How to break 90?

Advice on breaking 90? I've been playing for about 4 yrs and have yet to break 90. Been close. I'm pretty sure a lot of it has to do with my short game. But just wanted to see what advice you have and what's worked for you.

I was in the same boat last year. Then at the end of the year I shot two rounds under 90. You are right when you say it is probably the short game. I worked on my putting and my chipping. I also worked very hard on my game management and my temper. If I had a blow up hole I tried to let it go and not let it destroy the rest of my round. I also set up a game plan and did not derive from it. If you want to break 90 for the first time don't try any shot that requires you to be a hero. You can lose too many strokes too quickly by trying to do a shot that you know 9 times out of ten you can't pull off.

There was a interesting article in GD regarding how to do this. I paraphrase at best. But look at your course with all the holes with a par of 5. Stay with me..it makes sense.

If you multiply 5 X 18 (number of holes) = 90 strokes..right?

Now let's assume you'll make par on at least a few of the holes in "regulation". Meaning, you'll get a 3 on a par 3, a 4 on a par 4, a 5 on a par 5.

Well, assuming you will do this, for each respective hole you par in actual regulation (see above paragraph), it will take you that much "under" 90.

So theoretically, if you par out in regulation on a par three and keeping to the "Par 5" program/theory, you get to take 2 strokes off 90 which puts you at an 88.

Now think if you can at least par a few more..easy..you're under 90 in no time.

DISCLAIMER: If you go take strokes that go beyond the "Par 5" course management program then you can expect "different" results.

Hope this makes sense.

Not really. Most people can par at least 3-4 holes on a round but often take double bogeys just as easy if not easier. This tends to result in a round of at least 90 (and usually more).

(I know, I know...I've read your disclaimer!)

Whatever time you are spending on the range (or even some of the time you are spending playing), take 2/3 of that and spend 1/3 practicing your putting and 1/3 practicing your chips and short pitches. There's no quick fix. Work on your scoring and you will shoot better scores.

Actually for me it was just the opposite. I already had quite a good touch around the greens but my problem was length. Particularly off the tee. I was hitting it 180-190 but now I hit it 210-220 and I see a world of difference in my game!

I am now taking shorter iron approaches to the green instead of long irons or woods and I was quite good with these short irons already.

Precisely, it's those "big" holes that negate this theory/program. But al in all..it's a good concept to keep in the back of your mind.

My second time breaking 100 was a 92 last July, but I didn't break 90 until last month. I would frequently have nines at 44 and sometimes 43, but didn't pull off breaking 90 for a while.

I'm not convinced that a 25-handicapper can't break 90 because of the short game entirely - unless you're driving every green and five putting. Putting plays a part, for sure, and I'd be remiss if I suggested that you shouldn't practice putting and chipping. But I think the key lies in course management and in your goals. When I was trying to break 100, I did attempt to do bogey golf - and my first rounds under 100 were largely characterized by the lack of blow up holes than a run of low scores: I made no birdies and only a par or two my first rounds under 100. So, let's answer for me a few questions and then I'll help you come up with a plan: - What hole(s) give you the most trouble at your home course? What is the par, distance, and description of the hole? - What hole(s) give you the least trouble? Is there one you can seemingly always make bogey or better? - In your typical round, how do you play your par-3s and par-5s, cumulatively? I'm a big believer in the idea that a par-5 is a scoring opportunity for *everyone*, although the definition of scoring opportunity changes. - How good is your putting from 5 feet? - What is your go-to iron/wedge? How long is the shot that it produces? - Is sand a bail-out area for you or a disaster zone for you?

I'll offer this general advice/perspective. There's three frames of mind, IMO, regarding the general approach to scoring. We all go out hoping to score really well each day, but, e.g.:

1) A long par 5, you really want to go for it, hit a bad drive, and are in no position to go for it. With danger lurking, you try to just "hit it as far as you can anyway," and find the trouble. Now, you take a drop, and try to hole out your next to salvage par, by flying a bunker to a tight pin. You're in the bunker, brain a-spinning, and before you know it, you've doubled the hole. At the next tough par 3 over water, you go for the ace, and find water, instead. A drop is three frustrated putts later, you triple that. Your day is shot.

2) A long par 5, you really want to go for it, hit a bad drive, and are in no position to go for it. With danger lurking, you try to just "hit it as far as you can anyway," and find the trouble. Now, you take a drop, and try to hole out your next to salvage par, by flying a bunker to a tight pin. You're in the bunker, brain a-spinning, and before you know it, you've doubled the hole. At the next tough par 3 over water, you decide to take it easy on yourself. You aim for the safest spot with your favorite club, chip on, two-putt bogey. Feeling more relaxed, your round recovers.

3) A long par 5, you really want to go for it, and hit a bad drive, but are in no position to go for it. With danger lurking, you change up your goal, and play out to a position where you can play it in like a long par 3. You hit a good shot, but catch a bad break, it runs into a nasty rough lie, no way to get it to the green still. You gouge it out to 100 yards, where you then hit your favorite wedge to ten feet, and make the putt for 6. Getting a bogey on a hole where you had two bad shots feels like a victory, and you continue on to have a good round.

Point is: decide what you're focusing on. Are you TRULY focused on the shot at hand? Or looking back to your last poor shot? Or looking ahead to what you hope will be a great shot? If you want to go out and bomb drives or hit prolific 6-iron approach shots, fine, but then scoring isn't going to follow. If you want to improve your scoring, you HAVE to play within yourself, on EVERY shot, and then FOCUS intently on that shot. The only thing you can control is the now.

Work on your short game until you can get up and down for par from most any location around the green. This means working on chipping, pitching, and putting.

Since you can break 100, I assume you can hit a decent drive and iron shot most of the time.

My theory is that anybody who can score 90 consistently can score 82. You eliminate all risk by laying up on the par 4 holes. Use 5 iron max off the tees then 8 iron to insure hitting fairways and greens.

If I can do it anybody can. But it's boring as hell.

Keep notes of how you are playing; GIR, PPR, Fairways hit. Also, keep track of your misses and how you respond.

Also, you might want to chart how far you hit your clubs from various lies: downhill, uphill, below your feet, above your feet, rough, sand, off the tee. This will help you improve course management and allow you to take advantages of your strengths.

Something that was recommended to me by a better golfer was to read Bob Rotella's "Putting out of your Mind" and "Golf is not a game of Perfect." Give it a go, it might help.

For me at this point of time, everything else being the same the difference between 90 plus and breaking 90 is pitching. If I pitch it close on that day,I will usually make two three pars a side and break 90. I hit about 2 greens a side in regulation..so definitely seven pitches/chips a side if not more.

Make your putts...thats about it. It goes the same for breaking 80 or even 70. If you cant putt, you cant score.

At this point it's about your head. You have to believe you can do it. most people look at their card and realize they are close and choke all over it. Just relax and make 5's. You will get a few 4s in there and the next thing you know it's 87 baby!

Thanks for all the awesome replies so far. They're very helpful.

Keys taken away so far:

Will practice the short game more: pitching, chips, putts
-Will try to keep focus & try to get more up & downs in order to "salvage" hole. Usually tend to lose intensity/focus on remaining shots once I've hit an errant drive (as listed at bottom), which either ends up with having to play a safe approach or punching it out from the trees or carding an OB.
-Hole more putts (esp within 5-6 feet). I tend to 2 putt everything, rarely do I hole a putt or get up and down unless I get it really close.
-Learn better bunker technique. Sand = disaster zone. I can get it out, but I don't practice this much either, which explains why my shots are so errant. I usually have a knack for avoiding bunkers but when I do find my ball in there, my brain is definitely 'a-spinnin'.

Strengthen course management skills
- I like the "Par 5 18x" approach. I'll use that next time. Thanks Maverick!
- Play Par 5s better. I have a tendency to, as Sonicblue said, to just grip and rip on my 2nd shot and try to get it as far as possible. Third shot deals with whatever is left over. Again, with my 2 putt average, that tends to run up the score.
- Believing I can score low.

So the biggest two tips regard short game practice & course management skills. I've noted below that I blame my game on my uncooperating driver. If anyone has any other tips, I greatly appreciate it

Aside from needing to practice short game, current state of game:

- Distance & iron play not a problem (Driver = 280 yds; 7 iron = 150 yds +/- 10yds/club) I'm definitely very confident with my irons. I'll hit an occasional errant shot, but I feel like iron play is the least of my worries.

- Consistently push my drives . 80-90% = push. I just consistently bomb it to the right significantly, which has caused much anguish. Being stubborn, I spend the majority of my time trying to find the right driver swing even though I know my short game needs a lot of work. I've tried employing all kinds of swing tips but I can't seem to command as much control over my driver or my swing as when I hit my irons. I have no idea how I will hit it or where the ball will go. I just know that when I do what comes natural, it results in a push. I've been contemplating whether my shaft is too stiff or too low kick (YS-6+ S) or not right for me. Anyway, I started hitting duck hooks, which I corrected by clearing my hips faster. But, once I fixed that, now its back to the good ole push. So everytime, I go to the range, I keep telling myself that once I can get my driver to be somewhat consistent (or not consistently a push) then I'll focus on my short game because right now, standing on the teebox is not fun when I worry about hitting out of the rough, or punching out of the trees or hitting one OB

Next time you play, plan your par-5s around your favorite iron/wedge for your third shot. So, if the hole is 500 yards, and your 8-iron (140 yards) is your favorite iron, you need to cover 360 in the first two shots. This could be driver wedge, or it could be 4-iron 4-iron or hybrid, 6-iron. I bet you'll see a lot more pars on par-5s, and once you start getting used to making par on par-5s, the par-4s become easier. You'll start to feel that you can easily make 5 on those, and then the par-3s become easier. And before you know it, rounds in the 80s. It makes so much sense in retrospect.

If you are within 100 yds to the pin, you should be able to consistently get down in 3 shots. If you can get down in 3 shots from 100 yards in, you will break 90 even if your ball striking sucks.

How to do that? Work on your wedges at the range. 60 yarders, 70 yarders, 30 yarders, 50 yarders. REally pay attention to your distances, and aim for targets. Note what a 70 yd swing feels like versus a 60 yarder or 50 yarder.

Even if you hit a 150 yd roller on your first shot and a 100 yd roller on your second shot, you still only have 100 yds in on your third shot on a 350 yd hole. If you can get down in 3 from 100 yds, you will make a bogey. If you bogey 17 holes on a par 72, and par just one of them, that is an 89.


Something you can work on is focusing on making sure you have respectable par putts. Give yourself a par putt that you have a chance of making (again, the improved wedge game is big for this). You won't make more than 1/3 of your 10 footers, but you won't three putt many of them either.