Years After Being Under Therapy, Wyndham Clark’s Mental Health Struggles Churn Out an Honest 5-Word Confession

Wyndham Clark wouldn’t be the US Open-winning Clark if he hadn’t made a key decision a year ago. He didn’t change his swing or switch his putter. Rather, Clark finally knocked on the doors of Julie Elion. Earlier, in Netflix’s Full Swing season two, the 30-year-old said he reluctantly started visiting the sports psychologist, but he was glad he did. 

Now, in a recent interview, the three-time PGA Tour winner opened up about how things have turned around since then. Since the US Open, Clark has had eight top-25s on the Tour. But ask the man; he would say that’s not the point. What matters more for the Scottsdale resident is the impact on his lifestyle and overview. 

Wyndham Clark can now separate his personal and professional life

The mind is a muscle, and unless you train it, you can’t expect to be at your best. Clark speaks from personal experience. The reigning US Open champion admits that self-victimization started eating up his soul. He was getting further down into the mental quagmire. Elion asked him to snap out of it. 

“Your mind is a muscle. And if you don’t train it, it’s never going to grow.” That’s the key takeaway Clark had after long sessions with Julie. Such simple five words, “Your mind is a muscle” helped Clark grow! There was a time when Clark was so emotionally invested that he used to throw clubs after a bad shot. His college coach advised him to take a holistic view. But at the PGA Tour, when you’re 29 without a major and the younger guys have more than one, frustration mounts. 

That vexation often spilled over into his personal life. But now it’s different. “I was able to get away from golf where I wasn’t before I carried into my social life in my personal life off the golf course, which is not healthy. And so it’s amazing what it’s done, because it’s now allowed me to play golf at the highest level, but then also live life at the highest level. So I’m a huge proponent of working on your mental game,” Wyndham Clark said in a chat with Claire Rogers of Golf.com. 

Now he had the maturity to accept defeat with grace and failure with humility, like the time he did after a brutal THE PLAYERS Championship defeat. But, Clark knows the stigma associated with visiting a psychologist. That stopped him from reaching out many times. But now, Clark spurs others to break that barrier.

Clark has only one advice for others

“Yeah, I mean, I get it, everyone thinks working with a therapist means something’s wrong with you,” Clark said, “And I don’t think, I don’t think you should look at it that way.”  Instead, it’s the same thing as going to a swing coach or reaching out for help to your gym trainer. Like he said before, it’s a muscle that needs strength training.

“Even if you keep it quiet, maybe don’t tell people but don’t do it. It’s amazing what you’ll you’ll feel and how much will come out from that and it just makes your life so much so much better and into a more joy-filled life,” Clark concluded.

The 30-year-old is defending his title at the Wells Fargo Championship, where he entered last year as world no.80. Wyndham Clark shot 73-73 on Thursday and Friday and currently sits outside of the top 50. Do you think Clark will be able to redeem his game, and emerge at the top?