The 2nd Cut Newsletter: Edition #3
Benefits of Swinging Without a Club, Does Playing the same ball matter? A Wedge Matrix, Golf Purgatory, and Golf Podcasts
"Price is what you pay, value is what you get." - Warren Buffett
Hello again!
Welcome back to The 2nd Cut Newsletter, Edition #3! Thank you all for reading and subscribing.
In today’s Newsletter: Benefits of Swinging Without a Club, Does Playing the same ball matter? A Wedge Matrix, Golf Purgatory, and Golf Podcasts
If you’re new here, this newsletter is designed to provide you with valuable insights, tips, and ideas to improve your golf game from around the internet.
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Subscriber Q&A:
Congrats to Mitch and Jenn for winning the Subscriber Giveaway! Thank you for submitting your questions and I’ll be in touch for your Personalized T2C Dyna Grip Elite Golf Gloves.
Mitch: Does playing the same ball (brand/model) really help improve your scores when you are a high handicapper?
T2C: Higher handicap golfers sometimes get hung up on whether something is “only meant for better golfers”. But in my opinion, consistently using the same ball is even more important to a high handicapper. And probably more important than the type of ball you use.*** As golfers, we want to reduce the number of variables wherever we can and one of those variables is your ball.
I used to hit whatever was in my bag during a round. Maybe I start out with a fresh new Titleist, lose it in the woods, move on to a refurbished Pro V1 with a scuff, lose it, and finally to a Bridgestone I found in a creek on 16. All of those brands could be perfectly fine for me to play, but each will have imperceptible differences to the naked eye when it comes to distance, spin, run out, trajectories, etc.
TLDR: Golf is hard enough as is. Eliminate one variable by consistently playing the same ball. If you get one that fits your game, even better!
***The type of golf ball you use matters, but what works best for you depends on a wide variety of factors like spin rates, distance, feel, and of course cost! Remember you can always upgrade as your game improves. Just try to keep it consistent within rounds.
Mygolfspy.com has golf ball reviews for various price points (link). I’ve heard good things about Ballnamic, which matches your game to a golf ball. (link)
Jenn: What are some good at-home drills for swing feel/movement without a club in hand?
T2C: Doing no club swing drills can be extremely beneficial. The caveat here of course is that your rehearsing a swing feel that is correct. (Your weekly reminder to get lessons!)
Top swing coach Butch Harmon says, “It's like shadow boxing. There's no anticipation of hitting something, so you can focus on making the moves you want and the coordination of them. It smoothes out the whole motion.” - link
Luke Kerr-Dineen explains it better than I ever could: “Another benefit of removing the golf ball from the equation — and all the feedback that goes along with it — is that it allows you to focus more intentionally on your technique. Rather than hitting golf balls and potentially engrain poor form, swinging without a ball, and often in slow motion, can engrain the movements you actually want to make.” -link
Try rehearsing your swing for a minute or so throughout the day without a club. Even better if you can do it in front of a mirror.
As for a drill, you might like the wall drill. Check out Chris Ryan’s video below:
Thanks for the questions As always send any questions you have to the2ndcut.t2c@substack.com or comment below!
T2C Tweets of the Week
This tweet comes from my online coach, Ryan Mouque (@Ryanmouque). I’ve played with multiple people recently who told me they have trouble with shots under 100 yards. Often this is because those 50 or 75-yard shots require something less than a full swing, which many of us don’t practice.
Ryan explains in this video how to develop what’s known as a wedge matrix. It’s essentially 3 shot types for your 3 wedges, giving you 9 different yardages for your wedges.
My 54-degree sand wedge goes 105 yards on a full swing. A 50% swing where I feel like my hands are halfway back at roughly 9 o’clock goes 50 yards. And my 75% swing where I feel my hands around 10 o’clock goes 75 yards. This gives me full coverage from anything under 105 yards. I actually don’t do this with my Lob or Gap wedges for simplicity. But Ryan’s tweet has made me rethink possibly doing this for those clubs as well.
Give this a try at the range. Keep notes on how far each shot type goes. Once you practice these shots enough you’ll begin to gain confidence on shorter approach shots and start to hit more GIRs.
Here’s my weekly Jon Sherman (@practicalgolf) mention.
I couldn’t agree more with Jon’s tweet. This was me a few years ago. I know and play with many people like this. It’s truly awesome if you just enjoy golfing and accept whatever the results may be. But if you are playing frequently, going to the range, and getting frustrated by your results… you my friend are in golf purgatory.
It's okay to admit you care! But you can’t have it both ways. If you want to truly lower your scores and get better you need to change your habits or accept the results. I would start by reading Jon’s book The Four Foundations of Golf (link).
It is THE BEST book I’ve read for golf and has been instrumental in lowering my scores.
T2C Media Corner (PODCAST EDITION)
Podcasts have been an extraordinary information source for me. If you like to listen to something on your commute or workout Podcasts might be right up your alley. Here’s a list of some of my favorite golf pods:
The Sweet Spot with Jon Sherman and Adam Young
Yup, that’s the same Jon from above. Adam Young is great as well. These two are excellent sources on a variety of golf subjects: How to Control Distance on Approach Shots, Equipment Education Series, How to Deal with Alignment, and a ton more. link
Hack It Out Golf with Lou Stagner, Mark Crossfield, and Greg Chalmers
You’ve seen me quote Lou Stagner many times already. He’s a stat guru and an excellent follow on Twitter (@loustagner). Mark Crossfield (@4golfonline) and Greg Chalmers (@GregChalmersPGA) are excellent sources as well and have great stuff on Youtube and Twitter. These guys are entertaining and extremely informative. link
Chasing Scratch with Mike and Eli
Chasing Scratch is like listening to a book. The pod chronicles two friends (Mike and Eli) on their quest from 11 handicaps to Scratch. It’s extremely entertaining, funny, and cathartic to follow along in familiar struggles and triumphs. You can’t not like Mike and Eli. They also have great guests to help them and you with your game. link
Swing Update
With the help of my online coach, Ryan Mouque, my swing is steadily improving. We’re working on bringing the club more inside on the takeaway and feeling like I’m crossing the line at the top. Originally I was taking the club away more to the outside and was laid off at the top, which created a very steep downswing.
I’ve battled for years trying to shallow the club out to no avail. After a few lessons, I’m striking the ball better than ever. We still got work to do, but the progress is exciting. I can’t recommend Ryan enough! (check out his Skillest profile)
Post Round Wrap Up:
Use the same ball throughout the round for consistency
Without a club try slow-motion swings in front of a mirror
Figure out yardages and practice those 50% and 75% swings
Get out of golf purgatory
Thank you for reading The 2nd Cut Newsletter! I hope you enjoyed it and found something helpful for your golf game.
Til next time.
Good looking swing! Thanks for sharing this T2C