Your Handicap Isn't Your Average

Free card, The 3x15 Week (the 3 practice sessions from this episode): https://playready.golf/3x15Try the Play Ready Golf app free for 30 days on the web, code PRGPOD for $20 off every year: https://app.playready.golfFree guide, How Good Are Your Shots? Benchmarks for your level: https://playready.golf/shotsThree scored 15 minute sessions a week is enough to keep your golf game over the winter. Isaak and Hayden start with what a month off does (golfers who haven't played in 30 days beat their normal score a little over 1 time in 4), what fades first, why short scored sessions beat one long one, and why approach comes first if you can see a number. Then the exact week: an approach session on a simulator, a putting session at home and a chipping session to a towel, each with a score to beat.Chapters0:00 What a month off does to your first round back1:26 What winter takes first4:53 Why 45 minutes a week is enough6:51 Short scored sessions beat big ones9:38 You learn by failing, not by watching13:47 Approach first: 40% of the gap16:06 Sim mats vs real turf18:21 Too many simulator numbers20:23 The only 3 numbers I track22:44 The number nobody checks: descent angle24:18 Hayden's first event back27:00 Why you need a plan on a simulator30:12 Isaak's winter plan32:27 Session 1: approach on the sim34:40 Session 2: putting at home36:35 Session 3: chipping to a towel37:49 If you usually take the winter off39:28 What the app data shows41:39 The one thing to remember50 lifetime spots: https://app.playready.golfCoaches: PRG Teams is at https://playready.golf/teamsQuestions: [email protected] Stagner, Arccos data (Newsletter #18): golfers with no round in the last 30 days beat the median of their last 20 rounds 28% of the time. Golfers with 16 or more rounds that month, 57%.Arthur and colleagues, 1998, Human Performance, 53 articles: after time off, accuracy tasks lost about 3 times as much as speed tasks. Lab tasks, and speed means how fast a task gets done, not swing speed.Dail and Christina, 2004: 90 new golfers hit the same 240 putts, all in one day or 60 a day for 4 days. The spread out group was better 1 day, 1 week and 1 month later.Arccos via MyGolfSpy, Jul 2026, about 329,000 rounds: approach is about 40% of the gap between one handicap level and the next.TrackMan tour averages: 7 iron land angle 50 degrees on the PGA Tour, 47 on the LPGA Tour.Lou Stagner, Arccos data (Newsletter #140): from 150 yards, a 15 handicap hits a good shot (90% of the distance, within 10 yards of the line) about 3 times in 10.Play Ready Golf app data: golfers who posted 6 or more rounds this year improved about 2 shots on average.

Free guide, How Good Are Your Shots? Page 2 has the benchmarks for your level: https://playready.golf/shotsTry the Play Ready Golf app free for 30 days, code PRGPOD: https://app.playready.golf/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep46Your handicap isn't your average. It's built from your best 8 rounds out of your last 20, so a 15 handicap who shoots 94 is having a normal day, not a crisis. Isaak and Hayden walk through what a normal round and a bad round look like from a 20 handicap to scratch, why Scottie Scheffler still had a 12 shot range last season, the 3 kinds of holes most likely to turn into a double in 453 rounds of Play Ready Golf app data, and a 10 minute review that tells you what to practice next week.Chapters0:00 Your handicap isn't your average2:34 How your handicap actually works3:17 How often golfers shoot their handicap5:47 A 10 and a 20 make the same bogeys6:54 A normal round at every level, 20 to scratch11:27 Scheffler and Rory have bad rounds too13:21 The 3 holes that turn into doubles16:18 Hayden's worst round20:31 The 10 minute bad round review23:51 What to practice at your level24:57 Why realistic expectations help you score29:02 When a bad round is a real signal30:43 What to do after your next roundCoaches: PRG Teams is at https://playready.golf/teamsQuestions: [email protected] Handicap System (USGA and R&A): your Handicap Index is the average of your best 8 score differentials from your last 20 rounds; net double bogey is the most you post on a hole.USGA handicap research, old system (best 10 of 20): golfers shot their course handicap or better about 25% of the time, about 3 strokes worse on average.Lou Stagner, Arccos data: a 17 shot median gap between a golfer's best and worst round in a season (30+ rounds, steady handicap), plus the tour expectation numbers.Shot Scope user data: fairways, greens, bogeys, doubles, three putts and penalty strokes by handicap.PGA Tour: Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, 2025 season.Play Ready Golf app: 453 rounds from 127 golfers, Nov 2025 to Oct 2026.

Go look at the bottom of your pitching wedge. It probably says 42 or 43. In the 1980s it said 49, and your sand wedge barely moved.Get the free Wedge Matrix (one page, every wedge, every swing): https://playready.golf/wedge-matrixTry the Play Ready Golf app free for 30 days: https://app.playready.golfThat's a hole in your bag the industry made, and most golfers never check it. So they end up with two wedges that go the same distance and one gap they guess at every round. Hayden and I break down how the bottom of your bag got broken, how to find the hole in yours in about 2 minutes, and a winter plan that gives you a number for every wedge and every swing.This isn't a gear episode. Most of the fix is checking the lofts you already have, and the rest is one bucket of balls this winter.Chapters0:00 Your pitching wedge used to say 491:56 How much loft your pitching wedge lost4:00 How close tour pros really hit it from 100 yards5:21 How the bottom of your bag got broken9:17 What tour players actually carry9:58 Should you carry 4 wedges?12:38 The club you carry because everyone else does13:56 The problem with the 60 degree17:46 Dave Pelz, Tom Kite and the first 6019:16 Fix 1: check your gaps (4 to 6 degrees)21:29 Fix 2: bounce and grind, made simple25:21 Fix 3: when your grooves are worn out27:52 Fix 4: the Wedge Matrix (Pelz's 3x4)28:53 Why your 9 o'clock number matters31:16 How to fill in your matrix this winter33:08 When 4 wedges is the right call34:08 How much wedges really matter35:13 What to do tonight36:02 What we're changing in our own bagsTwo fixes from the episode, also on screen: Ping's G440 went from 5 set wedges to 4 (fewer, not more). And a 15 handicap's double rate from 200 yards is about twice what it is from 150 (29% vs 15.6%), not 3 times.SourcesPitching wedge loft by decade: loftchart.com2025 lofts: Callaway Elyte and Ping G440 spec sheets; Today's Golfer on the G440 wedge changeTour proximity from 100 yards: PGA Tour statsFinishing 75+ feet away, and double rates by distance: Lou Stagner, Arccos dataWhat tour players carry: Golfing Focus, top 100 PGA Tour playersWedge gapping (4 to 6 degrees, 10 to 15 yards): Titleist VokeyTom Kite and the 60 degree: Golf Channel, World Golf Hall of FameGroove wear: Titleist's own robot testing; MyGolfSpyThe 3x4 system: Dave Pelz, GOLF Magazine, 1990Pitches that find the green vs miss it: Play Ready Golf app, 453 rounds from 127 golfersLong game share of the scoring gap: Mark Broadie, Every Shot Counts15 handicap 4 iron distance: Shot Scope

Kris Marshall didn't touch a golf club until he was 16. He sent his resume to 500 colleges and got zero responses, walked on at Kansas anyway, and left a two-time All-American. Today he's a +5 with a full-time career, three kids, and barely any practice time.We get into how he walked on at KU, six trips to Q School (four of them lost by a single shot), why he walked away from pro golf to start a family, and what he thinks about the reinstatement debate. Then he shares the forward tees drill that teaches you to go low, and why a 10 handicap should stop aiming at pins.HOPEKIDS: the charity Kris founded a golf tournament for, serving families of children with life-threatening illnesseshttps://hopekids.org/FREE: 18 Golfers, 1 Question. What 18 elite mid-ams with day jobs say busy golfers get wrong about practice, plus their go-to drillshttps://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/secretsofthemidamPLAY READY GOLF APP: practice plans built from your strokes gained and the time you actually have. 30 days free, and code PRGPOD takes $20 off the year.https://app.playready.golf/Feedback or a topic idea? [email protected]:00 What a 46-year-old knows that college kids don't1:56 He didn't start golf until 163:10 500 colleges, zero responses4:14 Sitting in the rain outside the KU coach's office5:15 The walk-on trial: the only one under par6:46 From walk-on to two-time All-American11:43 Turning pro: "You don't have to, you get to"17:05 Six trips to Q School19:17 Why he walked away from pro golf21:44 Reinstatement and the "true amateur" argument24:13 Kris's fix for reinstatement27:50 What makes a great mid-am event35:29 How golf built his career37:52 The 14 handicap who was nervous to play with a +541:48 How to go low: play the forward tees43:37 Late to the tee, then four eagles at the Kansas Open45:44 Set a scoring goal and don't move it46:22 Chess, not checkers, off the tee47:44 Data vs feel51:28 What a 10 handicap should fix this week53:12 22-year-old Kris vs 46-year-old Kris56:50 HopeKids

Free 3x15 Week card (the 3 dials, every session scored): https://playready.golf/3x15Play Ready Golf app, free 30 day trial, code PRGPOD: https://app.playready.golfEp. 27, why the range is the most expensive habit in your bag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R9mVHabK0cIf you went 10 for 10 at the range last night, you didn't practice. You performed.Adam Young, one of the best practice coaches in golf, wants his players making somewhere between 3 and 7 out of every 10. Most of us build every range session around never missing. That's why the good nights never show up on Saturday.In this episode, Isaak and Hayden get into how much you should actually be missing, what Rory McIlroy did after blowing the 2011 Masters, and the 3 dials (distance, target size and randomness) that make any drill show up on the course.Hayden also tells the full story of his 2024 Canadian Q School week in Dothan, Alabama. He was 7 under after two rounds. Then came a double on a 200 yard par 3, a misread tee time and a DQ before the final round. He shares what he does differently now.Tell us in the comments: what's your next drill, and how many out of 10 do you make?Studies and people we mention:Adam Young, The Practice ManualGuadagnoli and Lee (2004), the challenge point frameworkRobert Bjork, desirable difficultiesWilson et al. (2019), Nature Communications, the 85% ruleHuman Movement Science (2025), when a task gets too hardJared Porter, LSU, moving from blocked to random practiceLow and colleagues, 14 studies on pressure trainingAnnie Duke, Thinking in BetsSisk et al. (2018), the growth mindset meta-analysisChapters:0:00 Why 10 for 10 at the range is a bad sign1:59 How much should you be missing?3:08 Adam Young's 3 to 7 out of 10 rule4:00 The 3 dials that change any drill4:31 There's no such thing as a good drill5:26 Why easy practice feels so good6:46 The 85% rule for faster learning7:34 When hard practice backfires7:49 Signs your practice is too easy10:26 What Rory did after the 2011 Masters10:48 Rory's 496 for 496 inside 3 feet14:54 Hayden's Q School blowup17:23 The tee time mistake19:42 How Hayden bounced back22:04 Handling emotions after a miss24:20 The 3 part plan24:29 Part A: turn one dial26:57 Add a consequence: Colby's match28:56 Part B: stop judging by results30:41 The 3 buckets for every miss31:37 Part C: is growth mindset enough?32:37 Playing to your personality35:50 Ask: how many did I actually miss?36:31 Isaak's GC3 ladder drill37:37 Hayden's takeaway40:15 New Friday scheduleNew schedule: episodes with just Isaak and Hayden now drop every Friday. Guest episodes are bonus episodes early in the week.Isaak is a competitive mid-am who helps busy golfers improve with the time they already have. Hayden is a professional golfer. Play Ready Golf helps you practice with purpose, so you show up to the first tee ready to score.

Secrets of the elite mid am 👉 https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/secretsofthemidamWant a practice plan built for your game and your schedule? Try Play Ready Golf free for 7 days. Code ISAAK takes $20 off the year 👉 https://playready.golf/the-appSam Jackson sells windows for a living. He has a 7 month old at home and practices once or twice a week. He's also been South Carolina Golf Association Player of the Year 4 years in a row, made the semifinals of the 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur, and won the 2025 South Carolina Amateur with a wedge to 3 inches on the final hole.His edge isn't his swing. It's caring less. Golf used to be his #1 priority. Now it's 4th or 5th, and he plays better for it. In this episode he explains how to stop living and dying with every shot, the 3 checks he runs every time he practices, and why his best week in golf came after his worst prep.You'll learn:Why a 4x Player of the Year calls himself a mediocre college playerHow to take the pressure off every single shotWhy he's hit it great and finished 7th, then hit it average and contendedThe 3 fundamentals he checks every sessionHow he got into contention on 4 rounds in 4 months with a newbornWhere to start when you have an hour at the range and no planFollow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samuelnotljacksonNeed windows or doors in the Columbia, SC area? Sam's with Pella Windows and Doors of the Carolinas.0:00 Not that Samuel Jackson1:08 Starting golf at 122:30 What sped up his development4:23 The U.S. Junior at 155:09 A 74.8 college scoring average6:53 Treating every shot like the one7:58 How to stop living and dying on every shot8:22 The mental game beats the physical by a mile9:01 Golf went from #1 to #510:35 Make golf as meaningless as possible10:56 Less pressure at a D2 school11:33 Staying sharp with a newborn13:12 The 17 Golfers cheat sheet13:41 4 rounds in 4 months, then the final group15:07 How he picks what to practice16:11 Where to start with an hour and no plan17:44 The Play Ready Golf app18:19 His 3 checks: grip, ball position, alignment20:12 A $70 indoor winter setup21:44 Getting away from the golf course23:40 What golf can teach his daughter26:00 Why he doesn't set goals27:40 The 2023 U.S. Mid-Am and Stewart Hagestad29:06 Bad prep, best week30:58 The walk off at the 2025 South Carolina Am33:38 Merion with his wife on the bag36:43 The one thing to steal from Sam38:01 It won't be on your tombstone38:22 Where to find Sam

FREE: Secrets of the Mid-Am 👉 https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/secretsofthemidamThe Play Ready Golf App (7 Days Free) 👉 https://onelink.to/93ggkvRoughly 800 former pros apply to regain their amateur status every year, and virtually all are approved. This week at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, 7 of the 8 quarterfinalists were reinstated amateurs, and so are both finalists.Career amateur TJ Shuart, a veteran of 12 USGA championships, joins Isaak to ask whether a reinstated pro is ever really an amateur again. They walk through why the USGA built the Mid-Am in 1981, the news that brought this to a head, and the toughest counterarguments. Then TJ lays out a simple fix: a waiting period based on how long you played as a pro and how high you got.Every player discussed followed the rules as written. This conversation is about the rules.Feedback or a topic idea? [email protected]:00 Preview0:27 The fork in the road: pro or lifelong amateur2:31 Why the USGA built the Mid-Am in 19814:30 TJ Shuart's career as an amateur7:22 The Mid-Am 20 years ago12:09 The numbers: 800 reinstatements a year17:22 How we got here: Knost, the USGA pause, and Sposa28:11 "Those guys stopped playing years ago"34:20 Is a reinstated pro the same player?38:21 The Stewart Hagestad question42:21 Challenge 1: college players43:44 Challenge 2: NIL money46:51 Challenge 3: should pros ever come back?49:19 TJ's fix: a tiered waiting period54:43 The reinstated players, by the numbers1:04:26 What John Peterson said1:11:09 Where the USGA review stands1:16:23 Mid-Am update: 7 of 8 and both finalistsSOURCESUSGA Mid-Am fact sheet: https://filecache.mediaroom.com/mr5mr_usga2/190647/download/2025%20Mid-Am%20Fact%20Sheet.pdfGOLF.com on reinstatement: https://golf.com/instruction/rules/how-pro-golfers-regain-amateur-status/Golf Channel on the USGA pause: https://www.golfchannel.com/ncaa/news/usga-temporarily-pauses-review-of-amateur-status-reinstatement-guidelinesNBC Sports on the 2025 quarterfinals: https://www.nbcsports.com/golf/news/u-s-mid-amateur-quarters-filled-with-reinstated-ams-including-kft-vet-who-just-regained-statusSI, the other side: https://www.si.com/golf/us-mid-amateur-does-not-have-professional-problem

Most golfers work on the wrong thing. They stretch when the problem is fear. They lift when the problem is transfer. They take a lesson when the problem is speed.Mike Carroll trains PGA Tour players through Fit For Golf, and he gave four at-home checks that tell you which one is actually holding you back. Then he laid out the exact 20 minute, three days a week template for a guy with a job, kids, and no gym.FREE: The 15 Minute Test (one page, four checks, your one thing this month)https://playready.golf/20-yardsPlay Ready Golf app, 7 days free. Code PRGPOD saves $20 a year for life.https://playready.golfMike Carroll, Fit For Golfhttps://fitforgolf.blogInstagram and X: @fit_for_golfCHAPTERS0:00 Mobility problem or technique problem? The three swing test2:29 Four ways to find your real limiter3:41 The 2 to 3 year strength rule6:30 Technique vs skill: judge your best shots, not your average7:38 The 15 minute test (free, first link)8:11 The busy golfer: gym time or range time?9:11 The calendar rule: tournament inside 3 months, skip the gym14:07 Structure your year: winter builds capacity, spring transfers it17:00 Strength benchmarks by age: pull up, push ups, jumps, split squats26:34 Training 50,000 golfers from one app27:46 Speed training: where a normal golfer starts31:27 Your range speed vs your course speed32:41 Transfer problem or capacity problem35:22 When overload and underload tools earn their place38:08 Four months out vs four weeks out39:29 When speed stops being the lever44:50 Play Ready Golf app45:41 Isaak had 130 mph in college. It did not help.49:40 The 20 minute template: Mon, Wed, Fri52:20 Why power leaves first and almost nobody trains it57:23 Speed work at the end of practice, not a separate session59:48 Wrap upEvery number in this episode comes from Mike on the recording. Strokes gained references are from Mark Broadie, Every Shot Counts.#golf #golffitness #golfpractice

FREE SIMPLE STAT TRACKER: https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/simplestatstrackerPLAY READY GOLF APPEnter your round, the app does the strokes gained math and tells you what to practice. 7 day free trial. Code PRGPOD for $20 off the year.https://onelink.to/93ggkvFairways hit is the golf stat every app shows you first, and it barely separates a scratch golfer from a 20 handicap. In this episode Isaak and Hayden go through the four golf stats on every scorecard app (fairways hit, greens in regulation, up and down percentage, putts per round), show what each one hides, and swap each one for a number you can track with a pencil that actually predicts your score.WHAT YOU WILL HEARWhy a scratch golfer hits only about 4% more fairways than a 20 handicap (Shot Scope)The stat that actually separates handicaps off the tee: 12% vs 45% of drives in penalty or recovery (Arccos, 2025 driving report)What the rough, trees, and a fairway bunker really cost youBryson at Winged Foot: 23 of 56 fairways and a U.S. Open trophyBroadie's breakdown of where the scoring gap comes from: approach 40%, tee 28%, short game 17%, putting 15%Why greens in regulation cannot tell 6 feet from 60Why up and down percentage grades your chip on your puttHayden's 65 with 35 putts, and why putts per round rewards bad golfThe two putts that separate handicaps: lags from 30 feet and makes inside 8Strokes gained vs simple stats: which one you should keepChapters:0:00 Fairways hit barely separates golfers1:10 Scratch vs 20 handicap: a 13 point stat1:45 The disaster stat: 12% vs 45% of drives3:08 What the rough, trees, and bunkers actually cost4:54 Distance is worth more than accuracy5:23 Stat 1: Tee shots in play6:41 Bryson at Winged Foot: 23 of 56 fairways7:31 Should a 56 year old chase distance?8:41 Where the scoring gap really comes from10:00 Why greens in regulation lies12:50 Hayden's fringe confession15:11 Short game is 17% of the gap16:23 Up and down blends two shots18:43 Stat 3: 11 feet vs 20 feet after a chip19:33 Hayden pushes back on the 17%21:31 Track five rounds and be honest22:21 Why you should not copy how mid ams practice25:57 You cannot know your tendencies without tracking them26:56 The dumbest stat: putts per round27:58 Hayden shot 65 with 35 putts29:49 The two putts that separate handicaps30:53 Strokes gained vs simple stats31:05 Recap: the four simple stats34:55 Bobby Rippey and 1,000 subscribers36:57 Next: the driver episode

Get the free cheat sheet: ⁠https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/secretsofthemidam⁠Want a practice plan built for your game and your schedule? Try Play Ready Golf free for 7 days. Code PRGPOD takes $20 off every year: ⁠⁠https://playready.golf/the-app⁠⁠Follow Austin: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/_alangdale⁠⁠_Austin Langdale's job is deciding which college golfers get equipment deals. He scouts for Srixon/Cleveland Golf, which means he watches perfect golf swings every single week. Most of those players never make it. In this episode he explains what actually separates scorers from range heroes, and how he used it to win the 2026 South Carolina Amateur while playing twice a month with 2 kids and a full time job. 9 years after an MS diagnosis ended his shot at pro golf.You'll learn:Why players with 190 ball speed still shoot 76The tell scouts look for when everyone on the range looks perfectHow to win a state am on 40 minutes of practice a weekWhat to buy with $1,000 and 2 hours a week, and what to skipWhy most golfers carry 14 clubs but only need 8 or 9The 1 club drill that builds feel faster than new gearChapters00:00 A state champion's practice month01:29 Closing out Quixote with the lead03:31 Watching good golf instead of practicing04:28 What a Srixon rep actually does06:29 Who gets signed and who gets passed08:34 What a 15 handicap can steal10:07 The lowest hanging fruit11:28 The 16 Golfers cheat sheet11:55 NIL and the new college golf14:58 Everyone looks the part on the range16:09 Feel is a lost art17:10 The Play Ready Golf app17:58 Beating NeSmith and Champ20:36 The injuries start at Clemson25:02 Turning pro and the MS diagnosis26:49 What MS took and what it gave29:50 What the dream means now31:39 A trophy and a 4 year old33:32 What he wants his boys to learn37:08 2 hours and 1,000 dollars41:17 Merion and the U.S. Amateur45:45 Clemson football check in48:31 The fall schedule50:58 Where to find Austin