What we'll cover this week

• Improve Your Approach - Some solid lightbulb moments

• Universal Truth - That’s why I hate Robert

• Prime Comedy - Matty knocks it out of the park

Estimated read time: 7 minutes

This Week I Learned

Metronome training actually works.

I spent an entire putting session with the metronome trick from last week's newsletter, and holy hell, it's legit.

Having a constant beat in my ears was brutally revealing about my putting stroke - I had zero consistency in tempo. It finally clicked that short putts and long putts take an identical amount of time, just different stroke lengths. My brain was treating every putt like a snowflake instead of following basic physics.

From now on, I'm warming up with earbuds and a steady rhythm before every round. The muscle memory actually sticks for longer than I anticipated. My brain subconsciously stays locked into that beat. It's wild how something so simple can rewire your entire putting approach.

The human brain really is incredible engineering when you stop fighting it.

Useless golf videos we’ve watched this week, so you don’t have to:

25 = 213 minutes saved

Missing Wedges

We amateurs spend a lot of time in the dreaded 50-100-yard zone. It’s the zone where our game crumbles, and we lose way too many shots to stupid mistakes.

This week, Golf Digest got us covered, though. There are a few simple fixes that don’t even require practicing with wedges. As so many times, it’s just a lack of understanding of percentages that holds us back.

Video length: 17:20 (I’d recommend 2x speed but slow down between 2:20 and 3:40)

TL:DW

• North/South Problem - The closer you get to the hole, the bigger your distance misses become compared to direction misses. At 100 yards, amateurs miss 7 yards left/right but 12 yards long/short. Pros are 4 yards vs 7 yards. This is why wedge strategy looks different than iron strategy. Just yesterday, I had a very consistent left/right dispersion with only a few yards in between, but length? Oh boy….

• Fix Your Club Gapping - Most golfers space clubs evenly from driver to putter, leaving huge gaps where precision is needed the most. Pros carry 4-5 wedges now instead of extra fairway woods. You hit way more shots from 120-140 yards than 200+ yards, so tighten your gaps where it matters. Ditch a long club and add a wedge.

• Use Clock System or Feel - Change backswing length, not swing speed. Bryson uses strict clock positions (9:00, 10:30, etc.), while most pros use quarter/half/full feel swings. The key: same acceleration through impact, just different backswing lengths. Way more reliable than trying to swing harder or softer. That’s the thing I’m changing immediately. I always think “Swing a few yards softer.” and it NEVER works.

• Pick Safe Lanes - When pins are tucked to one side, don't aim straight at them. Pros aim 12 feet to the opposite side, creating a "lane" where north/south misses stay safe. Your dispersion pattern is twice as big long/short as it is left/right, so give yourself room where it matters most. Aim for the safest lane and avoid hazards.

The lane-picking concept is genius - it explains why pros sometimes appear to be "missing" pins when they're actually playing percentages. Most of us aim straight at every pin and wonder why we constantly short-side ourselves.

I’d recommend watching the video, too, because it features some great visuals to drive the points home.

Universal Truth

Until now, I didn’t realize why I like my new playing partner so much. Same reason why I hate Robert from last week’s round.

Deals for the Feels

Discount season might actually be making a comeback. FootJoy fired the first shot with real price cuts. Hopefully, other brands follow suit instead of those weak "sales" we've been seeing.

FootJoy Start of Summer Event

• Shoes marked down 20-25% with select apparel hitting 50% discounts. Finally, some legitimate savings on quality gear.

Callaway Opus Wedges Reduced

• Remember when everyone was raving about these wedges last season? Now you can snag them with discounts up to $90 per wedge. Not sure how they're claiming $90 savings, but $30 off premium wedges still beats full retail.

New Vice Special Edition Drop

• New lime green design that fades to white might solve the age-old problem: how do you spot a green ball in the rough? The white fade-out could actually make these findable, unlike those stealth-mode solid green disasters.

GoodGood Summer Collection

• Black, tan, purple, and floral patterns covering every style preference in this latest GG drop. It seems like in every drop there’s at least one shirt that I would buy. Too bad my “golf drawer” is bursting at the seams.

* Please note: none of these are affiliate links. These are genuinely great finds that we recommend without compensation.

Enough With Training!

Let's completely flip the script today - you've got your hands full with all that practice material anyway (metronome putting, wedge fundamentals, the usual grind).

Matty from Golf Sidekick challenged 50 YouTubers to his Thailand invitational, and I haven't laughed this hard at golf content in years. This is pure comedic genius disguised as a tournament.

Sneak Peeks:

If you need world-class entertainment, watch the first 10 minutes on double speed, then skip straight to the final hole. Trust me, this beats any instructional video in terms of pure enjoyment value.

Isn’t that why we play golf? To enjoy the sport?

Quick Bites for the Road

Quiz

If you liked this newsletter, refer it to a friend. If you hated it, send it to the ONE person you desperately want to beat (on the course).

Quiz answer

Norman Manley made 59 holes-in-one in his lifetime — more than any other recorded amateur or pro.

But… there’s also Robert at my local who claims he’s had just 10 HIOs last week, so who’s a liar now, Norman?

Sincerely, your Magic Rabbit.

Leader through the rabbit hole. Thanks his torn abdominal muscle for finally making progress with putting.