299: Robert Linville - How to Be Truly Confident, Play Free, and Beat the Four-Hole Death Spiral

Robert Linville has been Josh’s coach for over 10 years. He was a pivotal part of Josh winning multiple events and making it to the finals of the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur. Robert has been a coach and swing instructor and owner of Precision Golf School in Greensboro, NC for 40+ years, working with some of the best players in the world on all levels of the game. Get Robert’s brand new book Responding Under Pressure on Amazon. respondingunderpressure.com ----- Mentioned in this episode: 🤝 Join Mental Golf Club and Get Ad-Free Episodes of The Mental Golf Show (and more)! 🏋️‍♂️ FREE Golf Workout - Nerd Fitness - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here! 🏌️‍♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Get the most out of your practice time with higher quality practice. 📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement. ----- Josh's stuff: 📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement. 🤝 Join Mental Golf Club and Get Ad-Free Episodes of The Mental Golf Show (and more)! 🏌️‍♂️ Basic and Custom Practice Plans - Get the most out of your practice time with higher quality practice. 👨🏻‍🏫 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. ----- Podcast partners: 🎯 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. ⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'. ⛳️ 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 (AI-produced): Golf mental performance and indifference — Josh's stated goal of "indifference" isn't apathy. Robert describes it as a deeper form of acceptance: trusting your prep enough to swing freely and let the result land wherever it lands. Belief systems outperform confidence in golf — Robert frames confidence as an emotion that fluctuates round to round, while belief is the durable foundation a golfer can lean on when confidence disappears mid-round. The "3 and 1" mental game exercise — Naming three things you did well each day (golf-related or not) builds a track