How to break 80

[314314]

Open to hear from some advice and tips... I had a few closed calls so far this year (shooting between 82-85)... I get in trouble in 1-2 holes with some triples which takes away the game.

My goal for the summer is to break 80 consistently. What should I do or focus on?

[jeffc]

2 things. Your short game and course management.

[nokids]

myself being an expert on the subject

all you need is to make at least par on 11 holes, and bogey the other 7. so be consistent, make solid contact on every shot. dont try high risk shots that you have a low probability of making, know thyself and thy abilities. also, think about course management but don't think about your swing, you'll get into a nice groove this way. good luck!

[jvincent]

2 things. Your short game and course management.

Those only apply IF (and it is a big if) you can get off the tee consistently AND you are a reasonable ball striker.

Chipping close and holing putts to save double-bogey are not going to let you break 80.

[jvincent]

My goal for the summer is to break 80 consistently. What should I do or focus on?

Figure out how to hit as many GIR as possible.

I am a 7 handicap who is averaging about 4-5 GIR per round. Quite honestly that is a pathetic number considering how well I drive the ball.

If I could get to 8-9 GIR on average I would be breaking 80 all the time.

[mberube]

Tone it down. Don’t try to squeeze that extra yard out of a club. If you can swing in tempo smoothly then you will hit more fairways, more greens and your miss will be a lot closer to your target. And surprisingly you will gain distance with your accuracy. It’s hard to make your brain listen and execute that tempo but it take one or two smooth swings to feel the perfect contact and see the ball flight to be a believer.

Take throwing a baseball for example. If you are playing ball and you are pitching the ball hard to a target you will often miss your target or catcher. If you throw it within your limits, hitting your target percentile will go up. Try that philosophy with golf and you will achieve better results.

Mike

[nokids]

Figure out how to hit as many GIR as possible.

I am a 7 handicap who is averaging about 4-5 GIR per round. Quite honestly that is a pathetic number considering how well I drive the ball.

If I could get to 8-9 GIR on average I would be breaking 80 all the time.

I agree with John. GIR is HUGE!! it's a guaranteed par if you two putt. The only time i ever broke 80 was when i hit 9 GIR. on average i hit only 4-5 GIR as well. Not good.

[leftylucas]

No doubt, I am the same and my lessons are concentrating on this aspect of the game. My short game is good and my driving is reasonable so GIR are key.

[khali127]

Breaking 80 for me meant 2 main things. 1. Put the ball in play off the tee and 2. No more three putts.
When I do those two things I am always at minimum threatening to break 80. Other aspects I have worked are short game(from 150 in) and more importantly scrambling to some pars. Lastly I have a hard time setting my ego aside or toning down the testosterone factor and play my game and sometimes take my medicine at times instead of going for the HERO shot, which means working to save a bogey instead of risking a big number.

[jeffc]

i should also add, find where your weaknesses are and fix them. Is it FIR, GIR, putting, etc?

[habsfan]

Breaking 80 for me meant 2 main things. 1. Put the ball in play off the tee and 2. No more three putts.
When I do those two things I am always at minimum threatening to break 80. Other aspects I have worked are short game(from 150 in) and more importantly scrambling to some pars. Lastly I have a hard time setting my ego aside or toning down the testosterone factor and play my game and sometimes take my medicine at times instead of going for the HERO shot, which means working to save a bogey instead of risking a big number.

thats my game in a nutshell, well said, ive toned down the hero shots this year and broken 80 3 times already, the day i fix my short game is the day i shoot par.

[sensfan63]

make the putt for 79...

[Hacker]

There are a lot of replies here from Great Golfers and highly respected members of this forum but with all due respect you all seem to be over-thinking this......if you want to break 80, head back to the clubhouse after the 15th hole (the 14th if your name is Bob...)

[314314]

Thanks everyone... I guess, I will be keeping stats from now on... (FIR, GIR, Putts, etc). By the way, I have been taking a club less and it works much better.

[jvincent]

Thanks everyone... I guess, I will be keeping stats from now on... (FIR, GIR, Putts, etc).

As a general comment, if you do not keep track of basic stats like this then you have no idea where your game needs to improve.

I would also add penalty strokes to your list BTW.

[314314]

Thanks... I just realized that.

[mpare]

Apart from the suggestions that were already made, here are a few more specific suggestions:

1. Course management:

(a) If you're in trouble, don't play the heroic shot. Play the one that will give you the most reasonable chance at bogey.

(b) If you have a hole that gives you trouble off the tee, play the club in which you have the most confidence even if that means that - on a par four or a par three - you won't reach the green in regulations. A sure bogey and possible one putt par is a lot better than an iffy par and a more likely double or triple.

(c) Assuming you have reasonable length off the tee, then on a par five where you are unlikely to reach the green in two, play the safe shot off the tee that best assures you'll hit the fairway. I recall one year while playing in the NS Mid-Amateur that on one long par five I hit 5 iron off the tee every day. Why? Because I knew the ball would be in the fairway on a level lie and that the second shot would easily put me within 100 yards from the hole. I played the hole in under par. Caution is oftentimes helpful.

(d) Try to hit your chips or putts so that the next shot gives you the easiest uphill putt to the cup. This is often said, but little done. Using this strategy can save you more strokes than you can imagine and you don't have to be a putting or chipping genius to execute it.

2. Clubbing. Most amateurs are short on their approach shots. My advice to most people, were they to ask, would be to take one more club each and every time they're hitting into a green. If you think you can reach with an 8, hit a 7. I say this because I have rarely seen amateurs reach their target with regularity. More importantly, the trouble on most holes is either pin high or short of the target.

[khali127]

(c) Assuming you have reasonable length off the tee, then on a par five where you are unlikely to reach the green in two, play the safe shot off the tee that best assures you'll hit the fairway. I recall one year while playing in the NS Mid-Amateur that on one long par five I hit 5 iron off the tee every day. Why? Because I knew the ball would be in the fairway on a level lie and that the second shot would easily put me within 100 yards from the hole. I played the hole in under par. Caution is oftentimes helpful.

Gold Jerry, gold.

This is something I am trying to do more often now. Sort of a Zac Johnston approach but just because it's a par 5 doesn't mean you must hit driver. I used to always ask myself why I was hitting driver, 7 iron, wedge on a hole with carry to green like Marshes #14) and taking that risk off the tee.

[314314]

Excellent advice!!! Glad I posted my question.... can't wait to get out and try a few later today

[nokids]

As a general comment, if you do not keep track of basic stats like this then you have no idea where your game needs to improve.

I would also add penalty strokes to your list BTW.

i used to track putts per round, but realized it's meaningless without GIR. so now i only track GIR, penalties, and strokes.

[mberube]

GIR is the most important stat in golf. If you can’t improve in this category, you will never be a consistent low handicap player. There was a study a few years back in Golf Digest about GIR compared other golf stats. The study showed that GIR stat dictated to final score of a round without knowing the other stats. And the guy was bang on.

[jvincent]

GIR is the most important stat in golf.

I partially agree. GIR and total putts per round are the most strongly correlated to low scores of all stats.

When we last had this debate I popped the PGA tour data (for all 180 somthing active players) into a spreadsheet and GIR and PPR had exactly the same correlation (positive) to scoring average.

IIRC they were also substantially more strongly correlated than any other stat.

So, to summarize, hit lots of greens, make lots of putts, and you will score well.

[mberube]

I partially agree. GIR and total putts per round are the most strongly correlated to low scores of all stats.

When we last had this debate I popped the PGA tour data (for all 180 somthing active players) into a spreadsheet and GIR and PPR had exactly the same correlation (positive) to scoring average.

IIRC they were also substantially more strongly correlated than any other stat.

So, to summarize, hit lots of greens, make lots of putts, and you will score well.

I do agree for tour players but for us amateurs, missing the green will bring bogey or higher more often then par. On GIR you will par more often then bogey. Although 3 putts are a possibility you have less 3+ putts in a round then missed up and downs resulting in higher score when you miss the green.

Tour player have a higher GIR percentile then amateurs and there missed GIR are a lot closer to the green then amateurs. They have a better chance for an up and down meaning that PPR is the key to succeed on tour.

[goley]

Hit the ball in play off the tee and have a good short game.

[goochy]

Gold Jerry, gold.

This is something I am trying to do more often now. Sort of a Zac Johnston approach but just because it's a par 5 doesn't mean you must hit driver. I used to always ask myself why I was hitting driver, 7 iron, wedge on a hole with carry to green like Marshes #14) and taking that risk off the tee.

Some advice I took from Annika Sorenstam's book that I have done this year:

"Why WOULD you hit Driver on a par 5 UNLESS you know you can reach it in two."

I cannot reach any par 5's in two so 5 iron or hybrid off the tee, followed by 6 or 7 iron, followed by wedge of some description. I am a 94 shooter on average but I average 5.7 on par 5's....by far my best holes (and also the holes where I have by far my highest GIR).

No, if only I could master long par 4's and par 3's!

I agree however that hit it straight off the tee (not necessarily long), hit as many GIRs as possible and have a solid sort game must be the keys to consistantly shooting in the 70s (easier said than done obviously)

[DenisO]

All very valid points, and I think I'm going to be not using my driver as much, as it really isn't necessary and causes me to go OOB more than I'd like. I think the way that I'm going to be breaking 80 is by becoming quite accurate from around 120-130 yards out, since I seem to place my ball around that yardage quite often. I usually end up missing the green, chipping and 2-3 putting, but I'd be saving a ton of strokes if I got it on and my putting was decent. I think I'll be able to break 80 this year once, and it will be near the end of the season for sure. Probably one of those fluke games, where everything goes right, that's what I'm hoping for anyways

[powerlefty]

Apart from the suggestions that were already made, here are a few more specific suggestions:

1. Course management:

(a) If you're in trouble, don't play the heroic shot. Play the one that will give you the most reasonable chance at bogey.

(b) If you have a hole that gives you trouble off the tee, play the club in which you have the most confidence even if that means that - on a par four or a par three - you won't reach the green in regulations. A sure bogey and possible one putt par is a lot better than an iffy par and a more likely double or triple.

(c) Assuming you have reasonable length off the tee, then on a par five where you are unlikely to reach the green in two, play the safe shot off the tee that best assures you'll hit the fairway. I recall one year while playing in the NS Mid-Amateur that on one long par five I hit 5 iron off the tee every day. Why? Because I knew the ball would be in the fairway on a level lie and that the second shot would easily put me within 100 yards from the hole. I played the hole in under par. Caution is oftentimes helpful.

(d) Try to hit your chips or putts so that the next shot gives you the easiest uphill putt to the cup. This is often said, but little done. Using this strategy can save you more strokes than you can imagine and you don't have to be a putting or chipping genius to execute it.

I agree with the above. Course management is very important. I noticed a big improvement in my scoring when I stopped hitting driver often. I have sufficient length that I can hit woods or hybrids from many par 4s and still have short irons into greens whereas hitting driver may get me well inside 100 yards but could also increase risk by bring rough into play; even on some par 5s I can hit 3-wood and maybe a 5-wood to go for a green in 2; sometimes (on a 350-360 yd par 4) I will even hit 7 iron off a tee and then 5 iron into a green if the landing area is tight and there are bailout areas around the green. This, coupled with working on my short irons dropped my handicap from 12 to less than 8 in 2 years. Next up is working on chipping and putting which I am sure would gain me another 2 to 4 strokes (pathetic short game )

[sillywilly]

go to the range and practice

[mpare]

No one will argue with that, but good strategy is a great adjunct. In fact, if your strategy is poor, then you'll take a lot longer getting into the 70s than would otherwise be the case. Besides, you can implement strategic changes while you continue to fine tune your shots.

go to the range and practice

[Chieflongtee]

Thanks everyone... I guess, I will be keeping stats from now on... (FIR, GIR, Putts, etc). By the way, I have been taking a club less and it works much better.

Easier said than done when you get to the driver. When you swing a 7 iron thinking an eight would have gotten you there mentally you slow everything down and the result is a nice beatiful tempo and a balanced swing. However when you get to the driver something in the back of our minds tells us that it needs to be ripped.
The best shots in golf are the ones we hit when laying up as we are not trying to kill the ball. If I could apply the laying up theory to the driver believe me my scores would be a lot lower. A near scratch player in Montreal was practicing the following way. Driver- 7 iron. I guess the thinking behind this was to try swinging all clubs the same way.