Both Sides of Par: Golf Podcast for Every Handicap

Follow the podcast: @bothsidesofpar Can you really find a Vokey wedge for £1? Apparently you can. Colin walks into a charity shop, digs through a bucket of mostly forgettable golf clubs and somehow comes out with a Titleist Vokey SM6 52° wedge for the price of a chocolate bar. Ross explains bounce, grind and why Colin might have landed on an almost perfect setup completely by accident. There’s more gear chat as Ross discovers the hard way that his Ping Hoofer Lite is definitely light on waterproofing, before revealing just how much people are prepared to pay for collectible Scotty Cameron headcovers. On the course, Ross reports back from Oxford Golf Club, a historic layout with James Braid and Harry Colt influence, while Colin has a big trip coming up after landing a round on the Jubilee Course at St Andrews through Drive from St Andrews. He and his dad are turning it into a golf break, with another Open at Drumoig the following day. Practice is producing very different problems for the two hosts. Colin’s driver is finally becoming more predictable after working on completing his turn and committing to the finish. Ross, meanwhile, is still battling his short game from 30–60 yards. He can hit the shot cack-handed, with his eyes closed or after pausing for ten seconds at the top — but ask him to hit it normally and things get interesting. Naturally, the solution involves yet another training aid. The lads also dig into the PGA Tour’s proposed new Tour Championship format, including a season-long champion and a 32-player, two-week match-play finale. Could bringing proper head-to-head match play back to the top level actually make the end of the PGA Tour season worth watching again? And Ross finishes with another Open bargain: Banchory Golf Club for £30 , one of the later chances in the Scottish season to get some competitive golf in. 🎙️ Ross: @theshedisback 🎙️ Colin: @mcgraygolf ⛳ Show: @bothsidesofpar Follow Both Sides of Par on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and check out the show on YouTube for clips, shorts and more from the episodes.

Ross opens Episode 30 by trying very hard not to talk about the 84 he shot at the weekend, his worst round in three years, before Colin gives him sixty seconds to explain himself. The consolation, as Colin points out, is that it's reassuring to know scratch golfers have those days too. From there it's straight into the gear, and this week that means golf bags. Ross has just picked up a Ping Hoofer Lite to sit alongside the £50 eBay tour bag he bought for Senior Open qualifying, while Colin has been down a research rabbit hole after spotting a Callaway Chev Dry 14 at £100 off in the Nairn pro shop. The pair weigh up carry bags against cart bags, whether it's a faux pas to carry a club logo from a course you've never played, and why Ross spent his first round with a £180 bag holding the stand legs together with a golf glove. There's a brief detour into the £400 G/FORE and £1,200 Scotty Cameron bags neither of them will be buying, and Colin discovers the Motocaddy Protekta he'd been eyeing up deliberately won't fit his Motocaddy Cube trolley. Ross then flags a bargain open at Nairn Dunbar, Colin's new home course, and gives an update on his chipping practice, where he's still building confidence with a left-below-right grip. He's mid-sentence explaining why chipping yips are even harder to shake than putting ones when his laptop dies, leaving Colin to finish the show solo. Which turns out to be fine, because Colin finally gets to the South West Scotland trip report he's been promising for a fortnight. Having grown up in Dumfriesshire, he admits to an unfair snobbery about the place, and this trip put him right. He covers the Cally Palace Hotel near Gatehouse (putting green next to the bar patio, pitch and putt for the afternoon, a proper course attached), a cabin at Kippford with a nine-hole course his dad designed a walk away, and Gatehouse of Fleet itself, a hilly, blind-shot, honesty-box nine-holer where Colin's wife, who is just learning the game, hit the green on the notorious drop-shot ninth. He rounds off with pointers to Kirkcudbright, Newton Stewart, the two Dumfries courses and Southerness for anyone planning a trip. Episode Highlights 🟢 Ross's 84 and why it's oddly reassuring: a scratch golfer's worst round in three years, and the story of the 95 followed by a 71 the next day 🟢 The golf glove solution: Ross discovers his new Ping Hoofer Lite has no Velcro to hold the stand legs together on a trolley, and improvises 🟢 Is it a faux pas to carry a bag with the logo of a course you've never played? The hosts settle it 🟢 The Motocaddy trap: why the Protekta cart bag won't work with Colin's Motocaddy Cube, straps or no straps 🟢 Colin's hometown reckoning: how a week in Dumfries and Galloway turned around his unfair opinion of the courses he grew up on 🟢 The ninth at Gatehouse of Fleet: a 50 to 100 foot drop, a pitching wedge for 150 yards, and a beginner who found the green Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Ping Hoofer Lite stand bag (Ross's new purchase, bought from American Golf): https://ping.com/en-us/shop/bags/carry-bags/hoofer-lite 🟢 Ping Hoofer Monsoon (the waterproof version Colin mentions) 🟢 Callaway Chev Dry 14 waterproof cart bag (spotted at £150 in the Nairn pro shop): https://eu.callawaygolf.com/en/gb/callaway-golf/gear/golf-bags/cart-bags/ 🟢 Titleist Players S4 StaDry stand bag: https://www.titleist.com/product/players-s4-stadry/26TGBP4S.html 🟢 Titleist Players 4 Carbon stand bag and Titleist Cart 14 StaDry cart bag (mentioned as top-reviewed options) 🟢 Motocaddy Cube trolley (Colin's current trolley), Motocaddy Dry Series cart bag and Motocaddy Protekta cart bag with the EASILOCK base 🟢 PowaKaddy Dri-Tech cart bag and PowaKaddy's magnetic bag-to-trolley system 🟢 G/FORE golf bags, including the camo parachute carry bag and the croc-embossed leather tour bag 🟢 Scotty Cameron golf bags 🟢 Srixon tour bag (Ross's £50 eBay find) 🟢 Nairn Golf Club: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairn_Golf_Club 🟢 Nairn Dunbar Golf Club: https://nairndunbar.com/ 🟢 Cally Palace Hotel and Golf Course, Gatehouse of Fleet: https://bespokehotels.com/cally-palace-hotel/ 🟢 Coastal Kippford holiday park (formerly Kippford Holiday Park): https://www.visitscotland.com/info/accommodation/coastal-kippford-previously-kippford-holiday-park-holiday-caravans-and-lodges-p272171 🟢 Craigieknowes nine-hole golf course, Kippford (designed by Colin's dad) 🟢 Gatehouse of Fleet Golf Club: https://www.gatehousegolfclub.com/ 🟢 Other South West Scotland courses mentioned: Kirkcudbright, Newton Stewart, Dumfries and County, Dumfries and Galloway, Southerness 🟢 Ross's chipping aid (referred to as a "strike wedge"): product not confirmed, please check before adding a link 🟢 Both Sides of Par on Instagram: @bothsidesofpar 🟢 Colin on Instagram: @mcgraygolf (spelling to be confirmed) Weekly Competitions 🟢 Nairn Dunbar Golf Club, Nairn, Highlands. Sunday 11 October 2026. Gents open, 21 handicap limit, £30 entry. Ross notes there's plenty of room on the tee sheet and calls it an absolute bargain for a course with a green fee around the £100 mark. The club website lists this as the Springfield Autumn Classic Open with booking via BRS, but the date, price and handicap limit above come from the episode and should be confirmed: https://nairndunbar.com/visitors-open-competitions/ Chapter List 00:00 Welcome and Ross's worst round in three years 02:10 Ross's new Ping Hoofer Lite and Colin's bag research 09:42 The stand bag on a trolley problem 12:37 Dream bags: G/FORE and Scotty Cameron 15:51 Cart bag roundup: Titleist, Motocaddy and PowaKaddy 19:58 Weekly open: Nairn Dunbar 21:00 Ross's chipping practice update 24:03 South West Scotland trip: Cally Palace 26:35 Kippford and the course Colin's dad built 28:19 Gatehouse of Fleet and the drop-shot ninth 30:57 More courses to play in Dumfries and Galloway 32:16 Wrap up and where to follow the show

Follow us on Instagram - @bothsidesofpar Former DP World Tour player Peter Whiteford joins Ross this week to talk about a very different way of getting better at golf: stop assuming you know what's costing you shots and actually go out on the course and find out. After nearly 20 years travelling and playing professionally, Peter's career was cut short by hip problems, eventually leading to a replacement hip and, somewhat unexpectedly, a second career in coaching. Now he's launched The Scoring Coach, an approach built around watching golfers where their scores actually happen rather than relying entirely on what they think is going wrong on the range. Peter explains why his starting point is a nine-hole scoring assessment, where he watches a player without interfering before identifying their biggest "scoring leaks". And those leaks aren't always where golfers expect. The player asking for a long-iron lesson might actually be losing shots with a wedge; the golfer convinced they're a brilliant driver might be making terrible strategic decisions from the tee; and the player blaming their chipping technique might simply be choosing completely the wrong shot for the lie. Whether you're playing off scratch or 28, Peter's argument is the same: find the lowest-hanging fruit and work on what will actually move your score. That takes Ross and Peter into course management, driving strategy and the very human side of golf. Peter explains why some golfers are "Ferrari drivers kicking about in a Fiat Punto", playing far too conservatively for their ability, while others are Fiat Punto drivers trying to handle a Ferrari and repeatedly taking on shots they simply don't have. He talks about having an A-game and B-game driver swing, knowing when to take your medicine from trouble and why strategy can't be completely separated from how you're feeling over the ball that day. There's plenty here for golfers at both ends of the handicap spectrum. Peter explains why even Tour professionals have the same demons standing over shots as the rest of us, but have developed more tools for dealing with them. He shares the simple "hold your finish" thought he uses when driving feels uncomfortable, why focusing on avoiding a bad shot can be so destructive, and why golfers often score better in match play because they're thinking about winning the hole rather than diagnosing every mistake they've just made. And then there's perhaps the biggest lesson of the episode: read the situation before blaming your swing . Peter explains why golfers should assess the lie before choosing the shot or club, why he likes players to actually stand over the ball and feel the shot before committing to it, and how something as simple as the amount of sand beneath your feet can completely change the bunker technique required. Ross provides a timely example from Dalmahoy, where failing to notice there was barely any sand underneath his ball turned a straightforward bunker shot into an entirely avoidable mistake. Episode Highlights 🟢 Why Peter Whiteford believes watching golfers on the course reveals far more about their scoring problems than simply asking them what they need to work on 🟢 "Ferrari drivers in a Fiat Punto": why good golfers can be far too conservative from the tee while other players repeatedly take on shots their game can't support 🟢 The A-game and B-game driver swings Peter believes better players should develop, and why taking less club isn't always the safest strategy 🟢 Why Tour professionals have the same demons standing over golf shots as a 28-handicapper — and the extra tools better players develop to keep those thoughts quiet 🟢 Read the lie before blaming your technique: how golfers misdiagnose bad chips, bunker shots and recovery shots and then practise the wrong thing 🟢 Why Peter wants golfers to stand over the ball and feel the shot first , rather than deciding on the perfect trajectory from behind the ball and trying to manufacture it 🟢 The simple "hold your finish" trigger Peter uses when his driving feels uncomfortable and why focusing on something you can actually control can free up your swing 🟢 Why golfers often perform better in match play than stroke play — and what that tells us about acceptance, commitment and the way we react to bad shots Peter Whiteford & The Scoring Coach 🟢 The Scoring Coach: https://thescoringcoach.co.uk 🟢 Peter Whiteford on Instagram: @peterwhitefordgolf Peter's coaching starts with a nine-hole scoring assessment designed to identify where a golfer is genuinely losing shots. From there, he can prescribe the technical, strategic, short-game, practice or performance work that offers the quickest route towards better scoring. Chapter List 00:00 Peter Whiteford's journey from Tour player to golf coach 02:02 Introducing The Scoring Coach and why Peter wants to watch golfers play 04:43 Are golfers asking coaches to fix the wrong things? 07:31 Scratch to high handicap: finding the biggest scoring leaks 09:00 Why golfers misdiagnose their own weaknesses 10:25 How Peter assesses an entire golf game 12:05 Driver strategy and the "Ferrari versus Fiat Punto" problem 14:58 When driver actually makes a hole safer 16:23 The simplest short-game gains for higher handicappers 19:24 The human element that golf strategy can't account for 21:15 Ross and Peter's Castle Stuart first-tee disasters 23:14 Peter's tools for dealing with driving anxiety 24:41 Tour professionals have the same demons as everyone else 26:15 Why we can score better in match play than stroke play 28:18 Trouble shots: when should you simply take your medicine? 30:36 Read the lie before you choose the club 31:06 Feel the shot first: Peter's approach to shot selection 34:22 What better players do before they hit the shot 35:00 Reading bunker lies and choosing the right technique 38:18 Technique or decision-making: identifying the real problem 39:34 How to work with Peter and The Scoring Coach

The nights are drawing in and Colin is feeling a bit wistful about the end of the golf season, while Ross, basking in 21 degrees down south, cheerfully reminds him that medal comps run all winter at Farnham. Consolation duly not provided, the lads get into gear, and this week it's Ross with a new toy: the Strike Wedge. Colin assumed it was an actual wedge (Ross did just buy three, after all), but it turns out to be a wedge-shaped bit of plastic you put beside or behind the ball and try not to hit. Ross is using it to cure a case of the toe strikes rather than for its intended purpose, because his chipping confidence is still a work in progress. He can strike it beautifully with his eyes closed or with a left-below-right grip, but with a normal grip and eyes open, something upstairs gets in the way. A demo video is promised for Instagram. Colin, meanwhile, has news on the driver front: the slice that's haunted him since he came back to golf is finally, mostly, gone. The turnaround came from two things. First, his little brother (a former teaching pro, so not to be asked for help unless absolutely desperate) diagnosed "lazy legs, lazy hips" after three consecutive lost balls, and a proper hip turn and full finish did the trick. Second, Colin stopped hiding on the mat and started hitting driver on the actual course during quiet solo rounds, which fixed the fear as much as the swing. That leads into a proper conversation about the difference between practising your golf and practising the course, how Ross uses the range for technique, routine and speed work, why the pros don't rip up their swing after one bad shot, and Colin's plan to go and hit twenty balls out of the heather to finally learn what it does to a clubface. Ross then reports back from his first ever senior amateur open at Dalmahoy, his old stomping ground, where a level-par front nine and some of the best tee shots he's ever hit there carried him to second in the scratch, despite a couple of dodgy club choices and a near-shank with a four iron on the widest fairway on the course. A lesson from Peter Whiteford (a future guest on the show) about actually walking up to your ball to read the lie makes an appearance. Colin's South West Scotland trip report gets bumped to next week thanks to the school run, and Ross wraps up with a cracking £35 open at Fortrose & Rosemarkie, one of the most scenic links in the Highlands. Episode Highlights 🟢 Ross explains the Strike Wedge, a plastic training aid that gives you both a visual and a physical reason to find the middle of the clubface, and why he's using it for long irons rather than actual wedges 🟢 The two-part fix for Colin's driver slice: a "lazy hips" diagnosis from his brother, and the psychological shift of hitting driver on the course instead of hiding on the mat 🟢 Practising your golf versus practising the course. Ross on how a scratch golfer uses the range, why the pros don't chuck their technique after one bad shot, and Colin's plan to learn how heather closes the clubface 🟢 Ross's round at the Dalmahoy Senior Open: birdies on both front-nine par fives, smashing driver down the tight 13th, and then nearly shanking a four iron on a 60-yard-wide fairway at the last 🟢 Peter Whiteford's tip on reading the lie before you even reach for your glove, and how ignoring it cost Ross a bogey on 15 Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Strike Wedge training aid: https://strikewedge.com/ 🟢 Strike Wedge how-to guide (positioning for heel, toe and angle of attack): https://strikewedge.com/pages/how-to 🟢 Ross's Strike Wedge demo video on the Both Sides of Par Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bothsidesofpar/ 🟢 TaylorMade Stealth driver (Colin's, with the adjustable weight for fade or draw bias) 🟢 Scott Fawcett's DECADE Course Management System: https://decadegolf.com/ 🟢 Peter Whiteford, former European Tour pro and coach, appearing on the show soon: https://talkgolfscotland.co.uk/staff-profile/peter-whiteford/ 🟢 Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, Edinburgh (East and West courses): https://www.dalmahoyhotelandcountryclub.co.uk/ 🟢 Dalmahoy open competitions page: https://www.dalmahoyhotelandcountryclub.co.uk/golf-leisure/golf/golf-at-dalmahoy/open-tournaments/ 🟢 Fortrose & Rosemarkie Golf Club: https://fortrosegolfclub.co.uk/ 🟢 Both Sides of Par on YouTube: search "Both Sides of Par" Weekly Competitions 🟢 Fortrose & Rosemarkie Golf Club, Fortrose, Black Isle (around 20 minutes from Inverness). Gents 18-Hole Stroke Play Open, Saturday 3rd October 2026. Singles stroke play. £35 for visitors, 24 handicap limit. A James Braid links on the tip of the Chanonry peninsula with sea on both sides and Fort George across the water. Entry via the club website: https://fortrosegolfclub.co.uk/competitions/open-competitions/ 🟢 Ross mentioned a second open later in October, held over for a future episode Chapter List 00:00 Welcome and the end of summer 03:40 The Strike Wedge training aid 10:16 Colin's driver update: fixing the slice 18:12 Course practice vs range practice 25:03 Practising trouble shots and the heather problem 30:01 Ross at the Dalmahoy Senior Open 38:36 Weekly open: Fortrose & Rosemarkie 41:11 Wrap-up

Colin's got a new toy and he's not even using it for what it's meant for. This week he unboxes the Shot Scope Pro L2 rangefinder and cheerfully admits the main use so far has been checking whether the group ahead is out of range so he can smash a few extra practice drives. Ross, playing the sensible one for once, weighs in on lasers versus GPS and why chasing precision to the yard might matter less than most golfers think. That leads nicely into a proper club fitting revelation, as Ross explains how getting his nine iron and wedge bent one degree flat cured a mystery hook that had been sending shots 30 yards left, plus how to spot the symptoms in your own bag before you rage-sell a perfectly good set of irons. Both hosts have also joined new clubs this month. Colin signs up at Nairn Dunbar, the unfairly overlooked links along the road from its famous neighbour, lured in by a clever points-based membership and a genuinely brilliant list of reciprocal courses. Ross returns to Farnham after moving house, where the 45-yard chipping green and free range balls have him practising more than ever, and where his one-handed Jonathan Yarwood chipping drill is finally starting to pay off. There's also a nostalgic detour into what it's actually like to run a driving range, which may or may not become a future episode. To round things off, Ross reports back from the BB&O County Championship at Woburn, where £65 bought two rounds on the Marquess course, breakfast, lunch and one heartbreaking closing double bogey that cost him a shot at getting to dead zero. Colin counters with a tale of nearly holing a 295-yard drive for eagle at Alford, conveniently glossing over the two lost balls the hole before. And there's one final open competition of the season to recommend before the Scottish golf calendar winds down. Episode Highlights 🟢 Why Colin's rangefinder gets more use spying on the group ahead than measuring to the flag, and the practice use case that actually justifies the purchase 🟢 The one degree lie angle adjustment that fixed Ross's hooking nine iron, what it costs, and the tell-tale symptoms that your clubs might be too upright 🟢 The one-handed chipping drill from Jonathan Yarwood that's freeing up Ross's short game (with a demo video on the show's Instagram) 🟢 Inside Nairn Dunbar's points-based membership and rover ticket, and why reciprocal course lists deserve more attention when choosing a club 🟢 Two rounds at Woburn's Marquess course, breakfast and lunch included, for £65: Ross's county championship bargain of the millennium Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Shot Scope Pro L2 rangefinder (£150 RRP, Colin paid £130 on offer): https://shotscope.com/uk/shop/products/golf-rangefinders/pro-l2/ 🟢 Shot Scope Apple Watch golf GPS app: https://shotscope.com/uk/discover/my-shot-scope/ios-watch-app/ 🟢 Jonathan Yarwood on YouTube (source of the one-handed chipping drill): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgyB8vthTrPFTGplzR-mPkg 🟢 Both Sides of Par on Instagram (chipping drill demo video): https://www.instagram.com/bothsidesofpar 🟢 Nairn Dunbar Golf Club, Nairn (membership options including the points scheme): https://nairndunbar.com 🟢 Farnham Golf Club, Surrey: https://farnhamgolfclub.co.uk 🟢 Woburn Golf Club (Marquess course, host of the BB&O County Championship): https://www.woburngolf.co.uk 🟢 Haddington Golf Club, East Lothian: https://www.haddingtongolf.co.uk Weekly Competitions 🟢 Haddington Golf Club Autumn Open, Amisfield Park, Haddington, East Lothian. Saturday 26th September. Gents singles strokeplay, £25 for visitors. One of the last open competitions of the Scottish season, played on the 19th oldest golf course in the world, and there are plenty of tee times still available. Book via the club's BRS open competitions page. Chapter List 00:00 Intro and handicap updates 02:44 Shot Scope Pro L2 rangefinder: first impressions and laser vs GPS 16:11 The one degree fix: lie angles and the hooking nine iron 26:32 One-handed chipping drill progress 30:33 Colin joins Nairn Dunbar: points memberships and reciprocals 36:04 Ross joins Farnham: practice facilities and free range balls 45:08 County Championship at Woburn's Marquess course 51:33 Colin's near-eagle at Alford 53:49 Weekly competition: Haddington Autumn Open 55:23 Wrap-up

Normal service resumes after a few weeks of summer holidays, and the lads have somehow managed to golf Scotland from top to bottom between them. The main event this week is Royal Dornoch, which both Colin and Ross played within days of each other, narrowly missing an actual meet-up but successfully completing a 550-mile wedge handover via the pro shop. Ross marked his 50th birthday with an early morning round, while Colin got the full experience playing a foursomes open with his brother Bruce. There's plenty of chat about that striking new clubhouse (part sandstone masterpiece, part Minecraft build, depending who you ask), the changing room lounge where folk watch The Open with their feet up, and the course itself, including Colin's heroic 8 on the par 3 second after a battle with a bunker taller than his head. From there it's on to Golspie, where Colin reckons his high handicap eyes could barely tell the quality apart from its more famous neighbour, and where Ross survived a competition round so windy that a single figure player hit driver on a 150-yard par 3 and still came up short. Ross also drops a tease for a future episode: Brora might just be the best natural links course he's ever played. The pair are asking listeners for feedback this week too, so let them know whether these course reports are worth the airtime. The improvement corner covers the borrowed Cleveland 58 degree wedge Colin has been putting through its paces in Glasgow, plus a brilliant one-handed chipping drill from coach Jonathan Yarwood that Ross swears by for curing the chipping heebie-jeebies. Ross also gives Colin's chipping video an honest critique, which is what friends are for. The show wraps with this week's open competition pick at Cathkin Braes, a James Braid design and the oldest course in Glasgow. Episode Highlights 🟢 Colin's 8 on the par 3 second at Royal Dornoch, featuring a shanked tee shot, a bunker face higher than his head, and a chip out backwards 🟢 The new Royal Dornoch clubhouse debate: spectacular modern statement or a bit of Minecraft on the hill? 🟢 Ross calling Brora possibly the best natural links course he's ever played, teed up for a future episode 🟢 The Golspie gale: a low single figure player hitting driver on a 150-yard par 3 and still not reaching the green 🟢 The Jonathan Yarwood one-handed chipping drill that forces you to turn your body properly, and why Ross used it before every single chip at one point Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Royal Dornoch Golf Club: https://royaldornoch.com 🟢 Golspie Golf Club: https://www.golspiegolfclub.co.uk 🟢 Brora Golf Club: https://www.broragolfclub.co.uk 🟢 Cathkin Braes Golf Club: https://cathkinbraesgolfclub.co.uk 🟢 Jonathan Yarwood, golf coach behind the chipping drill: https://jonathanyarwood.com 🟢 No Laying Up, who stirred the pot over the Foxy signage at Dornoch: https://nolayingup.com 🟢 Cleveland RTX 58 degree wedge, the rusty loaner that made the 550-mile journey 🟢 Get in touch: hello@bothpar.com or @bothsidesofpar on Instagram Weekly Competitions Gents Individual Open at Cathkin Braes Golf Club, Rutherglen, Glasgow (between East Kilbride and Rutherglen, handy for the M74). Sunday 6th September 2026, individual strokeplay format, £25 per person. A James Braid design and the oldest golf course in Glasgow, always in great condition according to Colin, who has been playing it on and off for 35 years. Watch for the sharp left turn into the club entrance off the B road. Chapter List 00:00 Intro and golfing Scotland top to bottom 02:25 Royal Dornoch and that new clubhouse 10:25 Playing the Championship course with brother Bruce 21:05 Favourite holes at Royal Dornoch 29:55 Golspie course report and a Brora tease 37:38 Listener feedback: do you like these course reports? 39:10 The 58 degree wedge and Jonathan Yarwood's chipping drill 46:47 Weekly open: Cathkin Braes

Colin's flying solo this week, and by solo we mean putting on a repeat while Ross plays Royal Dornoch and Colin nurses his jealousy after a consolation trip up the coast past Brora, Tain and Golspie. So it's back to one of the early episodes, recorded when there was five inches of snow on the ground, which is either quaint or cruel depending on your current heatwave situation. The episode itself is a proper tech deep dive. Ross explains how he managed to cave in the face of yet another driver, this time his TaylorMade Qi35, and why he's jumped ship to a Ping G430 LST driver and G425 LST three wood while he waits for the replacement. Colin, meanwhile, has been surviving the snow with a putting mat and a scoring system so nerdy it comes with rings like a dartboard, which sparks a genuinely useful conversation about measuring outcomes instead of obsessing over what your backswing looks like on video. Claude Harmon gets his customary mention, because of course he does. From there it's a full tour of on-course and practice tech: lasers versus GPS watches, why Colin's Garmin lasts two weeks while Ross can't find his charging cable, phone apps like Hole19 and Golfshot, and the growing world of AI golf tools, from Golf.ai's AI caddy and rules assistant to swing analysis apps like Swing Coach and Mustard Golf, where Mark Blackburn will critique your swing for considerably less than the £1,800 a year one poor soul was paying for online lessons. There's also a lovely detour through Carnoustie, including the night Ross blagged the Gary Player Suite for £50, before Ross rounds things off with a cracking scramble recommendation at King James VI in Perth. Episode Highlights 🟢 Ross breaks another driver face and explains his switch to the Ping G430 LST, including how low spin versus max heads actually differ and why the feel change from carbon to titanium takes some getting used to 🟢 Colin's putting mat scoring system, and the case for measuring practice by outcomes rather than video analysis of your swing positions 🟢 The full on-course tech comparison: laser rangefinders versus GPS watches versus phone apps, and what each one actually earns its place for 🟢 Golf.ai and the rise of the AI caddy, plus AI swing analysis apps that score your swing red, yellow and green and might just work alongside a human coach 🟢 Ross's Carnoustie stories, including a £50 night in the Gary Player Suite and why it's one of the best free spectating spots at the Dunhill Links Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Ping G430 LST driver and G425 LST three wood: https://ping.com 🟢 TaylorMade Qi35 LS driver: https://www.taylormadegolf.com 🟢 Ping Proving Grounds Podcast 🟢 Garmin Venu Sq 2 with Garmin Golf app: https://www.garmin.com 🟢 Hole19 golf app: https://www.hole19golf.com 🟢 Golfshot app: https://golfshot.com 🟢 Golf.ai, AI caddy, rules assistant and live scorecards: https://golf.ai 🟢 Mustard Golf swing analysis app with Mark Blackburn and Justin Rose, £25 a month or £150 a year: https://teammstrd.com/golf 🟢 Swing Coach app 🟢 18Birdies phone app ( https://18birdies.com ) 🟢 Carnoustie Golf Links and the Carnoustie Golf Hotel stay and play packages: https://www.carnoustiegolflinks.com 🟢 Dan Grieves, tour short game coach Chapter List 00:00 Intro: classic episode replay week while Ross plays Royal Dornoch 01:17 Five inches of snow and Scottish skiing 04:15 Carnoustie: the toughest, fairest course you'll play 06:42 The £50 night in the Gary Player Suite 09:40 Ross breaks another driver face 10:51 Switching to Ping: the G430 LST and G425 LST three wood 14:59 Low spin vs max: choosing a driver head 18:50 Colin's putting mat and scoring games 21:10 Measuring practice by outcomes, not technique 27:01 On-course tech: lasers, GPS watches and phone apps 33:16 Rangefinders, and whether the cheap ones are any good 35:04 Golf.ai and the AI caddy 37:24 AI swing analysis: Swing Coach and Mustard Golf 41:02 The £1,800 online coaching story 41:55 Weekly competition: King James VI gents scramble 45:26 Trackman bays vs the driving range

Ross and Colin are back with a proper mixed bag this week. Colin's been living his best golfing life at two very different Scottish gems, the windswept championship links of Western Gailes and the quirky Old Tom Morris charm of Cullen, though the Gailes part of Western Gailes lived up to its name and cost him somewhere north of thirteen balls. Ross, meanwhile, is preparing for an Open qualifier by wisely not treating it like an Open qualifier, recommitting to his fade after a flirtation with draws that cost him a ball in the water (and, somehow, still a par). The middle of the episode is a short game masterclass by way of confession. Colin wants to know how Ross chooses between a pitch, a chip and run, or the hero flop, and the answer starts with the lie, every time. Colin then reveals the moment that converted him to the chip and run for good: a 70-yard seven iron scuttled along the ground at Cullen's 18th that dropped in for his first ever eagle. The pair also dig into a fascinating MyGolfSpy article built on Arccos data from over 660,000 par 3s, which shows that almost nobody flies the green, nearly everyone comes up short, and we're all guilty of clubbing for our best strike rather than our average one. They wrap up with tales of the toughest par 3s at Ross's course, a case for laying up when the carry isn't there, and this week's competition recommendation: a cracking open at Royal Burgess in Edinburgh, one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. Colin leaves with homework (pitch and run practice, possible Vokey purchase) and listeners leave with an invitation to send in their own course reports. Episode Highlights 🟢 Colin's first ever eagle: a 70-yard chip and run with a seven iron that rolled straight into the hole on Cullen's 18th 🟢 The Arccos data on par 3s: fewer than 10% of golfers fly the green at any handicap level, yet we all plan for our perfect strike 🟢 Ross loses his tee shot on a 560-yard par 5, drops, watches his playing partner accidentally play his ball, and still walks off with the par of his life 🟢 Thirteen lost balls at Western Gailes: what playing a top links course in a full-blown gale does to a recently cured slice 🟢 Claude Harmon's short game rule that stuck with Ross: whatever you do, never leave yourself two chips to get on the green Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Western Gailes Golf Club, Ayrshire: https://westerngailes.com 🟢 Cullen Links Golf Club, Moray: https://www.cullenlinksgolf.co.uk 🟢 Golspie Golf Club, Sutherland: https://www.golspiegolfclub.co.uk 🟢 The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh: https://www.royalburgess.co.uk 🟢 MyGolfSpy article: You're Playing Par-3s Wrong. Here's What the Data Says to Do Instead: https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/youre-playing-par-3s-wrong-heres-what-the-data-says-to-do-instead/ 🟢 Arccos shot tracking: https://www.arccosgolf.com 🟢 Scott Fawcett's DECADE Course Management: https://decade.golf 🟢 Son of a Butch with Claude Harmon (podcast) 🟢 Titleist Vokey wedges: https://www.vokey.com 🟢 Trackman (for gapping sessions and knowing your average carry): https://www.trackman.com Weekly Competitions Gents Individual Open at The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh, Barnton, Edinburgh. Sunday 26th July 2026, individual stroke play open with a handicap limit of 32, £50 entry for visitors. Ross mentions three spots were still available in the field between 2:15pm and 3:00pm at time of recording. Entry is via HowDidiDo: https://www.howdidido.com/Directory/OpenCompetitions/3010 . A brilliant parkland course less than five miles from Edinburgh city centre and the airport, so it's an easy trip from almost anywhere in the country. HowDidiDo One thing to double check before publishing: the transcript reads "handicap limit £32" which I've interpreted as a handicap limit of 32 (a transcription artifact). The listing online also shows £35 for members versus £50 for visitors, so the £50 quoted on the show is the visitor price. HowDidiDo Chapter List 00:00 Welcome and catching up 01:10 Ross's Open qualifier prep and committing to the fade 04:02 Course review: Western Gailes in a gale 11:07 Ross's competition round and the par of his life 14:47 Colin's handicap update and Golspie course review 18:35 Chip and run vs pitch: choosing the right short game shot 27:20 Par 3 data: why we all come up short 42:03 Weekly competition: Royal Burgess Gents Open 44:25 Wrap up and listener course reports

Big news opens the show: Ross has made it back to scratch for the first time in roughly 16 years, and the lads pick apart exactly how he got there. It turns out most of the battle was in his head, with old handicap barriers (that stubborn 0.5, the dreaded jump from 6 to 5) doing more damage than his swing ever did. The fixes were refreshingly human: their weekly chats keeping him accountable, three years of left-handed putting, a focus on pace over line (a Scott Fawcett favourite), some carefully added clubhead speed for strategy rather than showing off, and properly purposeful practice where you actually test yourself on the course. Colin, holding up the high-handicap end as ever, soaks it all in and the two have a lovely back-and-forth about whether you can ever truly ignore your score (Ross, for the record, cannot). From there the chat turns to Senior Open qualifying, which Ross has now entered. He explains the whole thing in plain English: turn 50, get to 0.4 or better, pay your £250, and take your shot in a one-round shootout, in his case at Stirling on Monday 20th July, with the actual Senior Open landing at Gleneagles' King's Course and a field featuring the likes of Henrik Stenson and Pádraig Harrington. Colin then unveils his weekend project, a "course-bagger" app at track.bothpar.com inspired by Munro bagging, complete with regions to complete and prestige points for links courses, Open venues and famous architects. That sparks a genuinely useful discussion about what actually makes a course worth seeking out, from qualifying pedigree to a proper grass range. The back half is all about playing more golf for less money. The two dig into reciprocals and second memberships, including the 300-plus James Braid Association courses, Spey Bay's generous reciprocal list and quirky Summer Solstice comp, getting onto Royal Dornoch via a Golspie or Brora membership, Nairn Dunbar's country option, and joining somewhere like Southerness for reliable winter golf. A quick detour into eye-watering London joining fees (think £20k just to get through the door) makes the Scottish maths look very sensible indeed. They close with this week's competition pick at Downfield in Dundee, plus a heads-up on new Instagram swing clips using Coleman's shot tracer. Episode Highlights 🟢 Ross's route back to scratch after a 16-year gap, and why the real barrier was almost entirely mental 🟢 The pace-over-line putting shift (credited to Scott Fawcett) that quietly cut out the three-putts 🟢 Why Ross added clubhead speed for smarter strategy rather than ego, and how it changed his club choices off the tee 🟢 Senior Open qualifying demystified: the criteria, the £250 one-round shootout, and the realistic odds of getting through 🟢 Colin's new course-bagger app and the "prestige points" debate over what genuinely makes a course worth playing Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Both Sides of Par on Instagram ( @bothsidesofpar ): clips, swing videos and weekly updates 🟢 track.bothpar.com : Colin's new course-bagger app 🟢 Scott Fawcett and the DECADE Course Management System: the pace-putting and aggressive-off-the-tee thinking referenced throughout (decadegolf.com) 🟢 Coleman Golfs and his shot tracer: Find Coleman over at @colemangolfs 🟢 The Association of James Braid Courses: 300-plus Braid-designed courses with reduced green fees (jamesbraidgolfsociety.com) 🟢 The Senior Open at Gleneagles, King's Course, 23 to 26 July 2026 (legendstour.com) 🟢 Stirling Golf Club: Ross's chosen Senior Open qualifying venue 🟢 Spey Bay Golf Club: links course with a wide reciprocal list and the Summer Solstice comp (the membership and reciprocal figures were quoted live on the show, so verify before relying on them) 🟢 Get in touch: hello@bothpar.com Weekly Competitions 🟢 Downfield Golf Club, Dundee: Open on Sunday 2nd August, £45 entry. A James Braid-designed parkland championship course, beautifully tree-lined and a former Open final qualifying venue (now a regional qualifier), roughly 25 minutes from St Andrews and easy to reach off the A90. A brilliant excuse for a weekend away, with a Saturday-night stopover in Dundee and a Sunday round. Chapter List 00:00 Welcome and the plan for today 01:09 Ross gets back to scratch after 16 years 03:50 Why handicap barriers live in your head 06:48 What moved the needle: pace putting and weekly chats 09:55 Adding clubhead speed (and why it isn't about bombing it) 13:24 Purposeful practice and smarter course management 23:23 Can you actually ignore your score? 24:17 Senior Open qualifying, explained 33:03 Building a course-bagger app for golfers 45:44 Reciprocals and second memberships worth having 55:12 The eye-watering cost of a London membership 57:44 This week's competition: Downfield in Dundee 1:00:44 Wrap-up, Instagram and swing clips

Ross is off the grid this week, so Colin holds the high handicap fort alone and brings in a guest who sits at the other end of the spectrum: Coleman Rollins, better known online as Coleman Golfs. Coleman is a near scratch software engineer who got so fed up with launch monitor prices that he did the only reasonable thing and built his own, an open source unit called OpenFlight. The two quickly discover a shared origin story of being used as moving targets on a driving range as kids, which sets the tone nicely. From there it becomes part golfing journey, part tech masterclass. Coleman talks through almost ten years of caddying and what it taught him about reading greens, course management and the classic amateur sin of not playing within your means. He covers the grip change that wrecked his game for a full year, the coach who finally rebuilt his swing, and then the good stuff: why a Trackman costs the price of a small car (it uses the same phased array radar that tracks missiles), how his three radar Doppler setup works, and why his whole rig comes in at around five hundred dollars. There is also a very enjoyable detour into reverse engineering commercial monitors from their publicly filed photos, which earned Coleman a distinctly unfriendly Instagram message from one red and white branded manufacturer. The back half turns practical. Coleman explains which numbers actually move the needle for an improving golfer, how handing data to a coach (human or AI) has helped him, and how dialling in his wedge distances on a Trackman paid off at his biggest tournament of the year just the day before. A quickfire round closes things out with some genuinely useful takes: the metric golfers underrate, the one they hopelessly overrate, a twenty quid putting hack borrowed from woodworking, and the golf marketing trick that makes him want to throw his phone. Colin, to his credit, resists buying a launch monitor on the spot. Just. Episode Highlights 🟢 The "playing within your means" lesson Coleman picked up caddying for everyone from Tuesday ladies' tournaments to single digit men, and why even near scratch players get this wrong 🟢 Why a thirty thousand pound Trackman is arguably fair value: a plain English explanation of phased array radar versus the Doppler tech in cheaper units like the Garmin R10 🟢 Coleman's Trackman wedge session the week of his state amateur qualifier, and how knowing his exact 50 to 120 yard numbers gave him a dozen confident shots on the day 🟢 The quickfire round: vertical launch angle being underrated, swing speed being wildly overrated, and a twenty dollar woodworking laser that doubles as a putting trainer the golf brands would sell you for a hundred quid Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Coleman Rollins, the guest, on Instagram and TikTok as @colemangolfs 🟢 OpenFlight, Coleman's open source launch monitor, on GitHub at https://github.com/jewbetcha/openflight 🟢 OpenFlight project site and cloud (FlightWeb) at https://openflight.dev 🟢 Open Tracer, Coleman's free shot tracer web app for swing videos, on GitHub at https://github.com/jewbetcha/opentrace (Colin mentioned a hosted "try it" page too, worth confirming the exact link before publishing) Chapter List 00:00 Welcome, no Ross this week, meet Coleman and OpenFlight 00:56 Growing up in the game: caddying for almost ten years 03:57 What caddying really teaches you about golf 06:05 The biggest mistake amateurs make: not playing within your means 07:31 The grip change that broke his game, and finally getting a coach 11:18 Why he built his own launch monitor 13:13 The metrics that actually matter 16:24 What separates a thirty thousand pound Trackman from the rest 20:08 Inside OpenFlight: three radars and a Raspberry Pi 22:13 The parts list and building one yourself 25:56 Reverse engineering the competition (and an angry DM) 30:55 Keeping it open source and affordable 34:40 Using your data with a coach, and AI as a caddie 37:59 What's next: a DIY rangefinder 38:46 Open Tracer: free shot tracing for swing videos 40:29 The OpenFlight Discord community 42:01 Quickfire round: metrics, gadgets and marketing gripes 47:15 Where to find Coleman and everything he's building

Follow us at @bothsidesofpar and grab the newsletter here . Episode Summary Ross very nearly gets to scratch this week - painfully nearly. He talks through a round where one missed short putt on the 18th left him sitting at 0.5, along with the classic golfer’s curse of knowing you should stick to process while your brain quietly screams, “go on then, make history.” Colin, naturally, offers sympathy while also enjoying the drama just a little bit. The pair then get into gear chat, with Colin trying to make sense of the new TaylorMade Spider putter range and the Cobra OPTM Max-K driver, while Ross brings the lower-handicap reality check on forgiveness, lie angle, workability and why most amateur golfers probably don’t need to be shaping it like prime Tiger. There’s a big short-game section too, covering Ross’s chipping experiments, looking away from the ball, cack-handed chips, landing-spot practice, ladder drills, using a putting stroke with different clubs, and even the mighty five-wood chip-and-run. They wrap up with Colin entering the Golspie open, Ross recommending Grantown-on-Spey, and a reminder to follow the show on Apple, Spotify, YouTube and Instagram. Episode Highlights 🟢 Ross misses a two-footer on the 18th that would have taken him to scratch - brutal, funny, and very golf. 🟢 Colin tries to decode the TaylorMade Spider putter family, from Tour and Tour X to the smaller V model and different hosel options. 🟢 Ross explains why looking away from the ball has helped free up his chipping stroke, borrowing the same idea from his putting. 🟢 The boys talk through practical chipping games, including landing drills, 15-yard stock shots, ladder practice and up-and-down challenges. 🟢 A deep chat on lie angle, flatter clubs, workability and why “standard” clubs might quietly be sending half of us left. Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 TaylorMade Spider Tour / Spider Tour X / Spider Tour F / Spider Tour V putters — discussed around forgiveness, MOI, True Path alignment and the White TPU Pure Roll insert. TaylorMade describes the White TPU Pure Roll insert as using 45-degree grooves to encourage forward roll and says the white insert works visually with True Path Alignment. ( taylormadegolf.com ) 🟢 Cleveland Frontline putter — Colin’s current Spider-ish mallet putter, which he still seems dangerously close to replacing because golf equipment exists. 🟢 Cleveland wedges — Ross gives another glowing mention to his newer Cleveland wedges after a very tidy bunker shot on the 18th. 🟢 Scotty Cameron putter — Ross compares his current larger-headed Scotty Cameron setup with the stability he used to like in the Spider. 🟢 Cobra OPTM Max-K driver — Colin’s latest temptation in the “maybe this will fix my driver” category. Cobra says the OPTM driver line uses shaping and weight placement to reduce twisting, while Golf Monthly describes the OPTM Max-K as Cobra’s most stable model, with a combined MOI of 13K. ( COBRA Golf ) 🟢 Scott Fawcett / DECADE Course Management — referenced again in Ross’s scratch-handicap journey, especially the idea of sticking with process and long-term averages rather than forcing one heroic outcome. 🟢 Golspie Golf Club — Colin has entered an open there and is looking forward to testing the game somewhere slightly more exciting than the garden lawn. The club’s open competition listings include the Millicent Bowl & Campbell Shield and the Golspie Open. ( Golspie Golf Club ) 🟢 Grantown-on-Spey Golf Club - Ross’s weekly open recommendation, picked partly because it looks gorgeous, has heather, mountain views, and doesn’t cost the price of a new wedge. Weekly Competitions 🟢 Golspie Golf Club — Millicent Bowl & Campbell Shield, Golspie, Scottish Highlands. Saturday 13 June 2026. Gents singles strokeplay. Visitor entry listed at £35, members £25, with Golf Empire listing the handicap index limit as 28.0 for men. ( BRS Golf ) 🟢 Golspie Golf Club — Golspie Open, Golspie, Scottish Highlands. Saturday 25 July 2026. Gents singles strokeplay. Visitor entry listed at £35, members £25. The club describes this as its flagship competition on its James Braid-designed course. ( BRS Golf ) 🟢 Grantown-on-Spey Golf Club — Gents “McCulloch Cup” Strokeplay, Grantown-on-Spey, Scottish Highlands. Sunday 6 September 2026. Ross mentions a handicap limit of 24 and an entry cost of £27 per person in the episode; I found a Golf in Scotland post confirming Grantown-on-Spey’s 2026 open schedule includes the Gents McCulloch Cup Strokeplay on 6 September, but the visible search result did not confirm the £27 price. ( Facebook ) Chapter List 00:00 Welcome back, intro duties, and Ross taking four shots to start the podcast 02:51 Ross hits the crossbar on his scratch-handicap attempt 08:30 TaylorMade Spider putters and Colin trying to understand the range 12:12 Mallet putters, forgiveness, Rory, Scottie and off-centre strikes 17:00 Ross’s chipping practice update and balance work 20:13 Switching chipping grips during a round 24:20 Chipping games, landing drills and target practice 25:40 Why the 15-yard chip is such a useful stock shot 26:53 Using a putting stroke for chip-and-run shots 27:29 The five-wood chip-and-run enters the chat 30:28 Colin enters the Golspie open 32:02 Cobra OPTM Max-K driver and the search for more forgiveness 35:35 Workability, shot shaping and whether average golfers really need it 37:46 Lie angle, flatter clubs and why standard might not suit everyone 41:58 Why getting your lie angles checked could make a huge difference 43:31 Ross recommends the Grantown-on-Spey open

This week, Ross takes us through the highlights of playing the iconic Wentworth West Course, diving into his five favorite holes and what makes the experience special. The boys also tackle a deep dive into modern golf trolleys, sharing tips and insights for anyone considering an upgrade. Then they discuss whether you should take advantage of the WHS rules around using whatever tee suits you in competitions, and how that makes sense for smart golf. Plus, hear about an incredible value open competition on the Isle of Arran and get an update on Ross's Cleveland wedges, featuring a new tip that could improve your short game instantly. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, this episode is packed with stories, advice, and practical gear talk to help you enjoy your next round even more. Love the show? Help us grow! Follow @BothSidesOfPar on Instagram for exclusive videos and tips. Follow @theshedisback and @mcgraygolf on instagram, too Subscribe on your podcast app - Spotify, Apple, wherever you listen. Reviews and ratings make a huge difference - drop us a few stars and say hi! Thanks for listening and supporting us. Got feedback or questions? Shoot us a DM or reply to this email! Until next time—play smart, have fun, and see you on the fairways. — Colin & Ross

This week Colin and Ross catch up on a productive stretch of golf, with both of them quietly sliding down the handicap charts. Colin is dropping into the low twenties and threatening more cuts, while Ross casually drops in a one under round that takes him to 0.7, the sort of update only a low handicapper can deliver with a straight face 😆 Before any scorecards come out, there's a proper gear nerd-out: Colin has ditched fiddly towels and dropped gloves for a £5 figure-eight power band to keep his arms connected and rein in his flying elbows, and the pair compare notes on connection ball drills that mostly gather dust in the garage. From there it's wedges and wisdom. Ross talks through his new cavity-back Cleveland wedges, the tighter gapping he's noticed, and a round that finished with two birdies in the last three holes, alongside an honest confession about misjudging a yardage because the front of an angled green sits closer than it looks. There's a genuinely useful run through formats too: why Ross loves match play while Colin shelters behind Stableford, how to actually use your shots rather than trying to beat better players off scratch, and a plain-English explainer of foursomes, four-balls and greensomes ahead of Colin and his brother Bruce teeing it up in the Royal Dornoch foursomes. Add a neat tip on cutting down a graphite shaft without shredding it and you've got a tidy little improvement toolkit. The back half is a love letter to underrated Scottish golf. Colin reports back from Buckpool on the Moray Coast, a links he'd never heard of that served up blue skies, revetted bunkers, a couple of ugly early numbers, and the highlight of his comeback: team twos on the same par three. They land on a lovely point about value, namely that the gap between a hidden gem and a famous name is far smaller than the green fee suggests, with cracking courses going for £35 to £50. Episode Highlights 🟢 The £5 fix for flying elbows: Colin's figure-eight power band that finally beat the towel and the dropped gloves 🟢 Ross shoots one under to reach 0.7, and explains how his new cavity-back Cleveland wedges tightened up his gapping 🟢 The angled-green yardage trap that cost Ross a shot, and why you should laser the pin rather than the front edge 🟢 Match play psychology: how to win by using your shots instead of trying to beat better players off scratch 🟢 Buckpool on the Moray Coast: back-to-back twos, revetted bunkers and proper links golf from as little as £35 Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Power band connection trainer (figure-eight arm band), around £5, search "golf power band" on Amazon 🟢 Cleveland wedges (cavity-back 48, 54 and 58 degree) - https://www.clevelandgolf.com 🟢 TaylorMade Stealth driver and adapter shaft, with cheaper replacement shafts found on eBay - https://www.ebay.co.uk 🟢 Scott Fawcett and DECADE course management, referenced on lag putting and the 50-foot three-putt - https://decadegolf.com 🟢 Buckpool Golf Club, Barhill Road, Buckie, Moray Coast - https://www.buckpoolgolf.com 🟢 Leven Thistle Golf Club at Leven Links, Fife - https://www.leventhistlegc.co.uk 🟢 Royal Dornoch Golf Club (the foursomes tournament) - https://www.royaldornoch.com 🟢 Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, East Course, mentioned as a Solheim Cup venue with cut-price evening tee times 🟢 Both Sides of Par on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bothsidesofpar 🟢 Colin on TikTok and YouTube as Golfing Gray, search "Colin Gray golf" Weekly Competitions Leven Thistle Gents Open Course: Leven Thistle Golf Club, played over Leven Links Location: Leven, Fife, Scotland Date: Saturday 8th August Format: Gents individual singles stroke play, 18 holes Cost: £40 for visitors, with coffee and a bacon roll included on arrival Worth knowing: a former Open qualifying links with famously fast greens at this time of year, and early tee times around 7:30am were still showing as available. Entry is via the Leven Links booking site. The club also runs other well-priced opens through the season, including Four Ball Better Ball and Texas Scramble formats. Chapter List 00:00 Welcome and handicap updates 00:01:41 Connection drills and the £5 power band 00:08:00 Ross's new Cleveland wedges and a one under round 00:12:09 The angled-green lesson: why the front number fools you 00:15:24 Weekly competition: Leven Thistle open 00:16:57 Favourite formats: match play, Stableford and scrambles 00:19:19 Match play psychology: play the shots, not the player 00:23:57 Foursomes, four-balls and greensomes explained 00:28:33 Driver control and cutting down a graphite shaft 00:31:50 Buckpool golf course report 00:36:48 Back-to-back twos: the highlight of the day 00:39:22 Hidden-gem value: brilliant golf for £35 to £50 00:43:04 Wrap-up and where to follow the show

Colin's riding high this week after slashing his handicap from 28 down to 24, the result of a 19-over medal win at his home club. The secret? Putting the driver back in the bag, hitting five iron off every tee, and committing to the kind of smart, course-managed golf the lads have been preaching for months. Ross is on his own quiet roll too, knocking in four birdies across a casual nine-hole round by leaning into his countdown routine and pre-shot process. Both of them, somehow, playing better golf at the same time. Statistically suspicious. From there the conversation pivots to the eye-watering cost of British golf, courtesy of UK Golf Guy's annual summer green fees report. Turnberry has hit a thousand pounds. Sunningdale is two grand for a fourball. The lads work through the numbers, get appropriately outraged, and then highlight one of the rare bright spots: St Andrews' "The Drive" ballot, which is putting Old Course rounds in front of Scottish residents for £45 and the Eden Course for a tenner. Then it's gear time. Ross unboxes his new Cleveland RTZ and CBZ wedges with some interesting thinking on softer, lighter shafts. Ross then talks Colin through how to fill the gap between his pitching and sand wedge using a proper lob wedge and Dave Pelz's clock system, and they get into the disruptor brands shaking up iron and ball prices: Takomo, Vice, Kayleigh, Decathlon, Costco's Kirkland line, and Seed. There's a glowing review of the MotoCaddy M5 GPS trolley, a PGA Championship preview with the ball rollback debate fully unpacked, and a Machrihanish competition that's been on Colin's bucket list for years. Episode Highlights 🟢 Colin's handicap cut from 28 to 24 after a 19-over medal win, all from ditching the driver and hitting five iron off every tee 🟢 The shocking math on UK green fees: the top 100 average has gone from £160 to £265 in five years, with Turnberry now £1,000 and Sunningdale £2,000 for a fourball 🟢 St Andrews' "The Drive" ballot, opening up Old Course rounds at £45 and the Eden Course at £10 for Scottish residents, a rare counterweight to soaring prices 🟢 Ross's deep dive on filling the wedge gap, including a proper breakdown of Dave Pelz's clock system and why pros take spin off rather than adding it 🟢 The disruptor brands worth knowing about, including Takomo, Vice, Kayleigh, Decathlon, Seed and Costco's Kirkland line, plus a tip on getting them custom fit after purchase Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 UK Golf Guy summer green fees report: https://ukgolfguy.com 🟢 St Andrews Links "The Drive" ballot scheme (Old Course £45, Eden £10, Castle £23.75, etc): https://www.standrews.com 🟢 Scott Fawcett (referenced from last week's interview) 🟢 Cleveland RTZ wedge (58 degree) and Cleveland CBZ wedge (48 degree) 🟢 TaylorMade Stealth irons: https://www.taylormadegolf.com 🟢 Dave Pelz, "The Short Game Bible" (book) 🟢 Takomo irons (101 MkII): https://takomogolf.com 🟢 Vice Golf clubs and balls: https://www.vicegolf.com 🟢 Kayleigh Golf (Scottish brand, assembled in Scotland): https://caleygolf.com/ 🟢 Decathlon golf irons: https://www.decathlon.co.uk 🟢 Costco Kirkland Signature golf clubs and balls: https://www.costco.co.uk 🟢 Seed Golf balls: https://www.seedgolf.co.uk 🟢 MotoCaddy M5 GPS electric trolley: https://www.motocaddy.com 🟢 Royal Dornoch Pairs Tournament: https://royaldornoch.com 🟢 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow 🟢 R&A and USGA ball rollback (set for 2028) 🟢 Both Sides of Par newsletter: https://bothpar.com 🟢 Get in touch: hello@bothpar.com Weekly Competitions Machrihanish Golf Club Texas Scramble Saturday 19th September Near Campbeltown, Argyll Texas Scramble format (teams of four) £80 per team (£20 per player) 36 handicap limit One of Scotland's most spectacular and remote courses, and on Colin's own bucket list. Worth the long drive west. Chapter List 00:00 Welcome and a shout-out to last week's Scott Fawcett interview 00:56 Colin cuts his handicap from 28 to 24 with a medal win 03:07 What worked: smart play, five iron off the tee, and consistent putting 05:55 The Texas wedge and lag putting from off the green 08:43 Ross's four-birdie nine holes and his countdown routine 12:33 UK Golf Guy's summer green fees report and the eye-watering numbers 18:33 St Andrews' "The Drive" ballot and affordable tee times 20:35 The Eden Course as a hidden gem and the aura of the Old Course 24:35 Colin's new Cleveland RTZ and CBZ wedges and the lighter shaft theory 28:06 Filling the wedge gap with a proper lob wedge 30:55 Dave Pelz's clock system and the case for three-quarter shots 34:43 Disruptor brands: Takomo, Vice, Kayleigh, Decathlon, Kirkland 39:53 Vice and Seed balls and the cost of losing Pro V1s 41:11 MotoCaddy M5 GPS trolley review 44:05 PGA Championship preview 45:14 The R&A and USGA ball rollback debate 47:41 Jordan Spieth's Grand Slam shot and Scheffler's US Open hunt 48:32 Weekly competition: Machrihanish Texas Scramble 49:31 Outro and how to get in touch

Colin and Ross sit down with Scott Fawcett, the brain behind the DECADE Course Management System and the man who caddied for a then unknown Will Zalatoris when he won the Texas Amateur and the US Junior back in 2014. Scott has worked in some capacity with roughly a third of the PGA Tour, holds three quantitative degrees, and once played pro golf himself, which is how he discovered the unromantic but inconvenient truth that the lads at the very top are not just better ball strikers, they are also far better thinkers. He brings all of that to a conversation pitched squarely at the two sides of the par. Things kick off in the most heretical place possible: putting. Scott makes the case that leaving some putts short from fifteen feet and beyond is not a sin, it is maths, and that speed control alone fixes the vast majority of bad putting rounds. From there the conversation opens out into the full DECADE philosophy. Why the flag is the biggest distraction in golf, why bogey avoidance drives lower scores far more than chasing birdies (the fractional bogey idea alone is worth the price of admission), how Ross genuinely saved shots by swapping driver for a five wood off one tee at his home course, and how big your shot pattern actually is when you are honest about it, even on a Tour pro's sand wedge. The chat rounds out with strategy from the trees (Scott's lovely framing of adversity versus opportunity), why nearly every Tour player now owns one shape off the tee rather than working it both ways, and the mental side of all of this, including Scott's confession that he used to be the worst hothead in professional golf. He finishes with his single biggest tip for the twenty plus handicap brigade, and it is simpler than you would expect. Episode Highlights 🟢 Scott explains the maths of capture size and why hitting a putt two feet past the hole actually makes the cup 55% smaller, with stories from his Friday wolf game to back it up 🟢 The two foot circle drill: Scott's go to speed control practice routine from 20 to 30 feet, and the college player who fixed his three putt problem in a fortnight by doing nothing else 🟢 The Will Zalatoris hole in one at the US Open, where Scott was less interested in the shot itself and more interested in the fact that the flag was not Will's target. Seven yards right was 🟢 The fractional bogey theory: why a double is two and a half times worse than a bogey, not twice as bad, and why Scottie Scheffler's run of wins came mostly from bogey avoidance rather than extra birdies 🟢 Ross's real world example of swapping driver for a five wood off the back tee on a 340 yard par four at his home course, going from half a shot above par to making pars on average 🟢 Scott's one tip for higher handicappers in the closing minutes: have a very clear, visualised intention on every single shot, and be willing to say it out loud Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Scott Fawcett's DECADE Course Management System: https://decade.golf 🟢 DECADE Golf on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/decade_golf 🟢 The DECADE app (available in the App Store) 🟢 DECADE Breaking 90, Scott's upcoming app aimed at 15 to 25 handicappers 🟢 Will Zalatoris, PGA Tour player and Scott's original guinea pig back in 2014 🟢 Mark Broadie's book Every Shot Counts, the foundational text on Strokes Gained 🟢 Raymond Floyd's book The Art of Scoring 🟢 Lou Stagner, Scott's go to source for amateur golf data Chapter List 00:00 Welcome and intro to the show 00:34 Scott Fawcett joins Colin and Ross 01:25 Why leaving putts short isn't a sin 04:26 The college putting problem and capture size 07:18 The two foot circle drill for speed control 11:09 Cam Smith and the mindset of not trying to make putts 12:48 What DECADE actually stands for 16:14 The cardiologist analogy: is DECADE only for elites? 20:19 Course management for the mid 20s handicap 20:51 Why the flag is the biggest distraction in golf 25:07 Ross swaps driver for a five wood and saves shots 26:28 The fractional bogey theory 31:42 Should different handicaps approach the same pin differently? 34:33 Shot patterns and the 20 yard circle 37:39 Owning one shape off the tee, and the Rory question 43:06 Strategy in the trees: adversity or opportunity 49:01 The mental side of course management 55:18 Scott's one tip for the higher handicapper 58:48 Where to find Scott online

We'd love to hear your feedback - what can we improve about the show? What do you want to stay the same? Email us at: hello@bothpar.com This week on Both Sides of Par, Colin reports back from a lads' golf trip to Portugal, where he tackled three courses near Cascais including the stunning Oitavos Dunes, a links-style track with greens so fast they left everyone slightly traumatised. Despite scores north of 100 (those courses were hard, OK?), Colin found himself putting smart golf strategy into practice for real, laying up with a trusty 7-iron from 200 yards during match play and actually winning his singles match. He even unleashed the driver on the final two holes and sent one 304 yards dead straight down the fairway! Meanwhile, Ross has been quietly rebuilding his putting routine around a countdown technique he picked up from a sports psychologist. The idea is simple: count down from 10 as you walk to the ball, take your practice stroke at 5, and pull the trigger on 1. It sounds almost too easy, but a friend he played with recently commented on how relaxed his stroke looked, and Ross was sinking putts from all over the place. He has also been seeing real results from his winter speed training, getting his 8-iron ball speed up to 118-120 within just a few swings and accessing 165 ball speed with the driver comfortably. A pre-round warm-up routine involving a 5kg medicine ball, therabands, and arriving 45 minutes early is paying off in a big way. The lads wrap up with this week's open competition at Cardross Golf Club near Glasgow, a course Ross describes as a mini Augusta, and put the call out for listener feedback on what they want to hear more of going forward. Email in at hello@bothpar.com. Episode Highlights 🟢 Colin's Portugal golf trip review: three courses near Lisbon, including the spectacular Oitavos Dunes with its terrifyingly fast greens and stunning par 3s over cliffs and ravines 🟢 Smart golf in action: Colin laid up with a 7-iron from 200 yards on six to eight holes during match play, saved strokes, and won his singles match against a 6-handicapper 🟢 Ross's 10-to-1 countdown putting routine: a simple mental technique that blocks out overthinking, keeps you calm, and has transformed his consistency on the greens 🟢 Speed training gains: Ross can now access 170+ ball speed within 10-12 balls and his 8-iron ball speed has jumped from 112 to 118-120, all thanks to consistent winter work and a med ball warm-up 🟢 Colin pulls the driver out after keeping it in the bag all day and smashes it 304 yards straight down the middle, outdriving a 5-handicap playing partner Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Oitavos Dunes Golf Course, Cascais, Portugal - oitavosdunes.com 🟢 Campos de Golf Peña Longa, Sintra, Portugal - penhalonga.com 🟢 Club de Golf Quinta da Marinha, Cascais, Portugal - quintadamarinha.com 🟢 TaylorMade Stealth Driver (Colin's current driver) 🟢 5kg Medicine Ball (bouncing type, for pre-round warm-up) 🟢 Therabands (for range warm-up stretches) 🟢 Claude Tarmann - mentioned for course management and smart golf strategy 🟢 Ryan Chrysler - mentioned alongside smart golf strategy discussion 🟢 Mark Immelman Podcast - referenced for a sports psychologist episode on the countdown technique for clearing your mind 🟢 Cardross Golf Club - cardrossgolfclub.co.uk 🟢 Windy Hill Golf Club - mentioned alongside Cardross, with pro David Orr praised for junior and ladies development 🟢 Blinkby Golf Podcast - Ross's other podcast, mentioned in connection with David Orr Weekly Competitions Cardross Golf Club is this week's open pick. Located just over the Erskine Bridge, northwest of Glasgow, Ross calls it a mini Augusta and says he has never heard anyone say a bad word about the place. The open takes place on Saturday 13th June, it is a pairs event with a handicap limit of 25.8 and costs £35 per person (£70 per pair). A great excuse to grab a mate, play a beautiful course, and maybe win a prize. Chapter List 00:00 Welcome to Both Sides of Par 02:35 Colin's Golf Trip to Portugal 05:20 The Three Courses: Peña Longa, Oitavos Dunes and Quinta da Marinha 07:37 Oitavos Dunes: Stunning Par 3s and Lightning-Fast Greens 09:26 Playing in the Wind: Ross's Simple Low Shot Technique 15:19 Ryder Cup Style Match Play in Portugal 16:52 Smart Golf in Action: Laying Up with a 7-Iron from 200 Yards 21:16 Scores, Slope Ratings and Managing Expectations on Foreign Courses 25:29 Colin Unleashes the Driver: 304 Yards Straight 27:52 Portugal Course Reviews and Recommendations 30:21 Ross's Early Season Form: Process Over Results 32:36 The Countdown Putting Routine: 10 Down to 1 39:06 Speed Training Progress and Ball Speed Gains 42:38 The Pre-Round Med Ball Warm-Up Routine 44:09 Open Competition: Cardross Golf Club 46:40 Listener Feedback and Sign Off

Colin and Ross are back with a spring-in-the-air episode that finds both of them actually getting outside for a change (Scotland hitting double figures apparently counts as tropical). Colin, flying the flag for the high handicappers, reports back on the swing drills he's been grinding through at home, specifically the towel-under-the-armpits connection drill and the now-infamous chair-behind-the-backside drill to stop his Elvis-style hip thrust. Spoiler: both feel deeply, profoundly weird, but Ross talks him through why forcing the extreme is actually the point. Colin is also off to Portugal for his annual British Invitational, sporting a freshly chopped handicap of 21, and he's wrestling with the classic dilemma of whether to bring his half-built new swing on holiday or just leave it in the suitcase. Ross then walks through his first medal of the year, played in 25mph winds on firm greens, where he managed level par by fully committing to his pre-shot routine and, more importantly, his new Claude Harmon-inspired par 5 strategy. Three-wood off every par 5 with water, including a 605-yarder, and somehow he got inside 100 yards for his third shot every single time without a driver in hand. He breaks down the whole thing hole by hole, along with his full pre-shot routine (diaphragm breathing and all) for Colin to nick. There's also a proper dive into travel bags for flying with clubs, the new Cleveland wedges Ross is waiting on, and a rundown of pairs comps they're eyeing up around Dumfries and Galloway, Southerness, and the brilliant-sounding Spey Bay summer solstice event where you can tee off at 4am. The back half is pure Masters chat. Both lads watched most of it, loved the finish, and get into Rory's near-collapse, Justin Rose's missing intensity compared to last year, the mixed feelings about Cam Young and Scheffler's robotic energy, and Shane Lowry's hole-in-one that Sky replayed roughly every twenty minutes. They close out with the Colville Park open and Colin getting very excited about the new season of Full Swing landing the next day. Episode Highlights 🟢 Why the chair-behind-the-bum drill feels like being in a straight jacket, and why Ross reckons that's exactly the point when you're trying to kill a swing fault 🟢 Ross's full par 5 masterclass, including why three-wood off a 605-yard hole left him wedging in for his third shot (and how driver had been costing him for years on the same hole) 🟢 A proper step-by-step walkthrough of Ross's pre-shot routine, from the practice swing behind the ball through the diaphragm breathing to the open-shoulder alignment trick 🟢 The travel bag rabbit hole, hard cases versus soft cases versus the hybrid Amazon special Colin took a punt on for his Portugal trip 🟢 Masters post-mortem, including the Cam Young emotionless debate, why Justin Rose looked flat compared to last year, and Shane Lowry's 7th at Pebble and 17th at Sawgrass hole-in-one collection Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 Claude Harmon's podcast, referenced for his par 5 strategy advice about removing stress and big numbers, available at most podcast platforms: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/son-of-a-butch-with-claude-harmon/id1561803455 🟢 Cleveland Golf wedges, which Ross has on order https://www.clevelandgolf.com 🟢 Southerness Golf Club in Dumfries and Galloway, former Open qualifying venue https://www.southernessgolfclub.com 🟢 Spey Bay Golf Club and their summer solstice exhibition weekend on June 21st, with tickets from £180 to £300 https://www.speybaygolfclub.com 🟢 Royal Dornoch (the Struie course), mentioned from a previous trip https://royaldornoch.com 🟢 Gatehouse, Kirkcudbright, and Dalbeattie courses in the Dumfries and Galloway area 🟢 Full Swing on Netflix, new season landing the day after recording 🟢 The towel-under-the-armpits drill for swing connection and the chair-behind-the-backside drill for early extension 🟢 Both Sides of Par website and email https://bothpar.com and hello@bothpar.com Weekly Competitions 🟢 Colville Park Golf Club Open, Motherwell, Sunday 2nd August. A James Braid designed course with a tough opening stretch including a 200-yard par 3 and a couple of 400-yarders. 28 handicap limit, £15 per person. Format not specified on the show, contact the club for details https://www.colvilleparkgolfclub.com Chapter List 00:00 Intro and who's actually the high handicapper 01:30 Swing drill update, towels, gloves and the chair behind the bum 07:30 Portugal trip prep and the British Invitational 11:45 Ross's first medal of the year in 25mph winds 14:00 Par 5 strategy, three-wood everywhere and removing the stress 20:30 Pre-shot routine broken down step by step 25:30 Indoor sims, Inverness update and winter practice 27:30 Travel bags for flying with clubs 30:45 Cleveland wedges incoming 31:30 Planning pairs comps, Dumfries & Galloway and Spey Bay solstice 35:30 Masters recap, Rory, Rose and the Saturday wobble that never came 40:00 Cam Young, Scheffler and the emotionless player debate 42:00 Shane Lowry's hole-in-one collection 44:00 Colville Park weekly open 45:15 Full Swing season drop and sign off

In this episode of Both Sides of Par , Colin and Ross bring in a special guest, Bruce, for a deep dive into golf from every angle of the handicap spectrum. What starts as a casual catch-up turns into a fascinating journey through golf-mad childhoods, living on top of legendary courses, and the bizarre paths that lead players from early obsession to scratch (and beyond). They swap stories about growing up surrounded by golf at places like Lahinch, obsessively grinding (or avoiding grinding) through the teenage years, and the reality of chasing elite handicap levels in competitive Scottish golf culture. From bouncing balls on wedges for hours to brutal club match formats and the elusive journey from scratch to plus, it’s part nostalgia, part insight, and all golf chaos in the best way. A relaxed, funny, and surprisingly deep look at what shapes golfers — and why no two journeys ever look the same.

Colin and Ross are back with a practice-heavy episode that covers everything from AI assisted swing diagnosis to the ongoing plague of slow play in modern golf. Colin kicks things off by sharing his weekend project of rigging up a massive monitor in his shed so he can actually see his launch monitor data while hitting balls. He then walks through the results of feeding all his swing data into Claude AI and getting back a proper diagnosis. Turns out he's been steepening the club halfway back and recovering with some Elvis style hip thrusts, which explains the two way miss pattern that's been haunting him. Ross plays the role of curious coach throughout, asking all the right questions about what goes wrong and how it shows up on the course. Ross shares his own progress with the drills from Scott Borman, including a hilarious moment where he realised he'd been aiming 50 yards right of the green after changing his foot position. Colin has a matching story about training himself to aim 30 yards right because of a fence post on his practice mat, proving that even with all the tech in the world, the basics will humble you every time. The lads then get into a proper rant about slow play on the PGA Tour after Matt Fitzpatrick called out his playing partners, which spirals nicely into how recreational golf has slowed from three hours 45 to four and a half hours and what that's doing to club culture. They wrap up with Ross teasing next week's topic on proper pre round warm up routines involving medicine balls and Therabands, plus a weekly competition recommendation that's a lot easier on the wallet than the £600 Dornoch entry they mentioned off camera. Episode Highlights 🟢 Colin's DIY outdoor practice setup using a spare monitor, extension cables, and a shed, giving him full launch monitor visibility without dragging a laptop outside every time 🟢 A complete breakdown of early extension, including how to spot it in your own swing using nothing more than a chair or an alignment stick behind your backside 🟢 Chris Ryan's pitching wedge heel drill that gives you an instant visual cue when you're thrusting forward in the downswing 🟢 Ross's back to basics alignment fix after realising he was aiming 50 yards right of the flag despite all his recent coaching work 🟢 A proper discussion on slow play, Matt Fitzpatrick calling out his playing partners, and how etiquette habits like bag placement can save you 10 minutes a round Gear & Resources Mentioned 🟢 GS Pro launch monitor software - https://gsprogolf.com 🟢 Swing Coach app for swing analysis and numerical scoring of swing faults - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/swing-coach-golf/id6739074629 🟢 Claude AI - used by Colin as a personal golf coach project - https://claude.ai 🟢 Chris Ryan Golf on YouTube - source of the pitching wedge heel drill - https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisRyanGolf 🟢 Scott Borman - Ross's coach providing ongoing lesson drills 🟢 Trackman Range and Trackman app - https://www.trackman.com 🟢 Medicine ball and Therabands for pre round warm up routines 🟢 Matt Fitzpatrick's Valspar Championship win and Players Championship interview on slow play 🟢 Full Swing on Netflix - where Colin first got to know Matt Fitzpatrick 🟢 Royal Birkdale - referenced for their on course pace of play clock system Weekly Competitions 🟢 Burntisland Golf Club Gents Open 🟢 Location: Burntisland, Fife, Scotland 🟢 Date: 1st August 🟢 Format: Gents Open with a handicap limit of 28 🟢 Cost: £20 entry, described as roughly 50% off the standard green fee Chapter List 00:00 Welcome and cold snap golf frustrations 01:28 Colin's outdoor monitor and launch monitor setup 03:33 Feeding swing data into Claude AI for a full diagnosis 04:22 The steep backswing and early extension explained 06:30 Breaking down the two way miss 08:46 Connected takeaway drills with towels and gloves 11:14 Feet together swings 12:04 The chair and alignment stick drill for hip thrust 14:00 Chris Ryan's pitching wedge heel drill 18:00 Setting a two month practice plan and measuring progress 20:15 Ross's speed training update with Scott Borman 24:37 Teasing next week's pre round warm up topic 26:24 Matt Fitzpatrick wins and calls out slow play on the PGA Tour 30:01 How slow play is killing club culture 35:15 Ready golf, etiquette, and bag placement habits 38:24 Ross's 50 yard alignment disaster 41:01 Colin's fence post aiming story 43:14 Weekly competition: Burntisland Gents Open

As the weather finally turns and the golf season edges closer, Colin and Ross dive into the excitement (and frustrations) of getting back on the course after a long, wet winter. They chat about early-season conditions, upcoming competitions, and the reality of shaking off rust. Ross shares insights from a recent lesson and opens up about the challenge of managing emotions on the course - highlighting how mindset can make or break a round. The conversation also turns to goal-setting for the year, including a big ambition: Open Qualifying. A mix of practical strategy, honest reflection, and pre-season optimism - perfect for any golfer gearing up for the months ahead.