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

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

by Isaak Ramsey & Hayden Zimmerer | Smarter Golf Practice in Less Time

Season 1

Amateurs Practice Too Much. They Play Too Little. - Nate Gahman

The App (use code PRGPOD): https://onelink.to/93ggkv Nate's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nate_gahman/ Identify over outcome: https://www.id-outcome.com/ Last year an insurance agent with 2 kids walked into the Georgia Open and beat a field of professionals by 2 shots. He barely practices, and when he does, he never grinds for more than an hour. In this episode Nate breaks down how he competes at the top of the amateur game on almost no practice time. Play more than you practice. One good 4 iron and the work is done. 90 percent of his putting is 4 and 5 footers. And he decides how he is going to react before he ever hits the putt. If this makes you rethink how you spend your range time, that is exactly what the Play Ready Golf app is built for. It takes the time you actually have, the facilities you can get to, and your skill level, then builds a practice plan that gets harder as you get better. Use code PRGPOD on the link below for a free 7 day trial and 20 dollars off your annual plan for life. The App: https://onelink.to/93ggkv Chapters 0:00 Beating the pros with a full time job 1:11 Play more than you practice 2:56 The $0 pro career that made him quit 6:34 How his wife pulled him back in 8:13 Decide how you will react before you putt 9:37 What 90 minutes of practice looks like 11:01 Why one good 4 iron is enough 12:49 Winning the Georgia Open in the rain 15:40 Play your game, not the optimal one 16:23 Stop copying YouTube golf 17:22 The 50 footer at the Palmetto Amateur 19:12 An insurance agent against the world's best 22:42 His wife on the bag 23:43 Removing joy from your results 26:40 Why treating practice like a job burns you out 27:46 What he hopes his kids learn from golf

You Are Almost As Straight As Scheffler

Use code PRGPOD for $20 off your first year. Link below for a free 7-day trial. https://onelink.to/93ggkv Your driver pattern is almost the same width as Scottie Scheffler's. About 5 yards apart. You don't have a swing problem. You have an aim problem. In this episode we break down the four things amateurs do off the tee that quietly cost them 4 to 7 strokes a round. None of them are about your swing. All of them are about how you're aiming a shotgun like it's a rifle. We cover: What a tour pro's actual driver dispersion looks like, and why yours might be closer than you think The 4 wrong moves: aiming at the middle, pulling 3-wood for safety, standing on the wrong side of the tee box, and trying to work it both ways The Scott Fawcett rule for when to hit driver, and when not to Why penalty strokes, not crooked drives, are what's actually blowing up your scorecard Hayden's 7-over-par confession from one hole at a tournament last year The four things you should do on your next round Sources cited in this episode: Mark Broadie, Every Shot Counts (PGA Tour data from top 40 pros, 2004 to 2012) Lou Stagner / Arccos (1B+ shots tracked, dispersion data and penalty stroke research) Scott Fawcett, DECADE system (course management principles and the 70-yard rule) PGA Tour stats (Scheffler's 2025 strokes gained off the tee, right rough tendency, driving distance) Want to actually see your own dispersion broken down? Stop guessing what your shot pattern looks like and start measuring it. Play Ready Golf builds a custom practice plan based on where you're actually losing strokes. 0:00 You're Not A Bad Driver. You're A Bad Aimer. 0:50 The Stat That Reframes Everything About Scheffler 3:00 How Wide Is Your Driver Pattern, Really? 8:48 You Are 5 Yards From The Best Player On Earth 11:13 Wrong Move 1: Aiming At The Middle Of The Fairway 13:00 Wrong Move 2: Pulling 3-Wood For Safety 16:55 Wrong Move 3: The Wrong Side Of The Tee Box 22:00 Wrong Move 4: Trying To Work It Both Ways 30:55 The Fawcett Rule: Hit Driver Almost Every Time 35:30 The Hole Hayden Was 7-Over On 39:25 Four Things For Your Next Round 42:00 What To Watch Next

More Practice Won't Lower Your Scores. Less Will. - Jon Weiss Jr.

House of Hope of The Pee Dee: https://hofh.org/ Play Ready Golf 7-Day Trial (use code "PRGPOD): ⁠https://onelink.to/93ggkv⁠ Most golfers grind for hours and never drop a shot. Jon Weiss does the opposite. He runs a 50-employee ministry, he is married with a full calendar, and he rarely practices more than an hour. Then he goes and wins one of the toughest mid-am events of the year in 35 mph wind. In this episode Jon breaks down how he competes at a high level on almost no practice. Low expectations. Drive it in play. Putt it well. Zero double bogeys over his last six competitive rounds. A good attitude before he ever reaches the first tee. Chapters 00:00 The lowest expectations in golf 01:43 The last time he practiced over an hour 03:50 What he works on, and what he ignores 05:33 Why mid-am golf runs on supportive wives 08:08 The switch that erased his double bogeys 10:30 Winning Jupiter in brutal wind 12:15 Coaching a JV team to 40 fewer shots 15:28 The coaches who built his short game 17:55 Make 3 footers before you chase 20 footers 20:44 The dumbest thing range golfers do 21:47 Get more from 34 balls than a full bucket 24:38 Inside House of Hope of the Pee Dee 30:13 Why he really plays golf now 32:41 Rock bottom to surrender 38:08 The national stage, Erin Hills and Philly Cricket 43:51 The qualifying mindset most golfers get wrong 45:33 How attitude beats most of the field 48:22 Course rankings and a 340 yard hole he hits 7 iron on 50:44 What is next, and slowing down

Amateurs Aren't Bad Putters. They're Bad From 150.

Try the Play Ready Golf app free for 7 days. Use code PRGPOD at checkout for $20 off your annual plan for life: https://onelink.to/93ggkv Grab the free stat tracker and proximity benchmarks PDF mentioned in the episode: https://onelink.to/stats Most amateurs spend 30 minutes on the practice green before every round. They hit 5 greens out of 18 and lose 40 yards of proximity from 150. You're not a bad putter. You're bad from 150. Mark Broadie analyzed the top 40 PGA Tour pros from 2004 to 2012 and found putting is 15% of the gap between elite and average pros. Approach play is 40%. A scratch golfer beats a Tour pro on the greens in more than 30% of rounds. The data has been public for 12 years. In this episode Isaak and Hayden break down where your strokes actually leak, why Bobby Locke, Harvey Penick, and Dave Pelz built the putting myth, and what to practice instead. 📊 Data sources cited in this episode: Mark Broadie, Every Shot Counts (Columbia University, top 40 PGA Tour pros 2004-2012) Shot Scope (350M+ shots) Arccos via Lou Stagner (1B+ shots) Dave Pelz, Short Game Bible (2000) Harvey Penick, Little Red Book (1992) Chapters: 00:00 Why you're not actually a bad putter 00:53 The Broadie data nobody talks about 02:20 The Play Ready Golf app 02:42 Putts per round vs greens hit 04:57 The 150 yard truth (54 feet vs 122 feet) 09:00 How to practice when nothing feels like progress 15:00 The myth: Bobby Locke and "drive for show putt for dough" 20:56 The myth: Harvey Penick's Little Red Book 27:57 The myth: Dave Pelz and the 80% lie 29:26 Where putting actually matters (the steel-man) 32:33 How to raise your floor with approach play 40:00 Random practice and why blocked practice fails 44:42 "But I 3 putt all the time" (the data on lag putts) 48:19 What to take from this conversation

He Just Made a PGA Tour Cut. ft. Connor Doyal

Connor Doyal is a 26 year old caddy at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. He almost never goes to the range. 3 weeks ago he won the Terra Cotta Invitational against a stacked junior field. Last week he Monday qualified into the PGA Tour's Myrtle Beach Classic and made the cut on the number after hitting his approach into 18 from 137 yards in a divot. This week he's at Desert Mountain playing the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. In this one we get into the 14 for 12 playoff that put him in the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Kinloch, the quarterfinal against Evan Beck that gave him the confidence to compete with the best mid-amateurs in the country, the mental reframe that made the PGA Tour feel less nervy than an amateur event, why he never practices on the range, and the 30 minute practice protocol he'd give an average golfer. Follow Connor: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connordoyal/ Try Play Ready Golf (Use code PRG POD): https://onelink.to/93ggkv Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:34 Quitting Consulting in Atlanta 02:26 Why He Didn't Play College Golf 04:19 An Albatross on His First Day Caddying 06:12 The Practice He Actually Does 10:16 The Biggest Mistake Amateurs Make 12:08 The 14-for-12 Playoff at Kinloch 13:50 First USGA Match. Down Three Early. 17:25 Quarterfinal vs Evan Beck 19:58 Monday Qualifying for the PGA Tour 21:21 Making the Cut From a Divot 22:49 "I'm Just on Vacation." 25:56 Winning the Terra Cotta 30:46 He Never Goes to the Range 32:21 The 30 Minute Practice Protocol 34:11 Prepping for the Four-Ball

The Approach Shot Lie Costing Amateurs 3 Strokes A Round

App: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6752723937 Most amateurs think they know how far they hit their irons. The Arccos data says they don't. The average 20 handicap thinks their 5 iron flies 187 yards. The actual median carry is 152. That 35 yard gap doesn't just cost one shot. It cascades. Short approach, harder chip, missed up and down, lag putt from 90 feet, three-putt 27% of the time. Two to three strokes per round, every single round, and it had nothing to do with your swing. This episode breaks down where the cascade actually starts, why "80% of strokes lost inside 100 yards" is the most repeated lie in golf, and the 15 minute gapping session that fixes most of it before your next round. ——— Free resources The 59 minute practice plan: https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/59minuteplan The PRG benchmarks PDF: https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/comprehensivestats The simple stat tracker: https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/simplestatstracker ——— 00:00 The 35 yard lie in your bag 01:46 Hayden's college par-3 story 03:25 Why hitting past the pin feels worse 05:43 The cascade from one wrong club 06:32 Where amateurs actually miss from 150 08:45 Aim long until you actually go long 10:48 The 9, 7, 5 gapping drill 13:52 Why Pelz was wrong about the short game 15:30 Isaak's launch monitor rabbit hole 17:58 The middle 6 of 10 balls drill 21:04 Two rules that kill club selection ego 23:54 The Bryson 5 iron rant 25:50 The take two more clubs challenge 29:35 Why block practice does not transfer 30:38 What to actually do at the range 34:21 Resources and final word

He Hits Balls 5 Times a Year and Still Wins Tournaments ft. Scott Turner

Scott Turner owns the Minor League Golf Tour, runs over 100 events a year, raises a daughter, and somehow still wins elite mid-am tournaments against fields full of guys who hit it 310 yards. He hits balls 4 to 5 times a year. His best tournament prep is 9 holes with his buddies for 20 bucks. In this conversation he explains exactly how he competes without practicing, why 90% of professional golfers lose money every year, what Eric Cole was like for a full decade before breaking through to the PGA Tour, and the course management mistake that every handicap level makes without realizing it. We also get into his years as a "part-time hobby professional" working 28-hour weekends in a cart barn to fund Monday qualifiers, the college golf team that rejected him for 4 years straight, and what he tells young players who ask him whether they should keep grinding or hang it up. If you're a working golfer trying to get better with limited time, this one's for you. FOLLOW SCOTT + THE MINOR LEAGUE GOLF TOUR: Website: ⁠https://minorleaguegolf.com⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://instagram.com/minorleaguegolftour⁠ ALSO MENTIONED: Back of the Range Podcast (Ben) : https://www.instagram.com/thebackoftherange/ PLAY READY GOLF: Download the app: ⁠https://apps.apple.com/app/id6752723937⁠ CHAPTERS: 0:00 Introduction 0:27 How Scott stays sharp hitting balls 5 times a year 2:41 Beating 310-yard bombers with a 15-year-old hybrid 5:09 Why 9 holes beats 7 days at the range 7:54 The college team that rejected him for 4 years 13:44 Life as a "part-time hobby professional" 17:21 Turn pro or stay mid-am at 23? 20:50 How the Minor League Golf Tour started 24:18 90% of pro golfers lose money every year 27:45 What separates the 10% who make it 30:25 Eric Cole shot 65 every day for a decade 34:09 The $100 training division for working golfers 37:07 How good are mini tour players really? 41:26 The club selection mistake every golfer makes 43:28 Winning the Gasparilla at Palmacia 47:18 Legacy, fatherhood, and the Jumbotron story 50:21 Where to find Scott and the Minor League Golf Tour

74 Million Shots Prove You're Not a Bad Putter

You watched four days of the Masters and decided your putting is broken. It's not. 74 million shots say amateur golfers miss more than 60% of putts from 8 feet. Tour pros miss 3 out of 4 from 15 feet. A scratch golfer misses 2 out of every 3 from 10 feet. Your putting isn't the problem. Your expectations are. And those broken expectations are quietly making your putting worse round after round. In this episode, Isaak and Hayden break down what the data actually says about putting performance at every handicap level, why watching the Masters creates a choking loop you didn't know you were in, and how to recalibrate what a "good putt" actually looks like. Plus the drills that build putting under real pressure, not practice-green pressure. Get a handicap-specific benchmark card in the show notes. Figure out where you actually lose strokes and practice the right things with Play Ready Golf. Use code PRGPOD for $20 off your first year. CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold Open: The Masters Made You Think You're a Bad Putter 00:56 Why Your Expectations Are the Real Problem 03:46 15%, 40%, 25%: The Putting Stats Nobody Shares 11:28 The Choking Loop That Starts on Your Couch 14:18 Hayden's Ohio Am Putting Meltdown 15:52 Green Reading and the Pre-Shot Routine 25:37 Realistic Make Rates by Distance (The New Scoreboard) 36:20 How to Practice Putting Without Wasting Time 42:15 You're Not a Bad Putter RESOURCES Play Ready Golf app: ⁠https://onelink.to/93ggkv⁠ Realistic Expectations by Handicap: ⁠https://playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/comprehensivestats⁠ #golfpodcast #golfpractice #puttingtips #strokesgained #golfstats

He Made the USGA Semis With Two Toddlers at Home ft. Mike Smith

Mike Smith is the founder of ForeCollegeGolf, a recruiting consultancy that has helped over 200 families in 40+ countries place junior golfers at college programs. He's a two-time Florida Foursomes champion, a 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball semifinalist, and according to his Four-Ball partner Will Davenport, the most clutch golfer he's ever played with. He also has two boys under four and runs his business full time. In this conversation, Mike walks through what golf parents get wrong about recruiting, why he refuses to practice his weaknesses, the partnership and the wedge shot that nearly took him and Will to a USGA title, and the mental shift he made after becoming a dad that completely changed how he competes. For golfers who feel stuck between wanting to improve and not having time to grind, this is the reframe. Get a 7 days of free personalized practice plans: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/play-ready-golf/id6752723937?ppid=af3c9fac-74c5-46b7-9bea-e41648182e7d Follow Mike: instagram.com/forecollegegolf ForeCollegeGolf: forecollegegolf.com Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:16 Showing up to a USGA championship missing a shoe 02:18 What growing up at TPC Sawgrass actually does to a kid 05:28 Why he chose James Madison over bigger programs 09:54 Climbing the junior golf ladder without skipping rungs 11:46 Becoming team captain as a junior at JMU 14:47 Starting ForeCollegeGolf in 2014 16:13 The biggest thing parents get wrong about college golf recruiting 17:49 What to tell the dad whose 13-year-old just broke 80 22:53 Why his real passion is not college recruiting 27:10 Meeting Will Davenport at the Womet Invitational 29:21 The broomstick putter that changed Will's game 31:43 The Lago Mar eagle (and the rule that got changed the next year) 34:22 The Sam Bradford putt at Plainfield 37:53 Why he refuses to practice his weaknesses 40:28 Faith, family, and the mental shift after becoming a dad 42:19 What he'll teach Lucas and Graham about competing 44:25 Scotty Scheffler, cross-training, and praising effort over outcome 48:04 The holy grail: course management and outcome detachment 49:12 Wrap #golf #collegegolf #midamateur #golfpractice #usga

The Range Hasn't Changed Since 1913. That's the Problem. (BONUS)

The driving range business model hasn't meaningfully changed since the first one opened in Pinehurst in 1913. Lights, mats, and automatic ball dispensers. That's it. But the science of how people learn motor skills has changed dramatically. And none of it says "hit the same club to the same target until it feels good." In this episode, we break down exactly how to structure your limited practice time using strokes gained data, random practice principles, and pressure finishes. Three complete sessions: 15 minutes at home, 30 minutes at the range, and a full 59 minute plan that covers every part of your game. Hayden, a professional golfer who practices 3.5 to 4 hours a day, has a specific target on every single shot. If the guy with the most time is the most intentional, that should tell you something about how you're spending your 30 minutes. Download the free practice plan PDF: ⁠playreadygolf.beehiiv.com/59minuteplan⁠ Try the Play Ready Golf app: ⁠https://apps.apple.com/app/id6752723937⁠ ⁠https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playreadygolf.app⁠ 00:00 Why "feel" is lying to you 02:00 Practicing to say you practiced 03:00 Bob Rotella's 60/40 rule 03:59 Strokes gained breakdown: where your shots actually come from 04:44 The 5 rules of effective practice 06:12 "If you aim anywhere, you'll hit it everywhere" 06:33 Full pre-shot routine on every shot 07:37 Track something. Write it down. 08:12 End every session with pressure 08:30 15 minute home putting session 11:49 30 minute range session 14:09 Stop training for penalties 17:14 Wedge distance control 18:43 The 59 minute practice plan 22:13 Why iron play is where you improve the most 23:17 Tee ball: keep your shoes on 25:05 Putting and chipping: don't fluff the ball 27:27 Full routine or no routine. Pick one. 28:06 Why people don't practice like this 29:09 The range hasn't changed since 1913 30:37 Practice for the golf course, not your swing

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