Q&A: Joel Dahmen on sports psychologists, Waffle House and if he’s in or out for ‘Full Swing’ Season 3

JD: I don’t think I was ever in that bad of a spot. That’s TV, right?

There was a rough couple of weeks but not as bad as it made out to be. I’m in a way better head space. I’m doing all the little things correct day to day that add up. I was never good at the little things. You could say chopping wood or pounding rocks, whatever it is, and you keep going and eventually you’re going to break through.

JD: Yes, I’ve been chatting with a guy since August-September, he’s not really a sports psychologist, more like a performance coach. 

JD: It’s never fun to watch yourself. It’s also weird to watch because we watched it in December and we’re reliving June-July time period, which, it sucks to play bad golf. What I took away from it is how many great people I have around me. Looking back at it I’m like, yeah, I really did drive them bat-shit crazy. 

I wish I could be like, hey, guys, I’ve really been fine since August. That was really a while ago. It came out like two weeks ago and people think it’s now. I’m back to being who I am and enjoying playing golf on the PGA Tour. 

JD: I don’t know if I can characterize it. He’s one of the most special people in my life. He officiated at my wedding. He’s been a big brother to me. He cares about me more as a human than any golf shot. It’s hard to put that into words, but besides my wife and my kid, he’s right up there.

JD: It’s a really hard spot because I’m still his boss. How much ass can he kick before I push back as a boss? It’s a delicate thing. Luckily, for most of our 10-ish years, he hasn’t had to do much of that.

JD: No. That guy wanted a wild amount of money upfront. I was like, hold on, if you take me to win majors and all this stuff then I’ll pay you, but I’m not paying you six-plus figures upfront. He also wanted me to fix my life. I was like hold on, when I wake up every morning at home with my wife and kid we’re doing pretty good. Everyone probably has deep-rooted things in them but I’m doing pretty good here. I don’t need to like change my life. I just want to get the ball in the hole a little better. He’s not the guy for me.

JD: Chris Bertram, he works for the Canadian National Snowboarding team. Nick Taylor found him. I’ve been watching Nick play a lot better golf, the way I thought he’d always play out here. I’m like, What are you doing, man? I was better than you for 4-5 years out here and now you’re playing like the Nick Taylor I always thought you were. We chatted about Chris the Sunday before the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. I was looking into things long before the (expletive) hit the fan. I knew I was not in a great golf place.

So, he gets snowboarders to commit to do backflips off 30-foot jumps, he can probably get a guy to commit to hit 7-irons off green grass.

JD: Pretty well. We were in the Korn Ferry together. John Ellis, his caddie, was a friend of mine when he played in Canada. We’ve played a lot of golf together out here. We have a lot of the same friends. 

JD: Very similar story but the slight difference was Wyndham Clark always had this top 10, winning majors in him. He was always one of the best amateurs in the world, he was a world beater. This sports psychologist got him over the line probably and helped a little bit but just because I start talking to a sports psychologist doesn’t mean I’m going to start winning majors. I still am who I am. My good golf is sneaking into the top 50, I’m aware of it. Wyndham’s top golf is what you’re seeing. Joel, go see a sports psychologist. Well, I’m not going to hit it 330 all of a sudden and make every putt. That’s just not in me. I can get better at what I do but I’m not going to become Wyndham Clark. 

JD: I’ve always had it in the back of my head at a young age. I had two parents who always told me I was going to be great. I’ve been able to play the Tour for about 9 years with normal skills. I’ve always believed that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I never really doubted it. Sometimes to a fault where I don’t have to put in the time and don’t have to work as hard as some other guys because it always works out for me.

JD: I’d say I’m not beating myself up at the golf course as much anymore. I come to the golf course more prepared with purpose and intent and I’m a more consistent person when I show up to the golf course with my attitude. He knows he’s going to get the Joel he knows and loves and has been around for a long time and he’s not walking on eggshells wondering which Joel is going to show up. I’m as consistent as I can be.

JD: No chance. Should’ve left on top. Should’ve left after Season 1. It doesn’t get better than what it’s done for us. You lean into Season 2 and you hope it’s Joel wins a major, wins a bunch and is this great player but it kind of went the other way. They’re like, oh, act three will be you coming back and playing great golf and you’re back again. I’m like, everyone will see that, it will be just fine and they can root me on that way. It’s a lot of extra time and with a kid now demanding more time and me trying to be more disciplined in day-to-day life out here. It’s a lot of time.

JD: Just having breakfast before New Orleans. They made it out like it was supposed to be June 6, but it wasn’t, it was April in New Orleans.

When my wife travels I don’t get to eat Waffle House and it’s like a delicacy for me, three or four times a year and Geno loves it too.

JD: Geno filled out an application for me, legitimately. I still get emails. They came in for like two months. Hey, when can we schedule this interview? Your high school educated; you can enroll to be a manager right way. I was like, oh, boy. It was just Geno being Geno. 

JD: They wanted me to start a few weeks later. 

JD: So we were coming off a charity outing, some beverages consumed, but sometimes that’s when you have the most real conversations. We were coming off a real — Detroit was a real downer and we didn’t want to go to the next event. From that day on, I knew I had to go back to being Joel and enjoying golf again. It was a Monday afternoon leaving Detroit and going to John Deere. I knew I had to stop butting heads with Geno anymore and with myself.

JD: Everyone is actually rooting me on and encouraging me. I have people on my side. Sometimes you go out with guys and hear people saying you’re going to choke, you suck. I’m getting, Joel, we believe in you. I’m like this random Joe Schmoe believes in me, I might as well believe in myself right now. It really spurs me on. 

JD: I’ve had a lot of great feedback from my peers out here, which is really cool. It’s like, hey, man, everyone goes through it at a period of time. A lot of guys have had kids, right? A lot of guys play bad golf. They’ve all been through it. We’re all there. Social media is like this guy still made $2 million last year, he’s flying on a private plane, like what’s he crying about? You get it when you’re inside the ropes and you’re inside the locker room what it actually takes to be out here and what it actually means. I’ve had great feedback from my peers, which is really cool.