297: Julie Elion - How Wyndham Clark Overcame Adversity to Win the 2026 U.S. Open
Get Julie Elion’s new book Mastering Your Mental Game (link to Amazon)
On this episode we’ve got THE Julie Elion. Most notably the mental performance coach for Wyndham Clark. She’s also the author of her new book Mastering Your Mental Game, which is excellent.
So the timing of this one was pretty dang cool with Wyndham just winning the U.S. Open last week. We of course talk a lot about Wyndham and how he handles the adversity of the crowd and seemingly the whole world being against him. And we discuss how Wyndham and other tour players improve their mental resilience, emotional regulation, and other very accessible and normal practices golfers can do to perform better under pressure.
By the end of this episode I’m confident you’ll be able to reframe your nerves, handle anger better, and develop mental habits that give you the best chance to succeed more often.
-----
Timestamps & Topics:
0:00 - Intro: Listen to Josh’s new podcast Project Mid-Am: A Golfer’s Journey on Apple or Spotify
2:36 - The Nerve-wracking Experience of Coaching Wyndham Clark
9:04 - Why Honesty and Self-Awareness is Important for Golfers
16:09 - ⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
17:46 - How to Get Over Other People’s Opinions, Embarrassment, and Needing Others’ Approval
21:13 - Wyndham, Anger, Trauma, and Responding Better in Difficult Moments
31:10 - 🏌️♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
33:35 - Get Comfortable With the Discomfort of an Important Round of Golf
39:27 - Playing Tentative, Guidey, and Scared: How to Play with Freedom
49:39 - 🎯 Shot Pattern - Course Management Made Easy - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
51:37 - How to Do a Postmortem Of a Round of Golf
58:57 - Why You Should Be Prioritizing Your Mental Game
1:07:12 - Julie Elion: Mastering Your Mental Game (Amazon book link)
-----
Mentioned in this episode:
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
🏌️♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
🎯 Shot Pattern - Course Management Made Easy - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
-----
Josh's stuff:
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
🏌️♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
👨🏻🏫 1-on-1 Mental Coaching with Josh: Visit joshnicholsgolf.com/coaching to see plans and pricing to work with Josh on your mental game. Or send an email to josh@joshnicholsgolf.com.
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
📧 The Mental Re-Grip Newsletter: Sign up for weekly mental game tips at **joshnicholsgolf.com/newsletter.**
-----
Other podcast partners:
⛳️ PutterCup: Get 15% off your PutterCup order by going to puttercupgolf.com/mentalgolfshow and signing up for the PutterCup newsletter.
🏋️♂️ FREE Golf Workout - Nerd Fitness - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🍀 Fairways & Fundays - Ireland Golf Tours - Named World’s Best Golf Tour Operator at the World Golf Awards in 2024 and 2025! If you’re interested in going on a golf trip to Ireland, send me an email and I’ll get you set up with them - josh@joshnicholsgolf.com
-----
🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.
-----
Key takeaways:
Winning the Day Mentally: Before a tournament, Julie focuses her clients on winning the day mentally rather than fixating on the scoreboard outcome, because executing mental goals consistently is what leads to winning.
Name Your Feelings: Rather than pushing emotions aside or forcing positivity, Julie coaches player