Episodes

A good listener question for today's episode. Many of us use Arccos or another platform to track performance on the course. What standard should we use for stat comparisons? In this episode, Mark and Lou tackle this question, and it's not as obvious as you might think. Stats don't always move in exactly the same way, so there can be value in comparing yourself to your next milestone, rather than to something more remote (like scratch or a Tour pro). Having stats is good—using them intelligently ...

Next year's Tour Championship will be much different. In today's episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg continue to discuss the roll out of the format changes for the upcoming Tour season. We've already seen the Championship vs Challenger series, but the new Tour Champion will need to win a significant, two-venue match play gauntlet. Is this an improvement? Will it make us care about the Championship? And should we even want more match play? If you have a question you want covered on the pod, please subm...

You can learn from other people's mistakes, especially Greg and Mark's. In this episode, Lou asks about one of the very best "manage your expectations" stats to have in your mind: at what distance will golfers of differing abilities average 2 putts? While the pros mangle the numbers, you can get the correct answers in mind—and know on the course where you're gaining (or losing) strokes on the greens. Check out Lou's new practice app, Window Golf: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/window-golf/id6778...

Greggie! Greg returns (almost) triumphantly to the podcast to recap his T3 finish at the 2026 Ally Challenge. Greg and Mark and Lou talk about Greg's visit to some golf stores to tweak his driver setup, the value of equipment changes, the ability to bounce back from a bad hole, and an obvious bad number. If you have a question you want covered on the pod, please submit here: https://www.hackitoutgolf.com/contact/ Listeners can also leave us a voicemail! https://www.hackitoutgolf.com/voicemail/...

You've seen it by now: a young woman reaches for a driver in a golf bag, only to be checked to the ground and told (in a menacing way) not to touch the driver. In this episode, Mark and Lou talk about Good Good/Callaway's abandoned driver ad. How does an ad this ill-conceived get made? Was this inevitable? Is there a future for Good Good? Before there was YouTube golf, Mark was doing golf on YouTube, and he brings that perspective to this episode. If you have a question you want covered on the ...

How often does disaster strike? In this episode, it's another (Gregless) Mark win in the Stat, but Lou's question is worth the attention. From 125 in the fairway, a scratch golfer is thinking birdie. How often will this (very talented) golfer take four or more shots to finish the hole? We get a window into Mark's thought processes, a quick rubric for expectation management, and help for shooting our best scores. Check out Lou's new practice app, Window Golf: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/window...

In recent years, a number of golf coaches have made the case that golf improvement doesn't always mean an intent to change your swing. In this episode, Mark and Lou tackle a listener question about balance: when should I focus on a swing change vs taking my current swing and focusing on skill development? Here, the perspectives of a veteran coach and an avid amateur combine to give advice for real-life golf improvement. If you have a question you want covered on the pod, please submit here: htt...

Over their careers, Greg and Mark have seen and played a lot of golf courses. In this episode, they recall some of their favorites. Which Open rota courses would Greg want to play for a tournament—and which for fun? And where have these guys not yet played that they still hope to get a round in? If you have a question you want covered on the pod, please submit here: https://www.hackitoutgolf.com/contact/ Listeners can also leave us a voicemail! https://www.hackitoutgolf.com/voicemail/ Where t...

The green is reachable. In this episode, missing Greg, Mark takes on Lou's newsletter audience. On a par 5, a solid 5-index golfer is sitting 250 yards out in the fairway. How often will he make bogey or worse from there. With no Greg, we get deep insight into the mind of Mark—and also insight as to why these prime scoring opportunities often go awry. Check out Lou's new practice app, Window Golf: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/window-golf/id6778014214 Each of these will be a mini-episode (10-1...

The US Amateur is one of the iconic events of golf calendar. In this episode, Lou and Mark talk through Lou's recent opportunity to caddie at the US Am. They discuss Merion, the setup (and whether a classic course like this can hold up to young bombers, the format of the tournament, and an unfortunate dress code email. If you have a question you want covered on the pod, please submit here: https://www.hackitoutgolf.com/contact/ Listeners can also leave us a voicemail! https://www.hackitoutgolf...

The Champions Tour season is entering its final stretch, and Greg needs to make a push to make the final 36. In this episode, Greg and Mark talk through Greg's 2026 season to this point. With a handful of events to go, Greg talks about what's worked—and what hasn't—this year. He knows where he needs to improve (off the tee), and walks through of the equipment and swing tweaks that will hopefully get him in position to make the Schwab Cup Finale again. If you have a question you want covered on ...

In today's episode, Lou asks Mark and Greg about greenside short game. How often will a chip from the rough finish outside 6 paces for scratch, 10, and 20 index golfers? After Greg incinerates the 20s again, the guys talk about how to get those chips into a more manageable range. Check out Lou's new practice app, Window Golf: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/window-golf/id6778014214 Each of these will be a mini-episode (10-15 minutes long) about an interesting golf stat. We will discuss what you ...

A couple of golf improvement listener questions for Mark, Lou, and Greg in today's podcast. The first: is it easier to get from a 15-index down to 5 than to get from 3 down to scratch? The guys bring their own experiences and Mark's coaching to consider the different ways that people improve. Then they turn to some ways to get in short game practice in shorter blocks of time. If you have a question you want covered on the pod, please submit here: https://www.hackitoutgolf.com/contact/ Listener...

Mark, Lou, and Greg talk about some of the recent—ahem—"news" in the world of golf. Are we running out of actual golf stories when we focus on a joke between a player and her caddie? And is Rory getting special treatment—and if so, is that even a problem? Also, Lou makes a joke. If you have a question you want covered on the pod, please submit here: https://www.hackitoutgolf.com/contact/ Listeners can also leave us a voicemail! https://www.hackitoutgolf.com/voicemail/ Where to find us: Mark ...

What is a fairway worth? In this episode, Lou asks Mark and Greg to compare the good and bad rounds of a 10-index golfer. We'd expect that when an amateur of this level scores well, he's probably hitting more fairways than he does in his bad rounds. But how many more? The answer the is revealed, and the guys offer strategies for maximizing your scoring potential off the tee. Each of these will be a mini-episode (10-15 minutes long) about an interesting golf stat. We will discuss what you can le...

For the avid amateur golfer, there is more measured data for swing movements, club delivery, and ball flight than ever before. Is it too much? In this episode, Mark and Lou break down how to use swing data. There are devices that can measure body part motions: how can these help—without changing everything to make an app happy? A disciplined use of these tools can be enormously beneficial, and Mark and Lou give advice for doing just that. If you have a question you want covered on the pod, plea...

Lou's been working on his swing for a while now. Is it actually better? In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg consider the goals of a swing change. Is a swing better when it looks better? What if the "better" move produces worse results? This is one of the enduring questions of every serious golfer, and the guys give advice to how to make changes—with feedback—to play your best golf. If you have a question you want covered on the pod, please submit here: https://www.hackitoutgolf.com/contact/ L...

You didn't lose a ball—and that's a great feeling. But what about the sideways chip-outs? In this episode, Lou asks Mark and Greg how a 10-index scores when he has no penalty shots, but does have recovery shots. What happens to scores in rounds when you're punching out from under a tree a few times? And since we're all going to end up there: how do we get better at making those shots useful? Each of these will be a mini-episode (10-15 minutes long) about an interesting golf stat. We will discus...

There's nothing like numbers to show the enormous differences between the elite golfers and, you know, most of us. In this episode, Mark and Lou open up the stats database to show just how good the best golfers are, and how much the average amateur is playing almost a different game altogether. The point is this: learning to play boring golf is, for most of us, a significant step forward in our enjoyment of the game. If you have a question you want covered on the pod, please submit here: https:...

You step into the shot and start to settle in. How do you know when you've nailed your setup and are ready to go? In today's episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg reply to a listener question about setup. The quest for "perfect" is itself a challenge: you can make a bad swing out of a good setup and a good swing from a bad setup. But there are ways to learn your own tendencies, what works for you, and how to keep those good setup positions in place for future rounds. If you have a question you want cove...

How many holes can you go without a double (or worse)? In this episode, Lou asks Mark and Greg to compare to very different skills levels (scratch and 15-index) at double-bogey avoidance. After Greg gives what might be the least accurate answer in the history of the Saturday Stat, the guys get it back on the rails and discuss ways to avoid the card-wreckers. Each of these will be a mini-episode (10-15 minutes long) about an interesting golf stat. We will discuss what you can learn, and most imp...

Ryan Fox wins the Open! In this episode, Mark and Lou recap an eventful edition of the Open Championship. They discuss the (several) rules incidents, the brilliant play of Ryan Fox (and others), and Mark offers some comments on Fox's unusual, but obviously very effective, swing. If you have a question you want covered on the pod, please submit here: https://www.hackitoutgolf.com/contact/ Listeners can also leave us a voicemail! https://www.hackitoutgolf.com/voicemail/ Where to find us: Mark ...

The 2026 Open ended yesterday, but Mark has questions about its future. In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg start with an obvious premise: the way that the Open Rota links courses play tends to be more determined by weather than is the case for the majors based in America. As weather patterns change, has the Open gotten too baked out? Should links golf subject its competitors to more cold and rain? And how much luck is too much? If you have a question you want covered on the pod, please submit...

Three-putts ruin rounds—especially when you're not that far away from the hole. In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg compare the 3-putt percentages from 25 feet of Tour players to 5-index and 15-index golfers. It turns out, Tour players and good and 15-index golfers are less good. But it might surprise you by how much—and light a fire to practice the things that will actually help you avoid wasting shots on the greens. Each of these will be a mini-episode (10-15 minutes long) about an interesti...