Want to play golf freely when the score actually matters?
Dr Raymond Prior explains HOW to change the mental patterns that hold golfers back under pressure.
In Part 2 of our conversation with Dr Raymond Prior, author of Golf Beneath the Surface, we move from understanding the problem to doing something about it.
Last week was about Permission to Fail — why golfers struggle to play freely when they care deeply about the result.
This week, Raymond explains how to actually fix it.
What work can you do away from the golf course to change your relationship with failure, pressure and other people's opinions? Why isn't simply understanding your golf psychology enough? And what happens when your brain tries to drag you straight back into the same old patterns?
We also get into one of the biggest issues facing any golfer who is working hard to improve:
EXPECTATION.
Dave has been practising, taking lessons and seeing genuine signs of improvement — so why aren't the scores coming?
Raymond explains why expecting your hard work to produce better golf on your timetable can become a trap — and why the pursuit of improvement is very different from demanding a particular outcome.
Chris, meanwhile, gives a fascinating real-world example of what can happen when you stop protecting your score and start playing freely — including how that mindset helped him shoot 67 twice.
We also discuss:
- How to change your golf mindset and play with more freedom
- Dealing with fear of failure and performance anxiety in golf
- Why changing your mental game requires reps
- Expectations versus improvement
- Playing under pressure and entering a flow state
- Why golfers start protecting a good score
- Taking swing changes from the driving range to the golf course
- Block practice vs random practice
- Why making a swing change might mean accepting worse scores in the short term
If you've ever worked hard at your golf, expected to get better, and then wondered why you still can't produce it when it matters, this episode is for you.
DR RAYMOND PRIOR — GOLF BENEATH THE SURFACE
Dr Raymond Prior is a performance consultant and author of Golf Beneath the Surface: The New Science of Golf Psychology. He works with elite performers across professional sport and beyond, and his work explores how psychology, neuroscience, confidence, acceptance and our relationship with failure influence performance.
Find out more about Raymond, his work and Golf Beneath the Surface:
Golf Beneath the Surface / BTS Mindset:
https://www.btsmindset.com/
📸 Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/gbtspodcast/
ABOUT THE SHOW
How Low Can You Go is a golf improvement podcast exploring how amateur golfers can improve their game, lower their handicap, shoot lower scores and understand what actually moves the needle — without wasting time on the wrong things.
At the heart of the podcast are two very different golf improvement journeys: Dave is trying to go from a mid-handicap golfer to single figures, while Chris is chasing scratch.
Chris Donaldson and Dave Alexander speak to leading golf coaches, performance experts, sports psychologists and some of the smartest minds in golf to discover practical golf tips and strategies that everyday golfers can use to play better golf.
Whether you’re trying to break 100, break 90, break 80, reach a single-figure handicap or get closer to scratch, How Low Can You Go is about finding out what really helps golfers improve.
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