Ep. 146 Why Do I Suck At Golf?

Sometimes golf has a way of reminding you that you're not quite as good as you think you are. And sometimes, that's exactly what you need.We're back with a special guest appearance from Super Coach Matty Woodbridge, joining Andy and Steve to unpack the 2026 NSW Country Championships in Tamworth.Four rounds of competitive golf, challenging conditions, championship pressure and plenty of lessons to take away. We explore what happens when you take your game away from the comfort of your home course, put yourself amongst some seriously good golfers and discover just how much there is still to learn.There's an honest conversation about confidence, self-doubt, maintaining your swagger under pressure and why a disappointing result can sometimes be the best fuel for future improvement.We also celebrate the wonderful community that golf creates, give a well-deserved shout-out to young pilgrim Archie Dickson, and discover that perhaps Steve is finally learning to diagnose his own golf swing. Hallelujah!And, naturally, we find time to debate the identity of our emerging golf rock band. The Bad Lies? The Tempo Brothers? The pilgrims will have their say!In this episode:The highs, lows and lessons of the NSW Country Championships.Why tournament golf exposes parts of your game that the home course might hide.Confidence, intimidation and finding your swagger in unfamiliar company.Turning mistakes into fuel rather than frustration.The importance of experience, repetition and getting outside your comfort zone.Celebrating the next generation of pilgrims.Another reminder that improvement isn't always comfortable, progress isn't always reflected on the scorecard, and sometimes a little humble medicine is exactly what the doctor ordered.Have a go, you'll find out.Rock out, pilgrims! Join the fun by entering The Missing Links Yearly Championship to compete with Steve, Andy and other Pilgrims from all across the world. Just join the Podcast Facebook Group to register your interest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/799518259034661 If you've got your own tips to improve then we'd love to hear them too! Just hit the send us a text message button or find us through any of the links below: Contact us directly via email: [email protected] For more content and to keep up to date, follow the show on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/themissinglinksgolfshow Don't forget to join the members group! Don't forget to join the private members group to join the conversation. Follow us on X: @TMLGolfShow https://twitter.com/TMLGolfShow Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/missinglinksgolf/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Small WinsEver feel like you're working harder than ever at your golf, but the results just aren't showing up on the scorecard?After last week's brutally honest conversation, Steve and Andy revisit the highs, lows and frustrations of the improvement journey. A timely intervention from Supercoach sparks a much bigger discussion about expectations, self-criticism and the danger of overlooking the progress happening right under your nose.There are some big questions along the way. How do you stay ambitious without becoming your own worst critic? How do you build confidence without resorting to blind optimism? And how do you recognise genuine improvement when the scores refuse to cooperate?From the concept of firing the second arrow to the compounding effect of small improvements, there's plenty to take away from this one.If you've ever walked off a golf course feeling like you've achieved nothing, despite all the work you've put in, this episode might just give you a different way of looking at your game.Because the biggest wins don't always show up on the scorecard.Rock Out Pilgrims! Join the fun by entering The Missing Links Yearly Championship to compete with Steve, Andy and other Pilgrims from all across the world. Just join the Podcast Facebook Group to register your interest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/799518259034661 If you've got your own tips to improve then we'd love to hear them too! Just hit the send us a text message button or find us through any of the links below: Contact us directly via email: [email protected] For more content and to keep up to date, follow the show on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/themissinglinksgolfshow Don't forget to join the members group! Don't forget to join the private members group to join the conversation. Follow us on X: @TMLGolfShow https://twitter.com/TMLGolfShow Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/missinglinksgolf/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why Do I Suck At Golf?One week you're striping it. The next, you're searching YouTube for swing fixes and wondering if you've ever actually hit a golf ball properly in your life.Andy Walker has two tournament rounds to unpack, some bafflingly inconsistent ball striking, wedge play that seems to have developed a mind of its own, and a growing collection of questions about his golf swing. Steve has a few theories, Andy has a few more, and neither is entirely convinced they've found the answer.We get into the technical rabbit holes, the mental battle, and the maddening gap between the golfer you know you can be and the one who turns up on the day.Plus, why do we keep coming back for more?Stick around for another original banger from the Missing Links Golf Show band.Two guys with one dream, to achieve middle-aged sporting glory.Rock Out Pilgrims! Join the fun by entering The Missing Links Yearly Championship to compete with Steve, Andy and other Pilgrims from all across the world. Just join the Podcast Facebook Group to register your interest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/799518259034661 If you've got your own tips to improve then we'd love to hear them too! Just hit the send us a text message button or find us through any of the links below: Contact us directly via email: [email protected] For more content and to keep up to date, follow the show on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/themissinglinksgolfshow Don't forget to join the members group! Don't forget to join the private members group to join the conversation. Follow us on X: @TMLGolfShow https://twitter.com/TMLGolfShow Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/missinglinksgolf/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Life gets in the way. Work piles up, family needs you, and suddenly your golf improvement plan is looking a little shaky. So do you accept that progress will have to wait, or find a way to keep moving forward?Steve and Andy tackle the challenge of getting better at golf when time is short, exploring smarter practice, mental skills you can work on anywhere, and why having a Plan B might be just as important as having a plan in the first place.Plus, Andy gives Kaizen Golf a shout-out, the Missing Links community gets some love, and the September Yearly Championship results are revealed.Because there's always another weakness to work on, another goal to chase, and another reason to get back out there.No finish line. No excuses. The quest goes on.Rock Out Pilgrims! Join the fun by entering The Missing Links Yearly Championship to compete with Steve, Andy and other Pilgrims from all across the world. Just join the Podcast Facebook Group to register your interest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/799518259034661 If you've got your own tips to improve then we'd love to hear them too! Just hit the send us a text message button or find us through any of the links below: Contact us directly via email: [email protected] For more content and to keep up to date, follow the show on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/themissinglinksgolfshow Don't forget to join the members group! Don't forget to join the private members group to join the conversation. Follow us on X: @TMLGolfShow https://twitter.com/TMLGolfShow Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/missinglinksgolf/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Steve has high hopes for his golf game, but are they justified? After a couple of rounds that promised more than they delivered, he and Andy unpack the good, the bad and the ugly of chasing improvement.From a frustrating competition round interrupted by an unexpected family distraction to signs that some swing changes are finally paying off, Steve reflects on the importance of fundamentals, emotional resilience and not letting a bad hole become a bad round. Meanwhile, work on the short game raises an interesting question: is the problem really as bad as he thinks, or is perception getting in the way?With strokes gained offering some encouraging surprises, the boys explore the difference between knowing something is improving and actually believing it.Because sometimes the hardest part of getting better is learning to trust the process.High hopes? Absolutely. And perhaps, for once, with good reason. Join the fun by entering The Missing Links Yearly Championship to compete with Steve, Andy and other Pilgrims from all across the world. Just join the Podcast Facebook Group to register your interest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/799518259034661 If you've got your own tips to improve then we'd love to hear them too! Just hit the send us a text message button or find us through any of the links below: Contact us directly via email: [email protected] For more content and to keep up to date, follow the show on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/themissinglinksgolfshow Don't forget to join the members group! Don't forget to join the private members group to join the conversation. Follow us on X: @TMLGolfShow https://twitter.com/TMLGolfShow Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/missinglinksgolf/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome back for Volume Two of the most epic playlist for golfers ever developed!"High Hopes" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band"It Felt Like Golf" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band"King of the Handicap" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band"Middle-Aged Glory" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band"No Finish Line" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band"One More Hole" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band"One Shot at a Time" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band"Stop Thinking" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band"The Rules Official" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band"The Course That Raised Me" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band"Ugly Before It Was Beautiful" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band"Why Do We Do This" written and performed by The Missing Links Golf Show Band Join the fun by entering The Missing Links Yearly Championship to compete with Steve, Andy and other Pilgrims from all across the world. Just join the Podcast Facebook Group to register your interest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/799518259034661 If you've got your own tips to improve then we'd love to hear them too! Just hit the send us a text message button or find us through any of the links below: Contact us directly via email: [email protected] For more content and to keep up to date, follow the show on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/themissinglinksgolfshow Don't forget to join the members group! Don't forget to join the private members group to join the conversation. Follow us on X: @TMLGolfShow https://twitter.com/TMLGolfShow Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/missinglinksgolf/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on The Missing Links Golf Show, Andy takes us through a very eventful round at the Wyong Seniors — complete with shanks, cold tops, lightning-fast greens, questionable pin positions, a rather creative cart-path strategy and some seriously impressive recovery putting.After making some significant swing changes, Andy is still trying to work out whether a disappointing score represents a step backwards or simply another part of the learning process. And that's where things get interesting.Because while Andy is wrestling with an eight-over 77, Steve has his own update: nine holes, eight pars, one double — and some of the best ball striking he's seen in a while. The strokes-gained numbers aren't perfect, but the feeling is unmistakable: something is starting to click.We talk about why progress in golf rarely happens in a straight line, why strokes gained is useful without telling the whole story, and why sometimes the most important sign of progress is simply wanting to play one more hole.There's also plenty of talk about the President's Cup, some sporting heartbreak, and the ongoing quest for middle-aged sporting glory.And then, appropriately, the Missing Links band closes things out with a new song about exactly what keeps us coming back:One more swing. One more chance. Join the fun by entering The Missing Links Yearly Championship to compete with Steve, Andy and other Pilgrims from all across the world. Just join the Podcast Facebook Group to register your interest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/799518259034661 If you've got your own tips to improve then we'd love to hear them too! Just hit the send us a text message button or find us through any of the links below: Contact us directly via email: [email protected] For more content and to keep up to date, follow the show on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/themissinglinksgolfshow Don't forget to join the members group! Don't forget to join the private members group to join the conversation. Follow us on X: @TMLGolfShow https://twitter.com/TMLGolfShow Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/missinglinksgolf/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on The Missing Links Golf Show, we go deep.After a quick detour through the President’s Cup, team pairings and a few ideas for how we might redesign international golf, Steve and Andy turn their attention to something much bigger: what actually allows us to keep learning and improving?After analysing more than 140 episodes of the show, Steve has identified a collection of traits that seem to sit underneath the Missing Links approach to golf and life: curiosity, humility, courage and patience.But there’s more to it than that.We talk about suspending certainty long enough for reality to teach us something new, allowing evidence to challenge our ego, and why golf is such a brutally effective laboratory for exposing the stories we tell ourselves.We explore why failure isn't necessarily the teacher — failure is the classroom, and reflection is the teacher.We talk about acceptance, the difference between accepting an uncertain outcome and simply giving up, and why freedom on the golf course may actually come from acceptance and commitment rather than confidence and certainty.And then there are two very Missing Links ideas: community and pilgrimage.Because improvement isn't a straight line. There is no finish line. Sometimes you're on the scenic route, sometimes you're in the trees, and sometimes reality simply tells you that you're not where you thought you were.We also introduce the Anti-Missing Links — certainty, pride, fear, rumination, resistance, outcome dependence, isolation and destination thinking — before discovering one more Missing Link that perhaps should have been there all along:Gratitude.Because we're not done yet. But that doesn't mean we can't stop occasionally, look around, and realise that we're already pretty lucky to be on the pilgrimage.Rock out, pilgrims. Join the fun by entering The Missing Links Yearly Championship to compete with Steve, Andy and other Pilgrims from all across the world. Just join the Podcast Facebook Group to register your interest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/799518259034661 If you've got your own tips to improve then we'd love to hear them too! Just hit the send us a text message button or find us through any of the links below: Contact us directly via email: [email protected] For more content and to keep up to date, follow the show on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/themissinglinksgolfshow Don't forget to join the members group! Don't forget to join the private members group to join the conversation. Follow us on X: @TMLGolfShow https://twitter.com/TMLGolfShow Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/missinglinksgolf/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on The Missing Links Golf Show, Steve and Andy take a slightly crooked tour through the world of golf, technology, rules officials and Andy’s latest battle with his golf game.First up, the August results of the Missing Links Yearly Championship are finally revealed—and the boys discover that while they may not be covering themselves in glory, the pilgrims certainly are. There’s a record-breaking winning score, a playoff decided by the Dice of Truth, and plenty of reasons for Steve and Andy to lift their games.Then it’s off to Carnarvon for Andy’s latest tournament round. The round features some wildly inconsistent driving, a couple of doubles and a frustrating short-game performance, but there are some genuine positives hiding inside the wreckage—including some seriously confident putting.The boys also get stuck into one of golf’s great debates: should you leave the flagstick in when putting? The science, the psychology and the boys’ decidedly strong opinions are all brought to the table.And finally, inspired by the growing number of golfers turning to the Missing Links Facebook group for rules advice, the Missing Links Golf Show Band delivers its latest musical masterpiece: a tribute to the men and women who patrol the fairways enforcing the Rules of Golf.Because sometimes, there’s no relief. You just have to play it. Join the fun by entering The Missing Links Yearly Championship to compete with Steve, Andy and other Pilgrims from all across the world. Just join the Podcast Facebook Group to register your interest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/799518259034661 If you've got your own tips to improve then we'd love to hear them too! Just hit the send us a text message button or find us through any of the links below: Contact us directly via email: [email protected] For more content and to keep up to date, follow the show on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/themissinglinksgolfshow Don't forget to join the members group! Don't forget to join the private members group to join the conversation. Follow us on X: @TMLGolfShow https://twitter.com/TMLGolfShow Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/missinglinksgolf/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Andy Walker is back, still riding the high of his breakthrough round at the Penrith Senior Amateur — and this time he's brought a whole new theory of the golf swing with him. After working with Wendy Doolan, Andy has gone down the rabbit hole of Bioswing Dynamics, a methodology developed by Mike Adams that looks at a golfer's natural physical tendencies and body dimensions rather than trying to force everyone into the same swing model. Think of it as golf swing fitting for your body. We get into front-post, centre-post and rear-post golfers, ground forces, flying elbows, wingspans, forearm lengths and why Andy may have spent years trying to swing in a way that fights his natural tendencies. There's also more short-game work with Andrew Dodt, including weight staying forward, chest position, club path, tempo and the eternal battle against the dreaded chunk. But after all that technical discussion comes the important bit: you can't take 17 swing thoughts onto the golf course. Practice is where you make the changes. On the course, it's time to find your feel, pick your target and swing. And then, naturally, the Missing Links Golf Show Band turns that lesson into a brand-new golf rock anthem. It's complicated. It's fascinating. And ultimately, it's time to stop thinking. Join the fun by entering The Missing Links Yearly Championship to compete with Steve, Andy and other Pilgrims from all across the world. Just join the Podcast Facebook Group to register your interest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/799518259034661 If you've got your own tips to improve then we'd love to hear them too! Just hit the send us a text message button or find us through any of the links below: Contact us directly via email: [email protected] For more content and to keep up to date, follow the show on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/themissinglinksgolfshow Don't forget to join the members group! Don't forget to join the private members group to join the conversation. Follow us on X: @TMLGolfShow https://twitter.com/TMLGolfShow Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/missinglinksgolf/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.