October 18

Tired of Duffing? How To Break 80 In Golf

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It’s tough to beat the thrill of sinking a 30-foot putt or hitting a 300 yard drive off the tee, but it is even more satisfying to consistently play good golf.

If you’re like most amateur players, your frustrations with the game stem from lack of improvement or not breaking 80. The average golfer has a 13 handicap so struggles to break 90, let alone 80.

There’s probably a golfer or two that you play with that breaks 80 routinely and you wonder how does he do it.

Five Steps To Breaking 80

Let’s take a look at 5 steps that will help you turn your game around and start breaking 80:

1. Eliminate penalty strokes

2. Make all 3-foot putts

3. Play it safe on difficult shots around the green

4. Manage your game around the course better

5. Dial in your wedges from 100 yards in

1) Eliminate penalty strokes

Penalty strokes are round killers.

You must avoid out of bounds and water as though your life depends on it.

I play a course with 13 holes with water hazards and 117 bunkers.

My score is directly proportional to the number of balls I use.

If I end with the ball I started with I generally shoot around 75 to 77.

It’s not rocket science.

Always hit enough club to safely get over the water and find a safe play on the difficult driving holes.

Get in a round with your club champion and watch how they navigate your home course.

Faced with a difficult or “impossible” lie, then take the conservative route, get your bogey and move on.

2) Make all 3-foot putts

Sounds easy, but it’s not.

Phil Mickelson practices 3 footers when he’s playing on tour.

He tries to make 100 in a row, every day.

Making 10 in a row can be challenging at times. I like to practice at a putter’s length and maybe after about 30 minutes of intense practice move out to 5 feet.

This 3 footer drill is directly responsible for lowering my handicap an entire stroke.

3) Play It Safe On Difficult Shots Around The Green

You’re not that guy.

Phil Mickelson is.

If you’re faced with a super tight lie on the short side of the green, maybe it’s best to just lob it up and try and get it around the pin rather than going for the one in a million flop shots.

Same thing with nasty downhill lies in the bunker.

Sometimes you just might have to play for bogey and then press on to the next hole.

Don’t get me wrong, you need to get up and down a lot to break 80, but there are times when you’re going to have to suck it up and just accept a bogey.

Double bogeys because of unforced errors will destroy your score.

Speaking of which, this leads us to step #4.

4) Manage your game around the course

Playing smarter and within your game will lower your score.

Try an experiment.

Go up one club on every hole.

Hit it hard.

See what you find out.

Play away from hazards and play toward the proper side of the green.

Got a certain bogey ahead of you? Then do whatever it takes to make sure you get that bogey.

Shoot for the center of the green with anything other than a wedge.

There are literally dozens of things you can do to avoid the big classic mistakes that can kill a round.

The biggest thing you can do is have an honest view of your own game and play to the strengths and away from your weaknesses.

5) Dial in your wedges from 100 yards in

Get three wedges.

A Gap Wedge.

A Sand Wedge.

And, a lob wedge.

Find out how far you hit them with a full swing and with a 3/4 swing.

Master those distances.

When you go to the range, spend the majority of your time working on these three wedges.

Dial them in for accuracy and for distance.

Watch your scores improve.

Yes, bombing drivers is more fun, but it won’t lower your score.

Dialing in your wedge game will knock the strokes off.

Good luck to you in your next round of golf.

Put these 5 things into your bag of tricks and watch your scores slowly but steadily improve.

Bonus Tip

Get a golf swing training aid like a Lag Shot Golf 7 iron. The world’s number one training aid will improve your game. We bought one of these about 3 years ago and since then our handicap has dropped over 6 strokes.


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