The Mental Golf Show

Scottie Scheffler has been on a ridiculous run. And at the risk of recency bias, I want to try to glean something from the way Scottie goes about playing the game. Specifically his mentality and his relationship with golf. He's a fascinating case study that we're getting to watch in real time. ----- 📧 Sign up for The Mental Re-Grip free weekly newsletter ----- Get 10% off a Divot Board! Go to div...

Josh goes on-course with special guest Matt Davis. Matt is the founder of PutterCup, a dead-simple and truly effective set of putting training aids. The three different PutterCups tackle three distinctly different components of putting: The Center Cup helps with narrowing in your focus, The Speed Bump helps with dialing in holing speed, and The To Go Cup allows you to have a regulation-sized hole...

On today’s episode we’re going to be doing something totally different than any other previous episode of The Mental Golf Show. I’m going to take you inside the ropes of my fitting for the brand new, just released Titleist T-Series irons. I got to try these out for a pre-release fitting which of course made me feel super special. And I’ve had them in the bag for about two weeks now and holy cow ar...

In this episode, I detail what we can do to counteract the effects that the pressure and stress of golf can cause. ----- Links mentioned:  🎓 The Perfect Pre-shot Routine Digital Course 📧 The Mental Re-Grip free weekly newsletter 📊 Mental Game Assessment ----- Timestamps & Topics 00:00 - Breathing for Golf 01:20 - What’s happening internally when pressure ramps up? 04:05 - What mental state...

On this episode of The Mental Golf Show my guest is Jim Waldron , a nationally acclaimed golf teaching professional, mental game coach, author, and lecturer. Jim touts a 94% success rate of eliminating the yips, so naturally I was curious about and we dig into it right away. This was one of my favorite conversations on The Mental Golf Show yet, so hopefully you enjoy listening as much as I did. To...

Ross MacLeod joins The Mental Golf Show. Ross is a putting coach to players of all skill levels. Click here to find him on X . And click here to check out his Putting Coaching offerings . Timestamps & Topics: (00:00) Putting Under Pressure and Tendencies It Causes (06:06) Does mental game cause bad putting? Or does bad putting cause mental issues? (14:25) Can a bad golfer be as good of a putte...

Dr. David Spiegel is a Stanford psychiatrist, and he is one of the most published and respected experts in the field of hypnotherapy. He is the cofounder of the self-hypnosis app Reveri. Rory has been outspoken about his use of the Reveri app . Dr. Spiegel has been on podcasts such as Huberman Lab, Tim Ferriss, and Rich Roll. So to add The Mental Golf Show to that list is an incredible honor. ----...

Webb Simpson needs no introduction. Timely conversation for U.S. Open week.  Timestamps & Topics: (00:00:00) How does Webb Simpson feel about the U.S. Open now 13 years after winning? (00:02:58) Webb’s U.S. Open Final qualifying this year (00:05:24) Closing out the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club (00:07:09) The Perfect Pre-shot Routine digital course - joshnicholsgolf.com/course (00:09:11) Does...

Mike Booker is a Texas Golf Hall of Famer, a former tour pro, and an accomplished amateur. He's the author of the The Tournament Golfer's Playbook. Timestamps and Topics: (00:00:00) How do you build (and lose) confidence? (00:05:23) Using Swing Keys to Turn a Bad Round Around (00:15:35) Last chance for 50% off The Perfect Pre-shot Routine digital course - joshnicholsgolf.com/course (00:17:49) Tour...

Joe Bronson joins The Mental Golf Show. He's the author of PARdon Me, which was just released and you can get the book, and any of Joe's other books, by clicking here . Topics & Timestamps: (00:00:00) Golf as a Cerebral Activity (00:03:46) Making Golf Simple (00:06:30) Does confidence come from playing experience, or practice? (00:09:14) How has Joe Bronson played almost all of the Top 100 gol...

Dan Abrahams is a Sport Psychologist and former professional golfer. At one time he was the Lead Psychologist for England Golf. Dan joins The Mental Golf Show.  Topics and timestamps: 00:00:00 Why is it so hard to perform under pressure? 00:07:42 How to choose what you think on the course 00:13:06 How to use past experience to make you better 00:17:12 The Perfect Pre-shot Routine digital course -...

Jayson Nickol is one of the top golf instructors on Skillest, and perhaps most notably he's coach of Chasing Scratch's Mike Shade. Jayson kills em with kindness as he joins The Mental Golf Show.  Topics and timestamps: 00:00 What’s Stopping Mike from Chasing Scratch from Getting to Scratch? 01:29 Prioritizing Reps in Practice Planning 08:09 Playing Well and Going Even Lower 10:31 Prioritizing Putt...

Jon Schram is a performance coach for competitive golfers, poker players, business executives and many other areas. He joins The Mental Golf Show. Topics and Timestamps: 00:00 What is clutch? 05:27 The Impact of Importance on Performance 08:57 When the lights turn on, are you better or worse? 12:16 Rory's Masters- He pulled off the hard shots, but flubbed the easy ones 14:09 The Shot, the Situatio...

Lou Stagner is a statistician, coach, and one of the most influential voices in the golf industry. He joins The Mental Golf Show. Topics and Timestamps: 00:00 Emotional Control in Golf 05:07 Statistics and Anger 10:23 How much should we be thinking about stats? 12:56 The Importance of Data Tracking 14:49 Playing with Confidence vs. Emotion 19:15 Stat Tracking Apps 22:39 Does Lou practice what he p...

Gary Nicol joins The Mental Golf Show. Gary is a Performance Consultant, and co-author along with Karl Morris of The Lost Art Of Putting, The Lost Art Of Playing Golf, and The Lost Art Of The Short Game. Topics: - Golf is often seen as an identity rather than an activity. - Players frequently tie their self-worth to their scores. - The human brain struggles to stay present and often projects into...

Howard Falco, author of Invincible: The Mindset of Infinite Potential and the Secret to Inevitable Success, joins The Mental Golf Show.  Topics and Timestamps: 00:00 Confidence Comes from Fundamentals 03:28 Bad Round: Fix or Adapt? 08:15 The Intersection of Life and Golf 14:40 What Makes Golf So Hard and So Great? 18:42 Optimism and Performance in Golf 24:59 Facing the Truth in Golf 33:29 Take Res...

Josh tries his hardest to draw out to do it justice and draw out the mental aspects of Rory's win at the 2025 Masters. ----- Weekly Mental Game Newsletter Click here to sign up for The Mental Re-Grip ⛳️ Newsletter to receive mental game tips in your inbox every week. ----- 🏌️‍♂️🗓️ Basic Practice Plan Template A practice plan robust enough to help you actually improve, but flexible enough to handl...

Debbie O'Connell joins The Mental Golf Show. Topics and timestamps: 00:00 Debbie O'Connell's Journey in Sports 04:19 Overcoming Nerves and Achieving Flow State 09:11 "The Grass Floor" 10:32 Taking the Leap: From College to Professional Golf 15:14 The Value of Nerves to Being in Flow 19:17 Techniques to Be in Flow 22:59 How to Keep a Good Round Going 29:48 What if Positive Self-Talk is Fake? 35:53...

Gary Christian, author of Beat the Course, Not Yourself, joins The Mental Golf Show for a second time.  Topics and Timestamps: 00:00 Maximizing Limited Practice Time 03:52 Using a Swing Coach to Work Smarter 10:35 Long-Term Improvement vs. Short-Term Results 18:03 Finding the Right Coach 21:00 Going long stretches without practice 22:37 Self-Coaching 25:26 Technique vs. Feel 30:17 The Balance of E...

Special guest Jon Sherman (Practical Golf) joins The Mental Golf Show. Topics and timestamps below: 00:00 The Balance of Fun and Score in Golf 03:55 Jon's Experience winning a U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifier 08:16 Titleist 12:33 Strategies for Slowing Down in Golf 14:27 Jon's Experience at the 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur 17:26 How to Slow Things Down on the Course 19:11 Do the Opposite to Get What You Want 2...

Special guest Ryan Mouque joins Josh Nichols on The Mental Golf Show (for the second time). Topics and chapter marks below: Chapters 00:00 Understanding Consistency in Golf 01:55 The Purpose of Practice 04:17 Managing Expectations 05:38 Acceptance 07:57 Is Ryan still improving? 09:21 Pressure Situations in Golf 12:52 Physical and Mental Game Affect on Each Other 18:10 Should We Think About Our Swi...

Welcome to Mental Breakdown, a series where we dive into how players handled the pressure of the latest tour event. Today we're recapping the exciting and adverse-condition-packed 2025 Players Championship. What can we learn from the tournament? What can we take away from how the playoff went down? This tournament and the playoff were a great case study in mental toughness. ----- Special thanks to...

Special guest Robert Linville joins the podcast. Robert is the founder of Precision Golf School in Greensboro, NC, U.S. and has been teaching the best players in the region for decades. And he and Josh have been working together since 2016. Robert has worked with elite amateurs, USGA Champions, LPGA and PGA Tour players, and even USGA runner-ups ;) In this episode, Robert and Josh discuss these to...

Welcome to Mental Breakdown, a series where we dive into how players handled the pressure of the final 9 holes of the latest tour event. This week we're exploring the final 9 of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Who improved, who got worse, and the stats to back it up. We draw out some mental game observations that will help you play better under pressure. ----- Special thanks to: The Divot Board fo...

Special guest Adam Young joins The Mental Golf Show (for the second time). Josh and Adam discuss: The concept that good golf technique is not one-size-fits-all. The evolution of technique, consistency, and the role of equipment in performance. Key principles of golf mechanics, emphasizing impact and ground contact. The importance of intent, shot pattern recognition, and tools for managing patterns...