Harvey Penick Quotes & Sayings

If you play poorly one day, forget it.
If you play poorly the next time out, review your fundamentals of grip, stance, aim and ball position. Most mistakes are made before the club is swung.
If you play poorly for a third time in a row, go see your professional. — Harvey Penick

All seasoned players know, or at least have felt, that when you are playing your best, you are much the same as in a state of meditation. You are free of tension and chatter. You are concentrating on one thing. It is the ideal condition for good golf. — Harvey Penick

I see things written about the golf swing that I can't believe will work except by accident . — Harvey Penick

In golf your strengths and weaknesses will always be there. If you could improve your weaknesses, you would improve your game. The irony is that people prefer to practice their strengths. — Harvey Penick

Make a game out of practice, you're still a child at heart — Harvey Penick

Be yourself. Play within yourself. Play your own game. — Harvey Penick

Never try a shot you haven't practised. — Harvey Penick

A golfer rarely needs to hit a spectacular shot until the one that preceded it was pretty bad. — Harvey Penick

Life is full of many minor annoyances, and few matters of real consequence. — Harvey Penick

Lessons are not to take the place of practice, but to make practice worthwhile. — Harvey Penick

I learn teaching from teachers. I learn golf from golfers. I learn winning from coaches. — Harvey Penick

I compare the pressure of a golf shot with making an extra point in basketball. The player starts from a full stop, and that rim doesn't move. — Harvey Penick

Be brave if you lose and meek if you win. — Harvey Penick

A pretty girl will always have the toughest time learning to play golf, because every man wants to give her lessons. — Harvey Penick

In my opinion, no young player can develop his or her game to its highest potential if he or she rides around the course in a golf cart. — Harvey Penick

Just as I do, Bill was always telling pupils to relax their elbows, since the elbow is the most important joint we have in the movement of the golf swing. Bill and I were in total agreement that the attempt to keep a straight left arm means ruination for most golfers. — Harvey Penick

Golf tips are like aspirin. One may do you good, but if you swallow the whole bottle you will be lucky to survive. — Harvey Penick

If you play golf, you are my friend. — Harvey Penick

I don't care how good you play, you can find somebody who can beat you, and I don't care how bad you play, you can find somebody you can beat. — Harvey Penick

Golf has probably kept more people sane than psychiatrists have. — Harvey Penick

Looking up is the biggest alibi ever invented to explain a terrible shot. By the time you look up, you've already made the mistake. — Harvey Penick

The woods are full of long drivers. — Harvey Penick

You don't lose your swing between the ninth green and the tenth tee, and you don't lose your swing from one day to the next. If you think you do, something is going on that you don't understand. A diary might help explain it to you. — Harvey Penick

No matter how poorly you play, there is always someone you can beat. No matter how well you play, there is always someone who can beat you. — Harvey Penick

A good putter is a match for anyone. A bad putter is a match for no one. — Harvey Penick

Go out and have fun. Golf is a game for everyone, not just for the talented few. — Harvey Penick