The Mental Golf Show

299: Robert Linville - How to Be Truly Confident, Play Free, and Beat the Four-Hole Death Spiral

Robert Linville has been Josh’s coach for over 10 years. He was a pivotal part of Josh winning multiple events and making it to the finals of the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Robert has been a coach and swing instructor and owner of Precision Golf School in Greensboro, NC for 40+ years, working with some of the best players in the world on all levels of the game.
Get Robert’s brand new book Responding Under Pressure on Amazon.
respondingunderpressure.com
-----
Mentioned in this episode:
🤝 Join Mental Golf Club and Get Ad-Free Episodes of The Mental Golf Show (and more)!
🏋️‍♂️ FREE Golf Workout - Nerd Fitness - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🏌️‍♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Get the most out of your practice time with higher quality practice.
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
-----
Josh's stuff:
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
🤝 Join Mental Golf Club and Get Ad-Free Episodes of The Mental Golf Show (and more)!
🏌️‍♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Get the most out of your practice time with higher quality practice.
👨🏻‍🏫 1-on-1 Mental Coaching with Josh: Visit joshnicholsgolf.com/coaching to see plans and pricing to work with Josh on your mental game. Or send an email to josh@joshnicholsgolf.com.
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
📧 The Mental Re-Grip Newsletter: Sign up for weekly mental game tips at joshnicholsgolf.com/newsletter.
-----
Podcast partners:
🎯 Shot Pattern - Course Management Made Easy - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
⛳️ PutterCup: Get 15% off your PutterCup order by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter.
🏋️‍♂️ FREE Golf Workout - Nerd Fitness - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🍀 Fairways & Fundays - Ireland Golf Tours - Named World’s Best Golf Tour Operator at the World Golf Awards in 2024 and 2025! If you’re interested in going on a golf trip to Ireland, send me an email and I’ll get you set up with them - josh@joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.
----
Key takeaways (AI-produced):
Golf mental performance and indifference — Josh's stated goal of "indifference" isn't apathy. Robert describes it as a deeper form of acceptance: trusting your prep enough to swing freely and let the result land wherever it lands.
Belief systems outperform confidence in golf — Robert frames confidence as an emotion that fluctuates round to round, while belief is the durable foundation a golfer can lean on when confidence disappears mid-round.
The "3 and 1" mental game exercise — Naming three things you did well each day (golf-related or not) builds a track record of small wins that reshapes a negative internal narrative over time.
Golf strategy as probability, not fairness — Robert argues that course management and shot selection are really about stacking the odds in your favor, since preparation increases probability rather than guaranteeing certainty.
The "law of deserving" and pressure in golf — Working harder often backfires when it creates an expectation of results rather than preparation for whatever happens; this mismatch is a hidden source of tournament pressure.
Recovering from bad shots — the "three or four hole blur" — Robert explains why golfers spiral after a mistake and why physical cues (breathing, a glove touch, a look at a specific tree) help golfers self-regulate back into decision-making mode.
Reframing narrative for golfers and parents of junior golfers — Parents can unintentionally reinforce a negative self-narrative by focusing on mistakes; Robert stresses that shifting the story a player tells about themselves matters more than swing mechanics alone.
Practice quality over practice quantity — Robert's three-tier framework (practice, non-competitive play, competitive play) shows why tracking practice data reveals whether reps are building a real ceiling or just filling time.
How much golf improvement is realistic in a year — Using handicap index as a benchmark, Robert suggests a 20–25% improvement is a reasonable target for a golfer who trains with real purpose.
Staying the course versus chasing swing thoughts — Constantly changing technique based on the last shot (what Josh calls "swing thought number seventy-three") undermines long-term development; sticking with a trusted process built around a clear "why" produces better results.
-----
Top 5 episodes of The Mental Golf Show:
Mike & Eli of Chasing Scratch - Letting Scratch Happen
How to Trust Your Swing even when things are Going Wrong
Golf Thought Thursday: The Easiest (and Hardest) Way to Play Better Golf
Lean Into Your Golf Personality with John Weir (creator of Mental Golf Type)
How to Juggle Golf and Life with Andy Walker and Steve Hinks

298: Michael Leonard - Why Scared Golfers Never Break Through

Listen to this episode ad-free: join Mental Golf Club
Hello everybody, welcome to The Mental Golf Show, where we explore high performance through the lens of golf. On today’s episode we have Michael Leonard, host of the Wicked Smart podcast, author of several golf books, and phenomenal player himself. This is actually Michael’s second appearance on The Mental Golf Show 3 years later. Feel free to go back to that one to learn more of Michael’s own story.
In this episode you’re going to learn how to neutralize pressure, not only handle discomfort but use it to grow, have a better target selection process, understand your own shot shape and decision making, the power of visualization and how you can use visualization to make yourself a better golfer, and how to push through scoring barriers and go lower.
I know you’re going to enjoy this one.
Wicked Smart Golf Academy - Michael Leonard's hub for game improvement
-----
Topics we hit:
Is golf really that hard?
“Only the paranoid survive” - How to continually improve
The What/Why/How of Visualization
Why Do We Play Worse Under Pressure?
The Value of Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
Anger: Is It Bad? Can We Use It Beneficially?
Josh Figures Out How to Stop Swinging Scared
Josh’s Realization About Playing Freely
How Michael is Going to Go from a +2 to a +5
-----
Mentioned in this episode:
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
🏌️‍♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
⛳️ PutterCup: Get 15% off your PutterCup order by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter.
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
-----
Josh's stuff:
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
🏌️‍♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
👨🏻‍🏫 1-on-1 Mental Coaching with Josh: Visit joshnicholsgolf.com/coaching to see plans and pricing to work with Josh on your mental game. Or send an email to josh@joshnicholsgolf.com.
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
📧 The Mental Re-Grip Newsletter: Sign up for weekly mental game tips at joshnicholsgolf.com/newsletter.
-----
Podcast partners:
🎯 Shot Pattern - Course Management Made Easy - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
⛳️ PutterCup: Get 15% off your PutterCup order by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter.
🏋️‍♂️ FREE Golf Workout - Nerd Fitness - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🍀 Fairways & Fundays - Ireland Golf Tours - Named World’s Best Golf Tour Operator at the World Golf Awards in 2024 and 2025! If you’re interested in going on a golf trip to Ireland, send me an email and I’ll get you set up with them - josh@joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.
-----
Key takeaways from the episode (AI-produced):
1. Tee It Forward to Practice Low RoundsPlaying a tee up in casual rounds exposes golfers to birdie and eagle chances more often, priming the mind for a low score before it happens in competition.
2. One Shot Shape Beats TwoCommitting to a single stock shot off the tee removes swing-thought clutter and builds the kind of target-picking confidence Michael saw in tour pros at the U.S. Open.
3. Visualization Needs Repetition, Not a One-OffA single pump-up visualization the night before a round does little; Michael's work with the Kairo app involved dozens of sessions to actually build new neural pathways.
4. Train the Process, Not the ScoreVisualizing routines, breathing, and target selection carries over under pressure in a way that visualizing the final number doesn't, since outcome-focused thinking tends to break down in competition.
5. Anger Can Be FuelMichael compares it to Bruce Banner learning to direct the Hulk — once a player learns to channel anger toward focus instead of letting it spiral, it stops being a liability.
6. Process Bad Shots NeutrallyNaming what happened without self-attack — "that went left" instead of "I suck" — keeps a bad shot from compounding into a bad hole.
7. Discomfort Is Where Growth LivesMichael ties his biggest breakthroughs, quitting his job and playing Q-School among them, to moments of extreme discomfort, arguing the same principle applies off the course.
8. Long Putts Miss Short More Than Golfers RealizeA Korn Ferry player's stats review revealed Michael left 70% of 30-plus footers short; aiming past the hole on the high side helped correct the bias.
9. Vague Instructions Produce Vague ResultsTelling your brain "hit the fairway" is weaker than picturing an exact line, distance, and landing spot. Specificity is what turns intention into a committed swing.
10. More Tournament Reps Normalize PressureClosing the gap between practice-round comfort and tournament-day nerves comes down to playing more competitive rounds — and following the actual rules when playing casually too.
-----
Top 5 episodes of The Mental Golf Show:
Mike & Eli of Chasing Scratch - Letting Scratch Happen
How to Trust Your Swing even when things are Going Wrong
Golf Thought Thursday: The Easiest (and Hardest) Way to Play Better Golf
Lean Into Your Golf Personality with John Weir (creator of Mental Golf Type)
How to Juggle Golf and Life with Andy Walker and Steve Hinks

297: Julie Elion - How Wyndham Clark Overcame Adversity to Win the 2026 U.S. Open

Get Julie Elion’s new book Mastering Your Mental Game (link to Amazon)
On this episode we’ve got THE Julie Elion. Most notably the mental performance coach for Wyndham Clark. She’s also the author of her new book Mastering Your Mental Game, which is excellent.
So the timing of this one was pretty dang cool with Wyndham just winning the U.S. Open last week. We of course talk a lot about Wyndham and how he handles the adversity of the crowd and seemingly the whole world being against him. And we discuss how Wyndham and other tour players improve their mental resilience, emotional regulation, and other very accessible and normal practices golfers can do to perform better under pressure.
By the end of this episode I’m confident you’ll be able to reframe your nerves, handle anger better, and develop mental habits that give you the best chance to succeed more often.
-----
Timestamps & Topics:
0:00 - Intro: Listen to Josh’s new podcast Project Mid-Am: A Golfer’s Journey on Apple or Spotify
2:36 - The Nerve-wracking Experience of Coaching Wyndham Clark
9:04 - Why Honesty and Self-Awareness is Important for Golfers
16:09 - ⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
17:46 - How to Get Over Other People’s Opinions, Embarrassment, and Needing Others’ Approval
21:13 - Wyndham, Anger, Trauma, and Responding Better in Difficult Moments
31:10 - 🏌️‍♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
33:35 - Get Comfortable With the Discomfort of an Important Round of Golf
39:27 - Playing Tentative, Guidey, and Scared: How to Play with Freedom
49:39 - 🎯 Shot Pattern - Course Management Made Easy - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
51:37 - How to Do a Postmortem Of a Round of Golf
58:57 - Why You Should Be Prioritizing Your Mental Game
1:07:12 - Julie Elion: Mastering Your Mental Game (Amazon book link)
-----
Mentioned in this episode:
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
🏌️‍♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
🎯 Shot Pattern - Course Management Made Easy - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
-----
Josh's stuff:
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
🏌️‍♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
👨🏻‍🏫 1-on-1 Mental Coaching with Josh: Visit joshnicholsgolf.com/coaching to see plans and pricing to work with Josh on your mental game. Or send an email to josh@joshnicholsgolf.com.
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
📧 The Mental Re-Grip Newsletter: Sign up for weekly mental game tips at **joshnicholsgolf.com/newsletter.**
-----
Other podcast partners:
⛳️ PutterCup: Get 15% off your PutterCup order by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter.
🏋️‍♂️ FREE Golf Workout - Nerd Fitness - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🍀 Fairways & Fundays - Ireland Golf Tours - Named World’s Best Golf Tour Operator at the World Golf Awards in 2024 and 2025! If you’re interested in going on a golf trip to Ireland, send me an email and I’ll get you set up with them - josh@joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.
-----
Key takeaways:
Winning the Day Mentally: Before a tournament, Julie focuses her clients on winning the day mentally rather than fixating on the scoreboard outcome, because executing mental goals consistently is what leads to winning.
Name Your Feelings: Rather than pushing emotions aside or forcing positivity, Julie coaches players to identify and name what they're feeling — anger, frustration, nerves — before redirecting to their goals.
Excavating Your Mental History: Effective mental performance coaching requires digging into a player's personal history, including family dynamics, coaching relationships, and past experiences, to uncover what's holding them back on the course.
Coping Mechanisms That No Longer Serve You: Habits developed to handle stress in childhood may actually be working against performance as an adult, making self-awareness a critical first step in mental game improvement.
The Pre-Shot Routine as an Anchor: A consistent pre-shot routine acts like comfort food for the mind — something familiar and calming that players can return to no matter how chaotic the environment gets.
Reframing Nerves as Inner Applause: Instead of fighting first-tee nerves, players can reframe that physiological response as excitement and readiness rather than a threat to performance.
There's No "Don't" in Golf: Borrowed from caddy Fluff Cowan, this principle reinforces that players should direct their focus toward where they want to go, not away from where they don't.
Till the Soil Before Competition: Just like gardening requires soil preparation, performing well in competition requires deliberate mental preparation the night before — including brain drain journaling, box breathing, and honest self-assessment.
The Mental Scorecard: Tracking a commitment or engagement score hole-by-hole alongside the traditional scorecard helps players identify patterns in when and why their mental game breaks down.
Vulnerability Is the Real Role Model: Wyndham Clark's public journey with anger management demonstrates that the most powerful form of role modeling isn't perfection — it's openly committing to doing the inner work.
-----
Top 5 episodes of The Mental Golf Show:
Mike & Eli of Chasing Scratch - Letting Scratch Happen
How to Trust Your Swing even when things are Going Wrong
Golf Thought Thursday: The Easiest (and Hardest) Way to Play Better Golf
Lean Into Your Golf Personality with John Weir (creator of Mental Golf Type)
How to Juggle Golf and Life with Andy Walker and Steve Hinks

296: Joel Suggs (PGA Master) - These three stats explain everything…

On this episode we have Joel Suggs, a PGA Master Teaching Professional with decades of experience helping golfers of all levels understand their own games. Joel is the author of Golf Success Before Every Round, which was the number one new release in golf coaching on Amazon when it came out.
By the end of this episode, you'll learn why golfers already have the right answers for their game — and how to draw those out using facts instead of tips. You'll discover the three stats that cause virtually all big scores in golf, why analyzing batches of shots beats obsessing over individual ones, and what your tap-in count is actually telling you about your putting.
Joel is a unique and interesting guy so I’m confident you’ll learn some new perspectives from this one.
Get Joel Suggs’ Book & Workbook: Golf Success Before Every Round & Golf Success During Every Round
-----
Timestamps & Topics:
00:00 - Intro
2:18 - Golfer’s Already Have the Right Answers In Them
9:22 - How Do We Use Stats to Change Our Games?
15:34 - 🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
17:32 - Swing Change vs. Swing Improvement: What Even Is a Swing Change?
28:04 - 🏌️‍♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
30:29 - Play What You Have? Or Stubbornly Try To Play What You SHOULD Have?
36:51 - One Shot at a Time: How To Get Lost In the Golf Moment
40:53 - Why Tracking Tap-Ins is Actually a Valuable Stat
50:41 - ⛳️ PutterCup: Get 15% off your PutterCup order by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter.
52:53 - Actionables from Tracking Tap-Ins
55:30 - The Three Most Important Stats to Spend Limited Time Working On
1:06:15 - 🎯 Shot Pattern - Course Management Made Easy - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
1:08:14 - Why Do We Play Worse Than We Practice?
1:13:33 - Why We Should Be Grateful About Golf
1:19:42 - Joel Suggs
-----
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
-----
Mentioned in this episode:
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
🏌️‍♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
⛳️ PutterCup: Get 15% off your PutterCup order by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter.
🎯 Shot Pattern - Course Management Made Easy - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
-----
Josh's stuff:
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
👨🏻‍🏫 1-on-1 Mental Coaching with Josh: Visit joshnicholsgolf.com/coaching to see plans and pricing to work with Josh on your mental game. Or send an email to josh@joshnicholsgolf.com.
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
📧 The Mental Re-Grip Newsletter: Sign up for weekly mental game tips at **joshnicholsgolf.com/newsletter.**
-----
Other podcast partners:
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
🏋️‍♂️ FREE Golf Workout - Nerd Fitness - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🍀 Fairways & Fundays - Ireland Golf Tours - Named World’s Best Golf Tour Operator at the World Golf Awards in 2024 and 2025! If you’re interested in going on a golf trip to Ireland, send me an email and I’ll get you set up with them - josh@joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.
-----
10 Key Takeaways
Answers Already Inside — Golfers already have the right answers for their game — a coach's job is to draw those answers out through facts and honest conversation, not to impose new ones.
Batches Beat Individual Shots — Analyzing batches of shots rather than individual shots gives golfers a far more accurate and useful picture of their actual game.
Improvement Over Swing Change — "Swing change" is rarely real — improvement is more accurate and more honest, because there is no definitive before-and-after moment, only a continuum of progress.
Three Stats That Matter — The three stats that matter most in golf are drives out of play, missed pitches, and three-putts — these are the primary causes of big holes and high scores.
Know Your Longest Club — Knowing the longest club you can reliably hit in play off the tee is one of the most useful pieces of self-knowledge a golfer can have.
Tap-Ins Aren't Everything — Tap-ins are neither inherently good nor bad — fewer tap-ins often correlates with lower scores, because it means more putts from makeable distances went in.
Simple Stats Stick — The golf mirror is only useful if the stats are simple, direct, and non-convoluted — complexity kills the habit.
One Thought, One Round — Good players go into a round with one long-established swing thought and adapt using their own proven golf medicine when things go sideways.
Strengths Fix Weaknesses — Working on your strengths is as important as addressing weaknesses — the good shots you already hit contain the answers to fixing the bad ones.
Humility Means Accepting Facts — Humility in golf means accepting facts as they are — the golfer who can look honestly at their own game without illusion improves consistently over time.
-----
Top 5 episodes of The Mental Golf Show:
Mike & Eli of Chasing Scratch - Letting Scratch Happen
How to Trust Your Swing even when things are Going Wrong
Golf Thought Thursday: The Easiest (and Hardest) Way to Play Better Golf
Lean Into Your Golf Personality with John Weir (creator of Mental Golf Type)
How to Juggle Golf and Life with Andy Walker and Steve Hinks

295: Steve Kamb - How to Try Again, Play More Free, and Not Let Fear Wreck Your Game

Get Steve Kamb’s new book How to Try Again: An Approachable Guide to Navigating Chaos and Making Change THAT STICKS (Amazon link)
-----
Steve Kamb is the author of the brand new book How to Try Again: An Approachable Guide to Navigating Chaos and Making Change THAT STICKS.
In this conversation (and in his book) Steve helps us learn about life and golf and the many parallels between the two. We talk about failure, redefining, reframing and better understanding failure, the relationship between failure and fear and our deep need for survival, the importance of self-compassion and acceptance while also navigating change, finding the balance of playing the game you currently have and improving the game you currently have, practical strategies for letting go of control and expectations, theories Steve talks about like Expectation Bankruptcy and Failing Compassionately, and how to use experimentation and taking small steps to foster growth.
The mission of The Mental Golf Show is to explore high performance through the lens of golf, and this conversation hits right in the strike zone of that mission.
-----
Timestamps & Topics:
00:00 - Intro
3:16 - Redefining and Having a Better Relationship with Failure
13:06 - ⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
14:43 - Expectations, Plans for the Future, and Acceptance to Play Golf More Freely
33:42 - 🏌️‍♂️ Basic Practice Plan - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
34:45 - It Feels Less Scary to Play Scared, and How to Play Freely
39:29 - Expectation Bankruptcy: Our Lives and Golf Games Are Different, Now What?
52:36 - Acceptance vs. Change: Playing the Golf Game You Have vs. Reaching for the Golf Game You Want
57:50 - 🎯 Shot Pattern - The Golf GPS App Designed to Help You Play Smarter Golf - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
59:48 - Should We Try to “Find It” On the Course? Or Play What We Have That Day?
1:09:41 - All Or Nothing: Making a BETTER Choice, Not the PERFECT Choice
1:26:26 - Letting Go Of Future Results
1:29:46 - Steve Kamb’s book: How to Try Again (Amazon link)
-----
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
-----
Mentioned in this episode:
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
🏌️‍♂️ Basic Practice Plan - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
🎯 Shot Pattern - The Golf GPS App Designed to Help You Play Smarter Golf - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
-----
Josh's stuff:
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
👨🏻‍🏫 1-on-1 Mental Coaching with Josh: Visit joshnicholsgolf.com/coaching to see plans and pricing to work with Josh on your mental game. Or send an email to josh@joshnicholsgolf.com.
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
📧 The Mental Re-Grip Newsletter: Sign up for weekly mental game tips at joshnicholsgolf.com/newsletter.
-----
Other podcast partners:
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
⛳️ PutterCup: Get 15% off your PutterCup order by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter.
🏋️‍♂️ FREE Golf Workout - Nerd Fitness - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🍀 Fairways & Fundays - Ireland Golf Tours - Named World’s Best Golf Tour Operator at the World Golf Awards in 2024 and 2025! If you’re interested in going on a golf trip to Ireland, send me an email and I’ll get you set up with them - josh@joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.
-----
10 Key Takeaways
Failure identity vs. failure event — A bad round doesn't make you a bad golfer. The mental shift from "I failed at this shot" to "I am a failure" is where the spiral starts — and where the real work begins.
Golf and toxic positivity — "Just stay positive" is hollow advice when your game falls apart. Real mental toughness means acknowledging that a tough round genuinely hurts, not papering over it with forced optimism.
Self-compassion for golfers — Beating yourself up after a bad shot isn't discipline, it's self-sabotage. The harshest critic on the course is usually the one standing over the ball, and that critic is making your next shot harder.
Pre-accepting the outcome — The golfers who play their best golf under pressure aren't detached — they've pre-accepted whatever happens. Needing a specific score to feel okay is the fastest route to gripping tighter and swinging scared.
Expectation bankruptcy in golf — Whether it's the swing you had at 25, the handicap you used to carry, or the ball flight you think you should have, declaring expectation bankruptcy is what lets you actually play the game in front of you.
Acceptance and change on the course — "My driver is going left today" and "I can still make smart decisions" are both true at the same time. That's not resignation — that's elite-level course management thinking.
Golf practice with limited time — You don't need a ninety-minute range session to improve. Five minutes on a putting mat, ten swings in the backyard, one alignment check in the mirror — small practice consistently beats perfect practice occasionally.
All-or-nothing golf practice — The golfer who commits to a big practice plan and abandons it two weeks later is losing to the golfer who does one small drill every day. Consistency at a low level beats intensity that collapses.
Trusting your golf swing under pressure — Trying to steer the ball in competition is telling your body that your practice meant nothing. Letting go and swinging freely is how you actually use the game you've built.
Process over outcome in competitive golf — You can't control the leaderboard, the weather, or the bounce on 14. You can control your pre-shot routine, your decision-making, and whether you give yourself permission to swing freely on every shot. Fill the jar with those — everything else takes care of itself.
-----
Top 5 episodes of The Mental Golf Show:
Mike & Eli of Chasing Scratch - Letting Scratch Happen
How to Trust Your Swing even when things are Going Wrong
Golf Thought Thursday: The Easiest (and Hardest) Way to Play Better Golf
Lean Into Your Golf Personality with John Weir (creator of Mental Golf Type)
How to Juggle Golf and Life with Andy Walker and Steve Hinks

294: Dr. Justin Ternes (Breath Expert) - How to Breathe To Play Better Golf

Take the FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment
-----
Dr. Justin Ternes is a world expert on breathwork, physical therapy, and the connection of mind and body.
I wanted to have Justin on because there’s so much pseudoscience out there about breathwork, meditation, and emotional awareness. But Justin sets us straight and teaches us that what we’ve heard and learned might actually be doing us more harm than good.
Allostasis Performance
-----
Timestamps and Topics:
00:00 - Intro: Listen to this Episode Ad-Free!
2:21 - Good Stress: How to Find the Sweet Spot of Growth
8:40 - Pushing Yourself Physically to Train Psychologically
12:49 - 🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
14:38 - Stress on the Golf Course: Should We Go Mentally Blank Over the Ball?
23:42 - 🏌️‍♂️ Basic Practice Plan - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
24:45 - Is Being “Even-Keeled” Actually Helpful?
35:49 - Can We Be TOO Aware of Ourselves?
38:43 - 🎯 Shot Pattern - The Golf GPS App Designed to Help You Play Smarter Golf - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
40:42 - Confidence and Flow: Being Ok with Reality As It Is
55:42 - Golf Breathing: How Should a Golfer Be Thinking About Breath Through An Entire Day of Golf?
1:07:24 - Dr. Justin Ternes: Allostasis Performance
-----
Mentioned in this episode:
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
🏌️‍♂️ Basic Practice Plan - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
🎯 Shot Pattern - The Golf GPS App Designed to Help You Play Smarter Golf - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
-----
Josh's stuff:
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
👨🏻‍🏫 1-on-1 Mental Coaching with Josh: Visit joshnicholsgolf.com/coaching to see plans and pricing to work with Josh on your mental game. Or send an email to josh@joshnicholsgolf.com.
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
📧 The Mental Re-Grip Newsletter: Sign up for weekly mental game tips at joshnicholsgolf.com/newsletter.
-----
Other podcast partners:
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
🏋️‍♂️ FREE Golf Workout - Nerd Fitness - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🍀 Fairways & Fundays - Ireland Golf Tours - Named World’s Best Golf Tour Operator at the World Golf Awards in 2024 and 2025! If you’re interested in going on a golf trip to Ireland, send me an email and I’ll get you set up with them - josh@joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.
-----
Key Takeaways:
Hormesis is the "sweet spot of stress" where the right dose of discomfort, like cold exposure or an ice bath, drives adaptation, recovery, and resilience.
Cold plunge benefits depend on a time-to-temperature ratio: the more extreme the cold, the less time you need to get a meaningful dose.
Effective self-affirmations must be grounded in truth—saying "it's cold, but I got this" works because it pairs the reality of the situation with genuine confidence.
Top-down and bottom-up communication between brain and body lets you regulate your nervous system, calming the stress response rather than faking your way through it.
The breath is the bridge between mind and body, acting as a nervous system toggle switch where the inhale activates and the exhale relaxes.
Mindfulness for athletes isn't about emptying the mind but filling it with sensation—getting into the physical body to reach a neutral, present state.
Respiratory heart rate variability (RHRV) syncs the heart and lungs through slow breathing, which is the physiological foundation of being "even keeled."
Peak performance comes from expecting and training fluctuation, not suppressing emotion, since the best athletes feel and process emotion before returning to a neutral mind.
Allostasis—"stability through change"—closes the gap between what your brain predicts and what reality delivers, and chronic allostatic overload calls for physical resets like the gym, sauna, or a long run instead of more mental analysis.
Breath training builds real capacity through the "ceiling, attic, floor, basement" model, so practiced mechanics let you use your breath under pressure on the first tee, between shots, and after a bad round.
-----
Top 5 episodes of The Mental Golf Show:
Mike & Eli of Chasing Scratch - Letting Scratch Happen
How to Trust Your Swing even when things are Going Wrong
Golf Thought Thursday: The Easiest (and Hardest) Way to Play Better Golf
Lean Into Your Golf Personality with John Weir (creator of Mental Golf Type)
How to Juggle Golf and Life with Andy Walker and Steve Hinks

293: Deep Dive Into How Josh Prepares for a Golf Tournament

FREE Brand New Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment
-----
In this episode Josh dives deep into his tournament prep, what he's done this year different from past years, and how he readies himself for a competitive round.
-----
Chapters & Topics:
00:00 - Intro
00:54 - Preparing My Body: New Stretches, Better Pre-Round Warmup, and More Regular and Intense Hitting Sessions
6:27 - Shot Pattern: shotpattern.app and use discount code MENTALGOLFSHOW for 20% off
8:25 - Preparing My Strategy: Plotting Out the Course, Playing the Course “Virtually”, and Practice Round Process
16:02 - Basic Practice Plan: joshnicholsgolf.com/practice
17:04 - Preparing My Golf Game: Better Practice, Putting More and Higher Quality, and Much Better Swing Feels
27:03 - FREE Brand New Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment
-----
Join Mental Golf Club for FREE here: app.joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
Mentioned in this episode:
🎯 Shot Pattern - The Golf GPS App Designed to Help You Play Smarter Golf - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
🏌️‍♂️ Basic Practice Plan - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
⛳️ PutterCup: Get 15% off your PutterCup order by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter.
📊 FREE Brand New Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment
-----
Josh's stuff:
👨🏻‍🏫 1-on-1 Mental Coaching with Josh: Visit joshnicholsgolf.com/coaching to see plans and pricing to work with Josh on your mental game. Or send an email to josh@joshnicholsgolf.com.
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
📧 The Mental Re-Grip Newsletter: Sign up for weekly mental game tips atjoshnicholsgolf.com/newsletter.
-----
Other podcast partners:
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
🏋️‍♂️ FREE Nerd Fitness Golf Workout - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🍀 Fairways & Fundays - Ireland Golf Tours - Named World’s Best Golf Tour Operator at the World Golf Awards in 2024 and 2025! If you’re interested in going on a golf trip to Ireland, send me an email and I’ll get you set up with them - josh@joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.

292: My Mental Game Has Gotten Worse (I Have Proof)

Click here to take the brand new redesigned Mental Game Assessment!
I’m a Golf Mental Coach and the host of a golf mental game podcast. Yet my mental game has gotten worse.
How do I know that? And what am I going to do about it? And what you can do to improve your mental game. All of that in this short episode.

291: How Well You Play and How Well You Score Are Not the Same Thing - Peter Melton

Peter Melton is a Golf Enjoyment Coach and author of Conversations with Par. He spent three decades stuck in the same trap most golfers never escape — believing his score determined his worth.
In this conversation, we dig into the inner golfer versus the outer golfer, why your survival identity is quietly running your game, and whether enjoyment is just another arrow in the quiver or the whole bag. You're going to leave this episode with a completely different answer to the question "How did you play?" and “Why do you play?”
Get Conversations with Par here.
Check out Peter Melton Golf here.
Topics and Chapters:
00:00 - Intro: Join Mental Golf Club!
00:36 - How You PLAY and How You SCORE Are Different Things
7:07 - How to Play Without Getting Upset
11:26 - Are ‘Results’ and ‘Score’ Naughty Words?
13:49 - Basic Practice Plan: joshnicholsgolf.com/practice
14:52 - You Need to Work On the “Outer Golfer” and the “Inner Golfer”
23:33 - PutterCup: puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and sign up for the PutterCup newsletter for 15% off
25:45 - Why We Play Small and Safe and Get Protective and Bail
34:07 - What Role Does Enjoyment Play in Scoring?
-----
Join Mental Golf Club for FREE here: app.joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
Mentioned in this episode:
🏌️‍♂️ Basic Practice Plan - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
⛳️ PutterCup: Get 15% off your PutterCup order by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter.
-----
Josh's stuff:
👨🏻‍🏫 1-on-1 Mental Coaching with Josh: Visit joshnicholsgolf.com/coaching to see plans and pricing to work with Josh on your mental game. Or send an email to josh@joshnicholsgolf.com.
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
📧 The Mental Re-Grip Newsletter: Sign up for weekly mental game tips atjoshnicholsgolf.com/newsletter.
-----
Other podcast partners:
🎯 Shot Pattern - The Golf GPS App Designed to Help You Play Smarter Golf - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
🏋️‍♂️ FREE Nerd Fitness Golf Workout - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🍀 Fairways & Fundays - Ireland Golf Tours - Named World’s Best Golf Tour Operator at the World Golf Awards in 2024 and 2025! If you’re interested in going on a golf trip to Ireland, send me an email and I’ll get you set up with them - josh@joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.
 

290: Perfect Mechanics Don’t Matter If Your Tempo is Off - Chia Chou (Master Pianist)

Chia Chou is a classical pianist and has taught the best of the best musicians for decades.
In the last 5 years he has grown his very unique approach to helping golfers through the use of audio. We even get into how Chia's method is different from (and potentially better than) Tour Tempo.
You'll leave this episode with actionable practices to help you have better tempo, a better understanding of what quality practice actually looks like, new thoughts on the yips, a more clear picture for what you should be thinking about over the ball, a better relationship with the importance of mechanics, and more.
-----
Check out Chia Chou's Audio Golf here
-----
Topics and Chapters:
00:00 - Join Mental Golf Club: app.joshnicholsgolf.com
00:37 - Can a Sound Fix My Golf Swing?
04:17 - Why Do We Practice Poorly? And What Is Good Practice?
11:03 - Basic Practice Plan: joshnicholsgolf.com/practice
12:05 - Skepticism About Quick Fixes and Shortcuts (Too Good to Be True?)
15:27 - Why Does Our Tempo Change Day to Day or Shot to Shot?
22:08 - Shot Pattern: shotpattern.app and use discount code MENTALGOLFSHOW for 20% off
24:06 - Can You Practice Enough Quantity to Make Things Automatic?
27:02 - Can Sound Fix the Yips?
30:54 - Where Should Our Attention Be While We’re Hitting a Golf Shot?
39:00 - Perfect Mechanics Don’t Matter If Your Tempo is Off
43:33 - The Divot Board: divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow and use discount code MENTALGOLF10 to get 10% off
45:10 - Audio Golf vs. Tour Tempo
52:02 - Josh Tries an Audio Exercise
57:03 - Give Your Brain A Task To Do (Don’t Try to Turn it Off)
1:00:04 - Chia Chou and Audio Golf: audio.golf
-----
Join Mental Golf Club for FREE here: app.joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
🏌️‍♂️ Basic Practice Plan - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
🎯 Shot Pattern - The Golf GPS App Designed to Help You Play Smarter Golf - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
-----
Josh's stuff:
👨🏻‍🏫 1-on-1 Mental Coaching with Josh: Visit joshnicholsgolf.com/coaching to see plans and pricing to work with Josh on your mental game. Or send an email to josh@joshnicholsgolf.com.
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
📧 The Mental Re-Grip Newsletter: Sign up for weekly mental game tips atjoshnicholsgolf.com/newsletter.
-----
Other podcast partners:
⛳️ PutterCup: Get 15% off your PutterCup order by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter.
🏋️‍♂️ FREE Nerd Fitness Golf Workout - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🍀 Fairways & Fundays - Ireland Golf Tours - Named World’s Best Golf Tour Operator at the World Golf Awards in 2024 and 2025! If you’re interested in going on a golf trip to Ireland, send me an email and I’ll get you set up with them - josh@joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.