The 2nd Cut Newsletter: Edition #14

The Stack, Staying Out of Our Own Way, What is Good Golf?, Tweets of the Week, Stat of the Week, and more

Sep 13, 2023

“If you wish to play your best golf, you can’t wait until a few putts fall and a couple of birdies go on the scorecard before you start trusting.” - Dr. Bob Rotella

Edition #14

Welcome back to The 2nd Cut Newsletter, Edition #14!

If you haven’t read last week’s Deep Dive, check it out here: Longer Drives

Today’s Newsletter discusses The Stack, Staying Out of Our Own Way, What is Good Golf?, Tweets of the Week, Stat of the Week, and more.

If you’re new here, this newsletter is designed to provide valuable insights, tips, and ideas to improve your golf game from around the internet.

What you get:

1 - Newsletter every Wednesday
1 - Deep dive every Friday

Staying Out of Your Own Way

The quote at the top of this letter is from Bob Rotella’s book “Golf is Not a Perfect Game.”

I won’t belabor this point, but “Staying Out of Your Own Way” applies to amateurs of all levels. We all have flaws and lack trust in various aspects of our games.

I am guilty of this quite often, and maybe you are too. We must learn to accept that we have what we have that day. Trust it and stay out of our own way.*

It’s a guess on my part, but the lack of trust and overthinking gives us the illusion of control. It’s human nature to guard against the poor shot, but paradoxically, when we DO IT and stay out of our own way, we tend to play better.

*Quick caveat. I don’t think having 1 or 2 informed thoughts is a bad thing. We need to avoid the lack of trust and commitment or the millions of thoughts going through our heads.

T2C Promo: $50 off The Stack System

One of my recommendations for gaining distance in last week’s Deep Dive was using The Stack System. I have used The Stack, and it really does work. I gained around 5 mph in swing speed, which added ~12 yards to my drive.

With the offseason approaching, this would be the perfect time to work on your distance gains. It also makes for a great Christmas gift. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions! Click the link below for the discount.

Discount: Get $50 off for The Stack!

Bonus: The Stack has a great putting program that I use regularly. The app is continually improving. Also, to truly get the full benefits of The Stack, you’ll need a portable launch monitor to record swing speeds. I use the PRGR.

Tweets of the Week

Lou Stagner (@LouStagner) hits the nail on the head here. Good golf is mostly boring golf. It can be hard to accept, but staying out of trouble and avoiding big scores is the key to lowering scores. Link

We all (at times) tend to think good golf is perfectly striking your 8-iron to 3 feet or dropping birdies on the regular. This is partly due to the highlight reels of amazing shots we see on TV. We rarely see the boring shots or lowlights.

Playing with a scratch or even a low single-digit golfer can benefit your game massively. It gives you a visceral first-hand look at how good golf is actually played.

I remember playing with my neighbor about five or so years ago (shout out to Chris!) and learning this lesson firsthand.

Chris is an excellent golfer (maybe 2 or 3 handicap) and incredibly consistent. I was probably a 10-handicap or more. I was swinging out of my boots off the tee, taking full swings on my wedges, occasionally hitting some great shots, but getting into trouble and blowing up at least once or twice a round.

Meanwhile, Chris kept the ball in play off the tee; he was on the green in regulation with smooth wedge shots and essentially highlighted how dumb I was.

I saw that the blueprint was to drop the ego and play the odds. I started to play smarter, club up some, take 80-90% wedge swings, and do my best to avoid trouble.

I still occasionally get in my own way, but overall, my game is much better than it was by accepting the reality of what good golf is and isn’t.

T2C Media

Below is a video of Tiger Woods testing Ricky Fowler’s famous Odyssey Versa Jailbird putter. It’s fascinating to listen to Tiger question Ricky’s putter feels, and Ricky explain to Tiger the intricacies of putting.

@sweetswingleo Tiger Woods trues Rickie Fowler’s putter #tigerwoods #rickiefowler #golf #golftiktok From @Eastside Golf

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This is a funny but spot-on video from the St. Andre’ Golf guys. No better feeling than a pured shot! It’s what keeps us coming back.

@standregolf New golfer hits a good shot 🤌 #golf #fyp

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Stat of the Week

Here’s another Lou Stagner tweet and a reminder that fairways are overrated! Tiger, Rory, and Scottie are all some of the greatest drivers of all time, yet their fairway accuracy is below average.

What matters?

Staying out of trouble
Distance

Check out Finding Fairways for more details. Link

Poll

Note: The results from last week’s poll were surprising. 21% of you are shooting in the 90s, and 57% in the 80’s. Looks like The 2nd Cut readers are pretty good golfers!

My latest TikTok video featuring the sweet sounds of twilight golf: