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Welcome back to The Golfer's Mind Lab, the podcast that trains the mental side of golf one experiment at a time. Every two weeks, host BJ Stremple breaks down one mental challenge, explains the psychology behind it, and gives you a real experiment to run in your next round.

Episode 9: Attack or Protect — The Mindset That Changes Everything

You've built the breath, the process, the self-talk, the tension scan, and the controllables framework. Every one of those tools works better when you're playing toward something instead of away from something. Episode 9 is about the fundamental orientation you bring to a round, and how to flip it when you catch yourself playing not to lose.

In this episode:

— Promotion focus vs. prevention focus: what the research says about playing to win vs. playing not to lose

— What playing not to lose actually looks like on the course, from the safe aim point to the half-swing chip

— Why prevention focus is the upstream cause of tension and fixating on what you can't control

— The permission slip: giving yourself explicit permission to commit to the shot that's on

— The best-case reframe: asking "what's the best that can happen?" instead of "what's the worst?"

— BJ's personal experiment: front nine in protection mode, back nine attacking, and what the scorecard said

The Golfer's Mind Lab. One concept. One challenge. Every two weeks.

Share your permission slip: @thegolfersmindlab

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Music written and produced by BJ Stremple

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Welcome back to The Golfer's Mind Lab — the podcast that trains the mental side of golf one experiment at a time. Every two weeks, host BJ Stremple breaks down one mental challenge, explains the psychology behind it, and gives you a real experiment to run in your next round.

Episode 8: Four Feet — Applying Everything Under Real Pressure

Seven episodes of tools don't mean much until they're tested where it actually counts — a four-foot putt, everything on the line, hands that feel different than they did on the last hole. Episode 8 takes the full process built in Episode 7 and runs it through the one moment in golf that exposes the mental game more than any other: the pressure putt.

In this episode:

— Why putting strips away physical complexity and leaves the mental game fully exposed

— The physiology of pressure — what adrenaline and a narrowed focus actually do to your hands and your read

— Running the full six-step process on a putt that matters, step by step

— How to handle the putt you do everything right on and still miss

— Three pressure-putting games BJ uses to manufacture real stakes in practice, so the process gets trained before it's tested

— BJ's personal recap — what broke down first when he put real pressure on himself this week

The Golfer's Mind Lab. One concept. One challenge. Every two weeks.

Share your pressure putt results: @thegolfersmindlab

Kabra Golf - 15% off - https://kabragolf.com/?ref=Golfersmindlab

Forelinks Golf - 10% off use code GML10 at checkout - https://forelinksgolf.com/

DriveForce - 15% off use code golfersmindlab - https://getdriveforce.com/

Music written and produced by BJ Stremple

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Welcome back to The Golfer's Mind Lab — the podcast that trains the mental side of golf one experiment at a time. Every two weeks, host BJ Stremple breaks down one mental challenge, explains the psychology behind it, and gives you a real experiment to run in your next round.

Episode 7: The Glue — Building One Process That Ties Everything Together

Six episodes in, you have a reset breath, a target lock, a Caddy Tally, a tension scan, a two-column framework, and a mental anchor. Every one of those tools is powerful on its own — but if you're consciously running through all of them before every shot, you'll be standing over the ball for three minutes and driving your playing partners insane. Episode 7 is about building all of it into one process.

In this episode:

— Why a well-designed pre-shot process is a container for the mental game, not just superstition

— The anatomy of a complete process: six steps, run in about fifteen seconds

— How the reset breath, tension scan, target lock, and two-column check all live inside one sequence

— Why consistency — not the specific steps — is what actually signals readiness to your nervous system

— What happens to the process when it gets tested under real pressure

— Input from the pros - Cory Pieper from Elite Club Performance and Garry Rippy, PGA Pro at Roy Kizer and Jimmy Clay GC

The Golfer's Mind Lab. One concept. One challenge. Every two weeks.

Share your process: @thegolfersmindlab

Kabra Golf - 15% off - https://kabragolf.com/?ref=Golfersmindlab

Forelinks Golf - 10% off use code GML10 at checkout

Music written and produced by BJ Stremple