I broke 80 the first tie about a week ago. I shot 78. I think the real big thing is that you need to good putting. The range at my club opens at 7:30 so i'm  over there from then till about 10:00 just putting. after that I work on chipping and then my irons and so on. the point is you putting should be perfect. I have a 1.90 putting average so i'm doing good.

If you play the same course, or a course you're familiar with, develop plan of action for the last two or three holes (or any problem holes for that matter).  Figure out where you need to be to limit mistakes.

I know there's a short par 4 finishing the course I play most often, and I can drive the green if conditions are right.  Sure it's really fun to try to pull off the hero shot, but 9 times of 10 I'll end up shooting worse than I would if I just hit 7 iron to 150 and 8 iron to the fat of the green.  More times than not I'll end up with a par playing it safe, and I've probably birdied as many times going the safe route than the hero route.  The bonus is I've never gone worse than bogie when I've played it smart.

I am getting closer and closer each time i play. Whenever I play alone i play better because I guess its easier to focus, but the drawback is I might get too caught up and think long term and not focus on the specific shot i need to hit, so i do like to have someone to talk to sometimes. I really appreciate all the feed back. Ill let yall know as soon as it happens!

2 times in the past 2 weeks I've had the chance to break 80. First time was at a course I'd never played before (Eyemouth in the Scottish borders), when I was having a matchplay round with my dad. +5 through 9 after bogeying 6, 7, 8, 9. Then +8 through 10...managed to get back to +7 through 14 before putting it in the water at 16. then went par, par and needed to birdie the last for a 79. put my approach to 8 feet, then smashed the putt 12 feet passed. Didn't sink the 2nd putt and ended with an 81. I did at least win the match 6 and 4...then today was 5 over through 9, managed to keep it to 6 over by the time I was coming down 18, hit my approach shot into the bunker front left, then failed to get up and down for par. shot 80. i hate wet sand.

The first time I broke 80 was walking in a pouring rain. I was so preoccupied with keeping everything dry I hardly knew which hole I was on from time to time. I focused on hitting a good shot each time and stuck to my routines. The only deviations were to dry either me or my clubs. I would record the score for a hole and stuff the card back in the dry pocket and play on. When finished I went into the locker room to change and added up my first 77, having been oblivious to it during the round! Most important.....develop pre-shot routines for EACH shot and stick to them, and know how far you hit each club in your bag on a normal shot. Assuming you are striking the ball okay (you are scoring in the 80's), get some help with the mechanics of your swing to fine tune it. Then you will build a swing you can depend upon when the pressure is on. Also, work as often as you can on your short game (from 50 yards in) and PUTTING! Go to the ball fitting section on this website and look at the forms, especially the advanced ball fitting form; it will give you some great short game insight. Lastly, get a copy of Ben Hogan's 5 Fundamentals and practice with it. It's old school but still the best fundamentals book out there (Larry Nelson and other pro's learned to play from it). I know this sounds like a lot, but remember practice does not make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect!

I had been an average player for the last 7 years.  Never able to break 80.  It seemed like my learning curve had gone flat.  I had gotten better and better each of my first 7 or so years but seemed to platoe and not really improve for about the last 5 years, always being about a 10 handicap.  What got me over the hump and improved my game to the point that even par is my new 80 was the fundementals.  I had never understood the golf swing and the reason behind why my ball went the direction it did.  After almost giving up golf due to not getting any better for so long, I decided to give up the idea that a book could not teach you to golf any more than the radio teaches you to sing and studied what grip and swing path promoted a draw or fade, what was the perfect swing and then used what I learned to create my perfect swing.  Needless to say I am still golfing and enjoying it more than ever. 

Just thought of something else that might help. If you are losing it on 16, 17, or 18 play the course backward (start on the back 9). If your mind is telling you you have trouble with any of those holes coming down the stretch then get them out of the way earlier and finish strong on holes you are comfortable with. Don't know if this type thing has been a problem or not. And if you do have problems with them early it gives you time to make up for the miscues on your "comfort holes". Our pro also said concentrate on the par 3's and par 5's. Get eagle out of your mind on the 5's for now; try to make solid 5's. Remember: Greens in regulation, Fairways in regulation. No more than 29 putts per round.

Ever play a shotgun on your home course? It's amazing the mental games that are removed when your 18th hole is not the 18th hole. You're simply playing the 5th hole, just like all the other times. Personally, I just had one of those rounds where EVERYTHING was working, and I shot 74. I spent the whole round trying to concentrate on nothing but the shot I was about to hit. I tend to have an issue where I don't commit, or I don't follow through. I just repeated "commit and through" before each shot and stopped thinking. It worked wonders. Now, I need to prove to myself that I can do it again, but it has to stop raining around her first.

Proctor, I am a 2 handicap and got stuck at 8 for a long time. Now I play under par at least once a month. I changed two things. 1. First start to believe that you can shoot low scores, expect to shoot low scores, even when you walk of the course and shot 90 keep believing you can shoot low scores. the way to build this belief is to review every round and only focus on the good shots and holes you playes. accept the mistakes and decide what you can do next time you face the same situation. Not make the same mistake again. But key is to focus on the positives in post round. write them down, re live those positive shots, you will then start to believe that you can pull the shots off when you face them. Second thing to change is accept that you might have bad holes or rounds. look at the pro's one round they shoot 63 the next day 73. 10 shots differance. who are we as non pro's to think we can shoot each round on or below handicap. that is the mind game. also learn to manage your emotions on the course and stay positive, slow down and develop a tempo and routine for each shot. respect this as this is the process of getting into the shot every time. never talk yourself down. the last bit, work hard on all parts of your game. Like Pete Cohan , the couch for a numebr of European players say " it is not how good your good shots are but how good your bad shots are". This game is played one shot at a time.

I tend to disagree with what seems to be the general consensus to not know where you stand in the round, to not know what you are shooting until you add it up at the end of the round.  

I have broken 80 twice this season, which went along with my goal of breaking 80 this year.  On both occasions, I knew where I stood in my round and knew exactly what I needed to do to break 80.  You should know where you stand so you have a clear idea of what you need to do.

I agree completely with playing one shot at a time and staying in the present - but if I don't know where I stand in relation to par how can make wise judgements on the course such as fire at the pin or play for the center of the green?, go for a risky recovery shot, or chip back to the fairway?, go for a par 5 green in two, or lay up, hit driver off the tee or 3-wood, or an iron???  If I have a chance to break 80, I may not go for the riskier shot, or if I need to make up some shots to par, I just might; the point is I have to know where I'm at score-wise to make those decisions.

Jason

Proctor,

I have broken 80 quite a few times on our home course. Skill is needed, I can give you some lessons when I am home. Give Ted my best.

Mott

An 11 can shoot 75 on a great day, but you need focus, it all comes down to focus. If you get tired, you can lose it, and thats all it takes. When you step up to every tee you need to be focused and smooth, think birdie, and stay in the moment. If you find you are offside on a tee shot, don't be a hero, play to your strengths and put a smooth swing on it, take your lumps without making it worse then it should be and take a new attitude to the next shot. I always think of a time where things went wrong, but I got it back, like a time I had a double double start on a tough track. I ended up paring the next 7, and shooting a 4 under 32 on the back. FOCUS! As a final note, Practice well, Nicklaus believed you should hit every shot as if it was a match situation, practice or not, it creates focus and good habits.

Mott Ford III

Proctor,

I have broken 80 quite a few times on our home course. Skill is needed, I can give you some lessons when I am home. Give Ted my best.

Mott

you broke it once...

Finally broke 80 at my home course -- shot 79 with punched greens. I've broken 80 many times and consistently elsewhere. However, shooting 80/81 on many occasions was the best on my home course. The problem with my home course is that every single hole has hazard, ob, or brush too dense to find or hit your ball on both sides. Plus, every green has junk on 3 sides, and a few have badness on all sides. As a result, I always find myself trying to steer every shot to avoid the trouble -- a missed shot is either a lost ball or a penalty. Yesterday, I finally was able to concentrate only on where I wanted the ball instead of where I didn't want the ball. I still faltered a few times, but it's hard when you have such a small margin for error.

Bottom line is not to think "don't go left". Instead picture the shot you want and swing away.

I'm an 11/12 handicap, I've broken 80 many times. The key to almost all of those rounds was being able to get up and down with a few good chips. Many of us go to the range, hit a few wedges a few mid irons, a couple woods and bang a few drives. Then we head to the putting area. Watch how many folks will practice chipping "barely any". I've had several players tell me I'm one of the best chippers in the club, well I practice chipping before each round, at least a dozen chips before putting.