slight, and their swing paths are often still “neutral”.

A neutral path brings many benefits towards one’s ball striking.  A neutral path will minimize players misses in terms of direction, and will enable players to easily create different types of ball flights.  A neutral path allows for players to create straight shots, fades, or draws at will.  It allows for players to create different trajectories and heights for different types of shot curvatures.  It enables players to base many of their shots during play on the ball flights best suited for situations.  Therefore, they can better take advantage of the many different tee shots and pin locations encountered during play.

Players with swing paths which are are farther from neutral and more outside-to inside or inside-to-outside through impact have much greater difficultly creating certain shapes, trajectories, and heights with golf shots.  These players have more difficulty taking full advantage of many tee shots and pin locations encountered during play, and often have to take safer and less aggressive lines, which may decrease chances for scoring.

When players have neutral swing paths, their misses are often closer to targets than misses of players who are not neutral.  When a player’s swing path moves too far in one direction or the other through impact, they increase their chances for creating larger pulls, slices, hooks, and blocks.  These shots are more penalizing during play, and can lead to some big numbers on a scorecard.  Players with neutral paths have smaller chances for big misses, and their misses are often still in play.

How do players learn and develop neutral swing paths during their downswings?  Many do so by learning to create different types of ball flights.  For example, one of the ways in which some of the best golfers practice or have practiced, including Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan, is by constantly making sure they can easily shape shots in every direction and with numerous trajectories.  They know if they can easily create many ball flights, their swing paths are close to neutral.  Therefore, players can recognize if their swing paths are moving away from neutral by their inabilities to create certain ball flights.  Difficulty shaping a shot which starts left and curves right, will indicate a player is too far inside-to-outside through impact, assuming the player is right handed.  Difficulty shaping a shot which starts right and curves left indicates a player is too far outside-to-inside through impact.

This all being said, many players will have natural ball flights with some curvature, in fact a large number of tour professionals do, but just make sure curvature does not become too big.  Like mentioned above, swing paths which move substantially from neutral can lead to some penalizing misses and disadvantages when facing many on course situations.  This is why neutral paths are commonly seen among the best players in the world and throughout the history of game, and why I want you to have a swing path close to neutral.

The post The Benefits of Being Neutral first appeared on Peter Norwood.com.

Beginning short game development while young combined with significant practice dedication is an extremely powerful combination in the game of golf.  Beginning to work on the short game at a young age is very powerful and important in itself.  Dedicating the majority of practice time towards the short game is just as powerful and important.  Unfortunately the majority of golfers undertake the opposite.  Many do not begin working on their short games at young ages and often dedicate a minority amount of practice time towards their short games and putting.

Most wonderful short game players learned the game by focusing on their short games at young ages combined with dedicating extensive practice time towards their short games.  It is truly a special way to learn and develop one’s game, a way to create short game skills which pay dividends for a lifetime.   A list of players who developed their games in this manner is too large to list.  I will say Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods learned the game of golf in this fashion.  Both were infatuated with the short game when young.  Both spent countless amounts of time developing their short games, and still do to this day.  Tiger Woods learned the game from the green backwards to the tee.  Tiger learned the game through learning putting, chipping, and pitching skills before developing full shot skills.  Phil Mickelson learned the game in the exact same manner.  In fact, both players still dedicate enormous amounts of practice time towards their short games.  There are many top professional players on the world tours who wouldn’t be playing them if it wasn’t for their short games.  It is often the short game which separates these players from other top ball strikers.  For many of these players, their short game ability can again be attributed to how they learned the game and how they currently practice.

You might not be young enough to follow the first part of this combination.  You may have already learned the game by focusing mostly on full shots.  This doesn’t mean you can’t still dedicate the majority of your practice time towards working on areas of your short game and putting.  Although it is more difficult for players to develop elite short games when beginning development at older ages, it is not impossible.  However, in order to do so, you need to work extremely hard on the areas of your short game.

I included this in my blog for two reasons.  The first is because I want you to develop your own short game.  The second is because I want this message to help the games of your children or juniors.  I use this approach heavily in my own coaching structures for young junior golfers.  I do so through creating ways for juniors to develop their short games and allow them to enjoy doing so.  Having fun is vital.  A junior has to both want to improve and enjoy it, without being forced.

As far as for yourself, I want you to adapt your practice schedule and improve your short game and putting.  Improving these areas will not only help your game, but will greatly pay dividends in your scoring.  If you do so, you will see some of the greatest improvement in the scores you shoot.  As I stated above, I also want you to use this approach to positively influence young golfers you know.  I promise you one day they will be thankful.

The post A Powerful Combination first appeared on Peter Norwood.com.

If you have been around the game for awhile, you have probably heard some golfers described as being “feel” players and others as more “mechanical” players.  These descriptions do have merit and will influence how golfers learn, practice, and play their best.

Feel players like to learn, practice, and play with a focus on general rhythm and simple sensations.  They are often quite creative with their shot making and ball flight patterns and many like to shape their shots in different ways.  Feel players often do not take much instruction, but when they do receive help, they like to learn with the use of simple sensations, rhythm and tempo keys, and drills.  Feel players often rely less on the use of video analysis.  Some great examples of players who would be considered more “feel” players would be Seve Ballesteros, Justin Leonard, and Bubba Watson.

Mechanical players like to learn, practice, and play with a focus on specific movements and detailed sensations.  They tend to shape their shots less than feel players, and many times like to play a similar ball flight on most shots.  Many mechanical players take a substantial amount of instruction and often times have strong relationships with their instructors.  When taking instruction, they like to learn through ingraining specific movements and improving positions.  Mechanical players enjoy the use video analysis in their instruction, and frequently like visual confirmation of their progress.  Some great examples of more “mechanical” players would be Nick Faldo and Justin Rose.

A large number of golfers use combinations of feel and mechanics in the way they learn, practice, and play.  Many players focus more mechanically on their movements in their practice and then play more by feel.  This can be an advantageous way to approach the game for many, as seen with numerous tour professionals, and is something I will discuss in more depth in a later.

Even though I mentioned differences between feel player and mechanical players, all players need to be careful not to get too mechanical in their approach to the game.  If you consider yourself a “feel” player, be very conscious of this when working on your golf movements, and especially while playing.

Patti Rizzo, a successful tour professional with 4 LPGA Tour Wins and 9 international victories, had a career that spanned over two decades and won over a million dollars on the LPGA Tour during the 1980’s and 90’s.  Patti gave a detailed presentation about her golfing life and career during a staff meeting one Monday at The Jim McLean Golf School at Doral.  I will never forget Patti’s presentation from that day, and especially the part of her story I am about to tell you.

Patti described how she began playing golf at around the age of 15 and learned the game very quickly.  By the time Patti was in college, she was one of the better amateurs in the country.  Patti then went on to become the topped ranked amateur in the country and even almost won a LPGA Tour event while she was still an amateur.  Patti told us that she always considered herself a “feel” player and had a tremendous amount of success playing that way as a junior, amateur, and early professional.  Patti then described reaching a point in her career where she wanted to improve to become one of the top players in the world.  She decided that improving her mechanics would be a way to help her achieve that goal.  That year in her career, Patti found a well-known and popular teaching professional and they began working extensively on her swing during the off-season.  Patti talked in detail about how she and her teacher spent hours and hours, and months and months, ingraining the movements of their envisioned new swing.  Patti had never worked in this mechanical manner on her swing before.  She gave it 100% of everything she had.

Patti’s first tournament of the season finally came around and Patti went to Asia to play in it.  Patti stepped onto the first tee with high hopes for the day and the season.  She then described how she teed up her ball and hit a shot she had never hit before; she actually topped the tee shot and the ball barely rolled off the tee box.  She went on to describe how the rest of her round was terrible and how she continued to struggle and struggle as she tried to take her new swing into following tournaments.  Patti painfully talked about how she had struggled more in those months than during anytime in her career, and how she lost touch with everything which made her great previously.  She went on to explain the way she got her game back, was to actually quit playing for awhile, and then begin again with a fresh clear mind.

This story illustrates how even very successful tour professionals can struggle if they become too mechanical, especially when they consider themselves to be “feel” players.  This is what happened to Patti and has unfortunately happened to numerous professionals and top players in the game.  Use this information to your benefit and be very cognizant of it when improving your movements, and especially while you play on the course.

The post Mechanics and Feel first appeared on Peter Norwood.com.

This quote is something that the famous player and teacher Claude Harmon use to say and something that I have come to agree with immeasurably throughout the years.  Claude’s son Butch talked about his father’s belief in the importance of teaching juniors this way in Butch’s book The Pro, a wonderful book that I highly recommend.  If you are someone who teaches junior players, then this is imperative for you to understand.

Teaching talented and dedicated junior golfers grew into one of my greatest passions in teaching.  These juniors are wonderful players to help improve because of their passion and dedication for the game, the large amount of time they devote towards golf, and for their ability to learn quickly.  Also because of these same qualities, these juniors need to be taught in a very special way by parents, golf professionals, and coaches.  These talented juniors need to be taught in a manner where they are told less information and watched more by their teachers, parents, and coaches.  I often see the opposite in the golf world, where strong junior players are told too much information and are literally over-taught.  When talented juniors are taught too much, especially when this is not proper advice, some serious damage to their golf games can occur.  Unfortunately in the game of golf, the games of many talented juniors never reach their full potential because of the style of overly technical teaching.

Because juniors engrain movements so quickly, they often will exaggerate what you tell them over a certain amount of time.  Giving juniors simple thoughts and feels and watching them more decreases the chances of this occurring.  Also this ensures juniors do not become overly technical and their focus stays more on playing and scoring than on mechanics.  A focus on scoring is an essential element of how all top champions learned the game and an element that can be easily lost in today’s golf environment.  Also because juniors should be taught in this manner, the simple guidance they should receive needs to come from an individual who knows what they are talking about.  This is why for talented juniors, I suggest that you do some substantial research and find a top golf professional in your area, no matter the cost.  The high price of lessons will be well worth the positive influence upon your junior’s future, and oftentimes these lessons will pay for themselves by saving thousands of dollars in college tuition costs by receiving golf scholarships.

The post Helping Juniors first appeared on Peter Norwood.com.