Welcome to The Cog: The Newsletter where golfers come to improve mental performance

Dear Golfer,

Before we dive in, since this is the first edition, let me tell you why I started The Cog. I was the collegiate pitcher who worked twice as hard as everyone else just to keep up. I never felt big enough, fast enough, or strong enough, and I definitely didn't throw hard enough. While naturally gifted teammates made 90+ mph fastballs look effortless, I was constantly fighting just to stay competitive. That's when desperation turned into obsession with mental performance. If raw talent wasn't going to cut it, I needed to find another way.

Sound familiar? Maybe you're the golfer grinding at the range every weekend, watching scratch players make effortless swings while you're out there fighting your slice like it owes you money. Maybe you've got all the latest equipment, taken lessons with three different pros, and still can't break 80 consistently. If so, you're exactly who I built this for.

In my final year playing baseball, I finally had some success and felt like I'd found a mental edge. By the time graduation rolled around, it was clear no scouts were knocking down my door. My plan was to go to law school and become a sports agent.  But something wasn't sitting right with me, so I told my parents sorry and embarked on the winding road of sport psychology and neuroscience instead.

During grad school I dove into researching mental performance with collegiate golfers. My original plan was to work with baseball players, but after realizing that grinding 70 hours a week for a Single A team while making less than minimum wage wasn’t exactly “living the dream,” I made a quick pivot. That choice turned out to be a huge turning point in my career. Watching these D1 golfers, I noticed something fast: the gap between elite players and everyone else wasn’t just about swing mechanics or raw talent. It was about how intentionally they trained their minds to squeeze every ounce of performance from their game. One of my first clients had one of the prettiest swings I have ever seen even today and still couldn’t sniff 85. What my research showed (don’t worry, this isn’t leading to me selling you a $575 driver you don’t need as a 24 handicapper… unless any companies out there want to sponsor this newsletter, in which case I’ll happily slap a shiny photo right here) is that the real edge comes from mental performance. I guess that’s where I come in, giving you the CliffsNotes version twice a week so you can go hack it around the muni with at least a fighting chance.

The Cog is all about cutting through the mental game fluff and giving you the hard science behind peak performance on the course. No mystical "feel the force" nonsense. Just research-backed strategies that actually move the needle on how your brain functions under pressure.

When I was in grad school studying sport psychology, I thought the goal-setting lectures would never end. I’d sit there thinking, “How complicated can this really be? Just pick something and go do it.” Spoiler alert: I was spectacularly wrong.

Now that I’ve worked with everyone from junior golfers trying to make their high school team to professionals trying to feed their families, I’ve realized goal setting isn’t just another item in the mental game toolkit. It’s the foundation of your entire golf brain. Everything else you build depends on getting this part right first.

Whether I’m working with a 16-year-old hoping to break 90 for the first time or a plus-handicap player preparing for a club championship (probably an old guy in Florida with a swing that looks painful but still finds every fairway), the brain science is identical. Goals aren’t just scores you’re chasing. They’re the software you’re installing into your golf brain’s operating system.

Picture this: It's the first round of the season, and somewhere on a golf course, someone is standing on the first tee boldly declaring "This is my year to break 80" while their pre-round warm-up consisted of three swings in the parking lot and a gas station energy drink. Meanwhile, another optimistic soul just bought a $2000 set of irons because "this is definitely going to fix my shank" while they 3 putt 15 holes (Don’t worry golf galaxy he is headed straight to you to buy that new $700 Lab). 

Sound painfully familiar? Don't worry, you're in excellent company.

Here's the thing about us golfers and goal setting: we're magnificently terrible at it, yet we keep coming back for more like cognitive gluttons for punishment. We set these beautifully vague aspirations ("I want to get better," "I want to be more consistent"), abandon them faster than a bunker shot technique that doesn't work immediately, feel appropriately guilty about it, then show up next season with the refreshing optimism of someone who's completely forgotten last year's spectacular blow-ups on the back nine.

But what if I told you that all those "failed" golf goals weren't actually failures? What if they were just proof that you've been trying to run Tour-level software on weekend-warrior hardware? Recent brain research suggests the problem isn't your swing mechanics or your willpower, it's that nobody ever taught you how your goal-setting system actually works.

Here's where things get genuinely fascinating. When you set a properly structured golf goal, your brain doesn't just think "oh, that's nice." It literally starts rewiring itself like some kind of biological swing coach working 24/7.

Scientists with fancy fMRI machines have watched this happen in real time. The moment you set a specific, challenging golf goal, your brain's reward pathways light up like Bryson when he sees protein powder. We're talking about the same dopamine system that keeps you checking your handicap app obsessively, except now it's working for your game instead of against your productivity.

Your prefrontal cortex, which is basically your brain's caddie, starts working overtime. It cranks up your working memory (so you actually remember that pre-shot routine), sharpens your attention (goodbye, swing thoughts from this mornings youtube video), and makes you more mentally flexible (hello, course management that doesn't involve "grip it and rip it" on every shot).

Meanwhile, another brain region called the anterior cingulate cortex becomes your personal shot tracker, constantly monitoring how you're doing and making adjustments. It's like having Trackman for your mental game.

The real kicker? This whole process promotes something called neuroplasticity, which is just a fancy way of saying your brain grows new connections. Two researchers named Edwin Locke and Gary Latham have spent decades proving this stuff works, analyzing hundreds of studies that all point to the same conclusion: your brain literally gets better at being a golf brain when you feed it properly structured goals.

Alright, let's address the elephant in the clubhouse. You've probably heard of SMART goals before and mentally filed them somewhere between "lets circle back" and "early extension" in your graveyard of corporate and golf jargon. But here's the thing: this framework is secretly the performance hack that the best players in the world swear by.

These aren't just some golf pro's fever dreams. They're based on actual brain science about how your neural networks process information under pressure.

Specific goals are like yardage books for your brain. Tell your brain "I want to get better at putting" and it's like giving someone directions by saying "aim somewhere over there." But say "I will make 8 out of 10 putts from 6 feet using my pre-putt routine during practice sessions this month" and suddenly your brain knows exactly where to direct its energy. It's the difference between spray-painting balls at the range and actually working on something specific.

Measurable goals turn your brain into a stats junkie. Remember that dopamine system we talked about? It absolutely loves trackable milestones. Every time you hit a measurable target its like lowering your three-putt percentage or hitting more greens in regulation. Your brain gives you a little chemical high-five. It's like having your own personal gallery cheering you on inside your skull.

Achievable goals hit the Goldilocks zone. Too easy ("I want to not whiff the ball completely") and your brain gets bored. Too hard ("I'm going to shoot 65 next week even though my personal best is 89") and it freaks out and shuts down faster than your confidence after a shank. But just right? That's where the magic happens. Neuroscientists call this "optimal arousal," which sounds way more exciting than it actually is, but basically means your golf brain is firing on all cylinders without melting down under pressure.

Relevant goals get your whole golf brain involved. When your goal actually matters to you, like finally beating your buddy who's been trash-talking your short game (it's because it's probably trash tbh), multiple brain regions start working together like a well-coordinated foursome that actually knows what they're doing. Your planning, emotion, and motivation centers all sync up. It's like the difference between playing alone and playing with John Daley as your playing partner, maybe that's just the booze?

Time-bound goals activate your brain's tournament mode. Deadlines aren't just external pressure from your annoying boss named Jeff. They literally change how your brain prioritizes information. It's like having a built-in filter that helps you focus on what matters (your pre-shot routine) and ignore the stuff that doesn't (the guy next to you at the range who swings like he's attacking a wasp nest)

Here's what I've learned from working with professionals and scratch golfers: they don't just set more goals than everyone else, they set fundamentally different kinds of goals. Their brains have basically become goal-setting machines.

Elite golfers understand something most weekend players miss: your brain is constantly trying to predict what's coming next so it can get ready. When you give it crystal-clear, SMART goals, you're essentially providing your golf brain with the world's best course management system. It knows exactly what challenge is coming and can prepare accordingly.

But here's the secret sauce that separates the truly elite from everyone else: they add something called "implementation intentions." These are simple "if this, then that" plans that turn good intentions into automatic behaviors. Like: "If I'm standing over a 6-foot putt, then I will take two practice strokes, align my putter face, and commit to my line."

This combination creates what researchers call "automatic goal pursuit." Your brain literally runs these behaviors on autopilot, freeing up mental energy for higher-level course management. It's like the difference between thinking about every aspect of your swing while standing over the ball versus just trusting your preparation and letting it flow.

Don't just take my word for it. The empirical evidence is overwhelming once you start looking. Meta-analyses published in journals like the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology and Psychology of Sport and Exercise consistently demonstrate that structured goal setting doesn't just help you shoot lower scores—it creates measurable changes in neural efficiency and cognitive resource allocation. 

Researchers at Arizona State University, using both behavioral measures and neuroimaging data, documented how golfers who learn evidence-based goal-setting frameworks don't just improve their handicaps. They develop enhanced executive functioning, improved attentional control, and greater stress resilience, cognitive adaptations that transfer to novel pressure situations they've never encountered. It's like mastering putting and discovering you've actually rewired your brain's entire approach to precision tasks under pressure.

Here's the deal: all this brain science is useless unless you actually apply it on the course. Take one area of your golf game where you want to see real improvement. Maybe it's three putting less, hitting more fairways, or finally breaking your scoring barrier. Set it up using the SMART framework we just covered. Add some "if then" implementation intentions. Then sit back and watch your golf brain start optimizing itself for success.

Remember, your brain doesn't care about your past golf failures or that time you shot 105 after promising your playing partners you'd break 90. It's like a loyal caddie that's just excited you're paying attention to it again. It's ready to start upgrading your golf performance the moment you give it properly formatted instructions.

The revolution in golf performance isn't waiting for some breakthrough training aid or the latest driver technology. It's available right now, hiding in the deceptively simple science of how you structure your golf goals. Whether you are a junior playing AJGA this weekend or the dude about to pound 10 Beers at the Victoria Golf Course, set some goals and shave a couple strokes.

The Cog is where golfers come to upgrade their mental game. Every Tuesday and Friday!