This post is focused on one thing. How to break 80 on the golf course. We will focus on the clubs and shots you need. We’re going to spend some time discussing course management strategy. And finally, we’ll break down which aspects of your personal golf game need to be focused on.
There are things you need to know and understand if you want to break 80. I’m going to show you what those things are, and if you follow my advice, after a few weeks of solid practice you WILL break 80.
Skills Needed to Break 80
There are a few base skills you need to have for this all to work out for you, but if you have these skills, and you take my advice, you will soon break 80. Here are the skills you need to have and work on.
- Consistent tee shots in play over 230 yards
- Be able to set yourself up for an approach shot <170 on the majority of holes. (Eg. on a 400 yard par 4, hit it 230 in play)
- Get it on the green fairly consistently from <100 yards.
That’s it. If you can manage those 3 skills, I can help you break 80.
Chipping and Putting
The first thing to point out here is the focus on shots <100 yards. This is going to be key in your golf journey. And the biggest piece of this short game puzzle is putting and chipping.
It’s great to get consistent at 70, 80 yard shots and 40 yard pitch shots, but the biggest key to breaking 80 is going to be what you’re doing with the chips and the old putter.
So don’t get obsessed with the drives and the >230 shots, because the score improvement is going to be very unnoticeable until you start spending more time with your putter and your little wedges.
You should be putting at least 4 out of 5 chips within 6 feet of the hole. And you should be slamming down 4 out of 5 putts within 6 feet.
Are you doing that right now? If not, you have an easy to see, clear-cut path to dropping your golf score dramatically. You’re welcome.
Everything Else Within 100 Yards
Next up, those 30-100 yard pitch shots. Maybe you have confidence with this golf shot, maybe you don’t. But the most important thing you can do from this distance is GET IT ON THE GREEN.
If you’re not comfortable with your pitch shots, you should not be chasing a flagstick that’s tucked into the back left corner and you have to fly over a sand trap to get there. That’s stupid golf.
We’re talking about breaking 80 here which means you need to play smart golf. Smart golf does not go for that pin. Smart golf just puts the ball in the middle of the green.
And since you’ve been spending the majority of your practice time putting as I’ve instructed you to do, you’ll have no trouble two putting for your par from the center of the green.
Let’s Talk Strategy
Breaking 80 does not come from getting 8 birdies in one round. That’s pretty rare, even for the pros. Breaking 80 on the golf course happens when you are able to minimize your errors.
It means you know how to keep an errant tee shot from turning into a double bogey, triple, or snowman. You’re not going to try to wrap your 3 wood shot around a tree with 60 yards of slice to get on the green.
You’re going to punch out to a safe spot that gives you confidence and a good look at the green. It’s not worth the 1 in 20 hero shots that actually do what you want them to.
That’s a lot of lost strokes on your journey to be a hero. Don’t be a hero. Be smart. Break 80. That’s a whole lot more fun than a successful hero shot. I promise.
To keep it under 80, you need to start each hole at the end of each hole. Think about the length of the hole. Think about where the green is and the obstacles standing between you and the green.
If we are going for GIR, we need to figure out what shot we want to be hitting at each green.
Practice Example
Say you’re on a 530 par 5. What distance is your most comfortable approach shot? Let’s say you like hitting a pitching wedge 130. Ok that means we have 2 shots to get to 130 out from the green. 530 -130 = 400 yards.
So figure out the two most comfortable shots that will combine for 400 yards for you. Maybe it’s a 270 drive and a 130 pitching wedge. Great. Do that. Maybe it’s a 200 yard 4 iron, and another 200 yard 4 iron. Great. Do that.
Create your complete game plan for the hole before taking your first stroke. You’re going to have to adapt this game plan sometimes, but having this plan will help you avoid a lot of big mistakes in your round.
If you’re playing a dog leg left, don’t aim for the left side of the fairway. You margin of error will be too narrow. Aim right side to make sure you give yourself a look at the green.
If your fairway is 20 yards wide, keep your driver in the bag. Nobody is impressed by your 300 yard drive into the lake. And you’re certainly not shooting under 80 with that kind of decision.
The Full Picture
You have to think about the entire hole. Is there a water hazard near the green? Are there sand traps? How do I position myself to avoid these hazards and traps? Which clubs do I control the best, and how can I use those clubs to put myself in the safest positions?
If all you’re doing when you step up to the tee is trying to smash the hell out of the ball, you likely won’t be breaking 80 any time soon.
Visualize the hole. Plan each shot of the hole before you tee off. If your first shot doesn’t go as planned, ask yourself if it’s reasonable to try to get into the originally planned position with your net shot.
If it’s not, use a recovery stroke to set yourself up for that plan.
Errors should result in bogeys, not 8+. Only attack when a failed attack doesn’t result in disaster such as landing in a deep bunker, making a splash, or not having a chance to put a chip close to the hole.
Golf Requires Critical Thinking
Take into consideration how far away the hazards are when hitting your tee shot. If you typically drive it 260, and there’s water on the right at 260, don’t play driver.
Play your 3-wood that you hit 240. That way, even if you miss right, you’re not losing a stroke to the LochNess monster.
If you typically hit a fade, figure out where your tee shot needs to end up to give you a favorable angle for your approach based on your fade shot shape.
Not every hole is going to play to your shot shape. Figuring out before hand which holes play to your shape will make it easier to position yourself at the right time, and know when you can be a little more aggressive on your approach shots.
Putting yourself in these ideal positions will give you the confidence to flush the shots you know you can flush, and keep your score low!
When you miss the right way, you’re left with a chip that is easy to put close with plenty of green to work with, instead of a 15 yard flop shot over a sand bunker with 3 feet of green before the flag.
Practice Greens and Range Based on Your Skillset
There are an infinite number of ways to finish your golf round in under 80 strokes. That being the case, you need to understand your game in order to succeed at keeping your score low.
If you can trust your driver to stay in play going 290-300 yards, that will affect the other aspects of your game that you need to practice in order to shoot low. In this scenario, practicing shorter irons and wedges is going to be more beneficial to you than spending time with the 3, 4, and 5 irons.
But if you’re someone who is getting 230 yards with their driver, those long iron approaches become more important and something you should be investing time in on the range.
Likewise if you are typically putting yourself in a position with shorter approach shots, you’re going to benefit more from practicing and perfecting your 15 foot and under putts as you will likely be facing more of those during your round.
It may not be as beneficial for you to invest time and effort into lag putting if you aren’t hitting a lot of greens and you rely more on your chipping and putting game.
These are the things you need to think through on your golf journey. Breaking 80 happens when you use your noggin.
Thinking Backwards
Distance strategy is a huge part of breaking 80. If you’re playing a short 310 yard par 4, and your drives haven’t been going well, have the common sense to tee off with your 6 iron, leaving yourself a fairly easy 120-140 yards for your approach.
Everybody wants to smack their driver 300 yards on every tee shot but this is just sloppy golf. It is not the way to break 80, which is a lot more fun than any 300+ yard drive.
Example
Putting
There is one universal skill no matter if you’re a long, short or medium distance hitter. That skill is putting inside 10 feet.
There’s a reason the pros make 80% of their putts from 5 feet out. And it isn’t natural talent.
They know the key role this plays in keeping their scores low, so they spend hours and hours reading greens and learning how to make sure their short putts are going in the hole.
The Game Plan for Breaking 80
Ok, so we understand the importance of our base skills and course strategy. Now what are we going to do about it? Let’s look at what a typical golf course looks like and go from there. A typical golf course has:
- 4 Par 3
- 10 Par 4
- 4 Par 5
The par 3 holes typically give you the opportunity to play a mid to short iron off a tee. You should be hitting those greens. If you can do that 75% of the time, you should be at 3 pars and 1 bogey for the par 3s.
Apply the Strategy
If you start using the strategies I’ve outlined above, you’ll see a fast improvement on your scores on the par 5s.
Keeping the ball in play instead of trying to smash it, you should have no trouble hitting 75% of the par 5s in regulation, so 3 more pars and 1 more bogey. That puts you at 2 over after 8 holes. The goal is 7 over which means you can go 5 over on the 10 par 4s. That means you need to hit 50% of those greens, assuming you don’t get any up and downs.
Very achievable goal, especially considering that at your level, you’ll probably be able to knock down a couple up and downs.
On the par 3 holes, there’s no reason to be pin seeking. These are not birdie opportunities, they are par opportunities. The goal is to GET IT ON THE GREEN, then 2 putt it. That is all.
On the par 4s, you’ll need to pick and choose based on above strategies. Which holes play to your shot shape. Which distances work best for the clubs you’re most confident with?
Analyze this information, and choose which holes you can afford to be safely and confidently aggressive with.
With the par 5s, everybody wants to reach it in 2. This is not the way to minimize errors. While you may be twice as likely to get a birdie, you’re probably three times as likely to get a double bogey.
Breaking it Down:
A golfer that plays conservatively on the par 5s chooses to play a short to mid-iron on his second shot, leaving himself 120-130 for his 3rd shot. In 10 rounds, that golfer may shoot
- 1 Birdie
- 6 Pars
- 2 Bogeys
- 1 Double Bogey
If another golfer chooses to attempt reaching the green in 2 shots instead of three, they’re much more likely to go into a hazard, behind a tree, or into LochNess den. For every 10 times this golfer plays the hole, he may get:
- 2 Birdies
- 2 Pars
- 3 Bogeys
- 3 Double Bogeys
In the first example the golfer is par or better on the hole 5 times out of ten. The second golfer shoots par or better only 4 times out of ten. In the first example they are +3 after playing the hole 10 times. The second shoots +7 after playing the hole 10 times. The law of averages says you’ll shoot better playing like the first golfer.
Smart golf, people. Smart golf. You’ll still get birdies, but you’ll see a lot less of the double and triple bogey monster when you play smart.
Accept the Bogey Holes
If you’re trying to break 80, that means you’re shooting for 79 or better. 79 is typically 7 over.
That means you need to understand that you can bogey more than 1/3 of your holes and still break 80.
Bogey is not a terrible thing. Learn to love and embrace the little bugger. When you’re playing long par 4s, you should expect to bogey them.
If a course has 10 par 4s, up to half of them could be long, giving you expectations of bogey, and still providing you the numbers required to shoot a 79.
Map out which holes will be your target pars, and which holes you’re okay with a bogey. Stick to your plan. You’ll have some fun surprise birdies along the way, so just enjoy the journey. If you miss a fairway, keep calm and happy. You know you’re allowed 7 bogeys, so you only need 11 pars.
How To Get Pars
Alright, we’ve established that bogeys are ok. But that doesn’t mean we want 18 of them. So what do we do to lock down a bunch of pars on that score card.
We’ve already chosen at least 11 holes that seem like they will give us a reasonable chance at a green in regulation and par, so what’s next?
The easiest way to shoot par on a hole is by getting a GIR. If you get to that green in regulation, and you’ve put in your time with the putter, you should be rocking a par on most holes when you get your GIR.
How Else?
But GIR is not the only way to par. That’s why it becomes critical to think about your missed greens.
You want to hit your GIR, but you also want to be aware of where around the green you will have the best chance for an up and down par save should you miss that green.
Look at which way the green is sloping. Where are the sand traps? Are there trees around the green?
If you’re between clubs on an approach shot, the green slopes up away from you with the pin on the back, use the shorter club, knowing a chip from the front with all that green to work with is going to be much easier than a chip from the back with a downhill landing and no green to run along.
You’re still trying to get it on the green, but the miss is more likely to be in a favorable position by choosing the shorter club. This planning is not enough though.
If you’re on the journey of breaking 80, you better be practicing your short game. Get those chips close, and knock down those 6 foot putts. Be wise, and break 80.
Tracking
If you want this plan to work, you need to track your progress. You need to look at your rounds and be able to say, “Wow, I got my GIRs but I was 3-putting a lot”, or “I wasn’t giving myself a chance because all my drives were going behind trees and in the water.”
Were you slicing it right or just starting and staying right? Every time a shot doesn’t do what you wanted it to, ask yourself why? What went wrong with the stroke?
Use an app like 18 birdies to keep track of all this information. Or just use the notes app on your phone.
You’ll be able to identify trends and repair recurring errors in your swing and in your golf game. Whatever works best for you, it doesn’t matter how you do it. You just need to do it.
This will give you a clear baseline of what to practice. You will know exactly what needs to change so you can break 80. Get up an hour before work every morning and fix those chips, or putts, or whatever is lacking.
And then go shoot in the 70s like you were born to do.
Confidence
Better course strategy brings better confidence. Better confidence brings better golf shots.
That’s the overlying goal of this whole plan. When you know where you want each shot to go and you have a vision of what you want to do on each hole, you will find yourself trusting whatever club you have in your hand a little more.
That trust will enable you to hit cleaner, better shots, and it will fast become a lot easier to break 80. It was a matter of weeks after I learned these principles that I first broke 80. I then did so three times in the same month.
This strategy works. Follow the guidelines, use your brain during your round.
Find your weaknesses and make them strengths. You’ll be breaking 80 so so soon. If 80 is your next milestone, and you follow these rules, 80 will be behind you in a matter of weeks.
I know it works because it worked for me.
Avoid These Things to Break 80
These are four demonic habits that will ruin your quest to break 80:
- 3 putts. Stop it. Go to the practice green, and practice. No more 3 putts. They’re not allowed. So if you’re 3 putting, practice. Practice. Practice. Get it? okay.
- Missing the green from <50 yards. This is basically the same as a penalty stroke. GET IT ON THE GREEN. No excuses. If you’re missing the greens from <50 yards, go practice your pitch shots. Can’t be doing this if you want to break 80.
- Aiming for a shot that isn’t happening. If your draws aren’t drawing, don’t line up for one. If your fades aren’t fading don’t line up for one. Trust your natural shot shape and don’t try to force anything else.
- Zombie Golf. “I’m 160 away so that’s a 7-iron.” That’s zombie golf. Is it a downhill lie? Uphill lie? Fairway? Rough? You need to think about all these things and adjust your setup and swing accordingly. Otherwise you’re going to miss that green again. Another form of zombie golf: “I’m on the tee box so I’m hitting driver.” No! Pay attention to the hole. Pay attention to how you’ve been hitting driver. If it doesn’t feel reliable, it’s not reliable. Choose something else.
Now Go Break 80!
If you are shooting in the 80s fairly often and your eyes are set on that next milestone of breaking 80, you can do it!
The transition from breaking 90 to breaking 80 is very largely about course management and mental strength. It’s about making smart decisions over trying to look strong and cool.
In order to break 80, you need to be a level headed golfer who isn’t out there to show off. Instead, you’re out there to break 80.
You don’t care what it looks like or how you get there. You’re just going to play smart, confident golf.
If you made it through this article, I’ll see you in the 70s! If you really hate reading, you can get these same ideas by watching Golf Sidekick on YouTube in his one hour long masterclass Break 80 Video.
Breaking 90 or 100
Try these:
