453: 12 Must-Hear Lessons From 2025 to Dominate Next Year

December 16, 2025·37 min·3 clips

How did Michael Leonard and his partner climb from second-to-last to eighth place in a three-day golf tournament?

All right, this is list mode. Michael starts with the Wicked Smart promise: play better golf without changing your swing. Then he pulls 12 lessons from the year's best guests and mixes in a few updates. He's coming off an absolute golf bender, points people to the 450th episode survey, and asks for sharper feedback on their struggles and goals. Once the coaching starts, the message gets pretty direct. Take the off-season seriously, because blunt feedback may be the thing that finally moves your game. Fitness takes over the episode. After playing four days in seven, Michael says he is surprised by how good his body feels after taking the gym seriously for the last few months. That hits harder because he is 38, and he sounds like someone noticing the payoff in real time. Warm up more. Learn what your body needs. Change the routine when the old one stops helping. This is not vanity gym talk. Strength, speed, and energy show up as scoring tools: more distance, better escapes from rough, and more chances to go after par fives or short par fours. He also connects it to life off the course. Taking health seriously made him more motivated and more energetic, so the golf advice widens a bit without getting preachy. There is plenty of shop talk too. The Wicked Smart Golf fitness formula comes up as something built around what actually changed his game and his body. The ending stays loose. Michael jokes about being only eight people away from knowing anyone in the world, keeps the Tiger invite alive, and teases more guest conversations. A mental coach is coming Thursday, Jim McLean is ready for January, John Novosel Jr. is coming back, and the survey stays open until Thursday the 18th.

As heard by us

A year-end golf reset built around 12 lessons, fitness, and the basics that help the game.

Wicked Smart Golf turns a year-end recap into a useful reminder for golfers who want to play better without chasing a swing overhaul. The focus stays practical: treat the off-season as real work, make fitness part of the edge, warm up for the body you have now, and return to the…

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Why you'd press play

You want 12 practical golf lessons from this year's recap without changing your swing.

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