To Golfers Who Score in the 70s - What's Your Story?

[BuckeyeNut]

By simply not throwing away shots with chunks/bladed shots and keeping the ball relatively in play should be enough to score in the 70s.    With any touch around the green and with the putter....the 70's are doable.

With that said, not all "sub 80" rounds are equal. A score by itself is meaningless.............   the true par of any golf course is the CR, so any score without sharing a CR is meaningless.   IE....breaking 80 on a 5500yd course pitch-n-putt course with a 65cr is a lot different than a 6500-7000yd course with a 72 or 74cr.

So just saying ............."I broke 80" without any CR qualifiers means absolutely nothing.    My 2 cents.....

[jsgolfer]

I would say for me, as I've gotten older, I play smarter.  I tend to not go for the par 5's, I still try to get as close as possible, but don't go for the hero shots anymore.  And I've always had a great short game, at least for as long as I can remember, which allows for a lot of pars from just missing the greens.

[Fourputt]

By simply not throwing away shots with chunks/bladed shots and keeping the ball relatively in play should be enough to score in the 70s.    With any touch around the green and with the putter....the 70's are doable.

With that said, not all "sub 80" rounds are equal. A score by itself is meaningless.............   the true par of any golf course is the CR, so any score without sharing a CR is meaningless.   IE....breaking 80 on a 5500yd course pitch-n-putt course with a 65cr is a lot different than a 6500-7000yd course with a 72 or 74cr.

So just saying............."I broke 80" without any CR qualifiers means absolutely nothing.    My 2 cents.....

Good job of minimizing people's accomplishments.  Course rating is a handicap formula constant, nothing else, and it has very little to do with how much it means to break into the 70's.  For the purposes of comparison, course par is really the measuring stick that 99.9% of golfers will go by.

I'm quite proud of the fact that my personal best is a one over par 73, regardless of the course rating being 69.4 with a 120 slope.  That 69.4 is a number which relates to scratch golfers, which I have never been and will never be.  The course par on that course is still a legitimate target for the typical golfer,  From the middle tees there are no par 4 holes under 340 yards.  No par 3's under 120.  The shortest par 5 is 496 yards.  Total yardage is 6490 yards.  I've always found the course to be a good test, with plenty of trouble if you stray too far from the fairway.  So I have to refute your contention, at least as it applies to the typical player.

I will agree that shooting 79 on a par 64 executive course is less of an accomplishment than doing so on a par 72.  But it's still a round in the 70's, still something to build on.

[bkuehn1952]

By simply not throwing away shots with chunks/bladed shots and keeping the ball relatively in play should be enough to score in the 70s.    With any touch around the green and with the putter....the 70's are doable.

My impression is the opposite; a lot has to go right for we 7-15 handicappers to shot 79 or better on a par 72 course.  Essentially one can make 7 mistakes.  We are going to miss a lot of greens.  If one manages to hit 44% of the greens (8) and 2-putts, that means the other 10 holes have to feature a couple of up & downs and nothing worse than bogey.  The fact is that we are likely to 3 putt once or twice and probably record a double or two somewhere along the line.  At that point one is going to need to get it up & down as much as 50% of the time and maybe roll in a birdie putt.

Just avoiding chunks and blades or penalties won't get the job done unless the goal is to break 90.

[RFKFREAK]

I think I'd do a backflip if I shot in the 70's.

[rkim291968]

I think I'd do a backflip if I shot in the 70's.

Hmm.  I think you need to lose a bit more weight, build up some strength on your legs before doing any backflipping.   I will settle for a pitcher of my favorite beer if it happens again (79 was my best ever and did it only once.   Did I drink beer that night?)

Speaking of flipping, I won't hit 70s anytime until I get rid of "flipping" in my swing.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

By simply not throwing away shots with chunks/bladed shots and keeping the ball relatively in play should be enough to score in the 70s.    With any touch around the green and with the putter....the 70's are doable.

With that said, not all "sub 80" rounds are equal. A score by itself is meaningless.............   the true par of any golf course is the CR, so any score without sharing a CR is meaningless.   IE....breaking 80 on a 5500yd course pitch-n-putt course with a 65cr is a lot different than a 6500-7000yd course with a 72 or 74cr.

So just saying............."I broke 80" without any CR qualifiers means absolutely nothing.    My 2 cents.....

Good job of minimizing people's accomplishments.

I don't think he's minimizing anything.

In looking back at my rounds today and yesterday, if I was able to eliminate the really bad shots my score might have been in the high 70s.

We all know that this is not a trivial thing to do. Hindsight is 20-20. When you look back on a shot and think "Why the heck did I do that?", and you might think "Oh, yeah" just don't chunk that shot again!". Sure, we can all dream it's that easy. It's not. . .

I will say that all this experience is making me understand when one of my kids or nephews chunks a shot. I just kind of stand there trying my hardest not to telegraph any emotions. . .

I think I'd do a backflip if I shot in the 70's.

Probably not on a 56 rate course though!

[RFKFREAK]

Hmm.  I think you need to lose a bit more weight

[IMG]https://ionetheurbandaily.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/cold-blooded-meme.jpg[/IMG] [quote name="Lihu" url="/t/60861/to-golfers-who-score-in-the-70s-whats-your-story/0_100#post_1108956"] Probably not on a 56 rate course though! :-D   [/quote] Sadly, I don't think I've shot in the 70's there either. :(

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Probably not on a 56 rate course though!

Sadly, I don't think I've shot in the 70's there either. :(

I think you could on an executive course, but hold off on the back flips when you do.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

By simply not throwing away shots with chunks/bladed shots and keeping the ball relatively in play should be enough to score in the 70s.    With any touch around the green and with the putter....the 70's are doable.

With that said, not all "sub 80" rounds are equal. A score by itself is meaningless.............   the true par of any golf course is the CR, so any score without sharing a CR is meaningless.   IE....breaking 80 on a 5500yd course pitch-n-putt course with a 65cr is a lot different than a 6500-7000yd course with a 72 or 74cr.

So just saying............."I broke 80" without any CR qualifiers means absolutely nothing.    My 2 cents.....

Good job of minimizing people's accomplishments.

I don't think he's minimizing anything.

In looking back at my rounds today and yesterday, if I was able to eliminate the really bad shots my score might have been in the high 70s.

We all know that this is not a trivial thing to do. Hindsight is 20-20. When you look back on a shot and think "Why the heck did I do that?", and you might think "Oh, yeah" just don't chunk that shot again!". Sure, we can all dream it's that easy. It's not. . .

I will say that all this experience is making me understand when one of my kids or nephews chunks a shot. I just kind of stand there trying my hardest not to telegraph any emotions. . .

So you agree with him that if you shoot a 79 on a par 72 course rated at 69.4 that it would be meaningless.   That's being pretty harsh on yourself.  I'll lift one for you anyway, because I do think that it's a significant accomplishment.

[RFKFREAK]

I think you could on an executive course, but hold off on the back flips when you do. ;-)

It's probably not that hard to do a backflip. [IMG]http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/backflip-17622333.jpg[/IMG] Err... :-\

[Pretzel]

The biggest trick to shooting in the 70's is avoiding double bogeys or worse. If you play on a par 70 course and bogey every other hole, parring the other hole, you've shot a 79. Realistically, that would require stats in this range:

30-40% GIR

2 3-putts per round

~50% scrambling

If you hit 5 GIR, then 3 putted two, you would have 3 pars and 2 bogeys. Assuming that you scramble at 46% you will shoot 79. 5 GIR is only 27.8% GIR, and you have a 3-putt rate of 40% in this scenario. Hitting six green and 3-putting twice means you only have to scramble at 41.67%, hitting 7 greens and 3-putting twice again means you only need to scramble at 36.36%. GIR is king, especially if you putt well enough to limit yourself to ~2 per round.

Part of this is playing from tees that allow you to reasonably reach the green in two shots. If you're hitting driver-4i to reach most par 4's, you're playing from tees that are much too long. Driver-8i or Driver-7i is much more reasonable and will give you a fighting chance if you have a goal to break 80. Picking the right tees and just making sure you have solid contact (giving you near full distance almost every time, even if it's offline by some) with your mid/short irons will help tremendously to break 80.  If you're at least up near the green (nGIR), you have an exponentially better chance at making bogey or par than if you tried to hit it close or something and bladed or chunked the shot. Solid contact, proper tees, and smart strategy are what it takes to break 80. How much of each it takes changes from golfer to golfer, but a combination of the three never hurts your chances!

[RFKFREAK]

The biggest trick to shooting in the 70's is avoiding double bogeys or worse. If you play on a par 70 course and bogey every other hole, parring the other hole, you've shot a 79. Realistically, that would require stats in this range: 30-40% GIR 2 3-putts per round ~50% scrambling If you hit 5 GIR, then 3 putted two, you would have 3 pars and 2 bogeys. Assuming that you scramble at 46% you will shoot 79. 5 GIR is only 27.8% GIR, and you have a 3-putt rate of 40% in this scenario. Hitting six green and 3-putting twice means you only have to scramble at 41.67%, hitting 7 greens and 3-putting twice again means you only need to scramble at 36.36%. GIR is king, especially if you putt well enough to limit yourself to ~2 per round. Part of this is playing from tees that allow you to reasonably reach the green in two shots. If you're hitting driver-4i to reach most par 4's, you're playing from tees that are much too long. Driver-8i or Driver-7i is much more reasonable and will give you a fighting chance if you have a goal to break 80. Picking the right tees and just making sure you have solid contact (giving you near full distance almost every time, even if it's offline by some) with your mid/short irons will help tremendously to break 80.  If you're at least up near the green (nGIR), you have an exponentially better chance at making bogey or par than if you tried to hit it close or something and bladed or chunked the shot. Solid contact, proper tees, and smart strategy are what it takes to break 80. How much of each it takes changes from golfer to golfer, but a combination of the three never hurts your chances! :-)

You make it sound so easy, haha.

[Pretzel]

You make it sound so easy, haha.

To me it is! :-D That's not to say that getting to that point isn't difficult. The consistent and solid contact part takes a lot of work, and is a [U]lot[/U] easier said than done.

[Ferguson]

To get into the 70s is 90% mental if you have the skills.

Knowing your IRON yardages better than you know the alphabet.

Hit more greens in regulation in one round than you have fingers.

Play the course the way it’s designed not the way Scott Hoch would play it.

Play the par-5 holes using the 3-shots.  Going for it in two is overrated.

Shoot for par.  BEST ADVICE.  Making 12 or more pars is a solid round for any amateur.

Putt assertively, not aggressively

You don’t need to be long from the tee. I have never been long from the tee.

Have fun - it's a game.

My best run was 11 straight rounds in the 70s.

FERGUSON

[RFKFREAK]

[COLOR=000000]Play the par-5 holes using the 3-shots. Going for it in two is overrated. [/COLOR]

Don't think you'll find a majority of people would agree with you here.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferguson

Play the par-5 holes using the 3-shots.  Going for it in two is overrated.

Don't think you'll find a majority of people would agree with you here.

True, but this is his perspective as he mentioned that he is not a longer hitter (which is also a relative term because even 220-240 yards is considered short off the tee for an 8 HC).

If I can get there in 2, I'm going to try. There's no point laying up on a wide open fairway, you should put the longest club you have between you and the hole even if it goes severely off line but no danger of getting OB.

[Ferguson]

I’m a walking golfer and a conservative player by nature, so my tendency is to play the percentages. I hit an off-the-shelf PING G-10 with 10.5 degrees of loft and my tee ball averages around 250, and I hit a lot of fairways.   I put a heavy premium on my iron game, not only to hit the green, but put the ball on the correct part of the green.   All of my rounds in the 70s were all about hitting greens and making good putts.   Regardless of your length, the percentages for a GIR increases dramatically when hitting from the fairway.  Likewise, the percentages go up exponentially for pars when you hit more greens.  Also, I have found backing off on par-5 holes helps to maintain a steady rhythm to my game.

Some history: My three playing partners are all longer from the tee and almost always go for it two on par-5 holes. They are good golfers and good guys but lack the discipline to shoot for pars.  None have them have broken 80, ever.

My best 70s round was a 71; I started with a bogey on # 1 and then made 17 straight pars. I remember the date, place, time and who I was with that day.