This week we’re introducing you to Trevor Tellin, a mental performance coach dedicated to empowering golfers to navigate the course and life with mental strength and adaptability. He has a wealth of experience and a compassionate approach and Trevor has collaborated with hundreds of athletes from diverse backgrounds to create sustainable, evidence-based paths to success. His experiences as a college athlete plus expertise in mindset development, emotional intelligence, and stress management make him a trusted guide for golfers looking to master pressure, embrace mistakes, and play to their full potential.
In addition to Trevor’s years of experience, he’s the author of the recent book Off-Season On Purpose: 6 Strategies To Transform Your Golf Game By Spring.
What inspired you to become a mental coach, especially for athletes like junior golfers?
My inspiration came from my own struggles as a basketball player in high school and college. Despite having the skills in practice, my mindset continuously got in my way during competition. I lost confidence, became hesitant in decision-making, and couldn’t transfer my abilities when it mattered most.
After quitting college basketball in my third year I realized how crucial the mental game really is. Since I couldn’t pursue my athletic goals anymore, I decided to help other athletes who still had that opportunity.
I then interned with mental performance coach Trevor Moeb and his team in Scottsdale, Arizona, working with programs like Alabama football, Georgia football, and Florida State. Seeing the impact from the inside confirmed my passion for this field, led me to graduate school, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve gravitated towards golf as I have not yet found a game that provides such a challenge! It’s intoxicating!
Share one memorable success story of a junior golfer you worked with
One success story I have involves an international junior golfer who comes to the U.S. each summer for tournaments. Two years ago, I watched him play in Pennsylvania — he performed well but wasn’t quite at his full potential and didn’t make the cut. This past year, he returned to that same tournament and won it, shooting an incredible 19-under for three days. It was a testament to his persistence and commitment to the mental game.
What’s a common misconception people have about sports psychology or mental coaching?
The biggest misconception is that something has to be wrong with you to work with a mental performance coach. This couldn’t be further from the truth. My mentor Trevor Moawad had a great saying: “You don’t have to be sick to get better.”
If things are going well, that’s actually the perfect time to invest in mental skills. You can continue your success, create an even larger edge over your competition, and enjoy you journey more fully. Mental coaching isn’t about fixing problems — it’s about optimizing performance.
What’s your personal philosophy when it comes to building mental strength in young athletes?
First, focus on diversifying beyond golf. You’re not just an athlete — explore other hobbies and passions. Building different skill sets often helps your golf game. Maybe you develop creativity through art or understand flow through music — these experiences transfer back to the course.
Remember golf is a game. It’s meant to be enjoyed and played with fun. It’s easy to hyper-focus on numbers and data, but if we’re not having fun, what’s the point?
You already have what you need. I believe we all have the wisdom, intelligence, and skills within us. Often it’s just about uncovering those abilities, dusting them off, and getting out of our own way. And lastly, keep it simple. We overcomplicate things far too often. The simpler we keep it, the better we perform.
If you could give one piece of advice to parents of junior golfers, what would it be?
Have fun and enjoy the journey. These years go by incredibly fast. Yes, tournament registrations need to get done and practice needs to happen, but this is also a beautiful life experience. You’re spending time with family, seeing incredible places, learning about new cultures. Don’t get so focused on performance and scholarships that you miss these real opportunities within sports.
What are some practical ways junior golfers can handle nerves before a big tournament?
First, remember that nerves are normal and actually helpful. They signal that you’re approaching something that matters to you and that you care about. Second, I recommend developing a pre-tournament routine. This might include listening to your favorite playlist, having a favorite snack, watching highlights of your favorite golfer, or even watching your own highlights from previous tournaments. It’s all about intentionally accessing our desired mental state prior to competition.
How can young golfers bounce back quickly after a bad shot or rough round?
Allow yourself to feel the emotion. It’s normal to be upset or mad after a bad shot. When we suppress emotions, they gain strength and come back more intensely later. Give yourself 10-20 seconds to feel upset — that’s okay.
Have a reset process. After acknowledging the emotion, use a specific method to get back to your process and the present moment. This could be taking a deep breath or using a go-to phrase like “Control the controllables — time to focus on the next shot.”
Do you recommend any simple routines or exercises juniors can use on the course to stay focused?
Yes, but first an important note: you don’t actually want to be focused the entire time. A round lasts 4-5 hours, and our brains aren’t good at maintaining focus that long.
Allow unfocused time during appropriate moments — like walking between shots. Some golfers do math problems between holes (like Neil Shipley) or trivia questions to give their mind a break (James Nichols).
Secondly, have a specific trigger for refocusing. Maybe when you set your bag down or stop your push cart, that’s your cue to lock back into your process and pre-shot routine. This gives you structure without requiring constant mental effort, while providing flexibility for the day’s natural ebbs and flows.
What’s one mental skill every junior golfer should start working on today?
Learn how to breathe properly. It sounds simple, but using your breath is an absolute superpower that most golfers ignore.
When you’re under pressure on the course, your body treats it as a threat. Your heart rate shoots up and your body preps to “run away,”. Your brain doesn’t get the oxygen it needs to function at its highest level. This affects emotion management, focus, and decision making.
By controlling your breath, you tell your body there’s no threat. Slow, steady breathing naturally slows your heart rate, which signals to your body there’s no thread, and you can be present and execute. Practice just 3-5 minutes daily of slow, smooth breathing—maybe 4 seconds in, 6 seconds out. This creates dramatic changes in how you handle stress and pressure, both on the course and in life.
How do you help golfers balance confidence with humility on the course?
Luckily, golf keeps golfers humble on its own — just when you think you’re on top of the world, it pulls the rug out from under you.For confidence, I focus on two important concepts:
- Confidence comes and goes. You won’t be confident for every shot, and that’s realistic. We can’t totally control confidence, though we can help it by talking to ourselves positively or remembering past successes when we’ve hit tough shots or battled through difficult tournaments.
- You don’t have to be totally confident to play your best. This is crucial — many golfers don’t believe it until it happens to them, but it’s absolutely true. The less dependent you are on confidence to play well, the more consistent your performance becomes.
We can’t thank Trevor Tellin enough for taking time to offer such sage advice to the junior golf family. The mental game is such a critical aspect of playing junior golf, yet so few of us understand it. You can find Trevor on Instagram @mindsetcoachtrev or connect with him on LinkedIn. Make sure you check out Off-Season On Purpose: 6 Strategies To Transform Your Golf Game By Spring as well!
