Hayden Kelly

Husband | Golf Nut | Former College Golfer

[Hayden Kelly @JHaydenKelly]

Have you ever wanted to improve your game without ever going to the course?
What if I told you there is a direct correlation between your mental health and your golf game?

You may think, “well duh! Golf is all mental!”

And sure, while you may be right, it goes a good bit deeper than that.

Doing the work to develop emotional maturity in your personal life will actually help you shoot better scores in your golf game!

Through my work as an aspiring therapist and competitive golfer, I’ve found and measured some incredible ways to grow my mind off the course in ways that directly impact my game for the better.

Before we dive in, a disclaimer: I don’t recommend seeing a therapist for the sole purpose of bettering your golf game, but by all means please go see one to develop yourself and enjoy ALL the benefits that come with that!

Let’s talk golf, and kick today off with one helpful way to impact your game.

Could you guess one of the top causes of big numbers in an amateur’s game?

The culprit is none other than dropped shots from balls hit OB. Let’s be real though, even Tour Pros hit a ball OB every now and then, right? Of course!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿.

Our minds play the role of survival expert. They’re incredible super computers that are constantly scanning the environment and filling in gaps we see to help us avoid anything that may be a threat to us. This activates something called the vagus nerve and sends us into the fight or flight response.

The good news?

𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 90 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙨!

90 seconds is PLENTY of time to brush off a bad golf shot, so what’s the issue?

The 90 second rule only applies to your immediate reaction. The kicker is, your survival expert mind usually takes over before those 90 seconds are up.

In my experience, my mind is an expert at cutting in during that time, creating both a narrative and circular thoughts after the stressful event, or in this case, the OB ball.

Once that happens, the self destructive cycle of thoughts begins:

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣”
“𝙄 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚”
“𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩?”
“𝙄 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙠”

This often does more damage to your round than any swing will. Anyone who’s found themselves here knows it’s terribly hard to make any kind of quality swing after that.

So how do we limit the impact of an OB ball to that 90 second clip?

The answer is acceptance and release.

Tour Pros actually practice this frequently!

In golf, much like life, bad breaks happen. You’re going to make bad swings. When it happens, instead of cussing yourself over it, allow it and tell yourself it’s okay!

The positive reinforcement allows your mind to accept what happened, and at the same time it prevents it from creating a negative narrative that can cause your round to spiral out of control.

This is 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗘 to improving your scores because if there’s one thing even tour pros can’t avoid in a round, it’s bad shots.

Instead of focusing on how to avoid bad shots, spend some time preparing yourself on how to handle it and move forward when you do.

[Virgil Hilts @RustyHale1966]

Dear @GolfChannel Please fire @chambleebrandel for goodness sakes. His comments against Bryson Dechambeau are biased, inflammatory, vicious and obviously with vile intentions. He's an embarrassment to his profession and to your network.

[Bryson DeChambeau @brysondech]

Obviously disappointed with the ruling. I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let’s get it.

[Hank Haney @HankHaney]

For what?

[Snobby Scheffler @SnobbyScheffler]

Last thing I will say. Golf is a game of integrity. Bryson is swearing he did not improve his swing and without proof they have to trust his word. For the R&A to assess a penalty with no real proof within 30 minutes is an embarrassment and goes against the very tradition and ethos of the game. Would’ve never guessed they would do this.

[Flushing It @flushingitgolf]

Players walk down the line of site when in the rough all the time. This is ridiculous with the minimal amount of evidence and there’s zero chance Bryson DeChambeau intentionally tried to gain an advantage here.

[Tee Times @TeeTimesPub]

You can stomp the fescue to get a stance.

You can stomp the fescue to line up your shot.

It just can’t affect the swing path or lie.

Bryson adamantly claims it did not, and up until 90 minutes ago this was a self policing game. A game of honor where you’d take the players word for it unless you had clear and obvious evidence showing otherwise.

Now they’ve said they don’t believe him and assessed a penalty with nothing more than shoddy camera angles.

All pretty gross.

[Peter Kostis @peterjkostis]

In my opinion, with the depth of field issues with TV cameras and no definitive camera angles of his swing path, there cannot be conclusive video evidence that Bryson improved his lie or swing path. In cases like this the benefit of doubt should go to the player. I don't like this decision.

[Kyle Porter @KylePorterNS]

If this is a penalty, then Wyndham Clark shot 35 over at Shinnecock.

[Hayden Kelly @JHaydenKelly]

@Mike_kim714 21.5! Good luck this week!

[Andrew Kolvet @AndrewKolvet]

This week, as the preliminary hearing rolls on and we're all forced to relive his tragic murder, I find myself wanting to remember Charlie's incredible life. Our team put this CK tribute together, and they did a great job. I hope you'll watch it.

[Brentley Romine @BrentleyGC]

Jackson Koivun just won his third straight SEC individual title. He has six wins in eight starts this spring. He’s already got a PGA Tour card in his back pocket.

And yet, Collins Trolio, the 605th-ranked amateur in the world, chips in to beat the world No. 1 and help send @OleMissMGolf to the SEC final.

[LinksNation @LinksNation]

#GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨
In honor of the newly restored Harbour Town Golf Links and @RBC_Heritage week we're giving away this gorgeous headcover with the iconic lighthouse logo. To be eligible, just retweet and follow us and @SeaPinesResort.
We'll name the lucky recipient after the last putt drops on Sunday... Good Luck!

[Bridgestone Golf @bridgestonegolf]

Goodbye, friends, from Augusta Georgia!
As a farewell, we’re giving away one of the limited edition Peach Reserve TOUR-ISSUE Staff Bags.
To win: Just REPOST!

[Jared Doerfler @DoerflerJared]

To celebrate shipping our 1,000th putter at @HannaGolfCo, we are doing a giveaway.

How to enter:

• Retweet this tweet
• Fill out the form in the next tweet

There is a catch: It's a blind giveaway.

It's a prototype.

You will get it before we even release it on our website. But we aren't sharing what the putter model is.

Here is what we are sharing.

• Aged copper plate finish
• Can select length
• Can select lie angle
• Can select sight line
• Can select paint fill color
• Can select black or chrome shaft
• Can pick the initials you want milled

It's a custom prototype putter. You just don't know what it looks like.

We will be releasing this putter in April or May (not the same model we are posting about tomorrow).

I love this putter. We had a DI team in the shop, and half the guys got this putter.

[Hayden Kelly @JHaydenKelly]

@elonmusk

I work with a custom blend soap company that has 60+ locations across the US. Can we partner with you to custom blend a soap for the Cybertruck?

[Pete Golding @CoachGolding]

🦈

[Josh Howerton @howertonjosh]

🧵The ICE propaganda war 🧵

I do not think people realize the degree to which you are in a propaganda war right now with ICE...

[Pete Golding @CoachGolding]

🦈

[Sidelines - Ole Miss @SSN_OleMiss]

Star TE Dae’Quan Wright has declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Best of luck Dae’Quan! #HottyToddy

[Hilton (Deuce) Alexander II @Deuceisloose3]

I guess there’s room for 1 more deuce