How much is your mental game really affecting your score?

This week, Tori welcomes back Kathy Hart Wood for a conversation about the hidden ways your mindset can impact your performance on the course. From closing the gap between your range game and tournament play to learning how to bounce back after a bad shot, Kathy shares practical strategies that every golfer can start using immediately.

Whether you're chasing lower scores or simply looking to enjoy golf more, this episode is packed with simple, actionable mental game tips that can transform the way you play.

In This Episode

• Why your mental game may be costing you more shots than you realize
• How to close the gap between your range game and your course performance
• The four reasons golfers truly miss a shot
• How to stop one bad shot from turning into a bad round
• Building routines that create confidence and consistency
• The importance of letting go and committing to every shot
• Common mental game myths that hold golfers back
• Kathy's "18 Proud" mindset for enjoying golf regardless of your score

About Kathy Hart Wood

Kathy Hart Wood is the creator of Your Mental Caddy and author of Mastering Your Golf Brain, a golf mental performance coach, and the host of the Think Above Par podcast. She helps golfers build confidence, improve focus, and lower scores through better mental game strategies. Kathy is also a trusted instructor at women's golf events, including the Desert Classic and Dallas Shootout.

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Links & Additional Resources

• Kathy Hart Wood: https://kathyhartwood.com
• Take Kathy's Mental Game Quiz
• Learn more about Your Mental Caddy
• Listen to the Think Above Par podcast

Don’t forget to grab your FREE Workbook: Short Game 100!

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Tori and Phyllis are back for another installment of the Tournament Series, this time heading to Stafford Country Club in western New York for an RDGA two-person best ball event. Tori had never played the course before, but Phyllis assures her it's one of the best — home to a legendary ladies' invitational and built by white-collar Buffalonians who wanted a hidden gem in the middle of nowhere. The pre-round logistics are chaotic (Phyllis has loans to lock, a jackhammer blocking her street, and exactly 23 minutes to get there), but they make the first tee with seconds to spare. At just 4,515 yards from the yellow tees, Tori goes in expecting birdies all day — and the course promptly humbles her.

The short yardage turns out to be a trap: the greens are fast, hard, and nearly impossible to hold, leaving Tori stuck hitting awkward 50-yard shots from the rough all day. Phyllis, meanwhile, keeps chipping and one-putting like clockwork. They finish second in gross and win overall low net — beating a field where the gross winner shot one under on a course that should have played much easier. Along the way, there's a memorable rules moment involving a chalk ball marker (completely legal, but you have to erase it before you putt), and plenty of honest reflection on what the round revealed about both their games heading into the next event.

Don’t forget to grab your FREE Workbook: Short Game 100!

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All four episodes of the Creek Cup series are officially live on YouTube — and yes, they dropped out of order (episode four first, naturally). Click the playlist link below to watch them in the right sequence. In this episode of T-Time, Tori and Ashley are joined by Aubrey, the editor behind both the Desert Classic and Creek Cup series, to pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to turn hours of raw golf footage into a four-part series. Aubrey was on the ground at Bandon Dunes for the first time, racking up 20,000 steps a day while wrangling cameras, voice-noting clip numbers, and somehow capturing one of the most unbelievable moments of the trip — April's hole-in-one on a par three playing 155 yards into the wind. Her second career hole-in-one, by the way. And yes, someone ended up in the ocean because of it.

The conversation gets into the full production process — from Aubrey's 20-page pre-production document and cast profiling based on Desert Classic footage, to the post-production challenge of meshing everyone's creative vision as a self-described non-golfer. They also talk about what makes YouTube golf such a massive content category, why the Creek Cup format worked so well on camera, and what they'd do differently next time (GoPros in the carts, for starters). If you haven't watched the series yet, head to the playlist link — and if you find them even remotely interesting, share it with your golf crew!

Making of The Creek Cup: Bandon Dunes - Playlist

The Making of the Desert Classic: 2026 - Playlist

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The Good Vibe Studios is a women-owned and operated creative studio space based in Phoenix, and built for podcasters, photographers, videographers, and entrepreneurs. With 2,000 square feet of creative space and a team that brings serious energy to every project. Follow them at @thegoodvibestudios or visit thegoodvibestudios.com.

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