The Mental Golf Show

We wonder what it’s like to get in the zone. Or we want to figure out how to get out of our own way. Well you can’t simply will yourself into the zone, or repeat the words "get out of your own way" over and over and expect yourself to magically arrive there. It's a practice. A habit. And one that you can start right now, whether you're at home or at the course. Link to How Champions Think by Dr. B...

Finally getting back in the saddle for an update on how things have been. There was a point in this coronavirus pandemic that I would've hesitated to permanently etch the subject in the shownotes of a podcast, but now I believe this situation is large enough to warrant the small act of including it here. With multiple tournaments being cancelled, the Masters being postponed, and entire college sea...

The difference having a better strategy on the course can have on your long-term scores is massive. Make that decision now and look back in a decade and realize how smart of a mental switch it was. Thanks for listening! For more head to joshnicholsgolf.com. I'd love to hear from you! Email me at joshlukenichols@gmail.com or text me (336) 399-1825. For other links, go here.

Back with another awesome conversation with a high level college coach! Well, I don't know if the conversation is awesome. At least Coach Limbaugh's half of the conversation is awesome. Why do awesome coach's keep agreeing to stoop to my level? Might never know. But listen up here because Coach Limbaugh is a down to earth, self proclaimed (and geographical) southerner, and really great, quotable,...

We all need to set goals, and if I as a mental coach cannot set goals and hold myself accountable to those goals, then I'm really being disingenuous. So I have set goals for myself and my own golf game for this year. I hope you can learn and be able to set some realistic and some stretch goals for yourself this year as well. Thanks for listening! For more, head to joshnicholsgolf.com . If you'd li...

Coach Jamie Green, Head Men's Coach of the Duke Blue Devils, and I go the distance on this episode. We cover the gamut of topics about how to coach, how to be coached, how to become an elite level player, and many many more how to's. So listen up and learn a thing or two from this top-ranked college coach! Thanks for listening! For lots more, head to joshnicholsgolf.com . Have questions? Email me:...

What if you never looked at a leaderboard for an entire tournament? Or purposely had no clue what you were shooting for the day? I think we've all threatened to do this, or at least posed the thought experiment. But what if you actually did it? Baylor Head Coach Mike McGraw did it with his players, and he wrote it down in his book "Better Than I Found It". Listen up and learn. And maybe you'll be...

On this episode I have a conversation with Lisa Strom, head women's coach of Kent State. Kent State is a top-5 ranked school in the nation, and Lisa Strom took over in July 2019. So she inherits an awesome team that she is making better on a daily basis. Listen up for how she thinks and the way she goes about improving herself and her team, and how that can help you too. Thanks for listening! For...

I know I haven't been at this whole mental coaching thing that long relative to so many awesome, experienced coaches out there. But I do have quite a bit of playing experience under my belt. And in my own life I have learned that there is a very high correlation between high acceptance and player better. In this episode, I tell a story about how I learned acceptance twice in one competitive round...

Chris Haack is a coaching legend. He is in his 24th year at Georgia and has won two NCAA Championships. Here's just some of the players that Coach Haack has had on his teams: Erik Compton, Harris English, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Ryuji Imada, Hudson Swafford, Brendon Todd, and Bubba Watson. His accomplishments speak for themselves so gain any wisdom you can from this conversation! Thanks for...

Just me this time, and I want to address how so many players are too casual in their practice relative to a tournament or competition. If there is a dramatic difference in intensity from practice to tournament, then their will be a big difference in mindset as well. So here are some ways to give yourself the best opportunity to play your best when it matters. Thanks for listening! For lots more, h...

This guest needs no introduction, but here goes anyway. Coach Conrad Ray is in his 16th year at Stanford, and is the reigning NCAA Champion. He has coached some of the best players in the world. He knows how to turn really good players into great players that will play at the highest level. So listen to his experience and wisdom and apply it to your own game and life. Thanks for listening! For mor...

This has been a really good year. When I look back over the whole year in retrospect it really looks like a roller coaster. A lot of lows where I was going through a slog of building a new business from scratch, waiting for new players to work with, and trying to think of new things to create and post. But so many highs, with a ton of newly learned skills, so many things that I created, and best o...

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! On this episode I talk with Auburn Head Men's Coach Nick Clinard. Coach Clinard's experience is extensive, and we cover a lot of ground in this conversation. So I hope you get a lot of value and learn a lot. Thanks for listening! For more, head to joshnicholsgolf.com . Follow me! Instagram: @joshlukenichols TikTok: @joshlukenichols Twitter: @joshlukenichols Fac...

Merry Christmas everybody! On this episode, I go through an excerpt of "Better Than I Found It" by Baylor Head Coach Mike McGraw. This particular passage struck me as so important for everyone to hear. If we can all on some level focus more on the process and less on the result then we can be more free and have more fun along the journey. Thanks for listening! For more, head to joshnicholsgolf.com...

Welcome back! On today's episode I talk with University of Arizona Men's Head Coach Jim Anderson. Coach Anderson has been head coach at Arizona since 2012, and is one of the top young college coaches in America. He plays humble pie a little bit, but he has so much wisdom to share in this podcast. Thanks for listening! For more, head to joshnicholsgolf.com . Follow me! Instagram: @joshlukenichols T...

Taking this one to dive into some thoughts about removing nerves and anxiety. It's not an easy process or a fast one, but I believe there is a way.   Thanks for listening! For lots more, head to joshnicholsgolf.com .   Follow me! Instagram: @joshlukenichols Twitter: @joshlukenichols Facebook: @JoshNicholsGolf LinkedIn: joshlukenichols Snapchat: @joshlukenichols TikTok: @joshlukenichols

Back with another interview with a high-level college coach! This time we have Auburn Women's Head Coach Melissa Luellen. Coach Luellen has coached at Tulsa, 13 years at Arizona State, and now in her fifth year at Auburn. She has made 16 NCAA appearances, 12 NCAA top-10s, coached 15 players to All-American status, and won an NCAA Title in 2009. So take what Coach Luellen says to heart. Thanks for...

Hey everybody! Been busy lately. But here’s a quick update with how things have been going and how excited I am for the future. Thanks for listening! For lots more, head to joshnicholsgolf.com . Follow me! Instagram: @joshlukenichols Twitter: @joshlukenichols Facebook: @JoshNicholsGolf LinkedIn: joshlukenichols Snapchat: @joshlukenichols TikTok: @joshlukenichols

I talk with Boston University Head Women's Golf Coach Bruce Chalas to talk about his philosophies on the mental game and how individuals improve differently from each other. Coach Chalas is a counterintuitive thinker, something that a lot of golf coaches aren't because they're afraid they might say something wrong. Coach Chalas is more interested in the long-term improvement of the person rather t...

A guest! For the first time ever on the show I have a guest, and this one is very special. Coach Mike McGraw spent 16 years coaching at Oklahoma State, a handful of years under Jay Seawell at Alabama, and is now the head coach at Baylor. Coach McGraw has won 3 NCAA championships, coached players such as Hunter Mahan, Charles Howell III, and Rickie Fowler, and his list of accomplishments goes on an...

You know the feeling. You're playing a round of golf. You're playing well for several holes. But inevitably you encounter some kind of difficulty, whether you hit a bad shot or you drew a bad lie in the rough or you have a long par 3 with a tucked pin or you're coming down to the wire at the end of a tournament. This happens pretty much every round. It's very rare that a round of golf goes perfect...

This one is about learning to have a good time even when you don't feel like it. To enjoy where you're at even if you don't really wanna be there. To realize you (and I) probably have it really good actually. To let what you expect to happen or want to happen or need to happen go. Stop and smell the roses. They're all around you. Thanks for listening! For lots more, head to joshnicholsgolf.com . F...

I recap my performance in the 39th U.S. Mid-Amateur at Colorado Golf Club and co-host course CommonGround Golf Course. And I take from that experience and a question one of my players asked me to discuss how to stay positive even when things go really poorly. Thanks for listening! For lots more, head to joshnicholsgolf.com . Follow me! Instagram: @joshlukenichols Twitter: @joshlukenichols Facebook...

Just touching base before heading out to Colorado for the 39th U.S. Mid-Amateur. Pardon the horrendous sound quality. Sometimes you're just driving down the road with headphones in and you just gotta fill in the podcast crew! The link to the USGA US Mid-Am site is here! I'll hopefully be tweeting throughout, so you can follow me here! And here's a video I did of some final holes I played before he...