Issue 1 - April 2026

Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Golf Scene. This will be a weekly newsletter filled with stories, insights, and features that golfers of all levels can enjoy. My goal is simple — to make this an easy, light read that is both fun and educational.

With the golf season right around the corner here in Toronto, I’m already seeing some familiar patterns in lessons. Most golfers are held back by the same core issues — poor contact, inconsistent club path and face control, off-centre strikes, and trying to swing too hard in an effort to create speed.

The good news? These are all highly fixable — often much faster than you might think.

That’s exactly why I created the 5C Golf Performance System — a simple way to understand what’s really happening at impact and how to improve it.

I’ll break that down in next week’s issue.

Contact.

In my opinion, it’s the most important component in the golf swing—and one of the most misunderstood.

Good contact means striking the ball first, and the ground second.

That’s the standard.

Where most golfers get into trouble is how they think the club should approach the ball. Some believe it should be moving upward to help the ball into the air. Others try to pick it clean by bottoming the club out right at the ball.

Both ideas lead to the same result:

And you can usually see it immediately in the motion—the body starts compensating for a misunderstanding of what needs to happen at impact, mostly it’s where the golfer leaves their weight on the back foot, and where the upper body moves away from the target.

If contact isn’t correct, nothing else really matters.

You can have good club speed.
You can have a good club path.
You can even have a square clubface.

But if the club strikes the ground before the ball—or catches the ball too high on the face—the result will always be inconsistent.

That’s why this is always the starting point in my lessons. Get contact right first, then build everything else around it.

If there’s one thing I would fix for every golfer, it’s this:

👉 Where the club bottoms out (your low point)

Most golfers try to help the ball into the air, which shifts the low point behind the ball.

The result is predictable—poor, inconsistent contact.

The reality is simple:

The golf ball doesn’t need help getting into the air—the club is designed to do that.

Instead of trying to lift the ball, focus on this:

👉 Ball first, ground second

To make this happen:

Start slow.

You don’t need a full swing to improve contact. In fact, shorter swings often give you a much better feel for where the club is bottoming out. Build the motion first—then add speed.

Control your low point, and you’ll start to see everything else improve—cleaner strikes, better ball flight, and more consistency.

If you’re going to work on one thing this week…

👉 Make it contact.

Quick one this week—and one that confuses a lot of players.

If your ball is embedded (plugged) in its own pitch mark:

👉 You are allowed free relief

❗ This applies through the green (not in bunkers)

Ever wonder why the hole is such a specific size?

👉 4.25 inches wasn’t random.

It dates back to 1829 at Musselburgh in Scotland, where they used a tool to cut holes—and that tool happened to be 4.25 inches wide.

The R&A later standardized it, and here we are.

So yes… every missed putt has been judged by the same size hole for nearly 200 years.

If money were no object, most golfers would likely choose a private club.

But for most people, budget matters—so the real question becomes:

👉 Where is the best value?

Let’s break it down.

Let’s say you play 30 rounds per year, and the average cost (including a cart) is about $100.

That puts your annual golf spend at roughly $3,000.

Pros of Public Golf:

That last point is often overlooked—playing different courses can actually make you a more adaptable golfer.

Cons of Public Golf:

Private clubs operate very differently.

Annual dues typically range from $5,000 to $10,000, and initiation fees can start around $25,000—and go much, much higher. In most cases, that upfront cost is not recoverable. On top of that, carts and other amenities are usually extra.

Using the same example—30 rounds per year with $5,000 in annual dues—that works out to about $166 per round, before additional costs.

So clearly, this isn’t about price per round.

The value of a private club lies in the experience.

For many golfers, those intangibles are what make the extra cost worthwhile.

Of course, there are downsides:

So which offers better value?

👉 It depends on what you value.

There’s no right answer—just the one that fits your game, your lifestyle, and your budget.

Who doesn’t love shiny new golf clubs?

You walk into the pro shop, see the latest $700 driver, and start picturing 300-yard drives right down the middle. And honestly—if it were as simple as paying $700 for those results, who wouldn’t buy it?

But let’s take a step back.

Every year, manufacturers promise better performance, more distance, and more forgiveness. But realistically, how much has really changed from December 31 to January 1?

What could have happened overnight that makes this year’s driver dramatically better than last year’s?

Yes—there are moments when new technology genuinely moves the needle.

But most of the time… not really.

I see this all the time:

Golfers chasing new equipment, hoping it will fix their swing.

Here’s the honest truth:

👉 Most issues are not equipment-related

Ask yourself:

If the answer is no, the best investment isn’t a new club—

👉 It’s improving your motion.

That said, there are times when new equipment can make a real difference:

In these situations, the right equipment can absolutely help.

👉 Lessons improve your swing
👉 Equipment complements your swing

One builds the foundation.
The other enhances it.

If the foundation isn’t solid, new equipment won’t solve the problem—it just masks it.

Equipment can enhance a good swing.

👉 It rarely fixes a poor one.

So before you reach for the credit card…

Make sure you’re investing in the right thing.

Next time you’re at the range:

👉 Don’t hit a ball

Just make swings trying to:

Do this for 2–3 minutes before hitting balls—it makes a big difference.

The 2026 golf season is almost here.

If you’re looking to get a head start this year, feel free to reach out or book a session. Come on in and see what the 5C Golf Performance System can do for you.

See you next time,
David

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