Golf’s Most Useless Practice Is the Kind You’re Good At

Free 3x15 Week card (the 3 dials, every session scored): https://playready.golf/3x15Play Ready Golf app, free 30 day trial, code PRGPOD: https://app.playready.golfEp. 27, why the range is the most expensive habit in your bag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R9mVHabK0cIf you went 10 for 10 at the range last night, you didn't practice. You performed.Adam Young, one of the best practice coaches in golf, wants his players making somewhere between 3 and 7 out of every 10. Most of us build every range session around never missing. That's why the good nights never show up on Saturday.In this episode, Isaak and Hayden get into how much you should actually be missing, what Rory McIlroy did after blowing the 2011 Masters, and the 3 dials (distance, target size and randomness) that make any drill show up on the course.Hayden also tells the full story of his 2024 Canadian Q School week in Dothan, Alabama. He was 7 under after two rounds. Then came a double on a 200 yard par 3, a misread tee time and a DQ before the final round. He shares what he does differently now.Tell us in the comments: what's your next drill, and how many out of 10 do you make?Studies and people we mention:Adam Young, The Practice ManualGuadagnoli and Lee (2004), the challenge point frameworkRobert Bjork, desirable difficultiesWilson et al. (2019), Nature Communications, the 85% ruleHuman Movement Science (2025), when a task gets too hardJared Porter, LSU, moving from blocked to random practiceLow and colleagues, 14 studies on pressure trainingAnnie Duke, Thinking in BetsSisk et al. (2018), the growth mindset meta-analysisChapters:0:00 Why 10 for 10 at the range is a bad sign1:59 How much should you be missing?3:08 Adam Young's 3 to 7 out of 10 rule4:00 The 3 dials that change any drill4:31 There's no such thing as a good drill5:26 Why easy practice feels so good6:46 The 85% rule for faster learning7:34 When hard practice backfires7:49 Signs your practice is too easy10:26 What Rory did after the 2011 Masters10:48 Rory's 496 for 496 inside 3 feet14:54 Hayden's Q School blowup17:23 The tee time mistake19:42 How Hayden bounced back22:04 Handling emotions after a miss24:20 The 3 part plan24:29 Part A: turn one dial26:57 Add a consequence: Colby's match28:56 Part B: stop judging by results30:41 The 3 buckets for every miss31:37 Part C: is growth mindset enough?32:37 Playing to your personality35:50 Ask: how many did I actually miss?36:31 Isaak's GC3 ladder drill37:37 Hayden's takeaway40:15 New Friday scheduleNew schedule: episodes with just Isaak and Hayden now drop every Friday. Guest episodes are bonus episodes early in the week.Isaak is a competitive mid-am who helps busy golfers improve with the time they already have. Hayden is a professional golfer. Play Ready Golf helps you practice with purpose, so you show up to the first tee ready to score.