With 25 years of experience and clients who have earned more than $500 million across golf, sports psychologist Julie Elion has shared advice for golfers managing first-tee nerves.

Her advice for regular golfers is much easier than many people think.

Elion spoke on Tuesday's episode of Subpar, the GOLF.com podcast hosted by Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz, where the discussion focused on amateur golfers who shoot around 90 despite playing closer to an 80-level golfer in practice.

"Dig deep and try to figure out what is your best competitive state and then choose a few goals," Elion said. "Going up to that first tee, you are who you are and be present with it."

According to her, getting angry at a hooked drive doesn't fix anything. Knowing in advance that nerves are coming and deciding how to handle them does.

"I have a lot of people over the years who have first-tee jitters," Elion said. "So I try to help prepare mentally, knowing that you might feel that and then how you're gonna respond to that. So you're already prepared that those feelings are coming up."

That idea of pre-acceptance, naming the emotion before it arrives, is central to how Elion works at every level.

Tour Pros Credited Julie Elion for Her Work on Their Golf Mindset

The same framework Elion uses with amateur golfers is also employed by Tour pros. Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, and Justin Thomas have publicly credited her and her Center for Athletic Performance Enhancement (CAPE), which operates on a "help the whole person" philosophy, for helping shape their mindsets.

According to Golf.com in 2023, Homa said, “I’ve been working with a sports psychologist, Julie, who has, I mean, the last two months have opened my eyes to a lot of things. Having a plan each day mentally."

During a press conference in the same year, Clark said: "My mental coach, Julie, told me, she goes, 'Every time you hear someone chant 'Rickie,' think of your goals and get cocky and go show them who you are.'"

The Golfer’s Journal reported that Justin Thomas worked with sports psychologist Julie Elion on his mental game at the suggestion of his caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay.

The full Subpar episode offers a deeper look at Elion's methods.

"If you can keep repeating something about how you wanna feel and go with that," she said, "I think that's gonna serve you better than getting angry that that first drive hooked."

Simple, useful, and trusted by many of the best golfers in the world.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav