I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: golf is a puzzle and Al helped me lay out the pieces for the everyday club golfer.

We talk strategy — not swing mechanics — and Al hits the nail on the head: pick clubs you’re happy hitting, avoid the drama of risky shots, and aim for consistency over heroics.

I keep reminding myself (and you) that staying in play beats blasting a fairway 20 yards into a sheep field. We dig into course management: play the pins, know trouble spots, and treat each hole like an escape room where the objective is a low score, not bravado. That kind of pragmatic thinking turns a frustrating Saturday into something you can actually be proud of.

We also get into the nuts-and-bolts of daily habits that separate the good days from the disasters — hydration, snacks, and pacing. Al’s surprisingly evangelical about electrolytes and slow-release energy: keep fuel in the tank and your mental game holds.

We talk playing with better golfers, how your group affects your performance, and why the best players are simply ‘less bad’ than the rest of us.

The takeaway? Be deliberate — make small, repeatable wins (hit the one iron you can control, don’t try a YouTube trick off the tee) and frame success by progress, not perfection.

That’s the practical roadmap we can actually use next Saturday.

Links referenced in this episode:

• discounts.nop.golf
• voicemail.nop.golf

A North of Par Production

We design and optimise golf balls for mishits — because I genuinely believe the biggest win for the average, weekend warrior is a ball that performs when you don’t hit the center every time. I sit down with Dean Klatt, founder of Seed Golf, and we properly nerd out about ball science, why designing for the normal golfer matters, and how Seed’s direct‑to‑consumer, community‑first approach keeps tour‑quality feel affordable. We cover how the SD01 became a go‑to for so many players, why our pro bundles help you find the right Seed for your swing, and even the fun stuff like Lucy’s and our “wrong’uns” solution to a factory hiccup. Along the way we talk customer service, authenticity, and how making golf more accessible can actually grow the game — all recorded live at the PGA Show 2026. If you’re into numbers, tech, or just want a ball that behaves predictably so you can focus on the shot, this chat is for you — and we have discounts and a subscription if you’re ready to try.

Lee York broke his back in a life changing accident but refused to be defined by it — he fought his way back, relearned the game from a wheelchair and now represents England, wins big events and is gunning to be world number one.

We drove down to Waterfront Golf to record in person and honestly, calling Lee “inspiring” feels too small — he’s a proper powerhouse of will who lifts everyone around him.

We dig into his pre‑accident life as a young pro, the fall on a container ship in May 2017, the brutal rehab, a surprising chapter in wheelchair table tennis, and then the moment he chose to “start again” and rebuild golf on totally new terms. We nerd out on kit — shafts, lofts, club length and how getting fitted and switching to stiffer shafts unlocked distance — and demo the tech and chair setup that make modern wheelchair golf possible.

Lee also serves up brilliant, practical coaching: alignment, a traffic‑light way to play holes, how to structure practice so 20 quality shots beat 100 bored ones, and why putting deserves more love. We finish with our 3‑for‑3 segment (powered by ShotScope), some tailored tips for our own games, shout‑outs to the Oaks, Waterfront and our partners, and a plea: give Lee an hour of your time on socials — he’s genuine, funny, and absolutely worth it.

Recorded on location at Waterfront Golf, cheers team!

Links referenced in this episode:

• discounts.nop.golf
• voicemail.nop.golf

A North of Par Production

Takeaways:

• We heard Lee's proper tough story — falling thirty foot, breaking his back, and refusing to be defined by that accident.
• I loved how Lee essentially restarted golf from scratch: forgetting old habits and learning to play a different way, hole by hole, par by par.
• We took away tangible coaching gold: sort your alignment, practice with purpose using imaginary fairways, and use a traffic‑light system to avoid big numbers.
• I was fascinated by the kit chat — going slightly longer clubs and a stiffer shaft gave Lee the extra distance he needed to reach single figures again.
• We got a brilliant look at wheelchair golf kit: the electric machine stands you up, moves quick enough on fairways, and you treat greens with respect to avoid damage.
• I appreciated Lee's honesty about rehab — table tennis and Paralympic sports filled the gap, family priorities shifted his focus, then golf reignited his competitive fire.
• We were inspired by what he’s achieved: winning Mallorca, playing at Celtic Manor, representing England, and chasing being world number one in wheelchair golf again.
• I came away convinced that deliberate practice beats volume — simulate course yardages on the range, hit quality shots with alignment checks, and make practice into focused mini games.