Opinion & Analysis

Learn from the Best: A Q&A with Mental Game Guru Karl Morris

Published

9 years ago

Jun 11, 2017

My name is Richard Cartwright, and I’m a PGA Professional in the UK. I teach golf for a living, and I’ve always made it a point in my career to seek out the best and brightest minds in the game so I can pick their brains. I thought, why not share what I learn with the GolfWRX Community?

For my second installment of “Learn from the Best,” I speak with mental game guru Karl Morris. Morris has worked with major winners Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen, and he has also written the very popular book, “Golf: The Mind Factor” with Darren Clarke.

With his experience of coaching some of the best in the world, Morris gives his expert analysis on Alex Noren’s win at The BMW Championship at Wentworth, as well as an insight into how a tour winner thinks. Note: This Q&A has been lightly edited for grammar and style.

Richard Cartwright: Let’s talk about Alex Noren, who just recently won the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship. Apart from the work he has done with (swing coach) Matt Belsham and his recovery from tendonitis in both wrists in 2014, what other contributing factors have stood out for you when it comes to Alex Noren’s rise to No. 8 in the world?

Karl Morris: One thing is for sure Noren looks supremely confident with the work he has done with his coach to the great credit of Matt Belsham. Having real clarity on what you are working on technically allows you to free up mentally. Having really good pictures of how your swing functions so that when the swing misfires you know why. This allows the mind to then get on with the job of PLAYING golf, as you are not in constant “fix-it” mode.

It is also clear that Noren now “sees” himself as a winner, and he is now in that wonderful position of finding ways to win as opposed to finding ways to lose. There is a phrase that goes along the lines of “what the thinker thinks, the prover proves.” A part of our psyche seeks to “prove” what we believe. If I truly believe I can win, then my brain goes in search of evidence to support that. So even in unlikely circumstances like Wentworth, from way back in the field, Noren found a way to win.

There’s a now famous picture on social media of Alex and his “workman’s hands,” showing his audience how much he practices. Is this sort of work ethic advisable, or is it over the top and not always necessary to reach the top of the world of professional golf?

A photo of Alex Noren’s hands after a practice session.

A lot has been made of Alex Noren’s work ethic, his calloused hands bearing testimony to the time he puts into practice. This works wonderfully well for him. What I would say, though, is that the individual is “sacred.” What works for one doesn’t necessarily transfer to all. In golf, we need to avoid absolutism. It is not about finding THE way to do it, but YOUR way.

I have worked with some of the best players in the world, and some of them need to hit lots of shots in practice. Others hit relatively few shots on the range, but they spend a lot of time on the course. You need to put the time in, but it needs to be time that suits you as opposed to some model of what is “correct.” The most important person a golfer needs to find out about is himself or herself.

Noren talks about when he approaches a shot, he tends to work on “feel” of a swing rather than technique. This is despite a lot of his practice swings, where he’s trying to exaggerate a leftwards path to help encourage a fade. Is a feel-based game the best way to help the average golfer, and is one or two swing thoughts to be completely discouraged in a round of golf?

Noren talks about “feeling” his swing out on the course as opposed to thinking about it.
Again, this is key. On the golf course, you do not want to be over the ball giving yourself lots of conscious commands of what to do in the swing. Having your attention on a certain feel in your swing is fine as long as it’s a singular focus of attention.

The mistake many players make is to allow their attention to flit around various “solutions” to what the ball is doing. This comes back to the answer in the first question of working with a good coach and having absolute clarity on how your swing functions, especially through impact. Know what your impact tendencies are and work with that. Noren knows his path tendency is left through impact and that lovely powerful fade is built around that.

Predictions for the U.S. Open? Who’s your favourite to win and why?

I don’t make predictions! It is something I actively get my players to avoid. The only thing we really know is that we don’t know what will happen. Predicting is just wasting mental energy.

A better way to go is to “expect nothing, but deal with everything.” The problem is that if we make predictions and they don’t look like working out, we can feel lost. There is a big difference between having a belief that you have the capability to win and predicting it will actually happen. One has you lost in a fantasy perceived future; the other one has you focused on the task in front of you.

Thank you for the chat, Karl.

Opinion & Analysis

5 Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

Published

2 weeks ago

May 15, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Aronimink is not a storied club, but when Donald Ross himself proclaimed it to be as good as he can design and build, one had to take notice. Jay Sigel was the pre-eminent male amateur golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He might have called any number of Philadelphia clubs home, but he chose Aronimink. It served him well. Gary Player won a PGA Championship here in 1962, and was followed by the 1993 winner … nobody. Aronimink gave that event away to Inverness, for reasons of which it is certainly not proud. So be it. We had to wait sixty-four years for the PGA to return to Newtown Square, but here we are. Aronimink has been neo-restored by Gil Hanse and team, to return Ross features with an eye toward defense against the dark arts, errrr, high-tech equipment.

Day one saw Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau dig big holes, to the tune of plus-four and plus-six, respectively. Since the first-round lead will be minus-three at worst, many shots will need to be made up for the power couple to reach contention. By nightfall, seven golfers held the day-one lead at three-under par 67. Shots and sticks caught our attention, and we are proud to present Five Things We Learned on Tech Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship. Thanks to InsideTourGolfer, Today’s Golfer, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.

First, meet Min Woo Lee

Min Woo Lee, aka Dr. Chipinski, has once again thrust himself into the conversation of Can he, will he, when will he? Lee has so much talent, wins not nearly as often as we believe that he should, and has no major near-misses (much less titles) on his wiki. The young Aussie is getting older and wiser, but is he able to avoid the scarring that holds the older and wiser back from breaking through? Philadelphia offers another opportunity. Min Woo signed for five birdies and two bogeys on day one, and grabbed a share of the opening-day lead at Aronimink. Winners transcend history and the moment, and Lee will need that sort of ascent to lift the Wannamaker on Sunday.

Second, meet Aldrich Potgeiter

The young South African golfer can rip driver with the best of them. Aronimink tips out at nearly 7400 yards, but beyond the fairway bunkers that ensnare only the mortals, Potgeiter can take his chances with wedge from the rough. On Thursday, he spent plenty of time in the spinach. Like Popeye, he used his muscles to gouge and thrash and dig his way out. Six birdies against three bogeys on the card brought AP in a three deep.

Third, meet Martin Kaymer

Not a major event takes place without a where’s he been throwback moment. We know that Martin Kaymer left the PGA and DP World tours for LIV golf, but the two-time (US Open and PGA) major winner has a lifetime exemption into at least one major event, and he seizes the opportunity each May. Kaymer joined the six-seven brigade with four birdies and a solitary bogey on day one. Kaymer was never a long hitter, and the years are kind to no golfer. The German champion will need to uncork every bottle of guile and strategy in his cabinet to remain in contention. For today, though, he occupies a rung on the ladder of Tour Tech.

Fourth, meet Scottie Scheffler

Let’s see, he’s the defending champion at the PGA, and he found his way back to the top tier with five birdies against two bogeys. To be a favorite and then play up to that stature and expectation is quite difficult. Just ask Rory, Bryson, and some of the other pre-tournament heartthrobs. Scheffler’s game is complete, and to knock him off the OWGR #1 pedestal, one needs to defeat him at the majors. Aronimink is the sort of course that fits Scheffler’s game. Better yet, it unfits the game of many of his challengers. Don’t expect Scheffler to go away anytime soon. Come Sunday, he’ll be around.

Fifth, meet Stephan Jaeger

Clocking in for the unheralded players shift are Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger. Hisatsune logged seven birdies on day one, but gave most of them back with four bogeys. Still, he’s tied at the top for a time. Jaeger pitched five birdies against two bogeys, including a run of three consecutive, from holes four through six. Odds are that one of the two will hang around through 36 holes. Odds also suggest that both will be gone by Saturday evening. Still, the PGA Championship has historically been the major most likely to be won by an under-known. Both Hisatsune and Jaeger feature on that list, so good luck, lads!

Club Junkie

Club Junkie’s Titleist GTS driver fitting results!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, I head to the Titleist Performance Institute for a full driver fitting with the new Titleist GTS lineup. We dive into the fitting process, talk about what made the biggest difference in performance, and break down how the different GTS heads and shaft combinations compare on the launch monitor. If you are thinking about a new driver setup for this season, there is a lot to take away from this one.

I also get into Brooks Koepka and the gear setup he brought to the PGA Championship, including the putters that caught my eye during the week. There are some interesting equipment trends showing up at the highest level right now and we break down what stands out.

To wrap things up, I talk about reshafting a few wedges, what I learned during the process, and swapping an adaptor onto a new shaft for another build project in the shop. A gear packed episode from start to finish for anyone who loves golf equipment and club building.

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Club Junkie

Club Junkie WITB, week 16: New Titleist GTS woods!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

Excited for this week’s WITB as we get to add the new Titleist GTS woods to the bag! I was fit at Titleist’s TPI facility in Oceanside California a few weeks ago and my new clubs just showed up. I am also adding a cool set of irons that I built last year some wild custom wedges into a new golf bag. Speaking of the bag I have a new Ghost Anyday Black Ops stand bag that I will be using on my Motocaddy Remote M7 electric cart.

Driver: Titleist GTS3 (11 degrees @ 10.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6s

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD CQ-7s

5-wood: Titleist GTS (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

9-wood: Titleist GT1 (24 degress)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

Irons: Bettinardi CB24 (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (50-09 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (56-12 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (60-08 LB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Putter: Dan Carraher ZT Proto

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour

Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag