Hack It Out Golf

It's Ryder Cup week! In previous years, the Ryder Cup represented not just a clash of continents, but a clash of Tours: the PGA Tour and (what is now) the DP World Tour. But this year, almost no one on Team Europe plays regularly in Europe. Does this matter? In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg address this question. Is it just nostalgia to want a strong European Tour? Would Greg have left Austral...

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. It's a real problem: handicap golfers hit their approach shots short—a lot. But how often? In this episode, Lou asks Mark and Greg how often, from 175 yards, golfers of different abilities will manage to hit their shots at least 90% of the target distance. After sorting through their (very different) answers, Mark and G...

If you listen to this podcast, you probably know a number of benchmark stats. One well-known one: Tour pros make half their putts from 8 feet. But what if you're better than that? In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg try to bring some perspective to the use of statistics and expectation management—one in which you have lofty goals and reasonable expectations. To get the best discount off your Nord...

It's hard to get better if you don't know what's wrong. In today's episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg expand on a recent tweet/post from Lou, in which he implores golfers to stop counting putts. They'll talk about the usefulness of total putts, the ways in can mislead, and a better way to measure if you're getting better on the greens. To get the best discount off your NordVPN plan - go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠ nordvpn....

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. Among the sweetest words in the English language: short par 4. But does that phrase set expectations too high? In this episode, Lou asks Greg and Lou what golfers of different skills average on a 325 yard par 4. From there, the guys talk about the best way to make the most of these holes—and compare their own games. Eac...

You've been playing rounds with your friends just for fun, but you've improved, and now you want to try your hand at a serious round of golf. What do you need to know? In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg offer their advice to a golfer planning to start playing in more serious competitions. From rules advice (both official and unwritten) to music(?) to mindset, this will help any golfer post bette...

When the going gets tough, golfers sometimes look for a less tough option. In most episodes, Mark, Lou, and Greg try to get us to focus on things that really work to improve our golf. But in today's episode, they point out some of the things that golfers try that don't help. From unrelated superstitions to bad advice to gimmicky gadgets and clubs, here are some things to be on guard against if you...

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. One of the simplest—but most insightful—traditional stats is Greens In Regulation. In this episode, Lou asks Mark and Greg how many greens golfers of differing skills typically hit per round. After settling the scores, the guys give tips that will help you hit more greens and play better golf. Each of these will be a mi...

Pro golfers are really good. But what happens when a player turns professional, can't make a career of golf, and takes another path in life? Once professional, always professional? Or should there be a path back to amateur status? In this episode, Mark, Greg, and Lou discuss—and solid points are raised by both sides. To get the best discount off your NordVPN plan - go to ⁠ nordvpn.com/hackitout ⁠...

The picks for Team USA are in, and on release day for this episode, Europe will announce its team roster for the 2025 Ryder Cup. Mark, Lou, and Greg debate whether Keegan should have chosen himself (or been chosen as captain at all), how to assemble and roster and make pairings, the importance of data vs feels, and the potential for the course—and the local fans—to make this an intense Ryder Cup....

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. This one is a doozy. Lou puts a pretty straightforward question to Greg and Mark: how often will golfers of different skill levels miss the green from a greenside bunker? The answer is likely to surprise you. But after a few tips for improving your bunker play, things go a little off the rails. Golfers are competitive....

Once you get beyond "I just don't want to hit a giant slice," you might reach a point at which you want to settle on hitting one particular shape. In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg talk about changing your shot shape: factors that might influence your decision and practical steps to engrain a new pattern—and take it to the course. Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: https://w...

Bad training aids can be worse that useless. But a good training aid can really accelerate golf improvement. In this episode, Mark and Lou talk about some of their favorite tools to use and to recommend from a coaching perspective. There are tools to help deliver the club better, lots of solid home launch monitor options, and a really great tool to monitor your ground strike—even indoors. ProSENDR...

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. Today's question is one of the most basic for lowering scores: three-putt avoidance. How often do various handicap levels three-putt? Lou puts that question to Mark and Greg, and after sorting out the answers, the guys give their best advice for not wasting shots on the green. Each of these will be a mini-episode (10-15...

As the end of the PGA Tour season draws near, there have been no shortage of interesting issues to discuss. In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg talk about the upcoming Ryder Cup rosters, Tommy Fleetwood's failure to close out the BMW (and whether it tells us something about his ability to handle pressure), and the fact that Rickie qualified for the Top 50 largely on the strength of sponsor's invi...

We all know that hitting drives further is an important way to lower our scores. And while speed training and better strength make a difference, there are gains to be had at your current swing speed. In this episode, Mark and Lou talk through some of the basic adjustments you can make to your equipment, setup, and swing that gain two clubs off the tee without swinging faster. Where to find us: Mar...

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. Tour pros are good, for sure, but how good? In this episode, Lou asks Mark and Greg about the chances that a Tour pro will hit the green from various fairway distances. These are great numbers to manage expectations for those of us who are not close to that level. Each of these will be a mini-episode (10-15 minutes long...

The Gregulators got a shock while scoreboard watching this past Sunday: Greg was DQ'd?! What happened? In this episode, Greg joins Mark and Lou to explain what happened. This provokes a discussion of the rules of golf and their enforcement: should there be a larger roll for making judgment calls when there's no advantage gained? Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: https://www.cr...

Nostalgia in golf often takes the form of pining for the good old days, when the ball actually curved and skilled golfers made it bend around trees, both ways, probably on the same shot. In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg consider recent comments by Charley Hull, asking how much golf has changed and what effect that has on the spectator experience. Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly news...

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. In today's episode, our hypothetical golfer is in a lovely position: in the fairway, hitting his second into a par 4 from 75 yards. How often will the unthinkable—double bogey or worse—happen for scratch, 10, and 20 index golfers? Greg and Mark register their guesses, Lou gives the answer, and helpful advice for minimiz...

Greg Chalmers grabbed another top-10 in a Champions Tour major, and in this episode, he re-joins Mark and Lou to recap the event. They talk about the course, his play, and focus on one on-course decision that Greg would like to do over. This discussion offers a guide for all of us to make better choices during our rounds. Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: https://www.crossfiel...

Golf is a crazy game—but some of the stuff that happens with golf is next-level crazy! In this episode, Mark, Lou, and Greg recount some of their favorite stories of outlandish golf behavior: hit objects, animals, and people; golf being played in decidedly non-golf locations; shenanigans on the course, and even some attempts at bending the rules. Sometimes, we just need to laugh at the absurdity o...

Welcome to the "Saturday Morning Golf Stat" from the Hack it Out Golf Podcast. Greg is back! In today's episode, the question is how much rough matters. At 20, 90, and 250 yards in the rough: at what yardages in the fairway will a 10-index shoot equivalent scores? Lou asks, Mark and Greg answer, and the guys talk about the difficulty of layups and the reward for big misses off the tee. Each of the...

A veteran LIV golfer finished in the top 50 at the Open Championship—and rose over 3,000 places in the OWGR. Maybe something is amiss with the OWGR? In this episode, Mark and Lou discuss the current state of golf rankings: the OWGR and some of its competitors, including the Data Golf rankings. What do we want from a professional golf ranking system? Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsl...

Major season is ended for another year, and so Mark and Lou take a bit to chat about the recently completed Open Championship. They offer opinions on the course and links golf, Scottie's dominance, and Shane Lowry's penalty. Shifting gears, they offer some limited enthusiasm for the new Happy Gilmore movie. Where to find us: Mark Crossfield's weekly newsletter: https://www.crossfieldgolf.com/subsc...