The Mental Golf Show
Host Josh Nichols shares from his own 20 years of competitive and golf psychology coaching experiences, along with years of learning psychology, as well as interviews with players, coaches, and experts in the golf industry, all with the goal of helping you think better on and off the golf course. *This podcast is not meant to apply to every individuals’ mental health. And not all opinions expressed by guests reflect Josh’s opinions and experiences.
Listen on:
Episodes
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
On today’s episode we have Dr. Mike Grevlos.
He’s a speaker, consultant, performance coach to golfers, professor of motivation, performance, sport psychology, and neuroscience.
He’s also the author of The Motivation Game: A Course on the Psychology of Golf Improvement which has been an Amazon Bestseller in the Golf and Sport Psychology genre.
Some specific things he’s done that have stood out to me are his research on deliberate practice in college athletes and his articles on motivation and how it drives golfer’s decision making.
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Dr. Mike Grevlos's website - themotivationgame.com
Dr. Mike Grevlos on twitter
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Take the Mental Game Assessment and learn your top mental game traits and your areas in most need of improvement.
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Click here to sign up for The Mental Re-Grip ⛳️ newsletter to receive golf psychology help in your email inbox every-ish Tuesday.
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Have a suggestion for a topic or guest? Drop your suggestions here.
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Prefer reading, but somehow found yourself here in audio land? Click here to check out the Foundations Mental Performance blog.
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Are you a competitive golfer? Interested in working 1-on-1 with Josh as your Golf Psychology Coach? Head to joshnicholsgolf.com or email Josh directly at mentalgolfshow@gmail.com.
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Follow Josh on social:
Twitter: @joshlukenichols
Instagram: @joshlukenichols
TikTok: @joshlukenichols
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Follow The Mental Golf Show on social:
Twitter: @mentalgolfshow
Instagram: mentalgolfshow
TikTok: mentalgolfshow
Tuesday Apr 11, 2023
Tuesday Apr 11, 2023
On this episode of The Mental Golf Show we have special guest Patrick Grimes. He's a former Stanford player, teammate and caddie for Patrick Rodgers, mini tour and PGA Tour player, and now swing and golf psychology coach.
We talk about his journey through the college and mini tour ranks, then we talk about how psychology came into play into the 2023 Masters with Rahm, Brooks, Rory, Tiger, and how it can all apply to your game.
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Patrick Grimes on instagram: patrickgrimesgolf
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Take the Mental Game Assessment and learn your top mental game traits and your areas in most need of improvement.
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Click here to sign up for The Mental Re-Grip ⛳️ newsletter to receive golf psychology help in your email inbox every-ish Tuesday.
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Have a suggestion for a topic or guest? Drop your suggestions here.
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Prefer reading, but somehow found yourself here in audio land? Click here to check out the Foundations Mental Performance blog.
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Are you a competitive golfer? Interested in working 1-on-1 with Josh as your Golf Psychology Coach? Head to joshnicholsgolf.com or email Josh directly at mentalgolfshow@gmail.com.
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Follow Josh on social:
Twitter: @joshlukenichols
Instagram: @joshlukenichols
TikTok: @joshlukenichols
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Follow The Mental Golf Show on social:
Twitter: @mentalgolfshow
Instagram: mentalgolfshow
TikTok: mentalgolfshow
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
Welcome to part 2 of 2 where Raymond Prior, PhD and I work through another set of common golf psychology myths.
If you haven't listened to part 1, I highly recommend it. In part 1 we talked about myths and cliches like “just be positive”, why distracting yourself is unhelpful, how you can’t just will the ball into the hole or make yourself focus, and it’s impossible to just forget a bad shot. We also had a little bonus at the end talking about block vs random practice and how much you should be challenging yourself in practice.
In part 2 we talk about what's deceiving about the common wisdom surrounding nerves and anxiety, perception vs. reality, muscle memory, pre-shot routines, alcohol helping your anxiety, sleep being optional, and we take a deep dive on the yips that you're not going to want to miss.
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Raymond Prior, PhD:
Raymond Prior's website: btsmindset.com
Amazon book- Golf Beneath the Surface: The New Science of Golf Psychology
Raymond Prior, PhD on Twitter: @bts_mindset
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Episode topics:
00:00 Intro
02:50 Myth # 4 - “Nerves = Anxiety”
14:12 Extra - Yips deep dive
20:35 Myth # 5 - “Perception is Reality”
26:40 Myth # 6 - “Muscle memory”
29:24 Extra - Pre-shot routines - Need em or not?
32:55 Myth # 7 - “Alcohol for 1st tee anxiety”
43:25 Myth # 8 - “I don’t need to sleep”
48:27 Extra - The best thing to do after you get a golf lesson
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Take the Mental Game Assessment and learn your top mental game traits and your areas in most need of improvement.
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Click here to sign up for The Mental Re-Grip ⛳️ newsletter to receive golf psychology help in your email inbox every-ish Tuesday.
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Have a suggestion for a topic or guest? Drop your suggestions here.
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Prefer reading, but somehow found yourself here in audio land? Click here to check out the Foundations Mental Performance blog.
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Are you a competitive golfer? Interested in working 1-on-1 with Josh as your Golf Psychology Coach? Head to joshnicholsgolf.com or email Josh directly at mentalgolfshow@gmail.com.
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Follow Josh on social:
Twitter: @joshlukenichols
Instagram: @joshlukenichols
TikTok: @joshlukenichols
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Follow The Mental Golf Show on social:
Twitter: @mentalgolfshow
Instagram: mentalgolfshow
TikTok: mentalgolfshow
Tuesday Mar 28, 2023
Tuesday Mar 28, 2023
In Dr. Prior’s upcoming book Golf Beneath the Surface (Amazon link to purchase--not an ad), a major theme is how the cliches and catch phrases and mental tips and tricks that we've heard so many times are mostly just myths. They’ve been generally accepted as truths but don't actually have much or any supporting evidence to back them up.
So you could look at this episode as a teaser for the book and some of the deeper evidence based psychology that you will learn reading it, but I think equipping yourself with this knowledge will allow you to be more informed in fact checking what you read and hear, as well as how to specifically apply the actual scientifically backed psychology that will help you play better golf.
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Raymond Prior, PhD:
Raymond Prior's website: btsmindset.com
Amazon book- Golf Beneath the Surface: The New Science of Golf Psychology
Raymond Prior, PhD on Twitter: @bts_mindset
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Episode topics:
00:00 Intro
02:42 Myth #1 - “Just be Positive”
11:51 Myth #2 - “Distraction techniques”
23:50 Myth #3 - “Willing the ball into the hole”
34:02 Myth #4 - “Just forget about a bad shot”
39:38 Extra - “How much block/technique practice should I be doing?”
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Take the Mental Game Assessment and learn your top mental game traits and your areas in most need of improvement.
-----
Click here to sign up for The Mental Re-Grip ⛳️ newsletter to receive golf psychology help in your email inbox every-ish Tuesday.
-----
Have a suggestion for a topic or guest? Drop your suggestions here.
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Prefer reading, but somehow found yourself here in audio land? Click here to check out the Foundations Mental Performance blog.
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Are you a competitive golfer? Interested in working 1-on-1 with Josh as your Golf Psychology Coach? Head to joshnicholsgolf.com or email Josh directly at mentalgolfshow@gmail.com.
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Follow Josh on social:
Twitter: @joshlukenichols
Instagram: @joshlukenichols
TikTok: @joshlukenichols
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Follow The Mental Golf Show on social:
Twitter: @mentalgolfshow
Instagram: mentalgolfshow
TikTok: mentalgolfshow
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
Hey everyone welcome to another episode of The Mental Golf Show! On this episode we have Dr. Rob Bell, author, ultramarathoner, and he works with some of the best golfers in the world on their mental performance. We cover a ton of great stuff (full list of topics below) so be sure to take some notes and apply them to your game and life.
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Find out more about Dr. Rob Bell:
Website - drrobbell.com
Instagram - @drrobbell
Twitter - @drrobbell
LinkedIn - @drrobbell
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Episode topics
00:00 Intro
02:52 Dr. Rob Bell
04:54 The puke & rally mentality
10:27 How to handle your “puke” moments
15:55 How to take a good round lower
20:05 What to focus on instead of score
21:11 Is a pre-shot routine mandatory?
23:15 Should you journal for golf?
24:36 New book: “I Can’t Wait to Be Patient”
29:17 The problem with jumping from one swing tip to the other
31:28 How long should you stick with a swing change?
33:21 What do the best players do differently than the average player?
36:14 Should your junior golfer have a goal of playing pro golf?
41:24 Dealing with a lack of motivation
48:21 You don’t have to be crazy about your preparation
52:49 drrobbell.com
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Take the Mental Game Assessment and learn your top mental game traits and your areas in most need of improvement.
-----
Click here to sign up for The Mental Re-Grip ⛳️ newsletter to receive golf psychology help in your email inbox every-ish Tuesday.
-----
Have a suggestion for a topic or guest? Drop your suggestions here.
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Prefer reading, but somehow found yourself here in audio land? Click here to check out the Foundations Mental Performance blog.
-----
Are you a competitive golfer? Interested in working 1-on-1 with Josh as your Golf Psychology Coach? Head to joshnicholsgolf.com or email Josh directly at mentalgolfshow@gmail.com.
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Follow Josh on social:
Twitter: @joshlukenichols
Instagram: @joshlukenichols
TikTok: @joshlukenichols
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Follow The Mental Golf Show on social:
Twitter: @mentalgolfshow
Instagram: mentalgolfshow
TikTok: mentalgolfshow
Monday Mar 13, 2023
Monday Mar 13, 2023
On this episode of The Mental Golf Show, we have Coach Nicole Erickson to discuss identity in golf, the problem with outcome-focus, managing anger and frustration, handling pressure and nerves, how to track your mental game improvement, and more.
But before we get into the episode, I encourage you to go take the Mental Game Assessment. It’s a 15 minute personality quiz, but for golf. When you complete it, I’ll send you a personalized report of your results that will tell you what your mental strengths are and where you can put your effort to improve and a specific way to do it.
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Nicole Erickson on Instagram - @coachnicole.e
Nicole Erickson's website - nicoleerickson.com
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00:58 - Nicole Erickson
05:20 - Typical golfer struggles
07:38 - The problem with wrapping up your identity in golf
11:16 - How to be less outcome-focused
20:58 - How to manage emotions like anger and frustration
25:07 - How to handle pressure and nerves
27:36 - Controllables vs. Uncontrollables
29:30 - Tracking mental game improvement
33:31 - What percent of golf is mental and physical
34:28 - @coachnicole.e on Instagram
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Take the Mental Game Assessment and learn your top mental game traits and your areas in most need of improvement.
-----
Click here to sign up for The Mental Re-Grip ⛳️ newsletter to receive golf psychology help in your email inbox every-ish Tuesday.
-----
Have a suggestion for a topic or guest? Drop your suggestions here.
-----
Prefer reading, but somehow found yourself here in audio land? Click here to check out the Foundations Mental Performance blog.
-----
Are you a competitive golfer? Interested in working 1-on-1 with Josh as your Golf Psychology Coach? Head to joshnicholsgolf.com or email Josh directly at mentalgolfshow@gmail.com.
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Follow Josh on social:
Twitter: @joshlukenichols
Instagram: @joshlukenichols
TikTok: @joshlukenichols
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Follow The Mental Golf Show on social:
Twitter: @mentalgolfshow
Instagram: mentalgolfshow
TikTok: mentalgolfshow
Monday Feb 06, 2023
Monday Feb 06, 2023
If you want to learn more about what good practice is, how to structure your practice, what to spend your time doing in practice, or just generally anything about practice, and you want to hear from a very knowledgeable person on that subject, then you’ve come to right place. We've got guest Paul Mindel on to relay his experience and learning on the subject of all things practice.
Click here to check out Paul Mindel's wisconsingolfacademy.com
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Topics:
4:51 - The different facets in golf you can train
9:38 - Practice makes perfect... or does it?
13:07 - Bringing your range game to the course
15:45 - Simulating pressure in practice
24:24 - Block vs. Random/Variable practice
28:16 - The problem with rapid firing range balls
31:57 - Intentionality in practice
35:14 - Training for the discomfort of the course
38:20 - How much time should I spend on each part of my game?
45:08 - How do I increase my club speed and hit it further?
51:33 - How to keep your expectations realistic
54:57 - Resources to help improve your practice
59:24 - Learn more about Paul Mindel
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Take the Mental Game Assessment and learn your top mental game traits and your areas in most need of improvement.
-----
Click here to sign up for The Mental Re-Grip ⛳️ newsletter to receive golf psychology help in your email inbox every-ish Tuesday.
-----
Have a suggestion for a topic or guest? Drop your suggestions here.
-----
Prefer reading, but somehow found yourself here in audio land? Click here to check out the Foundations Mental Performance blog.
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Are you a competitive golfer? Interested in working 1-on-1 with Josh as your Golf Psychology Coach? Head to foundationsmp.com or email Josh directly at foundationsgolf@gmail.com.
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Follow Josh on social:
Twitter: @joshlukenichols
Instagram: @joshlukenichols
TikTok: @joshlukenichols
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Follow The Mental Golf Show on social:
Twitter: @mentalgolfshow
Instagram: mentalgolfshow
TikTok: mentalgolfshow
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Hello everybody welcome to another episode of The Mental Golf Show.
Hope you're getting the year off to a good start. And even if you're not, the first couple weeks of the year have very little to do with where you are right now or the rest of year, so stay in the present and keep going. I actually have a brief thing to mention about goals in this episode, and maybe even more in future episodes.
But today we're going to be working through reducing that mental chatter and helping you stop the mental spiral that we're all too familiar with.
References:
Gardner, F., & Moore, Z. (2007) The Psychology of Enhancing Human Performance (Kindle Edition). Springer.
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Click here to sign up for The Mental Re-Grip ⛳️ newsletter to receive golf psychology help in your email inbox every-ish Tuesday.
-----
Take the Mental Game Assessment and learn your top mental game traits and your areas in most need of improvement.
-----
Have a suggestion for a topic or guest? Drop your suggestions here.
-----
Prefer reading, but somehow found yourself here in audio land? Click here to check out the Foundations Mental Performance blog.
-----
Are you a competitive golfer? Interested in working 1-on-1 with Josh as your Golf Psychology Coach? Head to foundationsmp.com or email Josh directly at foundationsgolf@gmail.com.
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Follow Josh on social:
Twitter: @joshlukenichols
Instagram: @joshlukenichols
Facebook: Josh Nichols Golf
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Follow The Mental Golf Show on social:
Twitter: @mentalgolfshow
Instagram: mentalgolfshow
TikTok: mentalgolfshow
Monday Dec 26, 2022
Monday Dec 26, 2022
Attention is important. It’s been proven in scientific studies over and over again. And we can all attest to its importance from our own experience. We know when we’re distracted it hurts our game. So how can we improve our attention? And how can we apply that to goal-setting for the new year?
Sources:
(1) Sollisch, J. (August, 2010). Multitasking makes us all a little dumber. Chicago Tribune. https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/ct-xpm-2010-08-10-ct-oped-0811-multitask-20100810-story.html.
(2) Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330(6006), 932-932.
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Click here to sign up for The Mental Re-Grip ⛳️ newsletter to receive golf psychology help in your email inbox every-ish Tuesday.
-----
Take the Mental Game Assessment and learn your top mental game traits and your areas in most need of improvement.
-----
Have a suggestion for a topic or guest? Drop your suggestions here.
-----
Prefer reading, but somehow found yourself here in audio land? Click here to check out the Foundations Mental Performance blog.
-----
Are you a competitive golfer? Interested in working 1-on-1 with Josh as your Golf Psychology Coach? Head to foundationsmp.com or email Josh directly at foundationsgolf@gmail.com.
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Follow Josh on social:
Twitter: @joshlukenichols
Instagram: @joshlukenichols
Facebook: Josh Nichols Golf
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Follow The Mental Golf Show on social:
Twitter: @mentalgolfshow
Instagram: mentalgolfshow
TikTok: mentalgolfshow
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
In working with players on improving their golf psychology, there are seemingly infinitely different types of scenarios that players can go through. And what’s crazy is they’re almost always unique. And that might be because each of us have developed our own different habits based on our own unique history and personality.
Not just any advice will help you untangle these unhelpful habits. Golf isn’t one size fits all. So while advice needs to be generic enough to help almost everyone, it can never apply to every individual’s exact issues. The advice we work through in this episode is intended to be generic, but also applicable to what any of you are specifically going through.
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Click here to sign up for The Mental Re-Grip ⛳️ newsletter to receive golf psychology help in your email inbox every-ish Tuesday.
-----
Take the Mental Game Assessment and learn your top mental game traits and your areas in most need of improvement.
-----
Have a suggestion for a topic or guest? Drop your suggestions here.
-----
Prefer reading, but somehow found yourself here in audio land? Click here to check out the Foundations Mental Performance blog.
-----
Are you a competitive golfer? Interested in working 1-on-1 with Josh as your Golf Psychology Coach? Head to foundationsmp.com or email Josh directly at foundationsgolf@gmail.com.
-----
Follow Josh on social:
Twitter: @joshlukenichols
Instagram: @joshlukenichols
Facebook: Josh Nichols Golf
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Follow The Mental Golf Show on social:
Twitter: @mentalgolfshow
Instagram: mentalgolfshow
TikTok: mentalgolfshow