#110: [Inside the Mind] Mike Booker: Becoming a Tournament Golfer Versus a Golfer Who Plays Tournaments

In this episode of The Scratch Golfer's Mindset Podcast, I sit down with Texas Golf Hall of Famer and author, Mike Booker, to unpack the mental blueprint that separates a tournament golfer from a golfer who plays tournaments.

With decades of competitive success and entrepreneurial achievement, Mike shares timeless lessons on emotional steadiness, self-talk, reflection, and gratitude that have fueled his longevity both on and off the course.

You'll learn how to master your self-talk, set powerful process-based goals, and build the emotional resilience needed to perform under pressure. Mike and I dive deep into how perspective, preparation, and honesty form the foundation of lasting success—and why gratitude might be the most underrated competitive advantage in golf and life.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to become your own best friend and master self-talk.
• The difference between a tournament golfer and a golfer who plays tournaments.
• How to manage results-oriented thinking under pressure.
• The role of process, pre-shot routines, and breathing in performance.
• Why honesty and reflection are key to consistent improvement.
• How gratitude and perspective build mental resilience.
• The mindset needed to win in golf, business, and life.

If you're serious about raising your level of play in this upcoming season of tournaments, this is the conversation you want to listen to multiple times…

Get your pencils ready and start listening.

P.P.S. Curious to learn more about the results my clients are experiencing and what they say about working with me? Read more here.

More About Mike Booker

Mike Booker is a Texas Golf Hall of Fame inductee, former University of Houston NCAA National Champion, and author of The Tournament Golfer's Playbook. A lifelong competitor who has won championships across multiple decades, Mike combines lessons learned from elite tournament golf and a 40-year career as a successful entrepreneur and financial advisor.

His work teaches golfers how to think, prepare, and perform like true tournament golfers—focusing on self-talk, process, perspective, and gratitude both on and off the course.

Purchase The Tournament Golfer's Playbook here.

• Inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame (2019),
• University of Houston Hall of Honor (2023)
• WCJC Athletic Hall of Fame (2023)
• A record four-time Texas Golf Association Player of the Year (2012, 2014, 2015, and 2022, Senior)
• Winner of a record 14 Texas Golf Association events, including Senior, Mid Am and Mid Am Match Play
• Playing Member, U. of Houston NCAA National Championship team (1977)
• Selected Associated Press NCAA All-American Team, U. of Houston (1977)
• Two-time U.S. National Club