The Mental Golf Show

Take the FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.
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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.
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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

FREE Brand New Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment
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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.
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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
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Join Mental Golf Club for FREE here: app.joshnicholsgolf.com
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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
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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.
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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
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🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.

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.

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?
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Join Mental Golf Club for FREE here: app.joshnicholsgolf.com
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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
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🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.
 

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.
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Check out Chia Chou's Audio Golf here
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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
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Join Mental Golf Club for FREE here: app.joshnicholsgolf.com
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🏌️‍♂️ 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
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🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.

I made a massive shift in my game between missing the cut at the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur to making it the finals of the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur. In this episode we get into two major ways I did that.
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Join Mental Golf Club for FREE here: app.joshnicholsgolf.com

Join Mental Golf Club here: app.joshnicholsgolf.com
You guys comprise the best community of the smartest, most thoughtful, deepest thinking bunch of golfers I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen and heard how much you guys have engaged over the years. It's been incredible.
So we wanted a way for you to engage even further and deeper than you already do. Somewhere you could get even more out of the podcast and of course ultimately improve your game even more.
It’s called MGC+.
With MGC+ you’ll get ad-free episodes of The Mental Golf Show, early access to episodes (don’t have to wait until Monday each week!), access to exclusive bonus Q&A episodes, and of course this will directly support the production of the podcast ❤️
I’ll be opening up submitting questions for the first Q&A episodes to the first 20 MGC+ founding members, and readers of The Mental Re-Grip newsletter are also hearing this offer, so get it while it’s hot!
You can join MGC+ for $5/mo or $49/year.
Go to app.joshnicholsgolf.com. Sign up for free. Then upgrade to MGC+.

We've got another check-in with Nerd Fitness Matt.
Ok, sure, these are thinly-veiled selfish conversations with my fitness coach. But also I firmly believe they're a peak for you into the mindset that builds real consistency and actual results with fitness, nutrition, habits, self-care, and just general relationship with ourselves and what we need.
Hope you learn more about yourself listening to this.
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🏌️‍♂️🏋️ Get the free MVP Golf Workout here!
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Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:53 - Struggling With Motivation to Workout
5:41 - Cast Tiny Votes for The Person You Want to Be
11:15 - The Perfect Pre-shot Routine digital course: Go to joshnicholsgolf.com/courses
13:05 - Getting Distracted from Doing the Boring Work (Shiny Object Syndrome)
16:59 - Can/Should AI Replace Coaches?
24:40 - Shot Pattern: Go to shotpattern.app and use the discount code MENTALGOLFSHOW
26:39 - Why You Shouldn’t Try To Optimize Your Fitness
32:16 - The Simplest Way for a Golfer to Get Stronger
42:18 - Matt Myers: Get the FREE MVP Golf Workout
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Mentioned in this episode:
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
🎯 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:
👨🏻‍🏫 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.
📊 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.
🏌️‍♂️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
🍀 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
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🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.

If you've ever played your best golf alone but fallen apart the moment others are watching, this episode is for you.
In this conversation, Gary Belsky makes a compelling case that solo golf isn't just a scheduling convenience — it's a mental training ground that can rewire how you handle pressure, self-criticism, and the performative noise that creeps in during a round. You'll walk away with some fresh perspective on why the mental game is so hard, and a genuinely practical tool for building it.
Gary is a New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and decision-making expert who spent 14 years at ESPN, and his newly released book Solo Golf: The Zen of Playing Alone and How It Can Transform Your Game is unlike anything else in the genre.
Timestamps and topics:
01:46 - Is golf a difficult test, or for pure enjoyment?
14:49 - Shot Pattern: shotpattern.app - Discount code MENTALGOLFSHOW for 20% Off
17:19 - The Value of Solo Golf for When You're Not Solo
29:10 - Basic Practice Plan: joshnicholsgolf.com/practice
30:06 - Why Do We Try to Perform for Others?
45:30 - PutterCup: Get 15% off by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter
47:14 - Does Enjoying Golf Get In the Way of Performing Well?
57:57 - Why Are Pro Golfers So Much Better Mentally Than Us?
1:05:15 - Gary Asks Josh What He's Learned From Doing the Podcast
1:16:01 - Gary Belsky
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Gary Belsky's book:
Solo Golf: The Zen of Playing Alone and How It Can Transform Your Game
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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.
👨🏻‍🏫 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.
-----
Josh's stuff:
🎓 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:
🏌️‍♂️ 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
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🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.

Andreas Kali is a golf coach based in Denmark who works with nine professional golfers across four tours, including players ranked inside the top 50 in the world. He's spent the better part of two decades coaching, and his philosophy runs counter to a lot of what you see or hear — harder practice, honest feedback, and no false confidence. Things that I love and agree with.
This is going to be a conversation that makes you reflect on your own improvement process and how you could be getting more from yourself.
Here's are the topics we hit:
The Importance of Getting It Wrong
Practicing Under Pressure and Discomfort
Balancing Mastery and Competition
The Role of Statistics in Improvement
The Importance of Being Present in Golf
The Evolution of Practice Techniques
Redefining the Purpose of Playing Golf
Passion and Curiosity in Coaching
Knowing When Your Swing is Good Enough
Mental Approach Over the Ball
The Balance of Math and Creativity in Golf
Calming the Mind: Overcoming Performance Anxiety
The Importance of Perspective in Golf
Coaching Styles: Balancing Tough Love and Support
How do Pros Structure and Plan Their Improvement
The Future of Coaching: Personal Growth and Development
Expectations vs. Reality: Insights from Tour Events
Are Danish Golfers the Best Ball Strikers?
Resources for Aspiring Golfers
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Andreas Kali's website: https://andreaskaligolf.com/
Andreas Kali on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreaskaligolf/
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Mentioned in this episode: 
🏌️‍♂️ Basic Practice Plan Template - 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 Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
👨🏻‍🏫 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.
-----
Josh's stuff:
📊 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:
🏌️‍♂️ 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 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.