Better than expected? Not on course! (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
above par
'better than expected?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'not on course' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'not' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is found within the answer.
'course' could be 'e' and 'e' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for above par that I've seen before include "Higher than average - bad in golf" , "bad score on course" , "Brave OAP may be better than average" , "at a premium" , "better than expected" .)