COPY MY NEW GAME PLAN

Alex Noren got himself into the world top 10 by shunning the range and taking a unique approach to his swing. He explains how to copy his success...

• Copy My New Game Plan

Ten years ago, if you asked those in the know who had the best swings in the game, you’d get a list of the usual suspects led by Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen. Those with a deeper understanding of the game in Europe might well have added the name of Alex Noren, too.

The Swede’s motion wasn’t just effortlessly smooth and technically sound, it was also functional, serving him very well as a successful amateur and fledgling pro. But hiding beneath the elegance was turmoil.

Noren was obsessed with grinding. He just loved long hours on the range – and didn’t know when to stop. Hardly a crime for a Tour pro, you might think – it has hardly done Vijay Singh any harm. But it was harming Noren, in two ways. First, he developed tendinitis in his wrist, and required surgery; he played in only two tournaments in 2014. And secondly, he was close to suffering paralysis by analysis. Having followed a largely upward curve from 2007 to 2011, with two wins that year, he stalled. Even before his injury-ravaged 2014, he’d had a poor 2013 by the standards of a man seemingly on the rise. And we know golf is full of players who came close to the summit then stagnated – and before you know it, their name surprisingly turns up on a satellite tour.

Yet last year, you might recall seeing his name in the headlines a lot. That’s because the 34-year-old was the hottest player in Europe during the most important part of the season.