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CHAPTERS

00:00 How many of your 14 clubs did you actually hit

01:19 The hybrid Isaak loved and had to take out

02:15 The Arccos study nobody talks about

03:37 This happens at every handicap level

04:04 The 5 most abandoned clubs in golf

05:18 Why the 3 wood is a security blanket

06:30 You carry it so you are not the guy without one

08:18 The free stats guide

09:28 You did not pick 14 clubs, you inherited a slot

10:47 The 1935 US Open and the guy with 32 clubs

12:00 Lawson Little and his 7 wedges

13:03 Why the USGA actually made the rule

14:20 The man who invented 14 said 14 was too many

16:56 Francis Ouimet won a US Open with 7 clubs

17:27 A limit is not a quota

18:20 Your 7 iron has the loft of a 1990s 5 iron

19:21 Isaak on 8 years in club fitting

20:24 The gap wedge exists to patch a hole

20:57 The case for owning more than 14 clubs

22:22 Hayden's qualifier, 14 holes, zero drivers

25:20 Why leaving a gap on purpose works

26:22 Rule 1: every club needs a job you can say out loud

28:01 Rule 2: two clubs cannot share a job

29:30 Rule 3: the receipt rule

30:46 Hybrid versus long iron, the Shot Scope numbers

31:58 Why long irons fail, and it is not your swing

33:05 What being the outlier actually costs you

36:00 Rule 4: replace it, do not just remove it

37:03 Driver versus 3 wood

39:09 Humility with a receipt

39:39 Arguing against our own episode

40:49 The USGA study on what golfers do not know

42:37 Where this data comes from and its limits

42:50 What to take with you

44:59 Hayden on discipline and the Ohio Open

SOURCES NAMED IN THIS EPISODE

Lou Stagner, analysis of the Arccos database, March 2023

Shot Scope, long iron versus hybrid greens in regulation

Arccos, driver versus 3 wood accuracy and distance

USGA TrackMan study, December 2023, 627 recreational golfers

Robert Harris, Sixty Years of Golf, 1953

Rand Jerris, USGA, on the origin of the 14 club rule

World Golf Hall of Fame on Lawson Little

Golf Digest and Ralph Maltby on iron loft changes

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Andrew Chapman shot 90 in the first round of a U.S. Am qualifier and wondered if the USGA would send him a letter. 4 years later he won the Michigan Amateur as the 32 seed, and today he builds custom furniture, raises 2 boys, and still chases USGA qualifiers. We get into the line between supporting a kid and pushing one, the multi-sport locker room at Michigan, the rebuild that started with grip and stance, the wedge ladder that carries his whole bag, AimPoint with a carpenter's level, and what a craftsman knows about the difference between good and right.

Timestamps

0:00 Harder to watch than to compete

2:07 The temptation a champion dad resists

3:27 Family golf: 9 holes, 2 hours, 2 boys

5:33 Quick to the ball, then take your time

6:52 The line between helping and pushing

7:45 Playing golf swing instead of golf

9:43 What his parents got right

11:04 Too serious, and the try less lesson

13:19 The 12-second pre-shot fix

15:17 The golf bug at 13

17:49 Every Michigan player was multi-sport

22:29 Rock bottom: the 2009 qualifier

25:42 The 32 seed run, and where belief comes from

28:50 His practice: the 40 to 110 wedge ladder

30:13 AimPoint with a carpenter's level

32:12 The 9 shots drill

34:18 Good vs. right: lessons from the shop

37:40 Build this first: the beginner slab table

39:19 The 20 foot table at a golf course

40:36 What he wants his boys to take at 18

42:59 The reinstatement debate

47:24 Bring back the 36-hole qualifier

47:47 Staying with Scottie Scheffler at the U.S. Am 4

9:05 Where to find Andrew, and what's next

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Tour pros make about half their putts from 8 feet. From 100 yards in the fairway they hit it inside 3 feet 1 time in 25. The standard you grade your golf against does not exist. Not for you. Not for them.

This week we tear up the fake report card most golfers carry in their heads. Where it came from (the broadcast, the Ben Hogan legend, and your own inflated numbers), what breaking 90 actually looks like for a 15 handicap, what a real 68 and a real 63 look like in strokes gained, and a 4 rule grading system that costs nothing and starts working your next round.

Sources named in this episode: Mark Broadie (Columbia, PGA Tour ShotLink), Shot Scope, Arccos and Lou Stagner, Jon Sherman (Practical Golf), Adam Young, Bob Rotella, and the Ben Hogan story as told by Dan Jenkins.

Chapters

0:00 The number that ends the argument

1:35 Mad about a birdie

3:11 Tour averages, 3 feet to 300 yards

6:52 Tiger missed 4 putts in 4 years

10:01 Where the fake report card came from

11:37 Hogan graded himself on 3 shots

15:51 The 24 yards you don't have

17:57 Your handicap is not your average

18:59 The break 90 data dump

21:35 Playing US Open qualifying with tour pros

28:53 A 68 and a 63 in strokes gained

33:04 Shooting a gajillion and smiling

39:49 The new report card

42:27 Grade putts by the second putt

45:03 Steal Hogan's scorecard

48:39 Ambition vs unrealistic expectations

50:48 Why golfers actually quit

51:20 Hayden is coming to Instagram

57:07 Give the scorecard back

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The Mid-Am Insights PDF. Every lesson from every mid-am we have interviewed, in one download: https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/secretsofthemidam

Support the new home of the Ole Miss Patterson School of Accountancy: https://accountancy.olemiss.edu/new-building/

Brett's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bpatterson03/

Brett Patterson is the 5th ranked mid-am in America. He teaches 300 accounting students at Ole Miss, has 2 girls at home, and touches a club 3 or 4 times a week at best. In college he hit 300 balls a day and got worse. Then he left tournament golf for 5 years, came back, and started winning everything. We get into the 4 weeks off before he opened 7 under, the wedge and putter plan that replaced the bucket, the mental spiral that almost ended his golf, and the piece of advice he says actively hurts amateurs.

Timestamps

0:00 The #5 mid-am barely touches a club

0:53 4 weeks off, then 7 under in round 1

2:18 A Tuesday with 300 students and 2 kids

3:52 College: 300 balls a day, sun up to dark

7:19 Less practice, better golf. The flip.

8:39 5 years away and the 2022 U.S. Amateur

14:22 What he'd tell every college golfer

16:54 His practice now: wedges and lag putts

19:59 An accountant's take on tracking stats

22:35 Bring back Golfstat

26:09 The biggest mistakes amateurs make

28:58 Never the most talented. What separates him.

31:08 What scratch golfers miss about scoring

34:16 Championship golf vs weekend golf

35:42 The advice that actively hurts amateurs

37:05 Pressure putts and choosing confidence

38:36 How to stay sharp after time off

40:43 The reinstatement debate

50:49 What he wants his daughters to know

53:48 A shoutout to the mid-am wives

54:02 Prepping for the U.S. Mid-Am at Sand Valley

56:26 Support the new Ole Miss accountancy building

Want 1 science based practice fix a day for the next 30 days? That is the second link: https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/30hacksin30

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Your short game problem is not your hands. It is the order you pick shots in. In this episode of the Play Ready Golf Podcast (Ep. 31) we use Shot Scope and Arccos data to show why golfers at every handicap level fail from 50 yards, why the flop shot became everyone's default, and the 4 question menu that fixes it without a single lesson.

Timestamps:

0:00 Nobody has hands

1:42 The data: up and down by handicap

2:56 The app in 30 seconds

3:22 The highlight reel raised you

5:57 Extreme sells: the wedge industry

7:00 Jason Day: one motion, many clubs

8:53 Option 1: the putter

10:17 One email a day for 30 days

10:33 Option 2: the low chip

11:11 Option 3: the pitch

12:34 Option 4: the flop

13:40 The cost of ignoring the menu

14:17 Judge every shot by its miss

15:27 What Hayden sees caddying

19:19 Rule 1: can I putt it?

20:18 Rule 2: lowest loft that clears the trouble

21:59 Rule 3: pitch only when something is in the way

22:45 Rule 4: the flop is the fire escape

23:37 The menu in order

25:20 What about bad lies?

26:33 2 honest notes about the data

27:29 The takeaway

Missed the double bogey episode we reference? Watch it here: https://youtu.be/D1ZK1E_06Xs

Data in this episode comes from Shot Scope, Arccos data via Lou Stagner, PGA Tour scrambling stats, and Edoardo Molinari via Golf Digest.

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Follow Scott: https://www.instagram.com/cachill21

Scott Cahill had full status on PGA Tour Latinoamerica. He gave it back, took a full-time job, and barely touched a club for 5 years. Then he fell back in love with the game and won the Arizona Mid-Amateur at Grayhawk, on a course where the field made 1,158 bogeys in 3 days. He did it with a newborn at home and a practice routine he calls a cram session. This episode is the blueprint for playing your best golf with the least time you've ever had.

Timestamps:

0:00 Walking away from the Tour

2:17 The pro golf grind nobody sees

5:37 Five years without touching a club

8:11 When golf stopped feeling like work

11:35 What he'd change about his pro practice

14:02 Golf with a newborn and a full-time job

18:24 Inside his boring practice routine

21:30 The stat that surprised him

25:21 Winning the Arizona Mid-Am at Grayhawk

32:00 The 59 at Tobacco Road

35:55 Signing with the Grass League

38:04 The reinstated pro debate

48:42 What winning actually gets you

51:17 Lessons for his son

Sick of 1 hole wrecking your whole round? Grab the free Disaster Card. It has the 4 rules on the front and a 3 round leak tracker on the back that shows you exactly where your strokes are going: https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/disaster

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Your golf handicap is not decided by your swing. It is decided by 3 or 4 blow-up holes a round. In this episode of the Play Ready Golf Podcast (Ep. 29) we use Shot Scope and Arccos data to prove that double bogeys, not birdies, separate every handicap level. Then we walk through the 5 leaks that cause blow-up holes and the 4 rules that stop them. None of it requires practice time.

Timestamps:0:00 The number that breaks your brain1:14 Hayden's triple at US Am qualifying4:45 The data: doubles by handicap5:58 The free Disaster Card6:18 Why golfers blame the swing10:54 Birdies happen by accident12:30 The 5 leaks behind every blow-up hole13:00 Leak 1: tee shots into trouble14:20 Leak 2: the hero recovery15:43 Leak 3: the short-side miss17:47 Leak 4: the double chip19:01 Leak 5: three-putts21:15 Hayden's worst blow-up holes27:04 The Disaster Card: 4 rules27:59 Rule 1: count your doubles (the Train Game)29:52 Rule 2: the one-job shot30:56 Rule 3: get long putts inside 3 feet32:39 Rule 4: short-sided means middle of the green34:57 Is this just playing scared?37:26 2 honest notes about the data38:14 The takeaway40:15 What to watch next

Data in this episode comes from the Shot Scope Annual Report (74M+ shots), Arccos data via Lou Stagner, Mark Broadie's Every Shot Counts, and Edoardo Molinari via Golf Digest.

Play Ready Golf app: ⁠https://onelink.to/93ggkv⁠

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FIND NATE

Mountain Creative Construction, licensed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Teton Valley, Idaho

Nate on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/ndizzle4shizzle/⁠

Nate Smith made it to pro golf, then walked away at 30 because he did not like who the game was turning him into. He got an MBA, moved to Idaho, built a construction business, and barely touched a club for eight years. Then he came back as an amateur and started winning, beating players half his age who practice every day.

If you love golf but cannot give it your whole life, this one is for you. Nate plays a few weeks a year and still competes at the top of the amateur game. He breaks down how he practices with intent, why not being obsessed with results is his biggest edge, and what he would tell anyone trying to get better with limited time.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Walking away from a Tour card at 30

01:48 What eight years away taught him

04:23 The hardest lesson, he was not always first

05:53 What pulled him back in 2022

07:36 Coming back after eight years off

09:56 Winning right away, and why it did not surprise him

10:41 Competing while running a construction business

13:26 How much you should actually practice

15:04 Practice with intent, hit 20 balls and leave

18:04 Taking your practice to the course

20:12 North and South week, identity over outcome

22:10 Playing at elevation versus sea level

24:36 Grass League and the Hollywood Hitters

28:06 The truth about amateur reinstatement

33:48 What he would tell his 25 year old self

35:14 What is next on his schedule

38:03 Where to find Nate

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59-Minute Practice Plan: ⁠https://onelink.to/59minplan⁠

30-Hacks for Busy Golfers: ⁠https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/30hacksin30⁠

Chapters:

0:00 A $12 bucket vs a $40 round

1:48 Why leaving the range happy is a bad sign

2:59 What practice costs, and what actually lowers scores

4:20 Quality over quantity: making 30 minutes count

5:58 Where the "beat balls" myth came from

8:48 The 1992 study: why your range swing doesn't show up

9:54 Bubba Watson barely touched the range

13:39 Hayden's confession: practicing just to say he did

14:58 How to actually practice: fewer balls, real pressure

20:02 Tournament golf exposes your tendencies

24:45 Why "just hit more balls" fails

27:38 Rule 1: Play more, and play cheaper

29:45 Rule 2: Give the range rules

32:15 Rule 3: Practice on the course for free

34:27 Rule 4: Aim where you leak

35:49 Tendencies vs dispersion

43:32 When the range is actually the right call

46:16 Good intentions vs being intentional

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Broomsedge: https://www.broomsedgegolf.com/

Most golfers think the path to lower scores is more reps. Hit more balls, grind more hours, fix the swing. Cody Sundberg is proof of the opposite. He is a plus 4.5 mid-amateur playing the best golf of his life right now, and he got there by practicing less, not more.

Cody is also the guy who bet on Broomsedge, the brand new South Carolina course that just landed at number 94 on Golfweek's list of the best modern designs in the country. He went from grinding mini tours, to commercial real estate, to writing the first big check for a course that was being shaped by a guy with 82 dollars left in the bank.

In this episode, Isaak and Hayden sit down with Cody to talk about why hitting more balls is quietly making you worse, how progressive overload applies to your golf game, what it actually took to build a nationally ranked course from dirt, and why great golf should not require two planes and a four hour drive.

We cover: Why a plus 4.5 plays his best golf by practicing less The tour pro range habit that changed how Cody practices How progressive overload applies to golf, and why we never apply it Betting on a course being built by a guy with 82 dollars left The welcoming private club idea and sharing great golf with everyone What it really takes to build a nationally ranked course from scratch

Timestamps

0:00 The most mispronounced course in golf

1:09 How a real estate guy from Chicago got involved

2:00 The club supply problem that sparked the idea

3:26 Finding the land with Koprowski and Franz

4:31 Why Cody thought modern courses got too easy

6:14 Borrowing the UK model and letting outsiders play

7:05 Funded by spring, playing it by that October

7:40 Betting on a course built with 82 dollars left

9:02 Why he first wanted Broomsedge to be public

10:01 Learning to run five businesses at once

11:16 Bringing in Mike Keiser Jr. and Baker Thompson

12:29 The professional golf years

14:37 Life on the Hooters tour with future major winners

17:52 What he tells the golfer who wonders how good he could be

20:26 Why tournament golf is a completely different game

21:43 The welcoming private club idea

23:56 The design philosophy behind the course

26:10 Back-to-back par 3s and building on 180 acres

27:25 The postage stamp 11th that almost did not exist

29:48 What the Carolinas Mid-Am taught them

32:33 Why he plays his best golf practicing less

34:15 The tour pro range habit that changed everything

36:41 Why progressive overload applies to golf

38:34 The lessons his dad passed down

40:42 What is next on his calendar

42:51 Where to find Broomsedge