# Staying in the Game

With Ryan about to become a father for the second time, this one is all about how to stay connected to golf when life pulls you off the course. Nik works through his own "unhappy valley" rut, the guys debate what actually makes an amateur "good," and the High-Minded Reads segment breaks down Ben Hogan's Five Lessons before a look ahead at the US Open at Shinnecock Hills.

## Chapters

00:00 Welcome — Father's Day and a baby on the way

01:55 What makes an amateur "good"?

03:35 Playing the right tees and golf vanity

08:31 Playing by the rules honestly

11:22 Ryan's look backFirst gross tournament and Chambers Bay ahead

13:46 The "Unhappy Valley" and how to get through it

20:58 Showing up when motivation dips

23:25 Staying in the game with a newborn

29:13 The Five Pillars when you can't play

34:17 High-Minded Reads: Hogan's Five Lessons

38:34 Why the grip is everything

43:21 Stance, knees, and killing the sway

50:40 US Open at Shinnecock

57:35 Owning your mistakes

1:02:09 Grand Slam storylines

## Key Takeaways

- Morikawa's test for a "good" golfer: putt everything out and never make a double — finishing honestly matters more than the number.

- Play the tees that fit your game; chasing distance and ego (the macho par-3 club flex) just inflates your score.

- Once every several rounds, play it fully by the book — no gimmes, no mulligans — to learn where your game actually is.

- When motivation dips, show up anyway. You can't manufacture the spark from the couch.

- You can keep all Five Pillars alive off the course — putting mat, hip work, reading, mental reset — just leave the equipment pillar alone (new clothes excepted).

- Hogan's Five Lessons: good golf starts with the grip, and a stable lower body (knees in, no sway) kills fat shots.

## Mentioned

Courses: Shinnecock Hills, Chambers Bay, Steele Canyon, Oakmont, Pinehurst No. 2 | People: Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick, Sam Stevens, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Åberg, Keegan Bradley, Ben Hogan, Tim Ferriss | Books: Ben Hogan's Five Lessons, The Greatest Game Ever Played, The 4-Hour Chef | Events: US Open, RGC Classic | Drills: Grip practice (5–10 min/day), putting mat work

No rounds to recap this week, so Ryan and Nik go wide: what it actually takes to shoot 59 on tour, and why a career-low round is almost always followed by a reversion to the mean. Nik delivers a deep dive on how Rolex — a brand whose core function has nothing to do with golf — became the sport's defining sponsor, and the guys finally tackle a long-requested equipment segment on Nik's switch to a mallet putter and how to approach a putter fitting.

Chapters

00:00 Cold Open: The Great Hat Debate

06:45 What It Takes to Shoot 59

15:35 Reversion to the Mean & Expectations

21:13 Why Rolex Owns Golf

29:09 Tiger, Tag Heuer & the Identity Game

31:42 Watches, Function & Motorsport

36:44 The Rolex Clock Tower Mystery

39:15 The Equipment Segment: Nik's New Putter

48:56 How to Buy a Putter the Right Way

57:29 Lessons vs. Equipment

59:28 Listener Feedback & Sign-Off

Key Takeaways

- After a career-low round, expect a reversion to the mean — treat the next round as a blank 18 and care even less than usual about the score.

- There is no "hot hand" in golf; reset mentally hole-to-hole and round-to-round instead of chasing the last great result.

- When buying a putter, get a real fitting — ideally outdoors on real grass — because it tells you whether your problem is the equipment or your form.

- Never trade in your old putter; keep it as a fallback for when a new one stops working.

- For single-digit players chasing small strokes-gained gains, equipment can be the lever; for higher handicaps, a lesson usually does more.

- In putting, speed matters more than line — good pace rescues a two-putt, but a good line with bad pace still three-putts.

Mentioned

Courses: Riviera Country Club, Duke University Golf Club |

Equipment: TaylorMade Spider Tour X (L-neck), Titleist DCI 990 irons, Titleist T100 irons, New Era 59Fifty cap

Watches: Rolex, Omega Speedmaster Professional, Tag Heuer Monaco, Tag Heuer Carrera, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin

People: Si Woo Kim, Brooks Koepka, Scottie Scheffler, Sungjae Im, Justin Thomas, Cam Young, Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Steve McQueen, Mark Broadie

Events: CJ Cup Byron Nelson, 2017 Sony Open, Northern Trust, Travelers Championship

Fitters & Retail: Club Champion, PGA Superstore

Concepts: Strokes Gained, the anti-handicap

The High-Minded Read (feat. Duke + Falls Village)

Ryan plays at Duke, and compares his game to Brooks Koepka's. Nik posts back-to-back 88s at Rustic Canyon by trusting his putter. and we launches a new segment: The Low Point's High-Minded Reads, with Mark Frost's The Greatest Game Ever Played as the first subject.

## Chapters

00:00 Cam Young Appreciation Time

05:44 PGA Championship Sunday and Jordan Spieth's Misses

07:46 Brooks Koepka's Major-Week Putter Swap

09:56 Falls Village: Dry Course, Bad Decisions

16:37 Bogey Is Par: Adjusting Expectations Mid-Round

21:49 Duke from the Blues — Eight Greens, Five Three-Putts

29:41 Wedge vs. Putter, Tiger's Strategic Misses

33:46 Hip PT Pays Off: The Physical Pillar Working

36:19 Nik's Two 88s at Rustic, Driving Up, Triples Down

49:12 Handicap Math and Taking the Pressure Off

53:49 High-Minded Reads: The Greatest Game Ever Played

01:02:48 Niblicks, Mud Balls, and Modernizing Golf's Rules

Key Takeaways

- Body components don't improve on the same timeline. Ryan's hip mobility from PT is up, his lag putting is down from no practice, and both are showing up in the same scorecard. The Five Pillars don't move in lockstep.

- Eliminating triples is the cheapest stroke-saver for a mid-handicap. Two of Nik's three triples at Rustic could have been doubles — convert those and the 88s become 85s.

- Knowing where to miss is harder than knowing where to aim. The Tiger / Sean Foley story: pick the rough that gives you the easiest up-and-down, not a sucker pin on a green you can't hold.

- Handicap math creates breathing room. When your incoming rounds are higher than your outgoing rounds, you get a stretch where the worst your handicap can be is locked in. Use that stretch to play without scoring pressure — it's free practice for high-stakes rounds.

- 1913 golf had no embedded-ball relief, no pitch-mark repair, and Ted Ray won majors carrying 7 clubs. Half the modern rulebook is common sense we eventually figured out.

Mentioned

Courses: Falls Village, Duke University Golf Club, Rustic Canyon, The Country Club (Brookline), Sleepy Hollow | People: Cam Young, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods, Sean Foley, Sahith Theegala, Manny Diaz, Francis Ouimet, Harry Vardon, Ted Ray, Tom McNamara, Eddie Lowery, Mark Frost, Bernard Darwin | Tournaments: PGA Championship, 1913 US Open, Ryder Cup, Masters | Books: The Greatest Game Ever Played, The Match, The Grand Slam (all Mark Frost) | Tech: Arccos | Concepts: lift-clean-and-place, embedded ball rule, ABS (baseball comparison), niblick

Nik's off-season ball-striking work has him driving it farther but still chasing a score — including a round at Hero World Challenge home Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas that felt better than the 93 suggests. Ryan drops to the white tees at Duke and manifests a 79 with a birdie on 18. The episode lands on a single discipline: cap your blowups, commit to the game you've built, and let the score come to you.

00:00 Year of Alchemy Check-In

04:28 Ball Striking and Distance Gains

10:58 Tiger's Albany: A 93 That Felt Better

16:58 Resort Realities and Ernie Els

22:28 Survival Golf at the Ocean Course

30:28 The Quest for Augusta Begins

36:28 Duke Round, Friday Afternoon Crew

40:58 Manifesting the 70s from the Whites

50:28 No Doubles, No Triples

01:00:58 Birdie on 18 for a 79

01:06:28 Commit to Your Game, Stop Tinkering

01:11:28 Masters Picks We'd Like to Forget

• Move down a tee box to ingrain the identity of your next scoring level — your brain doesn't know which tees you played from, only what you shot.
• Cap the blowups before anything else: if you're a 5, no doubles; if you're a 15, no triples. The math of breaking 80 means a single double per round is the ceiling.
• Knowing your miss is its own course-management skill. With cleaner contact, Nik's misses shifted by club — leftward on the short irons, rightward on the long ones — and that only became fixable once he stopped trying to fix it.
• Commit to one swing change or one strategy for months before tinkering. Competing fixes never compound.
• Stop diagnosing every bad shot. The faster path is to accept the miss, manage your dispersion, and play the shot you actually have.

Courses: Albany (Bahamas), Ocean Course at Four Seasons Exumas, Augusta National, Duke University Golf Club, Whistling Straits, PGA National, TPC Harding Park, Bethpage Black, Kiawah Ocean Course, Pinehurst No. 2, Rustic Canyon, Torrey Pines, Grandview (Sun City West) | Designers: Ernie Els | People: Tiger Woods, Jim Carrey | Tournaments: Hero World Challenge, Masters, PGA Championship, Sentry Tournament of Champions | Tech: Arccos

Ryan and Nik debate where bad shots actually come from — Nik's three-bucket framework (mental, setup, positioning) versus Ryan's counter that you should stop diagnosing and start managing your dispersion. Then they close with Masters picks, dark horses, Sunday final-group predictions, and a last-second pick change that gives the episode its title.

00:00 Cold Open and Intro

00:26 Watching vs Playing Golf on Master's Week

04:36 Mats vs. Grass and Nik's Wedge Work

07:37 Shooting 87 Without Being Proud of a Shot

11:59 "Proud of the Shot" as a Practice Metric

14:30 Practicing Under Pressure: The Ten-Shot Game

19:26 Par Threes, Dispersion, and Playing Your Miss

24:26 Respecting Penalty Areas and Why Amateurs Don't

29:16 Three Sources of Bad Shots: Mental, Setup, Positioning

33:26 Nik's Reset at Rustic: Doubling 13-14-15, Recovering on 16-17

41:43 Nik's Full Pre-Shot Routine (Ryan: "That's a Lot")

47:56 Ryan's Counter: Stop Diagnosing, Start Accepting

54:31 Course Management, the Five Pillars, and Taking Bogey

1:00:34 Masters Picks: The Favorites

1:03:26 Dark Horses and the Second-Chapter Guys

1:08:39 Ryan Changes His Pick At the Buzzer

• Bad shots have three sources according to Nik — a bad mental state, a bad setup, or bad positioning off the previous shot. Diagnosing which one is operative helps you fix it.
• Ryan's counter is that you can't eliminate bad shots, so stop trying. Learn your dispersion, learn your miss, and manage your course decisions so the bad ones cost you bogey instead of double.
• Take bogey on a 210-yard par 3. Tour average on par 3s is over par — if the pros can't make par on them, amateurs shouldn't be trying to.
• Aim away from tucked pins next to bunkers. The biggest stroke-losing mistake mid-handicappers make is trying to hit perfect shots at tucked pins instead of aiming at the fat of the green.
• Practice on grass, not mats — especially for wedges. Mats forgive fat contact that real turf won't, and the feel doesn't transfer to the course.
• Strategy is the most overlooked pillar. Most mid-handicap golfers know their swings better than they know how to make decisions on a golf course, and strokes gained data will usually surprise you about where you're actually losing shots.
• Beginning-of-round mental freedom is real. Nik prefers a back-nine start at Rustic Canyon because he plays more freely before scoring pressure kicks in.

Courses: Augusta National, Rustic Canyon, Torrey Pines, Del Mar Driving Range, Pinehurst No. 2 | Tournaments: The Masters, Valero Texas Open, The Players, Genesis Invitational, U.S. Open, Ryder Cup | Players: Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott, Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley, Si Woo Kim, Jason Day, Robert MacIntyre, Akshay Bhatia, Min Woo Lee, Chris Gotterup, Michael Thorbjornsen, Tiger Woods | Concepts: Strokes Gained Approach, dispersion, playing your miss, pre-shot routine, the worm burner, the towel drill | Also referenced: Grant from Good Good, Steph Curry

Kicking Off 2026

Ryan and Nik return for Season 2 with off-season updates, a Five Pillars recap, and their 2026 goals. Ryan's hip rehab breakthrough has him nearly shooting even par after five months off. Nik's chipping transformation and 25-yard driving distance gain have him eyeing single digits.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Five Pillars Recap

07:27 The PEMPS Framework Deep Dive

12:27 What This Podcast Is (and Isn't)

15:25 Nik's Off-Season: Holding Steady at 13.7

18:47 Chipping Breakthroughs and the Towel Drill

23:49 Ryan's Off-Season: Hip Rehab and Coming Back Strong

28:56 The Reset Effect: Playing Great After Time Off

40:09 Nik's 2026 Goals: Commit to a Swing

44:26 Strokes Gained Targets and Wedge Work

48:36 Chipping Setup Revelations

54:08 100 Workouts in 180 Days

56:39 Ryan's 2026 Goals: Body First, White Tees, Push Cart

1:01:04 The Wedge Proximity Metric

1:08:07 Rangefinders and Lightening the Mental Load

1:12:36 Themes: Alchemy and Letting It Come to Me

Key Takeaways

- Time off resets bad habits. Both hosts play their best after breaks — grinding doesn't always equal improving.

- Nik gained 25 yards driving (236→260) from better contact, not speed. Quality of strike matters more than power.

- Setup fixes — open stance, ball position, level shoulders — transformed Nik's chipping more than any swing change.

- Ryan's simple "wedge effectiveness" stat (one shot from under 100 yards to hit the green) beats complex metrics for motivation.

- Playing shorter courses with fewer clubs is underrated practice. Nik's nine-hole rounds with four iron and down built real confidence.

- The Five Pillars don't all need equal attention. Focus on the one or two that move your needle most given your constraints.

Mentioned

Courses: Pinehurst No. 2, Chambers Bay, Erin Hills, Rustic Canyon, Duke University GC, Los Robles Greens

Equipment: TaylorMade Spider X putter, Cleveland wedges People: Chris Derr (Breaking 90), Max Homa, Matt Fitzpatrick

Drills: Towel drill, left-hand low chipping

Books: The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

Events: The Continental at Pinehurst (Sept 2026), Chambers Bay trip (July 4th)

In this episode of The Low Point Podcast, Ryan and Nik reflect on their past golf season, discussing the ups and downs, including personal low points and missed goals.

The hosts share insights on the concept of the 'off season' for golfers, even in locations with milder weather like Southern California and North Carolina. They emphasize the importance of focusing on physical fitness and consistent practice to maintain and improve their game.

Ryan and Nik also set new goals for the off-season, including injury recovery, putting practice, and improving driving consistency.

The episode ends with the hosts discussing broader goals for their podcast and plans for the upcoming year, including a potential trip to Pinehurst and other exciting golf-related events.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The Low Point Podcast

00:22 Discussing the Off Season in Golf

03:14 Balancing Golf with Other Sports and Life

04:08 Recapping Goals for the Past Season

06:23 Reflecting on Personal Golf Goals

06:31 Equipment Changes and Their Impact

11:34 Mental and Physical Challenges in Golf

20:32 Low Points of the Golf Season

29:09 Reflecting on Opposite Years

29:36 Off-Season Goals and Plans

30:47 Workout Focus: Stability and Power

32:18 Virtual vs. In-Person Lessons

33:45 Natural Athletic Motion in Golf

36:49 Addressing Physical Challenges

39:06 Setting Goals for Each Other

51:16 Podcast Goals and Future Plans

"Dream big. You gotta dream big."

In this episode of the Low Point Podcast, Ryan and Nik discuss their recent breakthroughs in golf fitness and strategy, including how they have navigated physical challenges and improved their mental game.

They share insights on strategic course management, particularly focusing on single holes as problems to be solved, and reflect on their experiences at the challenging Saticoy Club.

The conversation also touches on the importance of equipment choices and how they impact performance, as well as future goals in their golfing journeys.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Breakthroughs in Golf

02:53 Physical Fitness and Golf Preparation

06:12 Mental Strategies and Course Management

09:13 Adapting Techniques for Better Performance

12:00 The Role of Equipment in Golf Improvement

15:04 Caddying and Mental Support on the Course

17:56 Breaking Through Plateaus in Golf

20:45 The Importance of Strategy and Course Knowledge

24:06 Final Thoughts on Golf Improvement

33:25 Navigating Course Challenges

37:20 The Saticoy Experience

43:30 Building a Versatile Golf Game

52:34 Equipment Changes and Future Goals

Takeaways

• Breaking through plateaus requires a mix of strategy and mental fortitude.
• Physical fitness directly impacts golf performance and mental clarity.
• Understanding course layout can significantly improve scoring.
• Equipment choices should align with individual playing styles and needs.
• Trial and error is essential in finding effective strategies on the course.
• Mental resets are crucial after challenging holes to maintain focus.
• Golf serves as a litmus test for overall physical health.
• Investing in physical health can enhance golf performance.
• Playing new courses helps develop a versatile golf game.
• The experience of playing a challenging course can reveal areas for improvement.

In this episode of The Low Point Podcast, hosts Ryan and Nik recap their recent golf trip to Wisconsin and check in on their goals.

The boys played three great, but very different golf courses: 2017 Men's US Open host Erin Hills, golf course architecture darling Lawsonia Links, and college golf standout University Ridge, where the Wisconsin Badgers call home.

We also talk about our time in and around Madison, WI and discuss some of our favorite parts of the trip, including the food, the beverages, and the non-golf experiences.

00:00 Introduction

01:21 Personal Golf Goals and Progress

06:09 Trip Overview

08:22 Lawsonia Links: Golf Course Architecture Darling

20:17 Erin Hills: A Championship Experience

34:41 The Caddy Experience

35:29 University Ridge: An Unexpected College Golf Gem

41:34 The Inaugural Continental Results

51:58 Favorite Parts of the Trip Beyond Golf

56:16 Surprises of the Trip

58:29 Looking Ahead: Future Golf Plans

In this episode of The Low Point Podcast, hosts Ryan and Nik recap their Five Pillars of Better Bolf and recap their goals for the year.

They dive into Nik's recent rounds at Rustic Canyon and Torrey Pines South, including their strategies and mental approaches. Ryan reflects on his first round back after a five-month hiatus and his adjustment to North Carolina golf courses.

They explore ways to improve preparation and review of each round, emphasizing the importance of having a game plan, managing expectations, and focusing on mental resilience.

Throughout the conversation, they share insights on course management, practice routines, physical conditioning, and the benefits of journaling specific holes to enhance memory and performance.

00:00 Introduction to The Low Point Podcast

00:44 Recapping Our Golf Goals

01:11 Nik's Handicap Ambitions

03:06 Ryan's Health-Focused Approach

05:21 Balancing Golf with Life

08:42 Nik's Round at Rustic Canyon

12:18 Mental Toughness on the Course

19:42 Ryan's Round at Torrey Pines

28:27 Analyzing Performance and Strategy

32:44 Final Thoughts and Next Steps

33:44 Understanding Anti-Handicap in Golf

34:43 Analyzing Recent Golf Rounds

36:00 First Round of the Year at Duke University Golf Club

37:05 Challenges of Playing After a Hiatus

43:11 Course Knowledge and Strategy

50:43 Physical and Mental Fatigue in Golf

56:49 Improving Golf Techniques and Routines

01:02:45 Upcoming Plans and Final Thoughts