Episodes

The top of your bag, just below your driver, is probably the part of your bag where you have the greatest number of options for how your set is built. How do you know what set makeup is best for you? In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg talk about the strengths and weaknesses of long irons and hybrids. What's the longest iron you play? What advantages might you gain replacing that iron with a hybrid? This episode will help your clubs help, not hinder, your best scoring on the course. Where to f...

The TGL

This week is the debut of the new tech-heavy indoor team golf league headlined by Tiger and Rory, the TGL. In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg break down the news reports of the anticipated format. What aspects of it seem promising, and which might flop? Will the TGL have any impact on the wider popularity of golf? And should the three of them attend a TGL event soon? Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: https://www.crossfieldgolf.com/subscribe Mark Crossfield on Twitter: h...

SMS - Percent Not Getting Out of Greenside Bunker, Scratch and 15

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. A couple of episodes ago, Lou asked Mark and Greg about bunker play; today's episode is the much-anticipated follow-up. How often do golfers (scratch and 15-index) leave a greenside bunker shot in the bunker? It's an incredibly frustrating moment on the course, and the guys give advice to minimize the chance of it happening to you, to improve your game. Each of these will be a mini-episode (10-15 minutes long) about ...

Off-Season Golf Stats and Improvement

Today's episode is a listener question. If you listen to this podcast, you know that you ought to track your stats on the course—if you're serious about improvement. In this episode, the question is: what stats and measurements should you track in the off-season if you want to improve? Mark, Lou, and Greg offer their answers and a variety of advice for making the most productive use of the winter months. Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: https://www.crossfieldgolf.com/subs...

Stretch in the Golf Swing

Today's episode is one that will likely help you hit the ball with more power but less effort: Mark talks about stretch in the swing, mostly the backswing, with Lou and Greg. What is stretch in the swing? How can someone like Rahm, with relatively little stretch the backswing, hit the ball as far as someone like Bubba Watson, who had a ton of stretch? And how can everyday golfers incorporate this idea to improve their own games? Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: https://ww...

SMS - 10 Index, FW, Strokes to Hole Out from 50/100/150

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. In today's episode, Lou joins our 10-index player at 50, 100, and 150 yards from the hole in fairway. How many strokes, on average, will it take him to hole out from each distance? Mark and Greg offer their guesses, and what unfolds is a great discussion (with data!) about what you really cost yourself when you lay up to 100 yards instead of pushing the ball up as close to the green as possible, even if you're left wi...

Was Your Golf Season a Success?

Whether or not your playing season is determined by the weather, the turn of the calendar is a good time to look back over your play this last season. In this episode, in reply to the listener question, Lou, Mark, and Greg give their counsel about how normal golfers should go about evaluating their seasons. Key topics: setting goals and getting accurate data about how you really played. Bonus: fashion critiques and a movie recommendation. Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: ...

Volunteers at Pro Golf Events

Professional golf tournaments at the highest level are huge undertakings. It is customary at these events for the tournament to rely on hundreds of volunteers. Increasingly, those volunteers are asked to pay—sometimes, quite a lot—for the privilege of volunteering. In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg talk about this practice and how defensible it really is. Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: https://www.crossfieldgolf.com/subscribe Mark Crossfield on Twitter: https://twit...

SMS - Tour Pros, Putting from 30', Short and More Than 5' Away

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. From 30' away, even a Tour pro rarely expects to make his putt. But how often is he leaving it more than 5' from the hole? How often will his putt come up short of the hole? These are the questions Lou brings to today's episode. Mark and Greg give their answers, but more importantly, they are shocked by the 5' answer—and they offer some great advice, not only for putting, but for your expectations on the greens. Each...

Heel Lift, X-Factor, and Golf Instruction Trends

Golf instruction, like a lot of things, can be trendy. In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg look back at the past couple of decades of golf instruction. Repeatedly, there are fads in golf instruction—and not all of them were likely to have made golfers better. This is an episode that matters for amateur golfers, a reminder to recognize that we need to welcome new information, without always assuming that the new thing is the best thing. Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: ht...

Improving Your Fairway Bunker Play

Mark leads off this episode with a plea: just listen to this episode! The reality is that few golfers ever practice fairway bunker shots, and when they occur in rounds, they're costly (Lou brings the numbers). In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg give real advice about how to play fairway bunker shots and how to practice the skills needed to keep them from adding big numbers to your round. Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: https://www.crossfieldgolf.com/subscribe Mark Cro...

SMS - Driving Distance of 255 and 225, How Many Are 15 Index or Worse

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. Imagine a driving range with 100 golfers: every golfer on that range hits his drives about 225 yards. And then there is a second range, in which all the golfers are driving their balls about 255 yards. What percentage of the golfers on each of those ranges would have a handicap index of 15 or higher? Lou puts this question to Mark and Greg, and after sorting the scoring, we see another solid data point that distance m...

Jay Makes What?!