Defending Champ: How to Handle Pressure After a Big Golf Win

Episode 297November 4, 2026

The Real Reason You Worry About What Other Golfers Think

Picture this: you’re standing over a four-foot putt, a small crowd watching from the 18th green, and your mind isn’t on your stroke. It’s on whether they think you’re a terrible putter. In this episode of Think Above Par, Kathy Hart looks at the mental weight of worrying about judgment and why that fear can quietly sabotage your golf mindset. She walks through what she calls the judgment trifecta: how you judge yourself, how you judge others, and how much you worry about being judged. These three are connected, and changing one changes the others. You’ll hear why judgment is a feeling only you can actually experience, why the judgment you imagine from others often reflects what you already think about yourself, and a three-step way to loosen its grip on your game. The goal isn’t to stop caring. It’s to stop playing for approval and start playing for execution. Receive free weekly mental golf tips HERE How many shots is your mental golf costing you? Take the quiz here: quiz.mymentalcaddy.com Continue your mental journey at Your Mental Caddy HERE Mastering Your Golf Brain - A Guide to Self-Coaching Mastering Your Golf Brain - The Workbook Mental Golf Journal - A Range for Your Brain Are all available at KathyHartWood.com/book Email Kathy at Kathy@KathyHartWood.com Website: KathyHartWood.com

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Episode 296October 28, 2026

Golf Isn't Fair. And Maybe That's Not the Problem.

Ever finish a round thinking, "Well, that wasn't fair"? Maybe someone got too many handicap strokes. Maybe you played from different tees. Or maybe you hit a beautiful shot, got a terrible bounce, and watched somebody else get away with a lousy one. Golf isn't always fair. But what happens when you decide it shouldn't be that way? In this episode of Think Above Par, I'm talking about fairness in golf, the ways we slip into victim thinking, and how blaming circumstances can leave us feeling powerless. I'll share some personal experiences from my professional playing days, including a few family matches where the tee assignments became a little controversial! We'll also explore the difference between recognizing something that's genuinely unfair and allowing it to take over your emotional experience. Because you don't have to pretend everything is fair to enjoy the game. The question is: What are you going to do when it isn't? Receive free weekly mental golf tips HERE How many shots is your mental golf costing you? Take the quiz here: quiz.mymentalcaddy.com Continue your mental journey at Your Mental Caddy HERE Mastering Your Golf Brain - A Guide to Self-Coaching Mastering Your Golf Brain - The Workbook Mental Golf Journal - A Range for Your Brain Are all available at KathyHartWood.com/book Email Kathy at Kathy@KathyHartWood.com Website: KathyHartWood.com

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Episode 295October 21, 2026

Why You Fall Apart on the Last Few Holes (And How to Stop)

Have you ever played 14 or 15 really good holes of golf, only to watch your round unravel coming down the stretch? Maybe you start protecting your score. Maybe you're already calculating what you're going to shoot. Or maybe you've convinced yourself that you're just someone who doesn't finish well. But what if that story is part of the problem? In this episode, I'm sharing four reasons golfers struggle to finish strong. And here's something interesting: It's not always your mental game. Sometimes you're physically tired, mentally exhausted, or simply putting too much meaning on those last few holes. We'll talk about how the stories you tell yourself can become self-fulfilling, why focusing on your score can change the way you swing, and how to redirect your thinking so you can stay calm, certain, and confident all the way to the 18th green. Because the golfer who played those first 14 holes? That golfer is still there. You don't need to become a different golfer to finish strong. You need to stop getting in your own way. Receive free weekly mental golf tips HERE How many shots is your mental golf costing you? Take the quiz here: quiz.mymentalcaddy.com Continue your mental journey at Your Mental Caddy HERE Mastering Your Golf Brain - A Guide to Self-Coaching Mastering Your Golf Brain - The Workbook Mental Golf Journal - A Range for Your Brain Are all available at KathyHartWood.com/book Email Kathy at Kathy@KathyHartWood.com Website: KathyHartWood.com

Episode details

Defending Champ: How to Handle Pressure After a Big Golf Win

Related episodes

The Real Reason You Worry About What Other Golfers Think

Golf Isn't Fair. And Maybe That's Not the Problem.

Why You Fall Apart on the Last Few Holes (And How to Stop)