Cut your Golf Handicap: Practice Routines, Speed Training & Smart Strategy

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