Pros vs. Amateurs: Two Different Sports
The guys explore how the rollback highlights a bigger truth: professional golf and amateur golf are practically different sports. Jeff explains how equipment, swing speed, and course setup create two completely separate realities. John doubles down on the idea that amateurs shouldn’t be governed by rules designed for the 0.01%.

Jeff’s Equipment Talk & His Upcoming Par‑3 Outing
Jeff shares his personal experience testing the new Titleist balls and how they behave in real‑world conditions. He also previews an upcoming round with an 8th‑grade golfer at a local par‑3 course — a reminder that golf is still about fun, learning, and good company.
Who Should Govern What?
The conversation shifts to the USGA’s role in the game.
John argues that the USGA should focus on amateur golf — their actual domain — instead of influencing the professional game, which operates under entirely different conditions.

Jeff agrees that pros and amateurs essentially play two different sports, and applying the same equipment rules to both groups makes little sense.

Growing the Recreational Game: The “Sorta Golf Manifesto”
John and Jeff brainstorm ways to make golf more fun and accessible for the masses. Their tongue‑in‑cheek “golf manifesto” includes ideas like:

No penalty for lost balls — just pay a $5 “stupid tax” and move on.
Scramble putts for everyone — every player gets a chance to roll one in.
Relaxed rules that keep the game moving and keep players smiling.
The goal: grow the recreational market by making golf less intimidating and more enjoyable.

PGA Championship & Oddball Habits
They wrap up with a look at the recent PGA Championship, including a player whose quirky head‑cover routine caught their attention. John jokes that FanDuel still doesn’t offer odds on “most unusual equipment ritual,” though it probably should

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John Smoltz: From the Mound to the Senior Tees
The guys kicked things off talking about John Smoltz’s move into senior golf.
Jeff and Scott broke down how a Hall‑of‑Fame pitcher can suddenly become a legit threat on the Champions Tour — apparently elite hand‑eye coordination doesn’t disappear just because you stop throwing 97 mph.

Why Your Short Game Deserves More Love
Then Jeff went full professor mode, reminding everyone that if you want to score, you’d better learn to putt and chip like you mean it.
Scott chimed in with the painful truth: amateurs spend 90% of their time on the range and 10% on the putting green… when it should probably be the other way around.

PGA Tour Putting Stats: Prepare to Feel Bad
John pulled up some Tour putting numbers, and the room collectively sighed.
Tour pros make everything inside eight feet.
Amateurs?
We think we do… until someone actually measures it.

Jeff hammered home the point:
If you can’t aim your putter, you’re basically guessing.
And most golfers?
They’re guessing.

Why Club Fitting Isn’t Optional
Scott jumped in with a sermon on club fitting — especially putters.
Lie angle, loft, head shape, grip size… all the stuff amateurs ignore but complain about when they miss a four‑footer

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This week on Those Weekend Golf Guys, John and Jeff dragged their buddy James Hong away from Harbor Links on Long Island — probably the only place in America where you can lose a golf ball and get a parking ticket at the same time — to talk about golf courses and the vacations we pretend are “family trips.”

We kicked things off with the Top 10 U.S. states for golf, which, shocker, starts with Florida. Because of course it does. If there’s a patch of grass in Florida bigger than a doormat, somebody’s already built a par‑3 on it.

Then we zoomed out to the global leaderboard. The United States leads the world in total golf courses (again, shocking), and Japan comes in second — which blows people’s minds until they realize the Japanese take golf as seriously as they take sushi knives.

From there, the show turned into three guys swapping war stories.
James talked about life at Bethpage State Park, home to five courses, including the Black — the only course in America that warns you at the first tee that you’re not good enough to be there.
Jeff and John reminisced about South Carolina, including hidden gems like Shira State Park, where the fairways are gorgeous, the greens are pure, and the mosquitoes are roughly the size of rescue helicopters.

And because we can’t resist a passport stamp, we headed overseas to places like Costa Rica, where the Iguana Course gives you ocean views, jungle vibes, and the occasional lizard who looks at your swing like he could do better.

We wrapped with some real‑world advice for planning a golf vacation:
Do your homework — the internet is full of lies and stock photos
Call the pros or staff directly — they’ll tell you what the website won’t
Use reciprocal club agreements — the secret handshake of golf travel
And be careful with tee‑time aggregators — some are great, some are… let’s say “optimistic” with availability

Another classic episode: part travel guide, part therapy session, part “three golf guys bragging about where they’ve played.”

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This week on Those Weekend Golf Guys, John Ashton and Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher Jeff Smith dove into one of the most misunderstood pieces of the golf swing: the grip. Not the “hold it like a baby bird” nonsense you’ve heard a thousand times — Jeff broke down the real way to find the grip that actually fits your body.

Jeff’s method is beautifully simple: Get into your golf posture, let your arms hang naturally, and look at how your hands want to sit. That natural orientation tells you exactly how the club should fit into your fingers. No twisting. No contorting. No trying to copy a tour pro’s hands from a magazine cover. Just match the club to your body and suddenly the clubface behaves, the tension disappears, and your swing stops fighting itself.

John, of course, pointed out that most amateurs spend years trying to “fix” a grip that was never right for them in the first place. Jeff agreed — if your grip doesn’t match your natural arm hang, you’re basically signing up for a lifetime of compensations.

After solving the world’s grip problems, the guys shifted gears to something just as important: golf leagues. Jeff and John both made the case that leagues are the secret weapon for golfers who want to get better and have more fun.

Weekly play builds consistency. A little friendly pressure sharpens your focus. And the social side? That’s where the real magic happens.

You show up, you play, you laugh, you meet people, and suddenly golf becomes more than a game — it becomes your community. As John put it, leagues are where golfers find their people.

Another fun, fast, useful episode — equal parts instruction, entertainment, and “why didn’t anyone tell me this sooner?”

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Practice Formats, Pressure, and Tech
The conversation shifts to practice formats that actually build skill under pressure — worst ball, best ball, and other creative ways to force better execution. Jeff also shares his experience with golf tech, explaining why he prefers Foresight over TrackMan. Spoiler: software accuracy and hardware reliability matter. The segment wraps when Jeff heads off to teach a lesson.

• Arrive 30–45 minutes early
• Warm up with practice swings
• Chip with attention to posture and club length
• Putt for distance control, not hole‑making The goal: build confidence, reduce pressure, and walk to the first tee already feeling sharp.

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Topics Covered
Whether teaching pros can watch TV coverage and instantly spot what tour pros are doing wrong when they blow up — including Rory’s Masters unraveling

Whether amateur golfers can accurately diagnose their own swing faults when shots start flying offline

How being just 1–2 degrees open or closed at impact can produce huge misses, especially at higher swing speeds

Why you shouldn’t automatically assume it’s a swing problem — and why checking your setup (posture, alignment, ball position, grip, stance) should be your first move

Key Insights
Pros don’t lose their swing — they lose timing, decision‑making, or emotional control under pressure

Amateurs almost always misdiagnose their misses, focusing on backswing positions instead of impact factors

Impact rules all — a clubface just one degree open at 100 mph can create 10–15 yards of curve, and two degrees can be disastrous

Swing speed magnifies errors — the faster you swing, the more brutally the ball exposes tiny mistakes

Setup is the silent killer — most “swing problems” are actually posture, alignment, or ball‑position issues that sabotage the shot before the club even moves

• Before changing your swing, check your setup — it fixes more issues than you think
• If your ball is curving, start with clubface control, not your takeaway
• When watching pros, look for patterns, not isolated bad swings
• If you’re swinging faster, you need more precision, not more effort
• Self‑diagnosis is tricky — get feedback from a pro or use tools that show impact data

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Understand the three specs that matter most when buying wedges

Learn how to build a wedge setup that fits your game and home course

Discover simple drills to improve contact, spin, and distance control

Know when to use high bounce vs. low bounce

Stop guessing yardages and start scoring inside 100 yards

Ball Position Tip
Hold the club with your normal, relaxed grip and make a few small, natural swings back and forth — nothing forced, just brushing the grass. Notice where the club consistently strikes the ground.
That spot is your true low point, and that’s where the ball should go.

Wedge Fitting Tip
If you’re going to get your wedges fitted, work with a brand‑agnostic fitter — someone who isn’t tied to a single manufacturer. That way, you’re choosing the wedge that fits your swing, not the one they’re obligated to sell. And make sure the fitting happens on real grass, not a mat. Mats hide fat shots, change bounce interaction, and give you a totally false sense of how the club performs.

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Guests
Jeff Smith – Top 100 instructor, Golf Digest
James Hong – Renowned junior coach and teaching professional

Topics Covered
• Why indoor swings don’t always translate outdoors
• The biggest mistakes golfers make when leaving the simulator
• How to quickly recalibrate distance control on real grass
• Adjusting to outdoor variables: wind, temperature, turf interaction, and uneven lies
• The role of preshot routines in creating consistency
• How routines help manage nerves, tempo, and decision‑making
• Smart early‑season practice strategies
• Managing expectations during your first few rounds of spring

Key Takeaways
• Indoor practice builds mechanics; outdoor golf demands adaptability.
• Your first few rounds should be about reacclimating, not scoring.
• Expect your distances to change — and give yourself time to re‑measure.
• Turf interaction is the biggest shock when leaving mats behind.
• A strong preshot routine is your anchor when conditions change.
• Early‑season success comes from patience, tempo, and smart decisions.

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