Breaking 80

Re: Breaking 80

Mads — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:43:03 GMT

Sounds to me as if you are getting a tired at the end of the round. Have you tried to energise yourself for the last remaining holes. Try to eat a banana or muesli bar or nuts and always lots of water.

(Also for a period (or always) of time) change the strategy for how you play these last three 3 holes. Like, if you use a drive off tee, change to a fairway wood, 3 iron to be sure to get the ball on the fairway. Maybe lay up to a distance you know very well and can practice - say 100 yards = PW or what you like to hit a certain distance. That way you have good change for a par putt.

The course I am playing, the key to a lower score is on the long par 4s of which there are many. Actually only two short part 4s and the rest are longer than 380 meter (longest is 420 meter). In the beginning I was really struggling to score on these holes. But I found different strategies for each hole in order to lower my score and now I consistently shooting lower than 80.

Clubwise the only change I did was get a gap wedge, to give me better distance control. Now my set up is PW: 47 degree - 105 - 115 meters, GW: 51 degrees - 95 - 105 meters , SW: 55 degrees - 80 - 95 meters and LW: 60 degrees - 65 - 80 meters.

Good luck

Re: Breaking 80

Russell E. Oaks — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:58:05 GMT

Thanks, i just finished my senior year of college and my second year playing in the ORC ( Ohio Regional Campus ) which is fairly low on the totem pole of sports but its fun and free golf. All of ohio's branch campises for d1 school play together, and its pretty much like high school. 5 guys play and you take the best 4 score and the low score between the teams win. Well our team isnt very good and i am normally playing as #3 and i average 87 in tournys while in practice i average 82 so apparently i suck at life when it comes to rounds when they matter. But i have been working on my swing mainly my lower body. I had never taken a lesson or known much about golf i just play and try to play good. And one of the guys noticed my left led my front leg breaks in towards my back leg in my back swing ranther than bending and flexing out. So all round i was having fun and i was focusing and repating to myself flex the knee, flex the knee so those two things i feel is why i shot a 77. That and i was lights out with. My putter which never happens lol

Re: Breaking 80

JPHB — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:30:08 GMT

Russell - really excellent advice! And congrats on breaking 80 in a tournament!

I managed to break 80 twice last year (a 79 and a 77) - but so far this year I'm in the 80s, with one round in the low 90s, but it's early in the season, so we'll see.

Re: Breaking 80

Russell E. Oaks — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:23:33 GMT

I just recently broke 80 for the 4th time in my life but the first in actual tournament play. The key for me wasn't really any tricks with nerves or thoughts. I just found myself playing with an older man who kept me laughing, light on my feet, and not really alloying myself to worry about my few misses. In my opinion when you are shooting this low it's almost hard to not know where you stand. You might not remember all of your good holes but you know what your bad holes were. So when you are this low, you will probably know where you stand coming in to the last few holes. And I know it's hard to do this but just be happy you are out there playing golf and shoot what you can when you can. Take what the corse can give you. No matter what you shoot there will always probably be 5 shots that you look back at or wish you could redo. I know finishing bad really hurts and that if you would just have done this or that your score would have been different. But there are 18 holes and a few shots on the front can make the difference on your round just as easy as the last few. Just do your best to stay calm and enjoy it, if you are playing good the score you want will end up on your scorecard sooner or later.

Re: Breaking 80

Lou G — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:29:45 GMT

[quote user="Blain A"]

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!

[/quote] Jim McClean had a tip in his book "The Three Scoring Clubs" to put away the driver if it starts going haywire, hit with a 3W or 5W and go back when things settle. For instance, the worst thing in any golf game is a sudden onset of shanking with short irons on a full swing. Hybrids and fairway woods are almost impossible to shank. In 2009, I kept a 38 degree hybrid in my bag and had partial shots or pitches available with the 7 and 8 irons.

Re: Breaking 80

Blain A — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:07:12 GMT

Re: Breaking 80

John L — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:47:10 GMT

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

Re: Breaking 80

Lou G — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:23:19 GMT

[quote user="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.

[/quote] 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).

Re: Breaking 80

Hotsauce — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:54:02 GMT

[quote user="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.

[/quote]

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.

Re: Breaking 80

P Ford — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:44:38 GMT

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

Re: Breaking 80

Christopher P — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:57:53 GMT

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.

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.

Re: Breaking 80

Skylar T — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:11:25 GMT

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.

Re: Breaking 80

gerard p — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:49:44 GMT

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.

Re: Breaking 80

Mott Ford — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 02:20:11 GMT

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

Re: Breaking 80

dana y — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 02:22:04 GMT

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!

Re: Breaking 80

phillip H — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:58:00 GMT

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

Re: Breaking 80

SD_Golfer — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:33:32 GMT

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 :)

Re: Breaking 80

JPHB — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:34:55 GMT

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.

Re: Breaking 80

Eric V — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 02:50:51 GMT

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.

Re: Breaking 80

Hunter L — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:53:25 GMT

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.

Re: Breaking 80

barry f — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:17:19 GMT

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.

Re: Breaking 80

Dave D — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:05:27 GMT

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.

Re: Breaking 80

P Ford — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:31:49 GMT

[quote user="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

[/quote] you broke it once...

Re: Breaking 80

Frank H — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:20:05 GMT

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.

Re: Breaking 80

Mott Ford — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 02:46:26 GMT

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