About this episode

Will Stubbs discusses the challenges of golf practice and retention, emphasizing the need for realistic training methods.

In this episode of On The Mark, Mark Immelman welcomes back Will Stubbs from Zen Green Stage / Zen Swing Stage for a conversation that hits a major truth about modern golf: the game doesn’t have an attraction problem—it has a retention problem. Golf participation has surged, but most new players don’t stick—largely because golf is hard, practice isn’t realistic, and learning infrastructure hasn’t kept up with access. Will breaks down the “practice gap” —why sterile range/simulator reps don’t translate to the real golf course where slopes, lies, turf conditions, and wind change everything. Then he shares actionable ways to improve faster : build situational awareness, train on uneven lies, and learn to read greens using a simple clock-face method that teaches you to see gravity like a blueprint. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Why golf has a retention problem (not an attraction problem) The stat that should shock everyone: only ~25–27% become “committed golfers” Why most beginners never get lessons (and how golf learning hasn’t scaled) The “practice gap”: why simulator/range practice can be misleading Why slopes (not length) are a course’s greatest defense A simple putting read…

People in this episode

Host: Mark Immelman

Guest: Will Stubbs

Topics covered

• golf retention problem
• practice gap
• golf training
• situational awareness
• putting techniques
• golf participation

Keywords

• golf
• practice gap
• retention problem
• situational awareness
• putting read
• golf training
• Zen Green Stage
• golf participation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Zen Green Stage, Zen Swing Stage

More episodes of On the Mark Golf Podcast

• What I Do Is Not Who I Am: Faith, Identity, and Golf with Steve Eubanks · July 20, 2026 · 45 min
• The Golf Life Cycle: How to Handle Good, Bad, and Indifferent Play with Mark Immelman · July 14, 2026 · 38 min
• Why Your Range Swing does not Transfer to the Course with Dr. Luke Benoit · July 7, 2026 · 47 min
• Stop Hitting at the Ball and Start Swinging the Club with Dutch Skiver · July 1, 2026 · 55 min
• Golf Boot Camp with Rick Currin: Simple Fixes for Every Part of Your Game · June 22, 2026 · 49 min

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