Just elimnate the stupid mistakes, start thinking what you want to do with every shot, and elimante the side of the hole that you dont want to be on.

I've been trying to break 80 for a while now. I have the same problem, I get ahead of myself and don't take it shot by shot. I have another chance tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.

another though on this - keep in mind that you can make bogeys and still break 80.  I know this goes without saying, but a lot of golfers freak out if they make a bogey, and it puts them in a bad frame of mind.   

 

It really depends ... if your last holes are played when you are tired (not due to lack of sleep, or over excertion), try using one more club (I know most men hate the thought, but personally I feel if that's what it takes ... I'll use two more when needed) .. I also eat 2 sandwiches while golfing to keep my strength up (age 50+ here) ... 1/2 on 3  another 1/2 around 6 .. then on 13 and maybe again 16 or 17.  I also drink green tea ...  I know .. the thought almost made me gag too, but I mix it with a fruit juice I like, and all these things seem to give me energy to play 18, and sometimes 27 :)   BTW I broke 70 this year  :)  Something that I found extremely helpful was keeping track of everything.  The titleist scorecard was very helpful, I also keep track of where my drives and approach shots go, it helped me, hope it helps you as well :)

I agree with Hunter L, eliminate the Stupid mistakes. Lately I've shot 80 to 83 consistanley and it hase been either a couple of bad holes or a couple of stupid shots (usually the stupid shot lead to the bad holes) that has kept me from breaking 80. Just a momentary lapse in concentration is alll it takes

I know the feeling, I am a 12 handicap...and I do the same thing to, play up till 15 or 16 and then I just suck from then on. I thought It was just that I was getting tired, but when I was fully charged I still did the same thing...so my thing is to visualize like there is another hole to play..,because when I did that, i didn't know that we were going to be 22 holes and so I accidentally played good!! And shot a 78 on 18 holes! Hope that will help!

false, i'd say 4-7 times actually. this past summer. check GHIN

Mr.ford try try this : prior to play take your scorecard and circle the 11 hardest holes at the course you are playing.these are the 11 holes you should bogey.when you get to each of these holes,try to focus a little harder at the task at hand here( par).when I was knocking on the door to shoot 79 I received this tip from the club pro..with in a week I had a week of my life.I shot nothing over 78.all so it's not the last couple holes you should be worrying about.focus on the first 16 and when you get to 17/18 it won't matter..good luck.

I myself am trying to become more comfortable with shooting under par. I often get to two under and try not to screw things up.  I like the idea of playing the front tees and trying to shoot as low as you can just to become more comfortable with going low.  You must also try to keep the mindset of... i'm 2 over and I'm trying to get back to even to stay aggressive. I know it's difficult to get over the hump of breaking 80 but once you do it once, you will be doing it all the time. It's all about confidence.

Play golf between your ears....  

Driver only comes out of the bag on holes that are WIDE open.  Even on par 5s; if you have to shape a shot to be in the short grass, use your 3W.

Don't be afraid to hit your irons off the box.....  For example; we have a 318 yard par 4 that is drive-able.  If I were to try to drive that hole I would double bogey it ten times to every eagle and five times to every birdie.  Forget eagle..... I hit a smooth 7 iron off the box out to 145 then hit a full wedge into the green.  When I put it well, I birdie.  If I miss a shot, I par it.

I think the best bit of advice is to try and get off all the par 4 boxes with whatever club you have in your bag that will allow you to turn that particular hole into a 120-180 yard par 3. 

If you do that consistently, you'll be in the 70s.

thanks for all the feedback. I really appreciate it! Ill let you know when it happens! thanks.

Hunter L

Just elimnate the stupid mistakes, start thinking what you want to do with every shot, and elimante the side of the hole that you dont want to be on.

Ain't that the truth.  Like Phil in the Masters.  Hits one into the woods (off the grand stand), tries to hit it out and misses, chunks it out, chunks into a bunker... disaster.  Like my Grandpa always said, just take your medicine and give youself a shot.  If he took an unplayable, and dropped, he would have saved at least one stroke.  If I'm feeling the blow up hole coming, I'll just take a little extra time between shots.  When I rush is when bogies turn into something worse.

Christopher P

Play golf between your ears....  

Driver only comes out of the bag on holes that are WIDE open.  Even on par 5s; if you have to shape a shot to be in the short grass, use your 3W.

Don't be afraid to hit your irons off the box.....  For example; we have a 318 yard par 4 that is drive-able.  If I were to try to drive that hole I would double bogey it ten times to every eagle and five times to every birdie.  Forget eagle..... I hit a smooth 7 iron off the box out to 145 then hit a full wedge into the green.  When I put it well, I birdie.  If I miss a shot, I par it.

I think the best bit of advice is to try and get off all the par 4 boxes with whatever club you have in your bag that will allow you to turn that particular hole into a 120-180 yard par 3. 

If you do that consistently, you'll be in the 70s.

I agree with Chris on the driver. I actually start out a round of golf with a pretty smooth swing and I hit my clubs dead straight or slightly left. You have to resist the temptation to crank it as you get warmed up - you end up pushing or blocking shots (I start hitting them high and slightly right of the fairway center).

It also takes a hole or two to get the feel of your short game. I've had quite a few instances where I would start out with a double bogey and two bogeys and then end up shooting 42 for the 9 holes as the pars and occasional birdies begin to roll in. I expect bogey on the 400+ par 4s because I barely have the distance to make the green in 2.

When I play the executive courses, I may use the driver on one par 4 (because the fairway is wide) and some of the fairways are so narrow that it necessitates a 3H or 7W (and there is one course with a 300 yd par 3 that requires a 5H off the tee since anything between 170-220 lands one in a creek bed; simple - hit a 5H or 7H to the green and make par).

Quite some time ago, I wasn't that great with a driver (I didn't start using one until 2007) so I often teed off with a 5 wood on the par 4s and shot in the high 80s this way. My driving has been pretty much dead center since I got a lofted draw driver at the beginning of 2011.

Even as I started getting better with the driver, I would still tee off on the first hole with a 5 wood and not even break the driver out until the 3rd hole. Nowadays I can walk up to the tee dead cold and put the driver dead center.

I think what is going to help me break 80 this year is reverting back to my 2009-early 2010 iron setup (5H-7H, 8-PW and Vokeys). I tried using a 6 and 7 iron occasionally for the middle game since early 2010 but my distance varies as much 15 yards with them (I had been using a persimmon 34H as a backup and often reverted to it).

3 months ago I acquired a Sumo SQ2 34H and I have been doing pretty good on the 135-145 yard par 3s and approach shots of that distance. Golf is also the equivalent of what we in the Engineering world call Six Sigma (Constant Process Improvement).

drink a bottle of water eat a tuna sandwich on hole number 14 keep that energy up strech if you need to

Thanks for all the suggestions, it has certainly helped me! Shot a 79 last night, first time ever! 40 on the front 9, then was even par thru 15 on the back. On 16, tee shot in the pond, leading to a double bogey, was in the trees on 17, resulting in another double. Put the driver away, and hit an easy 3 wood on the short par 4 18th, wedge to green, 2 putt for par! Really starting to get the feel for my new Scotty Cameron California Monterey putter too!