Play Ready Golf | Strokes Gained for the 9 to 5 Golfer

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