Most golfers choose their target based on the best shot they believe they can hit.

The problem is that their best shot does not represent the full pattern of shots they are likely to produce.

In this episode, Steve explains why better course management starts with understanding your dispersion, not chasing the perfect outcome.

You’ll learn how to:

• Choose targets that account for your normal misses • Avoid bringing unnecessary hazards into play • Make decisions based on probability rather than hope • Lower your scores without needing to change your swing

The goal is not to play negatively. It is to give every shot the greatest possible chance of producing a successful outcome.

What does effective golf practice actually look like?

In this episode of Divot: The Golf Performance Podcast, Steve Thomas is joined by renowned golf coach Hugh Marr for a wide-ranging conversation about how golfers practise, how they improve and why traditional practice doesn’t always produce better performance on the course.

They explore when golfers should work on technique, when they should stop thinking technically, how practice should be structured and how to decide whether a player needs to change their swing or simply change the way they train.

The conversation also covers:

• What separates productive practice from simply hitting balls

• How to make limited practice time more effective

• The difference between how elite and club golfers practise

• When repetition is useful and when it becomes unproductive

• How golfers can create practice that better prepares them for the course

• The role of challenge, feedback and measurement

• Common beliefs about practice that may be holding golfers back

This episode is for golfers who practise regularly but aren’t seeing the improvement they expect, as well as coaches who want to think more deeply about how skills are developed.

Divot: The Golf Performance Podcast helps golfers understand how to practise more effectively, make better decisions and take their game from the practice ground to the golf course.

Subscribe for more conversations about golf coaching, practice and performance.

Big numbers don’t usually come from one bad swing. They often come from a pattern you haven’t properly noticed yet.

In this episode of Divot: The Golf Performance Podcast, PGA Performance Coach Steve Thomas explains how to use The Double Bogey Audit to find the shots, decisions, and mistakes that are really costing you on the course.

Instead of blaming your swing every time your score gets away from you, this episode helps you look at the evidence. You’ll learn how to review your double bogeys, identify the real cause of your dropped shots, and turn that information into a clearer practice plan.

Inside this episode, Steve covers:

• Why double bogeys are one of the biggest scoring leaks for many golfers • Why the shot you remember isn’t always the shot that cost you the score • How penalty shots, poor recoveries, short-game mistakes, three-putts, and bad decisions create bigger numbers • How to track your double bogeys over your next few rounds • How to use the pattern you find to choose a better practice priority

If you feel like you’re playing better golf than your score suggests, this episode will help you stop guessing, review your game more clearly, and build a smarter plan for improvement.