Sang-Moon executed a low-trajectory, high-spin shot en route to victory. (Pennington/Getty Images)

By Mark Immelman, Special to PGATOUR.COM

Lord Byron‘s event at TPC Four Seasons always attracts a stellar field as the PGA TOUR’s finest travel to the Lone Star State to pay homage to one of golf’s greatest champions and finest men.

The course layout is demanding from tee to green and play is normally defined by the warm and gusty North Texas winds. Hence it is those players who can flight the ball and control their shot trajectory (and make putts) who normally prevail around the firm and fast course conditions. This year, however, a band of severe Wednesday night thunderstorms changed the personality of the course and the first round became a birdie-fest with Keegan Bradley leading the assault on par with a 10-under 60.

The winds kicked up over the next three rounds and scoring became tougher. In the end it boiled down to a battle between the two members of the final Sunday pairing, Sang-Moon Bae and Bradley.

Both combatants were tied at 12 under as they headed up the par-5 16th. After getting their second shots into position, Bae faced an uphill pitch from about 40 yards and Bradley faced a pitch of about 50 feet from right of the green. Bae drove a low-spinning wedge into the green which gripped and spun back to about 5 feet from the cup. Not to be outdone, the gusty Bradley clipped a low and aggressive spinning wedge shot to just inside of his playing partner. Both shots were absolutely gorgeous and certainly worth learning how to play.

How to play the low, spinning wedge shot:

This shot starts at address. Move the ball back to around the middle of the stance and favor your lead foot (left for right-handers) as you set the bulk of your weight there. Lean the shaft slightly to the left (for righties) as you set your hands a little ahead of the clubface and the ball.

As you make your backswing, hinge your wrists up to steepen the shaft plane which will assist you to make a crisp, descending strike. It is recommendable to make a slightly shorter backswing as this will give you the freedom to accelerate through impact without the fear of the shot going too far.

Begin your downswing by rotating your lower body back to the left and swing your arms down through impact with the lead arm closer to the body and the left hand leading the clubface through impact. That lead hand should retain control of the action throughout the delivery so that the trail hand does not shut down the clubface. Once contact has been made, swing and extend the arms past the body into a shorter, balanced follow-through. Once again, the lead arm and hand should dominate the delivery and holding the club a little tighter with the last three fingers of the left hand will certainly help.
Get out and practice this shot; it will surely shave strokes off your score.

Good luck

Mark Immelman, the brother of PGA TOUR professional Trevor Immelman, is a well-respected golf instructor and head coach of the Columbus State University (Ga.) golf team. For more information about Mark and his instruction, visit his web site, markimmelman.com or follow him on Twitter @mark_immelman or “Like” Mark Immelman Golf Instruction on Facebook. He also has a golf instruction e-book called “Consistently Straight Shots – The Simple Solution” available on iTunes/iBooks.

Selective amnesia worked quite well for Tiger Woods on Sunday. (Heathcote/Getty Images)

By Dr. Gregg Steinberg, Special to PGATOUR.COM

During the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, Tiger Woods hit one of his worst tee shots on the 14th hole. He hit a pop up left that hooked into the water. He proceeded to make a double bogey. This shot could have started a train wreck on such a difficult and treacherous course, but it did not. Tiger said that he just “forgot about it”, and moved onto the 15th hole where, in his words, hit one of his best tee shots of the day.
   
When I do golf psychology seminars around the country, I always get the question “What is one main difference between the great players on the PGA TOUR that win and those players that choke under pressure?” My answer is that the great ones have “selective amnesia.”
   
Woods is phenomenal in his ability to forget about his bad shots. He can quickly let go of any negative images in his mind from the past. This ability has led to his great resiliency to hit bad shots but then rebound to victory, as demonstrated by his win at THE PLAYERS Championship.
   
Instead of selective amnesia, most amateur golfers have rapid recall of their worst shots and “choking” moments. They don’t remember the first four holes in which they hit a beautiful tee shot, but instead, that snap hook from the fifth hole will linger in their mind for the entire round.
   
If Woods can hit a pop up that ends in the water, and quickly move on, so can you. You will always hit a few real stinkers during the round. You are only human. However, rapid recall of this negative baggage will only hurt your chances of finishing the round off strongly and with a great score.
   
We are told that forgetfulness is a bad trait. That’s true when it comes to forgetting where you put your keys or your wallet. However, forgetfulness can be a very desirable trait on the golf course, especially when it concerns your history of bad shots.
   
Bio: Dr. Gregg Steinberg is a regular guest every Tuesday on “Talk of the Tour” heard on the Sirius/XM PGA TOUR radio. He is a tenured professor of sports psychology and has been the mental game coach for many PGA TOUR players as well as top collegiate and junior golfer.  Dr. Gregg is the author of the best selling golf psychology book, MentalRules for Golf, and you can get your autographed copy at www.drgreggsteinberg.com.

Derek Ernst's steady putting helped him to his first PGA TOUR win. (Ehrmann/Getty Images)

By Mark Immelman, Special to PGATOUR.COM

The Wells Fargo Championship Strike Those Putts Crisply Quail Hollow Country Club is one of the true gems of golf in North America. Quail (as the membership affectionately dubs it) boasts a nice mix of left-to-right and right-to-left doglegs, a good blend of difficult and easy holes and some strategic undulations from tee to green. It rewards good play, but it will quickly penalize errant play, making Quail Hollow an excellent tournament venue and the Wells Fargo Championship a highly respected event on the PGA TOUR.

The classic layout – which will host the 2016 PGA Championship -- is scenic, undulating and always in immaculate shape. Sadly, due to a recent turf management wrangle, the course “lost” a number of greens. Those that survived were undoubtedly worse for the wear.

Thankfully many of the top players in attendance came out in support of the club and the greens. A good majority of them managed to make their fair share of putts on the uneven surfaces.

Week in and week out on the PGA TOUR, the final result is very much a function of the players’ performances on the greens. This week was much of the same, but due to the inconsistency of the surfaces, those players that were not striking putts cleanly and solidly were found wanting so much more. Therein lies our lesson that we can learn from the pros:

Strike your putts crisply: By definition, the interaction between the putter and the ball is no different to that of an iron or a metal-wood and the ball. Just as you need to strike an iron shot flush to go the given distance, you need to strike the putter flush to ensure that the ball performs correctly. Often times on super-fast greens, however, a player can slightly miss-hit (thin) a putt and it can still go in. That error can be disguised on perfect surfaces, but it will certainly not happen on slower, inconsistent greens.

Without fail I will address the quality of any golfer’s putter-on-ball contact before I consider any other putting stroke issues. All too often I encounter putting strokes that are structurally sound, but do not make consistently clean contact with the ball because the player has never considered where the base of the swing arc is and how that relates to the ball position.

A quick and very easy drill to help you figure out that very conundrum is to practice the “Quarter Drill.” Place a quarter on the ground and address it as if it was your golf ball. Go ahead and make your stroke striving to make contact with the quarter (enough to move it a few inches). If you miss the quarter then obviously your stroke has not “bottomed-out” correctly or the ball position is incorrectly located for your style of stroke. Either of those errors will largely result in poor quality of contact -- a sure-fire way to poor distance control (especially from long distance) or inconsistent putting on grainy or slow greens.

Adjust your putting posture and the release of your putting stroke until you can strike the quarter consistently. If you have done so and you still struggle to make consistent contact with the coin then vary its position (either forward or back) slightly. Then when you can consistently hit the coin, replace it with a golf ball, make the same stroke and watch how the ball reacts more positively to your putter. That is proof of sweet-spot contact -- the first port of call to good putting.

Just for the record, if your struggle with excess body or head movement during the putting stroke, then the “Quarter Drill” is also for you.

Practice this simple exercise whenever you are on the practice green. I guarantee you will see your putting improve.

Good luck.

/mi

Mark Immelman, the brother of PGA TOUR professional Trevor Immelman, is a well-respected golf instructor and head coach of the Columbus State University (Ga.) golf team. For more information about Mark and his instruction, visit his web site, markimmelman.com or follow him on Twitter @mark_immelman or “Like” Mark Immelman Golf Instruction on Facebook. He also has a golf instruction e-book called “Consistently Straight Shots – The Simple Solution” available on iTunes/iBooks.

Scott focused on one shot at a time during his Masters win. (Redington/Getty Images)

By Dr. Gregg Steinberg, Special to PGATOUR.COM

Golf places you on an emotional roller coaster. When you play extremely well, feelings of euphoria can ooze from your smile. On the other hand, poor play can instantaneously change you into a disgruntled golfer who believes all the bad breaks have gone your way.

Your best golf is played between the extremes of emotional intensity. While most articles on the mental game focus on reducing anxiety and curtailing your anger, getting too pumped up can also be disadvantageous to your game.  Luckily for Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, he was able to keep his intensity level under control.

After Scott made that marvelous putt on the 72nd hole for birdie, he became enormously jubilant, clenching his entire body with joy and then, he gave his caddie a power high-five. Scott believed he had just won the tournament, but it only lasted for a few moments, as he then saw Angel Cabrera make an amazing birdie to tie him at 9-under par. 

At that moment, Scott knew had to get his intensity level back to normal so he could control his swing. If not, his adrenaline could act as a powerful stimulant and throw his swing out of sequence, as well as cause him to hit his irons much farther than usual (which can lead to devastating results at Augusta National).

As the golfing world saw on Sunday, Scott got cool, calm and collected for the playoff and went on to win his first green jacket.

While I know it is fun to make that Tiger fist pump when you make a birdie or long par putt, allowing yourself to get too pumped up can seriously deflate your golf scores. Your game is susceptible to the emotional highs the links may bring. Here are a couple suggestions to remain in control of your emotions like Masters champion Adam Scott:

1) Emotional awareness is the first step to emotional control. If you just made three birdies in a row, you might have immense adrenaline flowing throughout your body. If you feel your heart rate racing, you will need to calm down.  Take some deep breaths. Also slow your pace down one notch to counterbalance your excitement.

2) Be wrapped up into the moment like Adam Scott. The 2013 Masters champion mentioned that he was not worrying about being the first Aussie to win the Green Jacket, only focusing on the current shot at hand. When you are caught up in your score, your emotions will follow. When you are thinking about the present shot, your emotions will stay in control.  

Golf is a game of emotional control. The better you master this skill, the more in control you will have over your scores.

Dr. Gregg Steinberg is a regular guest every Tuesday on “Talk of the Tour” heard on the Sirius/XM PGA TOUR radio. He is a tenured professor of sports psychology and has been the mental game coach for many PGA TOUR players.  Dr. Gregg is the author of the best selling golf psychology book, MentalRules for Golf, and you can get your autographed copy at www.drgreggsteinberg.com.

Rickie Fowler works on his putting Wednesday in preparation for the Masters. (How/Getty Images)

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy

Let’s change things up this week. Instead of talking about last week’s winner (congratulations Martin Laird), a brief preview of the Masters is in order. After all, it is the first major championship of the year, and the unofficial beginning of the golf season.

Yesterday, I walked the grounds at Augusta National. As always, it is looking perfect. Defending champion Bubba Watson was on the range early working on his game along with the rest of the best players in the world. As expected, the crowds were huge.

After walking the course, I found myself with so many things to write about. But let’s focus on a couple of things to watch, and a few players who are primed to be in the hunt.

1.) Lag putting – One of the most overlooked areas in the game is lag putting. This week you will see the best players work extremely hard to two-putt, not only from long distances but from close to the hole in certain situations.
Avoiding three-putts is an area that most amateurs need to work on. How many times do we go to the practice green and work on long putts? For most, not too often, but this is an opportunity to easily save strokes. This will be a must this week for those competing for the green jacket.

2.) Approach shots – Like all golf courses, Augusta National has some green-light flags. There are others you just don’t mess with. Some players fade it; some draw it. The reality is there are many times the players will be aiming away from the flag stick.

This is an approach so many of us should take more often. There are hard pin placements on every golf course and aiming away from them is a good call in order to make more pars and minimize damage.

3.) Selections – There is only one day left to fill out your Masters pool, so let’s look at a few names to consider. It’s been a great year for instructor Sean Foley. His three players have all played very well. Therefore, my selections this week are all from his stable: Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Hunter Mahan.

Enjoy the Masters everyone!

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.

Billy Horschel kept to his game plan by hitting driver on tight holes at TPC San Antonio. (Dykes/Getty Images)

By Mark Immelman, Special to PGATOUR.COM

It was an exciting week in the Lone Star State, as a strong field assembled at The TPC San Antonio. Chilly temperatures defined Thursday’s play, and a blustery wind made scoring tough over the second and third rounds. Sunday, however, was a different proposition entirely, and near-perfect conditions made the tough Greg Norman design a lot more getable.

Third-round leader Billy Horschel built a three stroke lead early, but Scotsman Martin Laird was not going to go down without a shootout. He fired a course record 63, the lowest round of the week (by three strokes) to overtake the pack for the victory.

I was fortunate to get a ringside seat for Horschel’s play, as I had the call for Sirius/XM PGA TOUR Radio. I thus have a lesson we can learn from him, but Martin Laird’s phenomenal performance in the final round also holds a scoring lesson for us:

Billy Horschel: Horschel was solid throughout the week, but a statistic that defined his performance and something that is key to competitive success was his bounce-back ability. Through 54 holes, Horschel had made seven bogeys, but he managed to bounce back from those with five immediate birdies.

Rebounding from a mistake is imperative if you want to make consistently good scores and there are a few keys to improving your ability to do so:

Have fun despite an error: Horschel told me that he made an effort to enjoy his play no matter what was going on, and I feel like that approach allowed him to stay loose all of the time. That lack of tension thanks to the easy-going approach is imperative to your swing and your putting stroke working as they should.

Go with your money club as often as possible: Billy admitted that he will hit his driver no matter the circumstance, and he stayed true to that approach despite some gusty winds and tight fairways. There is an object lesson in that approach. Just as Horschel did, look for every opportunity to go with your go-to shot and your money club as often as you can. Confidence breeds success, so why not go with a shot (and a club) that you are confident in whenever you can?

Martin Laird: Honestly, Laird’s final round was not something I thought possible considering the difficulty of the golf course. But he got on an early run and then kept the momentum up and closed well for a 63. To me, the key to his record round was not only the fast start he got, it was also his quick three-birdie finish.

Finish strong: In every sports contest, the spoils normally go to the person or the team that closes with a flourish. Certainly, Laird got himself into contention with a great front nine, but his three closing birdies won the event for him. So like Laird, aim to play your final three holes in anything under par, and I promise you that you will move up the leaderboard more often than not.

To that point, whatever your level of play – around par, bogey or perhaps even worse – strive for a strong finish and you will see your results improve. One of many keys to closing well is to stay in the proverbial present on every shot. Make every effort to pull your attentions back to the shot at hand. Those final three holes deserve your undivided attention, so make it a goal to intensify your focus, your decision-making and your visualization on each shot.

Watch the pros, and you will see that happen without fail.

Good luck
/mi

Mark Immelman, the brother of PGA TOUR professional Trevor Immelman, is a well-respected golf instructor and head coach of the Columbus State University (Ga.) golf team. For more information about Mark and his instruction, visit his web site, markimmelman.com or follow him on Twitter @mark_immelman or “Like” Mark Immelman Golf Instruction on Facebook. He also has a golf instruction e-book called “Consistently Straight Shots – The Simple Solution” available on iTunes/iBooks.

Laird took only 22 putts in his final round at TPC San Antonio (Dykes/Getty Images)

By Dr. Gregg Steinberg, Special to PGATOUR.COM

Martin Laird won the Valero Texas Open with his putter. He needed only 22 putts in the final round to tie the course record with a blistering 63 at the TPC San Antonio.

If you watched Laird during this week, you would notice a key component in his pre-putting routine. As he looked at the hole, he would simulate the movement of his stroke with his right hand. He is getting into what I call “the feel zone.”

You need to accomplish only two factors to make a putt-hit the correct line coupled with the correct speed. Of course, those two factors are very difficult to get matched up, but when you do, you will see yourself sinking one putt after another.

The problem with most amateurs is that they focus primarily on line. They first figure how the ball will break. Next, amateurs will take a couple of practice strokes with the desired technique. Then make their stroke so that the ball roles on the chosen line. 

Does this sound like your pre-putting routine?

The problem with your putting could be that you get stuck in the analytical mode. To putt your best, you will need to let go of being “too line oriented” and get into the feel zone like Martin Laird did this past week.

Here are 3 steps in your pre-putting routine to help you get into the feel zone:

Step 1. Pick up the ball and pretend to roll it. Although Martin Laird simulated the roll with his right hand, even better is to place the golf ball in your right hand and pretend to roll it toward the target. The weight of the ball helps you to gain better feel.

Step 2. Visualize the break. Visualize how the ball will break from the start position to when it enters the hole.  But don’t just visualize the arc of the line, also imagine the actual speed of the putt. The greater your visualization process, the better feel you will have.

Step 3. Take practice strokes for feel only. Your only goal of the practice stroke is to feel the speed so it can take the intended line. Make a few practice strokes until you gain that desired feel.

Let’s be honest, getting your ball close to the hole is not that difficult, however, sinking putts is one of the toughest parts of the game. It gets a little easier when you get into the feel zone.

Dr. Gregg Steinberg is the author of the best selling golf psychology book, MentalRules for Golf. He is a regular guest every Tuesday on “Talk of the Tour” heard on the Sirius/XM PGA TOUR radio. Dr. Gregg is a tenured professor of sports psychology and has been the mental game coach for many PGA TOUR players.  You can see more about him at www.drgreggsteinberg.com, and you can e-mail him at mentalrules24@msn.com for any comments or questions about your mental game. 

D.A. Points has two wins and a runner-up finish in the last three years on TOUR. (Halleran/Getty Images)

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy

EQUIPMENT: What Points carried in his bag at the Shell Houston Open

As I sat and watched D.A. Points win The Shell Houston Open on Sunday, I thought to myself, "This guy has some of the best practice swings before each shot."

So many times at the TOUR Academy, we encourage players to take the things they “self-discover” from their practice sessions and transfer these ideas to the golf course. Sometimes, these things can be done in the way of a swing thought, or even an exaggeration of the concepts during practice swings.

Earlier this year, we broke down Tiger’s practice swings and their intent to help him feel a more "left swing" direction. This week, we were treated to two more very creative rehearsals by D.A. Points to help him transfer what he is working on at the practice facility to the golf course.

The first -- and I must say, a new one for me -- was D.A.’s practice putting strokes as if he had the long putter. You may have noticed Points lead hand was positioned around the sternum area with the lead elbow pointing at the target, just as if the end of the long putter was in hand. D.A.’s right hand was actually on the grip as he moved the shoulders back and through a couple times.

I am only guessing but it appears the purpose here was to help D.A. get his shoulders moving during the stroke around a steady head. With the long putter, the shoulders need work in a more “rocking” sensation around a fixed point, promoting less arc and face rotation. With the grip end anchored or “pretend to be anchored," this can help eliminate head movement and get the shoulders working. Generally speaking, the more side-to-side movement with the head, the more the hands will take over, and not the shoulders.

The second noticeable practice swing was that of his full swing. Here, Points took a couple hard practice swings keeping his trail foot down. This lack of movement in the trail foot trains D.A. to stay in his posture because it allows the pelvis to move up and back, rather than towards the golf ball. In addition, this emphasis on the trail foot can help stabilize the torso through impact, allowing the arms and hands to release properly past the chest.

One of the things D.A. guards against is his trail foot coming up to the toe quickly on the downswing. This results in loss of posture and a torso that can get out ahead of the arm swing. As a result, clubface rotation is reduced, resulting in shots missed to the right. With that said, I love the creativity of the practice swings to help maintain his feelings and thoughts even during tournament golf.

Good stuff D.A. Keep them coming!

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.

The Arnold Palmer Inv. is a home game for Tiger Woods, but he treats it like any other week. (Greenwood/Getty Images)

By Mark Immelman, Special to PGATOUR.COM

It appears that nobody is a match for Tiger at any event staged at Arnie’s Place. Once again, he navigated his way around the challenging Bay Hill Club and Lodge layout en route to the navy blue champions jacket and the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard title – his eighth. In doing so he tied the legendary Sam Snead for the most tournament titles in a single event.

His performance was impressive as always, but his work on the greens was the stuff of which stories are written. I certainly could spend time writing about Tiger’s putting stroke but to me there were two less-tangible lessons we can learn from the new world No. 1’s play:
The Home Game – Do it properly: The Bay Hill golf course is like Tiger Woods’ backyard and it is as close to a home game as anything for him. Not only is Arnold Palmer’s noted golf facility adjacent to Isleworth, where Tiger lived for the bulk of his professional career, it is also the site where Woods has enjoyed numerous tournament triumphs. He had notable success there winning eight tournaments (seven professional and one amateur) before his victory last week. In essence it may as well be a home game for Woods.

Most competitors fail to perform as well as they would like when they enter a tournament staged at their home venue. In my opinion, the reason being is that they make too much of the fact that they are playing at home and they go into the event with a lot of expectation and anticipation. The result of these two emotions is normally an increase in tension and tension is as big a “swing-wrecker” as anything. So play your home game like Tiger did. Approach it as you would any other tournament. Dot your “I’s” and cross your “T's” in preparation. Cover all of your bases as you would in any other tournament but trust your local knowledge of the course and use it to fortify your confidence and your trust. Then go out there and strive to relax and execute your plan. Tiger certainly did and all week long he appeared to have a quiet confidence about him.

Par 5s – The key to low scores: Tiger Woods manhandled the par 5s at Bay Hill, playing them in a whopping 14 under. (His total for the 72-hole tournament was 13 under.)

I often pass on the following adage to the tournament golfers I teach: Make 3s on the par 3s and 4s on the par 5s and you will have the nucleus for a good score. If you want to make low scores and be a good tournament player you have to take advantage of the golf course’s soft under-belly, the par 5s. To do so, employ a blend of strategy and power. Don’t just get on the tee of the par 5 and swing for the fences. Pick your spots to attack and defend. The worst thing for your scorecard is to have to pencil a 6 or a 7 on there because of a silly decision or an unwarranted attack or bold play. (For the record, Woods only made one bogey on the par 5s all week.) Attack when the time is right and you are in good position to do so; defend when you must and remember that sometimes even Tiger Woods has to lay up on a par 5. So to ensure that you are consistently able to convert on the par 5s, be savvy and set aside practice time to work on your wedge play.

Good luck
/mi

Mark Immelman, the brother of PGA TOUR professional Trevor Immelman, is a well-respected golf instructor and head coach of the Columbus State University (Ga.) golf team. For more information about Mark and his instruction, visit his web site, markimmelman.com or follow him on Twitter @mark_immelman or “Like” Mark Immelman Golf Instruction on Facebook. He also has a golf instruction e-book called “Consistently Straight Shots – The Simple Solution” available on iTunes/iBooks.

(Cannon/Getty Images)

By Dr. Gregg Steinberg, Special to PGATOUR.COM

You would think a superstar like Tiger Woods does not need to work on his confidence. However, keeping your confidence from day to day is as difficult for the best player in the world as it is for any level of amateur.

Tiger Woods, winner of the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard for a record eighth time, said he has gained confidence from the understanding of how to fix his game. It has taken him awhile, but according to Tiger, he now “owns his swing” and knows how to right the ship when his game is sinking.

That is quite a change. Anyone who has been following Tiger’s play in the past few years, has seen that in many occasions, he could not rectify some of his tendencies, like his blocks to the right. Once they appeared in his game, his persona changed and so did his ability to win.

Tiger is no different from the rest of us (OK, he is a lot different), but he too goes through some ups and downs in a round. We are only human and that means it is virtually impossible to be machine-like throughout a round. Even when you are playing your best, regardless of skill level---from a PGA TOUR player to a 10 handicapper—you will have a few bad holes during a round of golf.

There are many ways to keep our confidence, from visualization to positive self-talk, but one of the best ways is to understand the principles of faults and fixes in your game. For instance, if you have a tendency to get the smother hooks (or terror of the field mice as Ben Hogan would say), you will be completely confident if you know how to fix the problem.

Being able to fix the “wrongs” in your game and make them “right” is essential to keeping your confidence. Here are a few mental game suggestions to this process:

1) Become your own swing coach. While I do recommend you take lessons from a teaching professional, I also strongly encourage you to understand why your teacher is giving you that feedback. For instance, if you have a tendency to come over the top, ASK your teacher how you can fix this tendency. Remember your teacher is not with you on the course so you need to become your own best swing coach.

2) Become your own mental coach. While I do recommend you go see a sports psychologist to build mental toughness, you also need to know how fix your mental problems on the course. For instance, if you have a tendency to lose concentration during a round, you will need to know how to get focused quickly with certain go-to strategies.

Learn how to right your own ship, and your confidence will sail upward.

Dr. Gregg Steinberg is the author of the best selling golf psychology book, MentalRules for Golf. He is a regular guest every Tuesday on “Talk of the Tour” heard on the Sirius/XM PGA TOUR radio. Dr. Gregg is a tenured professor of sports psychology and has been the mental game coach for many PGA TOUR players.  You can see more about him at www.drgreggsteinberg.com, and you can e-mail him at mentalrules24@msn.com for any comments or questions about your mental game.