Landon Michelson: How to Shift Your Self Belief for Better Golf (Flashback Friday)

December 12, 2025·1 hr 17 min·5 clips

Landon Michelson recounts how a scoring error cost him a US Open spot, leaving him crying in the parking lot.

The frame is simple. Michael tees up a favorite older conversation with Landon, tying it to his second book and the Wicked Smart Golf goal of playing better without hunting for another swing fix. Landon goes straight at belief. His practice example is a five-yard draw, hit again and again until the shot has a feel the player can trust. That matters before the round. The point is not to pump yourself up before the round, but to notice the work already done before it starts. Man, that is useful. Landon's bank metaphor makes it click: the money went in during practice, and Sunday is too late for one last miracle deposit. Michael clearly likes that one. The conversation makes insecurity easier to spot, especially when golfers start trying to control every checkpoint before they play. The advice stays practical. Landon says habits that help someone in business, like preparing for every problem, can make golf tighter and harder. That is a sharp reframe. Instead of chasing perfect control, the player needs enough trust to loosen up and use the game already built. Michael keeps it moving. He frames the episode as mental-game fuel for finishing the year strong and getting ready for better golf in 2026. No sterile theory here. The advice keeps coming back to fundamentals, self-belief, and the boring work that lets confidence show up when the scorecard is real. It feels like a coach-player conversation. The strongest idea is simple: confidence is earned evidence, not a mood you hope appears before the round.

As heard by us

A golf interview about confidence, repetition, and trusting the work before the round starts.

Flashback Friday looks back at a golf conversation about confidence that still lands when the round starts to push back. Michael Leonard and Landon keep coming back to repetition, self-belief, and trusting the work already in the bank before the first tee shot.

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Why you'd press play

You are not here to force a late fix. This flashback is about trusting the work you already put in and letting it show up without changing your swing.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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