Breaking 80. (The Little Things)

[$2 Nassau]

its painful...i shot 83 (35 putts) and 80 (37 putts) respectively this weekend. for the 83 i 2 putted holes 2-18....dang...

O man! I assume you were aware of your score at the time, knowing you needed to 2 putt for a 79? That's cruel right there.

[lollavid]

Great thread with some really good advice. I shot an 86 today (41 front 9, 45 back 9) so I'm not quite there yet, but hope by next season to be around 80 (at least at my home course).

[shimm9]

ARGH!! I shot an 82 this weekend with a triple bogey on the last hole. Nice three wood to the middle of the fairway leaving a shot of 192 yds from a downhill lie to an uphill green with a creek about 40 yards in front of me. (It's a poorly designed hole with a creek about 270 yds downhill from the tee then uphill another 160 yds to the green.) You guessed it. Chunked it into the creek, dropped, missed the green, chipped, then missed the putt. Oh well. Earlier in the round I chunked a downhill lie. Had one four putt and one three putt. 33 putts total.

[hamletsdead]

Putting is the biggie for me. I've been averaging 32 putts, but on my low rounds I only have 28.

Another huge factor is how close you chip/pitch on those shots from 10-20 yards out (the ones where you missed the green). I've been dropping a whole bag worth of balls and replaying 30 chips on the 1st or 9th hole after my rounds lately, and it doesn't take much insight to realize that it's a lot easier to one-putt if you're within 10 feet of the hole. Those half-committed chips that leave the ball 20 feet out are a score-killer.

[ryohazuki222]

I went out to play 9 holes on my birthday. Scored a 40 with 20 putts....... 7/9 GIR with no birdies. And it's definitely the putting. I had at least a few inside 6 feet for birdie.

Taking a break right now, because 10 days straight walking 18 holes in Texas Summer heat wore me down a bit. I've learned that playing when tired really gets me back into the bad habit of chopping down over the top.... So basically, I'm just resting my body... and hoping to "reset" my swing the next time I go out fresh.

[Careyst]

When you say "hit the greens", what exactly is meant?

[enduro]

When you say "hit the greens", what exactly is meant?

Greens in regulation. So on par 4's, you're putting on your 3rd stroke. n 3's, your second and on 5's your 4th. Greens in regulation, or GIR as it is abbreviated.

[imtomtomim]

Don't think about your swing. Play to what's coming out on the day. Don't try to hit perfect shots on the course, hit shots that you know are coming out. That way you can score well on crappy days. If you're slicing your drives, play the course to a hard fade. Don't waste shots trying to correct. You'll never know what's gonna happen, but if you keep taking that weird swing (even if you know it's wrong but still naturally coming out), you know what to expect and how to play to it.

[DriverTees]

Thank GOD you don't have to hit the fairway to hit a green, lol.

[Careyst]

Greens in regulation. So on par 4's, you're putting on your 3rd stroke. n 3's, your second and on 5's your 4th. Greens in regulation, or GIR as it is abbreviated.

Simple enough. Thanks alot!

[Parker0065]

This thread of how to manufacture a round in the 70's reminds me so much of my Great Uncle and how he played golf. I played a lot of golf with him back in the 1980's when he was in his late 50's-early 60's. His golf swing was nothing special but it was grooved to perfection. He always hit a nice little cut fade off the tee about 210-220 yards. If he was 150 yards or greater to the green he would bounce it in there with a 7 or 5 wood. He would normally hit 8-9 GIR and two putt par those holes. Where he stood out was his chipping. He would get up and down about 60% of the time on the 9-10 holes he missed the green. He would consistantly shoot 76-77 like clockwork. He never over-swung to get himself in any kind of trouble and relied on his wedge game on holes he knew he couldn't reach in regulation. It was really something to watch him manufactuer a round in the 70's. He was also good at snookering me into giving him 2 strokes a side meaning I knew I had to shoot around par to get him.

If more players learned to play within thier abilities they might be suprised just how low they could shoot!

[Orange]

It's a shame... I hit 84 about a week ago and had ZERO 3-putts on the front 9... on the back 9 I had 5 or 6... I wish I could go back in time, haha.

[atrapasuenos]

For me it was knowing when to go for the pin or not. Sometimes it's better aim for the center of the green trust your swing, the club you have, make two putts and go with par. For me it is also keeping the driver in the bag unless I'm hitting it well, if not my 3w do the job from the tee. GIR and "up and down" is important too!

Cheers!

[CalBoomer]

Here's a slightly different take on things. To shoot 90, 80% (72/90) of your shots need to be good/decent. To shoot 80, however, 90% (72/80) of your shots need to be good/decent. I see breaking 80 as being a problem of consistency. You can only hit 10% (1 in 10) lousy shots at most. And really bad shots can cost you even more.

[ks8829]

Here's a slightly different take on things. To shoot 90, 80% (72/90) of your shots need to be good/decent. To shoot 80, however, 90% (72/80) of your shots need to be good/decent. I see breaking 80 as being a problem of consistency. You can only hit 10% (1 in 10) lousy shots at most. And really bad shots can cost you even more.

I think to shoot under 80 you need to have less than 32 putts and get up and down 50-60% of the time, that's it. you can miss fairways, miss greens but get up and down to save par and sometimes to save boogie will keep you under 80 in my opinion.

[is2linda]

i always mess up on my approach and chip shots. for me within 80 yards... its a disaster. Hopefully working on my short game will help me down to singles soon.

[Happy Dragon]

When I break 80, often times it's when I'm not striking it my best. It's mostly about course management and knowing the course. You'll most likely reach milestones on the course you know best. A course where you know the greens by heart and have seen all pin placements.

Here are my keys:

(1) Hit 9 greens in regulation and within 30 feet
(2) Get up and down 50% of the time when I don't hit the green
(3) Missing the green on a chip or a pitch is a cardinal sin; you have to give yourself a chance.
(3) No double bogies
(4) Birdies are bonuses

Good luck!

[Happy Dragon]

This thread of how to manufacture a round in the 70's reminds me so much of my Great Uncle and how he played golf. I played a lot of golf with him back in the 1980's when he was in his late 50's-early 60's. His golf swing was nothing special but it was grooved to perfection. He always hit a nice little cut fade off the tee about 210-220 yards. If he was 150 yards or greater to the green he would bounce it in there with a 7 or 5 wood. He would normally hit 8-9 GIR and two putt par those holes. Where he stood out was his chipping. He would get up and down about 60% of the time on the 9-10 holes he missed the green. He would consistantly shoot 76-77 like clockwork. He never over-swung to get himself in any kind of trouble and relied on his wedge game on holes he knew he couldn't reach in regulation. It was really something to watch him manufactuer a round in the 70's. He was also good at snookering me into giving him 2 strokes a side meaning I knew I had to shoot around par to get him.

So true. I was playing with a sub 5 foot, 60 year old Korean lady who played everyday at the course. She missed greens in the smart spots and chipped within 5 ft every time. At the end of the day, she shot 80 and beat me by 2 strokes. Very humbling. She even pointed out that I was decel-ing on my putting stroke. Man, I wanted to quit golf that day!