25: There’s A Walk For That with Harriet Thomas - Episode 2525: There’s A Walk For That with Harriet Thomas - Episode 25
UK Health Radio Podcast
Harriet Thomas talks with golf coach Julia Mountfield about using walking, golf and smart scheduling to boost health, mindset and enjoyment of life. They share Julia’s SMART system, personal stories and practical tips for treating your time as valuable and defining your own version of success.
32:51•29 Mar 2026
Golf, Walking and Winning at Your Own Game with Julia Mountfield
Episode Overview
- Treat your own time as precious: schedule walks, golf or any movement into your diary just like work or family commitments.
- Focus on enjoyment first, as fun builds confidence and makes healthy habits easier to stick with.
- Stop comparing your progress to others and define what a win looks like for you personally.
- Use mindset tools such as recalling past successes and visualisation to stay positive through challenges.
- See activities like golf and walking as chances to improve health, clear your head and connect with nature, not just as exercise or competition.
“"My number one top tip would be whatever you do, enjoy it. If you enjoy it, then your confidence will just grow."”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? In this case, the "addiction" is to busyness, overwork, and never making time for yourself. This episode of UK Health Radio’s **There’s A Walk For That** follows host Harriet Thomas and guest Julia Mountfield as they chat about how golf, walking and smart time management can reset both body and mind.
Harriet is all about everyday walking as a superpower for health, while Julia runs the online golf academy Knowing My Game with her husband, Derek. On paper, golf and walking might sound like opposites – Harriet jokes about her image of "golf buggies, beer in the clubhouse" – but Julia turns that on its head.
She explains how walking a course on grass, with pauses, inclines and decision-making, can be far kinder to joints and far better for fitness than pounding pavements. The heart of the conversation is Julia’s SMART system, a coaching framework she uses for golf and business. **S is for Schedule**, and she makes a strong case for putting your own time in the diary with the same respect you give work and kids’ activities.
"You either use it or lose it," she says, describing how she helps clients "defragment" their calendars into meaningful blocks. From there, they talk mindset, awareness and results: recording your ten best shots to silence the inner critic, understanding gamesmanship and distractions, and deciding what a "win" looks like for you – whether that’s finishing 18 holes, breaking 100, or simply clearing your head for a few hours.
Julia closes with three simple life rules: enjoy what you do, stop comparing yourself to others, and "just follow your dreams" because "time’s running out for everyone." If you’ve ever felt guilty about taking time for a walk, a round of golf, or any hobby you love, this chat might nudge you to block it out in your calendar and treat it as non-negotiable. What would count as a win for you this week?
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