It's the Son of a Butch podcast. I'm your host, Claude Harmon for everyone listening in the United States. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving break. I saw some stuff on social media this week on X Twitter, I just I.

It's the Son of a Butch podcast. I'm your host, Claude Harmon for everyone listening in the United States. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving break. I saw some stuff on social media this week on X Twitter, I just I.

Can't get used to calling it X.

Can't get used to calling it X.

One of the sites I follow Practical Golf John Sherman, who stuff I really really like. He posted some stuff that really really kind of resonated with me about how to play, something that I'm always talking about on the pod. Yes, I mean technique hugely important helps to have better golf swing, but as I keep saying, everybody's trying to make their golf swing better. And I just wanted to kind of go through some of these things because it is a lot of really good information and knowledge that I think can help you, and I wanted to kind of expand on it. So one of the first things, a typical PJ Tour player lands the ball twenty feet from the pin from one hundred to hundred and twenty five yards in the fairway, And I think that's really important to realize because they are so influenced when we watch golf on television, right, I think that is something that you know I've been involved in golf pretty much my entire life. But when I look at the average golfer and I look at the way the average golfer thinks about their own game and plays, I think they're very skewed by television, right. I think they're very skewed by television massively. From a distance standpoint, right, how far you feel like you hit the ball with your clubs? How far you hit a nine iron, how far you hit a seven iron, how far you hit a five iron? And I think it's easy to get caught into that trap because we watch so much golf on television. You've got the you know, the guys in the booth. You know, you've got Jim Manton Trevor and they throw it down to cult nose and they say.

One of the sites I follow Practical Golf John Sherman, who stuff I really really like. He posted some stuff that really really kind of resonated with me about how to play, something that I'm always talking about on the pod. Yes, I mean technique hugely important helps to have better golf swing, but as I keep saying, everybody's trying to make their golf swing better. And I just wanted to kind of go through some of these things because it is a lot of really good information and knowledge that I think can help you, and I wanted to kind of expand on it. So one of the first things, a typical PJ Tour player lands the ball twenty feet from the pin from one hundred to hundred and twenty five yards in the fairway, And I think that's really important to realize because they are so influenced when we watch golf on television, right, I think that is something that you know I've been involved in golf pretty much my entire life. But when I look at the average golfer and I look at the way the average golfer thinks about their own game and plays, I think they're very skewed by television, right. I think they're very skewed by television massively. From a distance standpoint, right, how far you feel like you hit the ball with your clubs? How far you hit a nine iron, how far you hit a seven iron, how far you hit a five iron? And I think it's easy to get caught into that trap because we watch so much golf on television. You've got the you know, the guys in the booth. You know, you've got Jim Manton Trevor and they throw it down to cult nose and they say.

Cult, what's he got?

Cult, what's he got?

And you know, he's got one hundred and seventy five yards and he's going to hit this club. You hear that enough times, right, and you hear that over and over and over again, because a lot of the distances on the PGA Tour iron wise, are the same. Yeah, there are some longer hitters and some guys that can really really vomit. But I think once you get to the Elite Tour level. Distance wise, there are a lot of players that you're going to be watching on television that hit a seven iron the same disc, that's a hit a five iron the same distance, right, And I think you hear these numbers, they are arbitrary numbers for your game because they're somebody else. It's Roy McElroy, you know from that distance. It's not us, right, it's not us mere mortals. And then you have this thing that I think one of the great things about tech, and one of the great things about the data age that we're in is now we can kind of look at data and quantify, you know, what is a good shot and what is a bad shot. And I think most golfers are very skewed in what they think a good shot is. So if the best players in the world in the men's game are averaging twenty feet from inside of one hundred to one hundred and twenty five yards, I do think it it can somewhat change what you think is a good shot. So if the best players in the world from one hundred yards to one hundred and twenty five are averages around twenty feet, if you are a higher handicapped player hit the green. Hitting the green is a good shot. Right from one hundred yards it is a good shot. Let yourself off the hook. Don't beat yourself up if you're one hundred yards out. If you're one hundred and twenty five yards out and you hit it to forty feet, maybe given your skill set, maybe given what you can and can't do, and maybe the control that you have over your golf swing and control that you have over your golf ball, maybe from those distances one hundred to one twenty five, just basically hitting the target, hitting the green, having the ball finished anywhere on that green, maybe that's a good shot for you, and maybe it's a good shot for a lot of golfers as well. So I think golfers in general, and I think the higher the handicap, the harder on themselves they are, right, The higher the handicap, the higher the expectation, the greater the expectation, and I think there are times where if you're more realistic about your skill set, more realistic about what you can and can't do, it's going to make the playing of the game easier because I just don't think you're gonna put so much pressure on yourself if you're struggling to break one hundred for the first time, if you're struggling to break ninety for the first time, if you're struggling to break eighty for the first time. Hitting greens anywhere on the greens is a good shot. Giving yourself a chance to putt for a birdie, giving yourself a chance to put for a birdie anywhere on the green.

And you know, he's got one hundred and seventy five yards and he's going to hit this club. You hear that enough times, right, and you hear that over and over and over again, because a lot of the distances on the PGA Tour iron wise, are the same. Yeah, there are some longer hitters and some guys that can really really vomit. But I think once you get to the Elite Tour level. Distance wise, there are a lot of players that you're going to be watching on television that hit a seven iron the same disc, that's a hit a five iron the same distance, right, And I think you hear these numbers, they are arbitrary numbers for your game because they're somebody else. It's Roy McElroy, you know from that distance. It's not us, right, it's not us mere mortals. And then you have this thing that I think one of the great things about tech, and one of the great things about the data age that we're in is now we can kind of look at data and quantify, you know, what is a good shot and what is a bad shot. And I think most golfers are very skewed in what they think a good shot is. So if the best players in the world in the men's game are averaging twenty feet from inside of one hundred to one hundred and twenty five yards, I do think it it can somewhat change what you think is a good shot. So if the best players in the world from one hundred yards to one hundred and twenty five are averages around twenty feet, if you are a higher handicapped player hit the green. Hitting the green is a good shot. Right from one hundred yards it is a good shot. Let yourself off the hook. Don't beat yourself up if you're one hundred yards out. If you're one hundred and twenty five yards out and you hit it to forty feet, maybe given your skill set, maybe given what you can and can't do, and maybe the control that you have over your golf swing and control that you have over your golf ball, maybe from those distances one hundred to one twenty five, just basically hitting the target, hitting the green, having the ball finished anywhere on that green, maybe that's a good shot for you, and maybe it's a good shot for a lot of golfers as well. So I think golfers in general, and I think the higher the handicap, the harder on themselves they are, right, The higher the handicap, the higher the expectation, the greater the expectation, and I think there are times where if you're more realistic about your skill set, more realistic about what you can and can't do, it's going to make the playing of the game easier because I just don't think you're gonna put so much pressure on yourself if you're struggling to break one hundred for the first time, if you're struggling to break ninety for the first time, if you're struggling to break eighty for the first time. Hitting greens anywhere on the greens is a good shot. Giving yourself a chance to putt for a birdie, giving yourself a chance to put for a birdie anywhere on the green.

Is a good shot.

Is a good shot.

Given how difficult hitting greens is, even from the middle of the fairway right dead flat lie no end one hundred and twenty five yards out, the amount of players that consistently hit the green from that distance is much smaller than you think. The amount of players that not g it close. And we hear that all the time. Player you know, he's got one hundred yards in his hands, one hundred and ten yards in his hands, hits it's about ten feet. What did the announcers say, Eh, he's not gonna be happy with that. Yeah, he's probably not. But the statistics and the data show you that that's a pretty good shot and is a really good shot four or the best players in the world, So lowering your expectations, but also on the golf course. Managing your expectations right. You don't have to hit it to ten feet to improve your handicap. You don't have to hit it to five feet to break one hundreds for the first time. What you need to do is hit more greens right, hit more greens anywhere on the green. That is a win. So when you're standing in the fairway, if you can get the golf ball anywhere on the green as a massive, massive win. And then another stat that I saw, tour players average bogie eighty percent of the time from a recovery situation, most likely in the trees. They're out of position, they make bogie. They average bogie eighty percent.

Given how difficult hitting greens is, even from the middle of the fairway right dead flat lie no end one hundred and twenty five yards out, the amount of players that consistently hit the green from that distance is much smaller than you think. The amount of players that not g it close. And we hear that all the time. Player you know, he's got one hundred yards in his hands, one hundred and ten yards in his hands, hits it's about ten feet. What did the announcers say, Eh, he's not gonna be happy with that. Yeah, he's probably not. But the statistics and the data show you that that's a pretty good shot and is a really good shot four or the best players in the world, So lowering your expectations, but also on the golf course. Managing your expectations right. You don't have to hit it to ten feet to improve your handicap. You don't have to hit it to five feet to break one hundreds for the first time. What you need to do is hit more greens right, hit more greens anywhere on the green. That is a win. So when you're standing in the fairway, if you can get the golf ball anywhere on the green as a massive, massive win. And then another stat that I saw, tour players average bogie eighty percent of the time from a recovery situation, most likely in the trees. They're out of position, they make bogie. They average bogie eighty percent.

Of the time.

Of the time.

Something I talk about on the pod all the time. One of the ways that you are going to lower your handicap is to make more bogies and eliminate the big numbers. So if eighty percent of tour players are averaging bogie from the trees, that means that they're probably playing way more conservative than you are. They're probably way less risk averse. Like most average golfers that are just trying to break one hundred ninety eighty, they're so hyper hyper aggressive when they get out of trouble or when they get into trouble, so as a result, they don't get out of trouble, and they compound a situation that maybe didn't need to just go so horribly wrong.

Something I talk about on the pod all the time. One of the ways that you are going to lower your handicap is to make more bogies and eliminate the big numbers. So if eighty percent of tour players are averaging bogie from the trees, that means that they're probably playing way more conservative than you are. They're probably way less risk averse. Like most average golfers that are just trying to break one hundred ninety eighty, they're so hyper hyper aggressive when they get out of trouble or when they get into trouble, so as a result, they don't get out of trouble, and they compound a situation that maybe didn't need to just go so horribly wrong.

Right, So.

Right, So.

I say this on the pod all the time. I will keep saying this on the pod all the time. Get out of trouble in one shot, right, Just find a way to get out of trouble in one shot so that your next shot can be a risk somewhat free shot from the fairway from somewhat of a flatish lie.

I say this on the pod all the time. I will keep saying this on the pod all the time. Get out of trouble in one shot, right, Just find a way to get out of trouble in one shot so that your next shot can be a risk somewhat free shot from the fairway from somewhat of a flatish lie.

But it's not going to be.

But it's not going to be.

So you're trying to hit a recovery shot and you try and hit the hero shot, you don't pull it off. Now you have to hit what another recovery shot, right, And if you didn't make a good decision on the first one, you're probably not going to make a good decision on And I laughed because I was teaching. I teach a kid really good junior legit chance to play Division one college golf finish top ten in the state championship this year as a sophomore, I think it was a freshman last year, finished third, right, but he made two double bogies in the high school state championships individual two doubles and finished I think top ten, like seventh or eighth.

So you're trying to hit a recovery shot and you try and hit the hero shot, you don't pull it off. Now you have to hit what another recovery shot, right, And if you didn't make a good decision on the first one, you're probably not going to make a good decision on And I laughed because I was teaching. I teach a kid really good junior legit chance to play Division one college golf finish top ten in the state championship this year as a sophomore, I think it was a freshman last year, finished third, right, but he made two double bogies in the high school state championships individual two doubles and finished I think top ten, like seventh or eighth.

Right, the two doubles, turn those into bogies.

Right, the two doubles, turn those into bogies.

That's two shots better. Turned the two doubles into just pars. I mean, he probably would have finished second or third. And when I talked to him over text about it, I was looking at a scorecard. We were going back and forth after the first and for the two double bogies that he made, he said to me, it was the wrong decision. I made the wrong decision. It wasn't talent, It wasn't hours spent on the range, it wasn't technique, wasn't laying the shaft down, it wasn't shallowing it out.

That's two shots better. Turned the two doubles into just pars. I mean, he probably would have finished second or third. And when I talked to him over text about it, I was looking at a scorecard. We were going back and forth after the first and for the two double bogies that he made, he said to me, it was the wrong decision. I made the wrong decision. It wasn't talent, It wasn't hours spent on the range, it wasn't technique, wasn't laying the shaft down, it wasn't shallowing it out.

It wasn't getting to.

It wasn't getting to.

Handle more forward and impact, all of the technical stuff that everybody's trying to work on in their golf swings. Here's a kid that's you know, he's a scratch golfer, right, it's probably a plus handicap.

Handle more forward and impact, all of the technical stuff that everybody's trying to work on in their golf swings. Here's a kid that's you know, he's a scratch golfer, right, it's probably a plus handicap.

The kid's legit player.

The kid's legit player.

He's telling me, the two double bogies I made are from bad decisions. Yeah, you hit a bad shot to get himself into that position, right, But then what happened was twice. He compounded that situation and made it even worse. He didn't take the easy way out, he didn't hit it in the trees and say, Okay, eighty percent of tour players average bogies when they get into trouble. Right, he just said, I'm all in. I'm gonna try and be super aggressive, try and be a hero, try and do something crazy. And for two holes it didn't work, and he made two double bogies, and it hurt him. It cost him an opportunity to win a state championship. He's good enough to win one, finished top five last year, and he's only gotten better this year. But decision making on the golf course is hugely, hugely, hugely important. And I just think, if if we can all when we get into trouble, realize that the best players in the world eighty percent of the time make bogie, not par by the way bogie. So get into trouble, off the tee, get out of position wherever the mindset has to go. Okay, the worst I make here is bogie. Right, the worst I make here is bogie. And where is the easiest way for.

He's telling me, the two double bogies I made are from bad decisions. Yeah, you hit a bad shot to get himself into that position, right, But then what happened was twice. He compounded that situation and made it even worse. He didn't take the easy way out, he didn't hit it in the trees and say, Okay, eighty percent of tour players average bogies when they get into trouble. Right, he just said, I'm all in. I'm gonna try and be super aggressive, try and be a hero, try and do something crazy. And for two holes it didn't work, and he made two double bogies, and it hurt him. It cost him an opportunity to win a state championship. He's good enough to win one, finished top five last year, and he's only gotten better this year. But decision making on the golf course is hugely, hugely, hugely important. And I just think, if if we can all when we get into trouble, realize that the best players in the world eighty percent of the time make bogie, not par by the way bogie. So get into trouble, off the tee, get out of position wherever the mindset has to go. Okay, the worst I make here is bogie. Right, the worst I make here is bogie. And where is the easiest way for.

Me to get out of jail? Here?

Me to get out of jail? Here?

Where's the path of least resistance? Where can I hit a shot to where my next one I'm gonna have a clear, unobstructed view of the green from somewhat of a flatish fairway, lie and take my medicine. I made a bad swing, I got myself into the position, but what I'm not going to do is compound it and make it worse. So really really like that, That really really reson with me. Another slide that John put up that I really really liked. Typical tour player averages three point five birdies per round, and most of them are on the par fives, right, so scoring averages on tour par three's average round three just a little over par. Same with the par four scorings over par, and par five scoring is under par. So and these are just some basic numbers, but a kind of one to five handicap range is kind of going to be right around that one and a half birdie's per round. And then as the handicaps get higher, the amount of birdies per round you're going to make becomes almost non existent. So if handicap golfers that are kind of low single digits, they're not even averaging two birdies per round. So if you're trying to break one hundred for the first time, if you're trying to break ninety or eighty for the first time, if you're trying to break seventy for the first time, a realistic understanding as to how many birdies per round you're going to make. And I've said this before, I'll keep saying this, Make more pars and bogies, make more pars, make more bogies, not birdies, but also not doubles and triples. So not making eagles, not making birdies, not making doubles, not making triples. So what does that leave. That leaves pars and bogies. And I think if the focus can be on let me just throw a bunch of pars at them today, right, let me just try and make a bunch of pars. And I've talked about this before. If you're a higher handicapped golfer, try and bogie every hole, just trying bogie.

Where's the path of least resistance? Where can I hit a shot to where my next one I'm gonna have a clear, unobstructed view of the green from somewhat of a flatish fairway, lie and take my medicine. I made a bad swing, I got myself into the position, but what I'm not going to do is compound it and make it worse. So really really like that, That really really reson with me. Another slide that John put up that I really really liked. Typical tour player averages three point five birdies per round, and most of them are on the par fives, right, so scoring averages on tour par three's average round three just a little over par. Same with the par four scorings over par, and par five scoring is under par. So and these are just some basic numbers, but a kind of one to five handicap range is kind of going to be right around that one and a half birdie's per round. And then as the handicaps get higher, the amount of birdies per round you're going to make becomes almost non existent. So if handicap golfers that are kind of low single digits, they're not even averaging two birdies per round. So if you're trying to break one hundred for the first time, if you're trying to break ninety or eighty for the first time, if you're trying to break seventy for the first time, a realistic understanding as to how many birdies per round you're going to make. And I've said this before, I'll keep saying this, Make more pars and bogies, make more pars, make more bogies, not birdies, but also not doubles and triples. So not making eagles, not making birdies, not making doubles, not making triples. So what does that leave. That leaves pars and bogies. And I think if the focus can be on let me just throw a bunch of pars at them today, right, let me just try and make a bunch of pars. And I've talked about this before. If you're a higher handicapped golfer, try and bogie every hole, just trying bogie.

Every single hole.

Every single hole.

If you're trying to break one hundred for the first time, play bogie golf.

If you're trying to break one hundred for the first time, play bogie golf.

Try and bogue every hole.

Try and bogue every hole.

So the part three is you're trying to make fours par fourst you're trying to make fives and the par fives you're trying to make six.

So the part three is you're trying to make fours par fourst you're trying to make fives and the par fives you're trying to make six.

So if the par five's the goal is.

So if the par five's the goal is.

To make a six, you need to hit driver off the tee, maybe hit a hybrid, maybe hit hybrid again, and then maybe you hit a nine iron a seven iron, and you've got a putt legit putt for birdie. Right, So having a realistic understanding as to what your capabilities are.

To make a six, you need to hit driver off the tee, maybe hit a hybrid, maybe hit hybrid again, and then maybe you hit a nine iron a seven iron, and you've got a putt legit putt for birdie. Right, So having a realistic understanding as to what your capabilities are.

But also I think given.

But also I think given.

Handicap ranges and given the fact that the best players in the world are making less than four birdies around and most of them are on the par five, So the par fives are the legit scoring chances.

Handicap ranges and given the fact that the best players in the world are making less than four birdies around and most of them are on the par five, So the par fives are the legit scoring chances.

Right.

Right.

It's hard to make berdies on par threes. Why well, you would think it would be easy because those are the shortest holes, But that's where they're going to tuck the pins, and that's where the majority of golfers are just going to become hyper hyper hyper aggressive. So birdie averages on tour, everybody's BERTI in the par five. You've got three four In majors, sometimes you have two of those, but those are the legit chances. So when you're looking at your scorecards, I'll keep saying this. If you're tired of me saying this. If you think it's repetitive, good, it's my podcast. I'll keep saying it. Look at your par three scoring, look at your par five scoring. Don't be given tons of shots away on par fives, right, those are the legit chances you've got. I really liked when I saw this post from Practical Golf on X I just was like, Yeah, this is kind of the world that I'm trying to live in with my players.

It's hard to make berdies on par threes. Why well, you would think it would be easy because those are the shortest holes, But that's where they're going to tuck the pins, and that's where the majority of golfers are just going to become hyper hyper hyper aggressive. So birdie averages on tour, everybody's BERTI in the par five. You've got three four In majors, sometimes you have two of those, but those are the legit chances. So when you're looking at your scorecards, I'll keep saying this. If you're tired of me saying this. If you think it's repetitive, good, it's my podcast. I'll keep saying it. Look at your par three scoring, look at your par five scoring. Don't be given tons of shots away on par fives, right, those are the legit chances you've got. I really liked when I saw this post from Practical Golf on X I just was like, Yeah, this is kind of the world that I'm trying to live in with my players.

To get them.

To get them.

I immediately screenshoted these sports slides and sent it to the kid that double buggy two holes at the state championship. I was like, do you see now, do you understand how important it is to play the game. So scratch golfers, single digit handicapped golfers don't make a ton of birdies. They just don't. Birdies are hard to make. So again, going back to the first thing we talked about, realistic expectations. Okay, yeah, if you Berty won of the par fives, that's bonus. But bertie one of the par fives and play the other three in bogie, And I'm telling you add it all up. Do that for a year, do that for a summer, Do that for a period of time. But just say, listen, I'm trying to break a hundred for the first time. Try to make a bogie every hole. I promise you it's gonna work. It's going to help you get better. And then obviously I've talked about this before, but I think this is really really powerful as well. Eight feet on the PGA Tour is where the make rate goes fifty to fifty eight feet. So if you're not a PGA Tour player, you don't play on DP World, if you don't play on Live, you don't play in Asia, you don't play on the LPGA, you don't play on the Champs. If you're not on one of those tours. Eight feet is where it's fifty to fifty. These are stats from Mark Brody. Three feet tour players ninety six percent scratch golfers, ninety three percent ninety shooter eighty four percent five feet for tour players seventy seven percent scratch golfers sixty six percent five feet according to the data for I would say for the average, I'm gonna go maybe fifteen in higher. I think five feet you're probably at fifty to fifty from a make standpoint. Based off of data, so if you miss one, don't beat yourself up. By the time we get to the PGA Tour fifty to fifty, which is eight feet, the average ninety shooter is at twenty seven percent. Ten feet PGA Tour players are at forty percent. If you're shooting in the nineties, you're at ten feet, you're at around twenty percent. And so twenty feet on the PGA Tour make percentage just fifteen percent. And I just see so many regular recreational handicapped golfers. They're just too hard on themselves, and they don't expect what the data says their game should produce. Right, they think they're going to make every ten footter they look at. They expect to make it from twenty feet.

I immediately screenshoted these sports slides and sent it to the kid that double buggy two holes at the state championship. I was like, do you see now, do you understand how important it is to play the game. So scratch golfers, single digit handicapped golfers don't make a ton of birdies. They just don't. Birdies are hard to make. So again, going back to the first thing we talked about, realistic expectations. Okay, yeah, if you Berty won of the par fives, that's bonus. But bertie one of the par fives and play the other three in bogie, And I'm telling you add it all up. Do that for a year, do that for a summer, Do that for a period of time. But just say, listen, I'm trying to break a hundred for the first time. Try to make a bogie every hole. I promise you it's gonna work. It's going to help you get better. And then obviously I've talked about this before, but I think this is really really powerful as well. Eight feet on the PGA Tour is where the make rate goes fifty to fifty eight feet. So if you're not a PGA Tour player, you don't play on DP World, if you don't play on Live, you don't play in Asia, you don't play on the LPGA, you don't play on the Champs. If you're not on one of those tours. Eight feet is where it's fifty to fifty. These are stats from Mark Brody. Three feet tour players ninety six percent scratch golfers, ninety three percent ninety shooter eighty four percent five feet for tour players seventy seven percent scratch golfers sixty six percent five feet according to the data for I would say for the average, I'm gonna go maybe fifteen in higher. I think five feet you're probably at fifty to fifty from a make standpoint. Based off of data, so if you miss one, don't beat yourself up. By the time we get to the PGA Tour fifty to fifty, which is eight feet, the average ninety shooter is at twenty seven percent. Ten feet PGA Tour players are at forty percent. If you're shooting in the nineties, you're at ten feet, you're at around twenty percent. And so twenty feet on the PGA Tour make percentage just fifteen percent. And I just see so many regular recreational handicapped golfers. They're just too hard on themselves, and they don't expect what the data says their game should produce. Right, they think they're going to make every ten footter they look at. They expect to make it from twenty feet.

Right.

Right.

The numbers just plummet the further you get away from the hole. So realistic expectations. How do you get real life stick expectations of your game? And I think that takes some honesty. I think it takes putting a little bit of your ego on the shelf. But the data is all out there, right, I mean, if you want to search these stats, these numbers, all this information, you find it on the internet, right, you can search it, and I think knowledge is power, right. But some of the just basic things that we touched on today are legit, legit ways that you can lower your scores, that your handicaps can get lower, that you can hit more fairways, hit more greens. I mean, one of the easiest ways to hit more fairways is if you struggle to hit fairways with your driver, maybe choose a different club. Right, the game of golf, there isn't other than the rules of golf governing scoring. You know, penalties and the rules of the game. The way you can play the game is infinite, right. There are a million different variations on how you can play a Part three. You can do what tour players do. Hit it to twenty feet, make the putt right, hit it to twenty feet, miss the putt, two putt, and get out with par Do that on a par four, You do that on par five. But how you go about doing that, what clubs you're hitting, what strategy you're using, and how you're employing that strategy based off of your skill set, your handicap, what you are good at, what you are not good at, what you're comfortable with, what you're not comfortable with, and I just don't see a lot of players going to the golf course and kind of trying to ride the things that they're comfortable with and they're good at.

The numbers just plummet the further you get away from the hole. So realistic expectations. How do you get real life stick expectations of your game? And I think that takes some honesty. I think it takes putting a little bit of your ego on the shelf. But the data is all out there, right, I mean, if you want to search these stats, these numbers, all this information, you find it on the internet, right, you can search it, and I think knowledge is power, right. But some of the just basic things that we touched on today are legit, legit ways that you can lower your scores, that your handicaps can get lower, that you can hit more fairways, hit more greens. I mean, one of the easiest ways to hit more fairways is if you struggle to hit fairways with your driver, maybe choose a different club. Right, the game of golf, there isn't other than the rules of golf governing scoring. You know, penalties and the rules of the game. The way you can play the game is infinite, right. There are a million different variations on how you can play a Part three. You can do what tour players do. Hit it to twenty feet, make the putt right, hit it to twenty feet, miss the putt, two putt, and get out with par Do that on a par four, You do that on par five. But how you go about doing that, what clubs you're hitting, what strategy you're using, and how you're employing that strategy based off of your skill set, your handicap, what you are good at, what you are not good at, what you're comfortable with, what you're not comfortable with, and I just don't see a lot of players going to the golf course and kind of trying to ride the things that they're comfortable with and they're good at.

Right.

Right.

We practice golf on the driving range, right, We do not practice golf on the golf course. When we're on the golf course, we are playing golf. We are playing the game of golf. The game of golf is one of the great things that everybody loves about golf. One of the things that is nostalgic about golf. One of the things that is iconic about golf is that it has rules, right, and you call penalties on yourself, and if you hit one out of bounds, you've got to go back to the tee. Right, All of the rules that govern penalty shots, all the rules about where you have to play from the tee markers. I mean, if you're three inches a foot in front of the tea markers, someone in your group is going to tell your tea and off in front of the tea markers. Right, So everybody knows what the rules are. But there is an infinite amount of ways to play each hole that you play. Right, first hole, you could top a driver have to bust a three wood and then with an iron.

We practice golf on the driving range, right, We do not practice golf on the golf course. When we're on the golf course, we are playing golf. We are playing the game of golf. The game of golf is one of the great things that everybody loves about golf. One of the things that is nostalgic about golf. One of the things that is iconic about golf is that it has rules, right, and you call penalties on yourself, and if you hit one out of bounds, you've got to go back to the tee. Right, All of the rules that govern penalty shots, all the rules about where you have to play from the tee markers. I mean, if you're three inches a foot in front of the tea markers, someone in your group is going to tell your tea and off in front of the tea markers. Right, So everybody knows what the rules are. But there is an infinite amount of ways to play each hole that you play. Right, first hole, you could top a driver have to bust a three wood and then with an iron.

Hol it out.

Hol it out.

That is the same score. So you could top a driver or three wood, then have to hit another shot to get somewhere close and then chip in that three looks the exact same as if Rory McElroy hammers a drive down there three sixty, hits a wedge to two feet and taps it in right. It is the same thing. It is the same score. Now how you got to that score is very different. But that is a conversation for after you're done playing golf, right, not while you're playing golf right. You do that afterwards. You evaluate. You look at your practice, You look at the things that you're good at, look at the things you're not good at. If you're not a good driver of the golf ball, work on hitting hybrids off tees, and then say, listen, I don't drive it that great, so I'm just going to get the ball in play with my three wood. Maybe get a driving iron. So let's say you hit your seven iron one hundred and fifty yards right, and you could tee off with that. So if you hit it twice off the tee and then again and you hit it your distance right, let's just some round numbers. That's three hundred yards as opposed to trying to hit a three hundred yard drive. So whatever distance. Let's say you hit your seven iron one hundred and thirty five yards, you hit two of those right, hit one off the te, get it and play, then hit another one, so that would equal up to around two hundred and seventy yards. So you got a four hundred yard Part four, you get hit seven iron off the te, seven iron again, and if you hit it, whatever.

That is the same score. So you could top a driver or three wood, then have to hit another shot to get somewhere close and then chip in that three looks the exact same as if Rory McElroy hammers a drive down there three sixty, hits a wedge to two feet and taps it in right. It is the same thing. It is the same score. Now how you got to that score is very different. But that is a conversation for after you're done playing golf, right, not while you're playing golf right. You do that afterwards. You evaluate. You look at your practice, You look at the things that you're good at, look at the things you're not good at. If you're not a good driver of the golf ball, work on hitting hybrids off tees, and then say, listen, I don't drive it that great, so I'm just going to get the ball in play with my three wood. Maybe get a driving iron. So let's say you hit your seven iron one hundred and fifty yards right, and you could tee off with that. So if you hit it twice off the tee and then again and you hit it your distance right, let's just some round numbers. That's three hundred yards as opposed to trying to hit a three hundred yard drive. So whatever distance. Let's say you hit your seven iron one hundred and thirty five yards, you hit two of those right, hit one off the te, get it and play, then hit another one, so that would equal up to around two hundred and seventy yards. So you got a four hundred yard Part four, you get hit seven iron off the te, seven iron again, and if you hit it, whatever.

That distance is, think about that.

That distance is, think about that.

Think about how far you hit your five iron, Think about how far you hit your six iron. Think about how far you hit all of kind of five iron down right, and then look at the course that you're going to play, Look at the par fours that you're going to play, Look at the par five's that you're going to play. Right, So you have a five hundred yard par five and you hit a seven iron off the te one hundred and fifty yards, you got three hundred and fifty yards left. Then you hit another seven iron. The math starts to add up to where you're getting closer to the hole, but you're hitting golf clubs that you can control. And I think each and every one of you listening has your own game, right, has your own skill set, your own toolbox, your own physical abilities, your own years playing golf, your own natural talent, your own athletic ability, all of those things, right, But maybe think about playing golf more logically, and you go out and play nine holes and take your driver and your three wood, take all of your woods out of the bag, and then you'd have hybrid's left and you'd have irons left, and say, all right, look at the last time you played nine holes, look at what your last score was. And then go play with no driver, no three wood, no five wood, no four ward, just irons, some hybrids, wedges, and look at what you shoot, look at what you score, and I think you will be surprised at you'll definitely probably get the ball and play more often. So whatever your favorite club is to practice with, right, I think most people that's kind of in that eight seven Maybe it'd a push six iron, but I think everybody's kind of in that eight to seven range. Maybe some higher handicap golfers it's a nine iron, but I think a lot of people feel pretty comfortable playing with seven iron. Well, how about just played all the poor fours, t off with the seven iron, and then hit another seven iron, and then see where that leaves you and see if you can then say, all right, let me hit this on the green and give myself a chance to putt for part.

Think about how far you hit your five iron, Think about how far you hit your six iron. Think about how far you hit all of kind of five iron down right, and then look at the course that you're going to play, Look at the par fours that you're going to play, Look at the par five's that you're going to play. Right, So you have a five hundred yard par five and you hit a seven iron off the te one hundred and fifty yards, you got three hundred and fifty yards left. Then you hit another seven iron. The math starts to add up to where you're getting closer to the hole, but you're hitting golf clubs that you can control. And I think each and every one of you listening has your own game, right, has your own skill set, your own toolbox, your own physical abilities, your own years playing golf, your own natural talent, your own athletic ability, all of those things, right, But maybe think about playing golf more logically, and you go out and play nine holes and take your driver and your three wood, take all of your woods out of the bag, and then you'd have hybrid's left and you'd have irons left, and say, all right, look at the last time you played nine holes, look at what your last score was. And then go play with no driver, no three wood, no five wood, no four ward, just irons, some hybrids, wedges, and look at what you shoot, look at what you score, and I think you will be surprised at you'll definitely probably get the ball and play more often. So whatever your favorite club is to practice with, right, I think most people that's kind of in that eight seven Maybe it'd a push six iron, but I think everybody's kind of in that eight to seven range. Maybe some higher handicap golfers it's a nine iron, but I think a lot of people feel pretty comfortable playing with seven iron. Well, how about just played all the poor fours, t off with the seven iron, and then hit another seven iron, and then see where that leaves you and see if you can then say, all right, let me hit this on the green and give myself a chance to putt for part.

I miss it.

I miss it.

I get out of here with bogie. But there is no right way to play golf. There is no right way to play golf, And to be honest with you, there's not really a right way to swing the golf club, because if there was, everybody would swing the golf club the same way. So I really liked what I saw. You know, this this tweet from Practical Golf. It's a good follow a lot of good information, but I just wanted to expand on it because as soon as I saw it, I'm like, yeah, that's exactly great information that regular recreation golfers need to hear. But if they actually really look at it and understand it, they can maybe change the way that they play golf. And if they change the way they play the game of golf, maybe that will help reduce scores, lower your handicap. Maybe there is more to it than just pounding golf balls on the driving range. Massively important. You need to have a decent golf swing. Gave a lesson this morning to a player, higher handicap player who was just really really struggling. I mean just legs were moving around all over the place. Feet were moving around all over the place. As a result of the legs moving around, balance was off a lot of club place manipulation. That was an example of a player to where we had to say, listen, these are basics. Now you have lost kind of your ability to get club ball contact, to hit the golf ball solid. So let's go back to the beginning. Let's go back to hitting some wedges. Let's go back to hitting some bumping runs. Get you contact back, get your feel back, all of that, regardless of that, right, regardless of what I'm working on with a player and a lesson, regardless of what they're working on in the range on the range, when they go to the range by themselves, if they are going to play golf, they have to go to the golf course with whatever golf swing they've got. They're not going to show up to the golf course and have Nelly Corda's golf swing. If you're a twenty five handicapper and decide to practice all week and work on it, and work on it, work on it. You have what you have.

I get out of here with bogie. But there is no right way to play golf. There is no right way to play golf, And to be honest with you, there's not really a right way to swing the golf club, because if there was, everybody would swing the golf club the same way. So I really liked what I saw. You know, this this tweet from Practical Golf. It's a good follow a lot of good information, but I just wanted to expand on it because as soon as I saw it, I'm like, yeah, that's exactly great information that regular recreation golfers need to hear. But if they actually really look at it and understand it, they can maybe change the way that they play golf. And if they change the way they play the game of golf, maybe that will help reduce scores, lower your handicap. Maybe there is more to it than just pounding golf balls on the driving range. Massively important. You need to have a decent golf swing. Gave a lesson this morning to a player, higher handicap player who was just really really struggling. I mean just legs were moving around all over the place. Feet were moving around all over the place. As a result of the legs moving around, balance was off a lot of club place manipulation. That was an example of a player to where we had to say, listen, these are basics. Now you have lost kind of your ability to get club ball contact, to hit the golf ball solid. So let's go back to the beginning. Let's go back to hitting some wedges. Let's go back to hitting some bumping runs. Get you contact back, get your feel back, all of that, regardless of that, right, regardless of what I'm working on with a player and a lesson, regardless of what they're working on in the range on the range, when they go to the range by themselves, if they are going to play golf, they have to go to the golf course with whatever golf swing they've got. They're not going to show up to the golf course and have Nelly Corda's golf swing. If you're a twenty five handicapper and decide to practice all week and work on it, and work on it, work on it. You have what you have.

You're not going to go to.

You're not going to go to.

The first t and become Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McElroy, Scottie Scheffler, Max Homer.

The first t and become Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McElroy, Scottie Scheffler, Max Homer.

We can keep going right.

We can keep going right.

You are who you are, and you have your skill set. You have your toolbox. Find out what that is, find out the things that you're comfortable with, that you're good at, the distances that you hit solid shots from, and then just ride that stuff. Ride it as long as you can stay on that horse.

You are who you are, and you have your skill set. You have your toolbox. Find out what that is, find out the things that you're comfortable with, that you're good at, the distances that you hit solid shots from, and then just ride that stuff. Ride it as long as you can stay on that horse.

Just ride what you have.

Just ride what you have.

If you're trying to break a hundred for the first time, you are going to have a club in your bag that you have confidence in. So play to those clubs, play to those strengths. And I really liked the stuff that I saw from Practical Golf John Truman. I just liked it. I think it's good. I love a lot of his stuff, and I wanted to give him a shout out, but also just expand on some of the information because I think it's power, and you know, having this kind of knowledge on how far you need to hit the golf ball, where you need to hit the golf ball, what club selection you're using. Those are all the things that go into playing the game, not practicing the game. So I can't thank everybody enough for listening, rate, review, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

If you're trying to break a hundred for the first time, you are going to have a club in your bag that you have confidence in. So play to those clubs, play to those strengths. And I really liked the stuff that I saw from Practical Golf John Truman. I just liked it. I think it's good. I love a lot of his stuff, and I wanted to give him a shout out, but also just expand on some of the information because I think it's power, and you know, having this kind of knowledge on how far you need to hit the golf ball, where you need to hit the golf ball, what club selection you're using. Those are all the things that go into playing the game, not practicing the game. So I can't thank everybody enough for listening, rate, review, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

It's the Son of a Butch podcast

It's the Son of a Butch podcast