To play to your potential means to take what you own at this given moment in time out onto the golf course. Most golfers get in their own way with negative thoughts and emotions that leash their game. It is stuck behind a mismanaged mind and thoughts and beliefs most of which we don't even notice. In this episode, I talk about the 4 stages of unleashing your golf game. First is to unleash your brain from negative thoughts patterns Second unleash your swing from pressure, frustration, doubt, ets ...
Apr 19, 2023•16 min•Ep. 117
This an interview of me on the Switching Teams podcast with Sarah Held and Amy Arnold. We cover alot of topics in this podcast including: the golf challenges of an athlete who competed in other sports bad emotions (emotions are the enemy) warming up preshot routines tools to help your brain on the course important tournaments being in a funk and so much more We also discuss some Masters, Kathy's golf background, and random trivia. This is a fun listen. Find out more about Sarah at www.weplanyoup...
Apr 12, 2023•54 min•Ep. 116
So many people tell me, "I just want to have fun when I play." But the question is...how do you do that? Or more specifically...what makes golf NOT fun for you? In my opinion, I believe we over use or misuse the word "fun" when it comes to golf. In this episode, I break down how we define fun and how to reframe it for your game I share 4 steps including some questions to ask yourself as you explore how to have more "fun" EVEN when you are having an off day. Podcast link to the concept of 5...
Apr 05, 2023•10 min•Ep. 115
This is a special episode. I am sharing a conversation I had with Jesse Perryman and Justin Tang on the Flag Hunters Podcast. We dive into all kinds of topics on the mental side of the game. This is the three of us having a conversation about how we get in our own way, the role the mental game plays in golf and your performance and so many more topics relative to playing to your potential. You can learn more about Justin on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/elitegolfswing/ Jesse Perryman at...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 114
Golf isn't always great. I know you know this. We certainly wish that everyday was amazing. But if everyday was awesome then no day would be. We want the contrast. If we don't know what bad shots are we won't know what good shots are. If we don't know what hopeless feels like, we won't recognize hope when it happens. This is a concept of 50/50 that shows up in our lives and on the course. In this episode, I explain how to use this concept to make the most of the inevitable negative moments that ...
Mar 22, 2023•12 min•Ep. 113
Whether you are a golf pro, former college golfer, accomplished athlete, high achiever or a person whose handicap just dropped a handful of strokes, you can relate to the feeling that you are not as good as people think you are. Imposter syndrome can produce a lot of anxiety, fear, worry, and doubt in people. In this episode, I talk about what imposter syndrome is relative to the game of golf. I use golf pros as an example because it is such a prevalent issue for many in the industry. You do not...
Mar 15, 2023•17 min•Ep. 112
In this episode I challenge you to try on different lenses in any area of your life and your golf game where you are aggravated, annoyed, or upset. Those emotions are indicators that perhaps you are "wearing" glasses that are filtering your world in a way that doesn't serve you. This works on and off the golf course. By trying this challenge and finding evidence of shifting your lens, you give your brain more proof that it works. And then, you will be inspired to do it over and over again. Liste...
Mar 08, 2023•14 min•Ep. 111
Have you been accused of taking the game too seriously? In this episode, I talk about how to differentiate the difference between being a passionate golfer and a "too passionate" golfer. It could be that you spend most of your days practicing and playing the game, all of your conversations revolve around golf, and all your spare time is spent watching videos and taking lessons. It could be that you take a few extra looks at putts and double check your yardage. But how do you really know if you h...
Mar 01, 2023•11 min•Ep. 110
We all filter our golf experience through a personal lens. It shapes how we feel on the course, and the results we create for ourselves. We do this off the course as well. Some lenses work well and some we never question or change. In this episode, I share a different perspective on how you view your golf experience and what you can do if you want to change it. Contact Kathy at Kathy@KathyHartWood.com KathyHartWood.com Continue your mental journey at Your Mental Caddy HERE Join the NEXT Workshop...
Feb 22, 2023•11 min•Ep. 109
Ever feel like you constantly have blow up holes or a series of bogeys that keep you from playing consistent golf? Maybe you struggle with putting a few good rounds together. It can seem like you just keep making stupid mistakes. If you have a pattern like this there are steps to take to minimize erratic holes and rounds. In this episode, I share with you three areas where we can get erratic in golf: After a bad shot After a bad hole And even after a birdie I show you how to bring your attention...
Feb 15, 2023•13 min•Ep. 108
I wish I could wave a magic wand and give everyone a beautiful swing and a peaceful mind full of useful thoughts. Unfortunately, our brains like to create habits and once we create them in our swing or in our brains, it takes some work to break the habits and replace them with new ones. While we may not have a problem with doing the work, we are actually working against our own brain’s desire NOT to change. In this episode, I share with you what to expect and how changing your negative thoughts ...
Feb 08, 2023•16 min•Ep. 107
Getting off to a bad start with a big number or a double bogey is going to happen if you play enough golf. The urge is to press for birdies and good holes to make up for the double bogey. Or you may think that the task is too big to overcome and you throw in the towel on the round. In this episode, I respond to a listener question about how to get past a bad start. I share with you some truths to remind your brain and a couple ways to reframe the way you look at the start to your round. I also t...
Feb 01, 2023•17 min•Ep. 106
If you have a handicap, and you probably do if you are listening to this podcast, you have a story about it. That story is either hurting or helping your game. In this episode, I talk about the story or drama you have about your current handicap and the identity you have around your future/goal handicap. Getting your mind around the number (handicap) is key for you playing your best golf. And, I also talk about those deceitful handicaps and what it means to have a vanity handicap or padded handi...
Jan 25, 2023•14 min•Ep. 105
Do you get impatient with your golf results ? Or with your swing, the pace of play or yourself? Maybe you consider yourself an impatient person and you just can't help it. In this episode, I discuss how patience and impatience play a role in your golf experience and the results you create. I share with you how you can go about creating the capacity for more patience for yourself on and off the golf course. KathyHartWood.com Join the Above Par Academy here Continue your mental journey at Your Men...
Jan 18, 2023•14 min•Ep. 104
Your attitude about golf definitely plays a role in your success. Bad attitudes happen. The key is how long you stay in an unproductive attitude that matters. It matters for how you get to feel, it matters how it affects your playing partners or friends and family, and it matters to the results you create. In this episode, I share 4 dominant golf attitudes to be on the look out for this golf season and how you can snap out of them sooner than later. I also share what I think is the best attitude...
Jan 11, 2023•16 min•Ep. 103
Do you have golf goals for this year? Maybe you want to play in a tournament or lower your handicap. You might be wondering if your goal is realistic or doable. In this episode, I share with you not only why realistic goals are BS but how to tell if you have actually picked a realistic goal for yourself. There is a process to reaching a goal or an achievement or a simply a want. I get you started looking at your personal and golf goals in a whole new way. You can go through the whole workbook an...
Jan 04, 2023•15 min•Ep. 102
Karen Rainey is a private client who proves the work is never done. She chose to keep leveling up her game and her mental skills as she challenged her self to work through discomfort and vulnerability to have her best golf year to date. She had several personal bests, took her game on the road, and showed up for herself in some challenging moments in 2023. Karen talks about how desire to live a full life keeps her doing the work you find in this podcast...and the results have shown up for her on...
Dec 28, 2022•19 min•Ep. 101
If you feel you are on an island all alone trying to sort out your golf brain and that no one else can relate, you are so mistaken, my friend. You are not alone. Or as I told a client, " you aren't a f-ing unicorn." (In a very loving and kind tone. 😇) This thinking implies there is something wrong with us. All of us experience the same mental things on the golf course, regardless of your handicap or years playing or level of competition. In this episode, I share with you 5 mental similarities t...
Dec 21, 2022•15 min•Ep. 100
If you think you need to be a low handicap or competitive golfer to benefit from mental coaching, Christy is going to share her experience. She went from anxious and frustrated to playing with more calm and patience. She uses several of the tools that I teach in this podcast to set intentions before the round which helps her enjoy the game more and play with more certainty. Christy also shares how she used the coaching tools to show up as a empowered leader in her job. You will be inspired on ho...
Dec 14, 2022•22 min•Ep. 99
In this episode, I share insight and stories with another client, Kathleen Foley. She shares how she went from thoughts of quitting to creating big goals for herself. Over 60% of the time, she uses her mental golf skills off of the golf course to level up her personal and family life. She talks about being in other people's heads, believing without evidence and coming to terms with all the negative thoughts. If you want more help make sure to visit KathyHartWood.com Continue your mental journey ...
Dec 07, 2022•27 min•Ep. 98
It is one thing to listen to all of the content in this podcast. It is another thing to apply it to your game and life. In this episode, I talk with my client Holly Pihl about perfectionism, people-pleasing and crappy drives. She shares with you how, through coaching, she has learned the skills to swing with certainty off the tee while not "giving a rat's ass" what people think about her game. Holly took her mental golf tools and insight off of the golf course and shares examples of how to use t...
Nov 30, 2022•27 min•Ep. 97
There is a lot of football played on Thanksgiving week. So I took the opportunity to make analogies between football and your golf game. And yes, there is a connection to how you root for your favorite team, how you root against teams and the emphasis you place on the outcome of the game with how you show up in your own golf world. That includes you on the course, you in competition and you with your competition. Take a listen as I talk about how we root against teams, the rule of 50/50 in sport...
Nov 23, 2022•13 min•Ep. 96
Managing your golf thoughts can seem overwhelming some days and super easy on other days. You may find your brain is quiet one day and super negative the next day. Or you may notice that you have a very loud negative thought that you hear all the time. You are not alone. In this episode, I share with you how to make sense of your thoughts with a couple analogies to hamsters and buses. If you want to know how to quiet your negative thoughts and think more useful thoughts so that you create better...
Nov 16, 2022•15 min•Ep. 95
If you have ever had a bad round, a couple blow up holes, finished poorly or just couldn't stop the negative chatter in your head and felt like...you have lost all the progress you THOUGHT you made. You are not alone. And nothing has gone wrong. In this episode, I talk about a few different scenarios where golfers feel like they lost progress. One bad round or bad hole or mental lapse doesn't mean a thing. Listen in as I break it down and explain how you want to think about those times you feel ...
Nov 09, 2022•11 min•Ep. 94
Swinging powerfully and repeatably requires a good pivot. Thinking powerfully requires us to mentally pivot...and in golf it needs to happen quickly. If we don't pivot away from crappy thoughts or states, we get in our own way. We prevent our best swings from coming out. Often in a rush to feel better or quiet our brain, we change our circumstances. It is an easy and fast way to feel better. This looks like changing a pairing, dropping out of a tournament, pulling the ball out of a divot, even c...
Nov 02, 2022•13 min•Ep. 93
Sometime the mental game can seem complicated or overwhelming. Managing all the thoughts in your head can seem like an insurmountable task. Instead of feeling like you aren't making progress, I suggest you look for tendencies and lump them together into a bucket. In this episode, I share with you 3 different areas for you to look for your personal tendencies: learning styles, traits and off-course strengths. Once you find your buckets, you can then come up with a plan to help you minimize and si...
Oct 26, 2022•15 min•Ep. 92
If you use the golf genius app in tournaments, you want to listen to this podcast. I discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of using this app during competition. I bring up a few different ways to look at the app for scoring and decide if it is useful for you to use during the round. I talk about creating boundaries for you phone, claiming your own agency on making decisions relative to the app, and how to decide ahead of time whether to look at Live Scoring. If you want to know how to work with...
Oct 19, 2022•15 min•Ep. 91
Most golfers worry about being judged about their shots, their score, their swing...you name it. Fear of judgement holds us back from showing up as our true selves on and off the golf course. I want to help you reduce your fear of judgement. In this episode, I share three points about golf judgement; who judges, what the judgements mean about you, and how to minimize worrying about judgement. If you want to focus more on the shot at hand instead of what other people might be saying about you, I ...
Oct 12, 2022•10 min•Ep. 90
Golf is an emotional game. We can have 10 different emotions just on one hole. What makes golf challenging is the small amount of time we have to deal with them. We have minutes or seconds before the next shot for us to deal with thoughts or emotions. It is a skill that I encourage people to practice on and off the golf course. The more you practice it - the better you get at it and the easier it will be for you to do on the course. In this episode, I share with you how to deal with emotions. I ...
Oct 05, 2022•19 min•Ep. 89
Where we place our golf attention greatly influences our results on the golf course. This includes what we pay attention to how much information we process during a round. We remind ourselves of what we don't want to do on the golf course. And this seems like a logical tactic. However it rarely serves us in a useful way. In addition, we can be influenced by other people's thoughts and attention. A rafting trip in West Virginia inspired this podcast and cover. I use this adventure to emphasize th...
Sep 28, 2022•13 min•Ep. 88
