451: Michael Leonard - Overcoming Pressure and Slumps for Consistent Golf

December 9, 2025·1 hr 8 min·5 clips

Michael Leonard reveals how a dead-topped shot at 17 led him to become a mental golf coach.

Start with the rewind. The host brings back a Two Dudes, One Cart interview because the questions go straight at tournament golf, pressure, slumps, off-season habits, and scoring better without a swing overhaul. Before the replay, Michael talks Glendale networking, growing the brand in 2026, and the three-day city championship with Jacob. Then the lesson narrows: bad rounds are not something to bury. They are material. Record the good days too, because a slump feels less mysterious when there is video, notes, and a simple journal to compare against. Michael points to swing clips, chipping clips, putting clips, setup thoughts, mental notes, and the little details that vanish once pressure shows up. Tournament rounds get extra weight because adrenaline and focus are higher there, so the lessons tend to stick. The fix is plain enough. Write down what worked, what got strange, and which thought or setup cue helped the round feel clearer. Get it out of your head. The goal is to build enough evidence that one bad stretch does not turn into guessing. Golf gets messy fast. A target note, ball position reminder, or useful swing thought can be the breadcrumb back to confidence. That is the push here: document the game, revisit the better rounds, and try the simple habits before chasing another swing change.

As heard by us

A plainspoken reset for golfers working through pressure and bad rounds.

The episode gives golfers a plainspoken reminder that better play does not always start with a new swing. It stays with tournament golf, pressure, slumps, off-season habits, and the habit of writing down what actually happened on the course.

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Why you'd press play

When pressure is louder than your swing thoughts.

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