Transcripts - Episode 7: Maximizing Return on Time Spent (with Jeff Jones, PGA)

Announcer: The Birdie Board Podcast is brought to you by the Birdie Board app—the easiest way to track matches, scores, and handicaps with friends. Now, here’s your host, Corey, with another episode of the Birdie Board Podcast.

Corey: Welcome to the Birdie Board Podcast. Today I’m joined by Jeff Jones, a PGA teaching professional with more than 40 years of experience helping golfers improve their game. Jeff began playing in the early ’70s—learning by watching others long before instruction was widely available. When he started teaching in the ’80s, he quickly realized how opinionated golf could be and set out to uncover science-based answers rooted in physics, geometry, human movement, and motor learning. He’s based in Orlando, Florida.

Jeff describes himself as a swing builder, not a quick-fix coach, which I love. He believes small, intentional changes in a player’s approach can lead to big results, and he’s passionate about helping golfers get the highest return on their time spent in the game. That’s what we’re going to talk about today: how to maximize the return on your practice. Jeff, welcome!

Corey: The first thing that stuck out to me when we first talked—unrelated to today’s topic but a great story—is your basement setup as a kid with the mattress and carpet. Tell us about that.

Jeff: Sure. I really had no interest in playing golf at first. I’d ride my bike past the course when I was 11 or 12. All I saw were old men in funky pants, and I thought, “Not for me.” By 13, I realized I was smaller than other kids—so baseball, basketball, football were going away. I loved sports and had a lot of energy, so I was looking for something. I ended up at a golf course once and thought, “Oh my gosh, this is great.”

But I lived in western Colorado. When the season ended, snow came, and I got depressed—nothing golf-related to do. When the snow melted, it felt like two steps forward, three steps back. So as winter approached, I thought: I need to keep getting reps. This was 1973—no indoor nets.

My parents had a basement. I asked myself, what could I hit off and into without killing myself? I dumpster-dived behind a carpet store, found some scraps to make a hitting surface so I could strike the ground. Then I went behind a mattress store, found an old mattress, and suddenly I had my indoor range. I didn’t tell my friends I was ripping balls into a mattress and bouncing around the room, but when the snow left, my swing was way ahead—no “fall back” period.

Corey: How did you even come up with carpet and a mattress? Did you just assume it’d be enough?

Jeff: I’d made swings on a concrete floor—sparks flying off the sole of the club—so I knew the floor wasn’t it. And hitting into a wall would get me killed. I just put one and one together. Even in college, first semester, my room was supposed to be a double, and I “borrowed” the other guy’s mattress and did it again. The RA warned me about “thumps,” and I was like, “No idea what that is.”

Corey: Without ball flight, how did you know if you had a good swing? Just feel?

Jeff: We all know solid contact when we feel it. Of course, ball flight matters, but I focused more on the movement pattern than what I saw. Golfers are reactive to what they see—look up, see a nice flight, assume it was a great move—and that’s not always good learning. I focused on how the club interacted with the ground. Was I topping, chunking, bottoming out too early? It became a feel thing. Once outside, I matched feel to flight and adjusted.

Corey: How hard was it to go from basement/feel work to outdoors? Was it two to three winter months each year?

Jeff: It took less time than you think. One of the biggest things: a golf club is an unbalanced lever. If you find an iron’s balance point, you might have ~5.5 inches on one side and ~35 on the other. The relationship is holding a light end to control a heavy end. Better players learn not to react to the heavy side; newer players do the opposite. Daily swinging connected those dots—controlling the heavy side by controlling the light side.

Corey: You’ve already hinted at maximizing return on practice time. What does that phrase mean to you?

Jeff: Think of it like investing. You hand money to an advisor and compare returns later. My office is the practice facility—I’ve watched people try to get better for decades. I see massive time-wasting.

I’m bottom-line: it’s about score. I grew up playing with the men for a couple bucks on the front and back. I grew up poor—great motivation. Score-driven practice means asking: Where can I shave strokes? Once I started teaching, I focused on teaching people how to practice with limited time. Someone would say, “I only have an hour a week.” I’d say, “Great—let’s divide 60 minutes by 7 days: about 8.5 minutes a day.” They’d say, “Every day?” I’d say, “You told me you have an hour. We’re spreading it out.” One of the best hacks: pick up the club for eight minutes a day.

Corey: So you prefer a little every day rather than once a week?

Jeff: Oh my gosh—yes. The more you get the club in your hands, the more it feels like you were born with it. Grip, face control, bottom of arc, compression—all of it improves. Your body is your club’s tool—speed and control come from your body. Repetition builds the pattern. And when you remove the ball, it’s a great learning environment. For newer players, I like five or six reps without a ball for every one with. Otherwise, you get the emotional rollercoaster with buckets of balls—great for feelings, not for learning.

Corey: What other approaches do you use to help students maximize time—especially heading into winter for many golfers?

Jeff: First, study. In 2025, there’s no excuse not to be a smarter golfer about swing mechanics. When I started in ’73, there was almost no information. By the early ’80s, there was limited info—if you had Hogan’s Five Lessons, you were ahead of the curve. Now information is cheap but fragmented. Build a functional understanding.

Second, groove your swing with reps—slow and segmented. Think like football teams doing walkthroughs: learn the movement slowly before ramping up speed and adding pressure. If you’re stuck at home, study, work through positions, understand swing plane, trail arm and wrist, release. The whole swing is ~1.2 seconds—another reason to isolate pieces. Also, hit the gym. Back then I didn’t know what to do; now there’s great golf-specific training.

Corey: Any favorite exercises?

Jeff: Rotational work. The swing is an interaction between your upper and lower spine. Anything that helps you segment ribcage vs. hips/pelvis is great. Wrist control too—people forget their wrists. If you’re your club’s machine: sure, you can pimp out a Hyundai, but how fast will it go? Courses defend with yardage—par-3 short, par-4 mid, par-5 long. Modern golf rewards distance. If you can cover 65–70% of the hole off the tee, you’re ahead. So I’d work on making the body more capable, get smarter, groove the pattern—then when the snow melts, you’re ready to add ball flight and make adjustments.

Corey: Even at 8–10 minutes a day, people still need to maximize that time. What are common time-wasters?

Jeff: If score is the bottom line, three “clubs” account for ~80% of your strokes: putter (~40–42%), wedges, and driver. Anyone would agree their good rounds come when they drive it well and take advantage with wedges, and then convert with the putter. So why hit a whole bucket of 7-irons to the same target? It doesn’t translate. Maximize by practicing the big three. And putting can be trained indoors—work on stroke. If you have a club in your hand and you’re working with it, you’ll get better.

Corey: Totally agree—and similar to fitness: you won’t progress with one hour a week, but you will with 10 minutes a day.

Jeff: One hundred percent. Years into teaching, I asked, “How do humans learn motor skills?” Golf is a motor skill with three stages: cognitive (understand what to do), associative (refine), autonomous (perform). That’s why I say study—don’t jump straight to banging balls. I hate the quick-tip mentality. Ten reps won’t give you an eight-pack, and 10 swings won’t fix your golf.

Corey: Patience is tough—especially for juniors. It takes time, practice, repetition. People want quick fixes.

Jeff: True. But think long-term: you might play golf for 40 years. What if you devoted one season to building foundations instead of quick fixes? My line is: if you learn slowly, you’ll progress fast.

Corey: Before we close, you’ve emphasized posting scores. Why is that so important for your students?

Jeff: It’s dear to my heart. When I first met you and heard about Birdie Board, I thought, “I like this guy,” because posting scores is how we’re measured. If someone says, “I only play for fun,” often they’re embarrassed about score. In 52 years playing and 42 teaching, I’ve never met anyone proud of a score who wouldn’t tell you. When you post your score, you become accountable. That changes how you practice, think, and act.

That’s why Birdie Board is a great fit. You get a group together, you post scores, you have a game. I grew up with small action—just a couple bucks—to make it matter. It doesn’t have to be big, but it should count. I also love live scoring; if I could’ve seen that back then, I’d have had so much fun. It even changes strategy. If I’m up two or three, I’m aiming center green—not taking chances. If I’m down one, I’m more aggressive. Posting scores and using Birdie Board work together.

Corey: I love that. If someone commits to “a little every day” this winter, what’s one piece of advice?

Jeff: Get organized—have a plan. “We don’t plan to fail; we fail to plan.” People approach golf passively. Looking toward 2026, use technology. I put all my students on CoachNow—video, slow-mo, drawing lines, tracking progress. OnForm is another good one. You need something to see your swing.

If you’ve got an indoor space and a net, consider an affordable portable launch monitor—FlightScope Mevo, Rapsodo—$200–$300. Track ball speed, spin, launch, etc. That feedback helps. So: get your tools, get your body ready, study, groove patterns—then hit the ground running when spring comes.

Corey: For listeners who want more, where can they find you?

Jeff: I’m old-school, not much of a self-promoter, but I do have YouTube—Jeff Jones Golf—and I run a lot of developmental instruction. I also run one of the largest after-school junior programs through my company Right Start Golf. And yes, I teach adults too—but I’m ground-up. If you’re a 17 handicap aiming for single digits, you probably need to rebuild fundamentals. My content’s all physics, geometry, and how we learn—no quick fixes. And I’d tell you to get on Birdie Board and start playing for something that matters—friends, coworkers, neighbors. Have a game!

Corey: Jeff, thanks for joining—this was your first podcast appearance and also my first time having a guest on the Birdie Board Podcast. I think listeners will appreciate hearing more than just me for once!

Corey (closing): Thanks for listening—that’s it for this episode of the Birdie Board Podcast.

Announcer: Thanks for tuning in to the Birdie Board Podcast. If you enjoyed it, subscribe and share it with a friend who loves golf. Before your next round, grab the Birdie Board app—free on the Apple App Store and Google Play—and let it handle the scoring while you enjoy the game.