Episodes

If you're a golfer, your putter should come inside with you regularly. Indoor putting practice can be a huge benefit for your game, especially for those who live in climates where it can be the only significant practice for a portion of the year. In this episode, Mark and Lou talk about ways to make your indoor putting practice more beneficial. Some of these are simple drills that anyone can do. Others highlight tools that you can buy (for less than that driver you're eyeing)—tools that will lik...

Golf's Handicap System

Golf's handicap system is one of its most enduring features: the ability for golfer's of differing skill levels to have a match against each other remains a major draw. But that system is complicated, and most golfers have a very rudimentary understanding of how it works—if they don't misunderstand it altogether. In this episode, Lou and Mark (Greg is out chasing the Schwab Cup) talk about the handicap system: what goes into it, how it's misused, and how it's changed over the years. Where to fi...

SMS - 5 Index, Par 5, FW 200 Yards, Birdie and Bogey Chances

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. Today, we're with a solid golfer. He's hit a tee shot on a par 5, leaving him 200 yards to the hole. How often should he expect to birdie the hole from there? How often will he make bogey? After Mark and Greg register their answers to Lou's question, they talk about strategies and equipment choices that can maximize your chances of shooting your best scores from long range. There is advice here to help everyone's golf...

Learning From Tour Player Swings, Part 9 (Pelvic Side Bend)

Mark, Lou, and Greg continue to take measured data from Tour (and, in this case, also amateur) swings and see what it tells us for making real improvement in our games. In this episode, Mark quizzes Greg and Lou about hip movement at setup and through the swing. Lou asks a perceptive question: does the pelvis movement create the good swing, or is it an effect of other parts of an elite golf swing? From there, the discussions goes in a number of directions that can help all of us learn how to lea...

Thoughts on the Tour Championship

WIthin the past couple weeks, Scottie Scheffler capped an amazing season on the PGA Tour by winning the Tour Championship and with it, the Fedex Cup and its giant pool of bonus money. In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg discuss how the Tour structures its season-ending playoff, with the pros and cons of determining a season-long champion using a playoff. Can significance for an event be created simply with money? Is there another format that might work better? And what are Greg's chances of the...

SMS - 3 Putt Percentage, 16-20 Feet, Scratch and 20 Index

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. In this edition of the Saturday Stat, Lou returns to Greg's wheelhouse: putting. Here, Greg and Mark take their best guesses at how often a scratch and a 20-index golfer 3-putt from 16–20'. Turns out, the answers surprise them—and likely you as well. Three-putt avoidance is a key to solid scoring (as Greg knows very well), and this episode will give you some keys to avoid wasting unnecessary strokes on the greens. Ea...

Lining Up Your Putts

Today's episode is all about lining up your putts. Mark, Lou, and Greg talk about using the line on the ball vs drawing lines, whether to use a line at all, how the line on your ball might interact with any alignment lines on your putter, and then, in a discussion for the ages (and one to be continued): an epic new ball marker, invented by Lou, that might be so revolutionary that it's banned by the governing bodies. Lots of good content in this podcast that should help you hole more putts in you...

Sean Foley's Greatest Coaching Accomplishment

Today's episode is the second part of Mark's interview in Sean Foley. Here, Mark asks Sean what Sean regards as his greatest accomplishment in coaching. The discussion turns philosophical, as Sean reflects on what he really values most in coaching, what he's learned over the years, and what he appreciated most when (as a surprise gift) his wife compiled thank you videos from all his students over his coaching career. Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: https://www.crossfield...

SMS - Scratch and 15 Index, 175 in Fairway, Double or Worse

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. In this edition of the Saturday Stat, a golfer is sitting in the fairway, 175 yards from the hole. How likely is he to make double or worse if he's a scratch golfer? What if he's a 15-index? Mark and Greg register their guesses, and the actual number surprises them quite a bit. The takeaway: a lot of us have a lot to learn about making smart decisions on the course. Each of these will be a mini-episode (10-15 minutes...

Greg's Champions Tour Update

Welcome to another episode of the top-ranked Champions Tour podcast in the world.* In this episode, Greg gets us (and Mark and Lou) up to date as his first season on the Champions Tour draws near the playoffs. We'll hear from Greg how he thinks the season has gone, what has worked well and what hasn't, what has led to a couple of rough closing holes in his good rounds, and what he's hoping for as the Schwab Cup playoffs get under way. * I assume. I haven't confirmed this. Where to find us: Ma...

Sean Foley on Coaching Tiger

In this special episode of the Hack It Out Golf Podcast, Mark has the opportunity to sit down for an extended conversation with famed golf coach Sean Foley. In this segment of their discussion, they talk about Sean's time coaching one of the greatest players in the history of the sport: Tiger Woods. Sean discusses the unique pressures of coaching Tiger, what he learned from the experience, what he might have done different, and what he thinks of Tiger as a student. Where to find us: Mark Cross...

SMS - Amateur Driver Distance When Missing the Center

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. Golf's statistical revolution has made it clear: distance matters. And because distance matters, speed matters. But what happens when you bring the speed, but miss the center of the driver face? In this episode, Lou asks Greg and Mark about the drop-off in distance for off-center driver strikes. You'll see why strike matters a ton, and that if you're going to miss center, there's a side of your driver face you really ...

Learning from Tour Player Swings, Part 8 (Center of Mass to Hand Distance)