The 2nd Cut Newsletter: Edition #19

Interview Preview, Putting Warm Up, Pivot Drill, Scratch Golfer’s Stat, 3 Legged Golf, Stat of the Week and an Offseason Poll

Oct 18, 2023

“Golf is a compromise between what your ego wants you to do, what experience tells you to do, and what your nerves let you do.” - Bruce Crampton

📰 Edition #19 📰

Welcome back to The 2nd Cut Newsletter!

If you haven’t read last week’s Deep Dive, check it out here. It’s a quick read, including a goal-setting matrix and Nick Saban’s process-first system. Goal Setting

In today’s Newsletter: Interview Preview, Putting Warm Ups, Pivot Drill, Scratch Golfer’s Stat, 3 Legged Golf, Stat of the Week, and an Offseason Poll

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

Interview Preview w/ Master Fitter Kevin Kraft ⛳

I recently interviewed Master Club Fitter Kevin Kraft. Kevin has been fitting clubs for 15 years and has played on the Korn Ferry Tour. He recently won the 2023 Maryland Senior Open and 2023 Pennsylvania Open.

Below is just a snippet of the interview, which will be coming out this Friday.

T2C: I know you are in the business of fitting clubs, but how often should we be replacing our drivers, irons, and wedges?

Kevin Kraft: Depending on how much someone plays and practices, most drivers should last about 5-10 years. That doesn't mean that technology might not pass that driver by in that time, but drivers aren't disposable. Use for a season and trash. For an average golfer, they should easily get at least 5 years out of a driver. When I fit a set of irons, I expect the golfer to be able to use those irons for a decade if they want to.

Wedges...I fall in line with what Bob Vokey says...after 75 rounds, you start to lose bite. Someone who plays 100+ rounds a year would do themselves a service by getting new wedges yearly. At least sand wedge and lob wedge. Those are the scoring clubs and we want the most control possible at all times!

There is a ton of great information in this interview. Stay tuned!

🐦 Tweets of the Week 🐦

Ross MacLeod (@rossmacleodputt) gives a realistic putting warm-up for us amateurs who don’t have much time before tee-off. Link

2 Minutes: 5 or 6 putts from 15+ feet to get a feel for speed
5 minutes or both distance putts and making putts from <10 feet

Just 7 minutes to get a feel for the greens and see the ball going in the cup.

Below is a simple drill from Andrew Rice (@andrewricegolf) to help you feel a proper turn and pivot. This is an easy feel to rehearse at any time. Just drop your trail foot back and feel the proper turn. I tend to stall and flip, so I’ll definitely be using this on the course. Link

Only 1% of amateurs are scratch golfers. They are rare by definition and most likely the best golfers we’ll ever play with. Yet they still bogey 30% of the time. That’s 5.4 bogeys a round. Link

It’s not that they have a ton of birdies, either. It’s that they avoid doubles and big scores.

📺 💻 T2C Media 📺 💻

Check out the video below from 3 Legged Golf. The video explains Thomas's inspiring story and why their channel is called 3 Legged Golf. Give them a follow!

@3_legged_golf Here’s a look at our first video, thank you all for watching! Golf content coming soon👍 A little more information on our background, leading up to our senior year of high school, Luke and I were on our schools golf team. Playing golf everyday, I, Thomas, started noticing some pain in my right knee. I rested it for a couple weeks when the school year started, but the pain continued. After an MRI and an X-ray, in November of 2021, we got the news that it was a rare form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma. After going through many rounds of chemotherapy, I had a surgery to have the cancer removed where we attempted to keep my leg. I did more rounds of chemotherapy and in August of 2022, I was declared cancer free. A few months after, the leg that I had was not accepting the limb-salvage surgery and we had no choice but to amputate. In September of 2022, I had my leg amputated, and since then I have received my prosthetic. Throughout this whole journey, Luke has been by my side the whole time and through every step of the way. Now, Luke and I both attend Eastern Kentucky University where I am studying Professional Golf Management and Luke is studying Fire Protection Administration. We hope this channel provides inspiration, entertainment, and enjoyment to you all. Thank you all for the support! -Luke and Thomas #golf #golftiktok #golftok #prosthetic #prostheticlegs #cancer #cancersurvivor #3LG #3LeggedGolf #sports #fyp

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

🔢📏 Stat of the Week 🔢📏

This week’s stat comes from the stat pro himself, Lou Stagner (@loustagner). Link

The pros miss 1 out of 4 from 5 feet. The pros! A scratch player makes it 66 percent of the time, and an 18-handicap makes it 50 percent of the time.

Remember these stats next time you have a “gimme” put from 5 feet.

📊 Poll Question of the Week 📊

I’m curious: how many of you are shutting it down for the offseason? And how many of you are basking in the Florida sun, laughing at the rest of us?

Comment below with your offseason plans! And if you don’t have an offseason, let us know where you're enjoying winter golf.

Thanks for Reading! ⛳ ⛳

Look out for our first in-depth interview with Master Club Fitter Kevin Kraft. The interview should be out Friday!

Til next time.