KEYS to breaking 90

[Arrogant_Kid]

This formula is the formula for shooting under par and it WORKS. I PROMISE.
When you're on the tee think
Hit the fairway.

When you're in the fairway think
Hit the green

When you're on the green think
Make the putt.

Hit the fairway
Hit the green
Make the putt.

Problem solved.

[M2R]

Select tees appropriate to your game and a course that complements your game (and you enjoy playing).
For instance if you don't hit crisp high shots don't pick a course with lots of uphill/elevated greens guarded by bunkers and/or hazards in front, pick a flatter course that accepts run up shots.

Honestly evaluate your capability with the clubs you will carry. Take all your "favorite clubs" and leave home clubs that you don't have confidence in or might be having trouble with at the time.

If possible enlist the help of an accomplished golfer (that knows your game) in your quest to act as your "caddy/partner". Hopefully they can talk you through proper course management for a player at your level. After a few rounds you should start to understand the thought process that will help leverage your existing talents into a score.

[wrx_junki]

#1 Keep the ball in play.
#2 Short game.
#3 Course management.
#34 Like someone said before, let someone else keep your score.

I think if you don't take any penalty strokes and have a decent short game, you have a legit chance at breaking 90. Course management is huge as well, play to your misses. Have someone else keep score so you do not think about it.

[ncb09]

Im in the same situation as you, Im always in the 90s broke it a couple of time best score was an 80, so I know I can do it, but recently Ive lost so much confidence, I changed to graphite irons and played rubbish (and thats being kind to myself ) I went bk to my steels yesterday but my confidence just wasnt there!!! i was going trough greens by 30-50 yrds, I was even slicing my ever so reliable drives! but hey thats all in the fun of the sport yeh?!?!
Just keep on goin working likes already been said, around the greens... make sure u cut any 3 putts out and hit greens with you short irons!

Gud luk...I need it haha

[iacas]

Be near the green in regulation. That's it.

[playfromthetips11]

lean to take your medicine. there may be a 4 foot gap between those trees, but trust me, punch it out into the fairway. will save you a ton of strokes.

[Chief Broom]

Course management and short game is the way to low scores, especially as your game improves.

...course management is a big key. Practice alot of short game, how to get out of bunkers, ect.. Practice lag putting, don't leave your self 4-5 come back putts.

I'm a bogey golfer. I've gotten really good at being a bogey golfer hence the reason my handicap has dropped to it's current level (and steadily, slowly, and surely, continues to trend downward).

The key for me has been to know my own game. My strenghts and weaknesses. That's where course management then becomes the second key. When you know your game, what you can and can't do then you play the course in a way that fits your game. That means some holes you can play aggressively, but on other holes you need to be careful and lay up rather than going for it. Learn and embrace the art of laying up. Your buddies will laugh and make fun of you but when you continue to card decent numbers on your card they won't be laughing at you when you talley it all up. I know a lot of guys who really aren't that good at golf but they know what they are capable of on the course and they know how to attack the course effectively with their game. If you learn to do this and actually do it I bet you can get your handicap down to single digets with the game you have right now.

[DavidFehertysBike]

If you get bogey on every hole that would be about 90 on a par 72. If you're lucky and get par or better on at least one hole, then you would've broken 90....

Yeah, more or less. If you play for bogey on every hole, then youre bound to screw up and get a few pars in there.

[Shindig]

Play fewer holes! Breaking 90 is much easier over 16 holes than 18.

Okay, seriously: where are you dropping shots?

Are you taking penalties during a round? How many and where? Why? Was it a fluke bad shot every few rounds, or can your buddies guarantee that you'll slice one O.B. once per nine?

Are you taking four shots to get down from the fringe?

Do you know how to read a putt? For looking to break 90, can you at least find a useful approximation of speed and line? It makes your next putt a lot easier.

How many putts inside 3' do you miss? Missing one costs you more than one stroke if you can't shake it off before your next tee shot.

Finally, if you're a perennial strategist, figure out what handicap you'd have to be to shoot an 88 to be at said handicap at that course. Give yourself that many shots, allocate them, and use them if necessary. The course where I first broke 90, I still accept a double bogey as a possibility on the first hole - a long uphill par-4, #1 hcp. Last time I played there, I shot an 85 with that hole as my only double bogey.

How many greens do you hit? How many do you approximately hit (that is, chipping for birdie)? How often do you have no chance to hit the green in regulation, and why?

[sean_miller]

Any suggestions?

Make 400 yards your friend. If you can reproducibly hit the ball 400 yards in two shots (e.g. driver, iron or two 3 woods - whatever), you can be a bogey golfer.

You'll be long enough reach most par 3s, 4s and 5s in regulation (if you're playing from the proper tee box). Work on a faithful tee shot and keeping the ball in play as you direct your second toward the green. You don't have to hit every green, but the closer the better. Even with the putting, try to leave yourself a makeable second putt, but try to hole the first one.

[double_j]

Nothing really new to add but I'll summarize my thoughts:

Play such that your birdie shot (2nd on par 3s, 3rd on par 4s, 4th on par 5s) can always be hit with a wedge or shorter. Thinking of it this way gives you some freedom - all of a sudden you don't feel the need to hit a 3 wood second shot on a par 5, you can hit two six irons instead (which hopefully gives you a much higher chance of hitting the ball well). If your ball striking ability is within range of breaking 90, you could generally hit consecutive mid to short irons from tee to green on any hole and have a reasonable putt for par. Keep the ball moving forward and you'll be OK.

Breaking 90 isn't about getting a bunch of birdies or pars, it's really about avoiding any blow up holes of double bogey or worse. This means keeping the ball in play by playing what you feel to be a safe shot, understanding your limitations (and playing to compensate for your usual miss), feeling comfortable that you don't need to chase really low scores around to do well, and minimizing the impact of mistakes when they do happen.

Oh, and short game - you don't need to be the best short game player around or get up and down all the time, but stop wasting strokes from within 40 yards or greenside bunkers. No 2 ft chunks or 100 yard skulls please - and out of the bunker is generally always better than still in the bunker.

[mhenrickson]

Great stuff in this thread. I'm still trying to break 100, but most advice here would apply there too.

[Shindig]

Great stuff in this thread. I'm still trying to break 100, but most advice here would apply there too.

Lots of scoring items are near universal for double digit handicaps, and to a lesser extent, the better players too. Knowing how to keep worse than bogey out of the picture helps for most scoring goals. I know guys who shoot high 70s who still have "that hole" where they're happy with a bogey. The difference is in what you can expect someone of a given level to be able to do with the ball.

[Kieran123]

Course Management. if your 150 out and the pin is at the front of the green with a bunker in front of it, then take an extra club and focus on getting it on the green rather than close to the pin. Putting from 40 feet is easier than playing from the sand with 6 feet of green to work with.

Course management helped me so much in breaking 90, it's vital!

[BonoVox]

This......and lots of it!!!

[sean_miller]

This......and lots of it!!!

Is that a map or is it a tube filled with rum? Either way - I agree.

[BonoVox]

I have another out of the photo filled with Rum! LOL

[srjorion]

Be near the green in regulation. That's it.

I agree, but learn to convert that near the green into at worse a bogey. If you can get your second shot near the green, chip/pitch up, and one or two putt you will be shooting pars and bogeys. That will get you under 90.

One more thing, already mentioned, stay away from the high numbers. How? hit away from water and out-of-bounds.