KEYS to breaking 90

[mdl]

I think it's keeping your shot off the tee somewhere with at least an open 2nd shot (ie, not OB or in the trees), and putting. The way I figure, if you're a bogey golfer on days when you're not way off, you can get onto the green in no more than 2 shots if you leave yourself with an open look off the tee. So then if you've gotten your putting solid, that means you're confident of no worse than a bogey after a passable drive. So if you've gotten your putting solid, all you need is:

1) a handful of above average irons shots (for you), leading to GIRs and 2-putt pars
2) avoid tree drives where you need to pitch out and thus need one of your above average iron shots just to get a 2-putt bogey

[Giddyup]

Great thread!

What has helped me lower my score has mostly already been mentioned but maybe worth restating. Slowing my swing down has helped my control. Punching out to the fairway instead of trying an impossible shot has helped me avoid the blowup hole. Working on my short-game on my lunch hour is helping me quite a bit as well.

[CalBoomer]

Lot's of good advice here in terms of what you need to do, but not how to accomplish it. Being on a golf course is like taking an exam. To be successful with exams, you have to study. Directed practice is the golfing equivalent of studying. The more you practice, the better your score will be. Just read a brief piece about Ray Floyd--his father owned a golf course. Guess what he grew up doing. Arnold Palmer's father managed one--ditto. Almost all pros have spent a huge portion of their lives practicing. Their ratio of practice time to playing time is way, way higher than amateurs.

[soloredd]

Lot's of good advice here in terms of what you need to do, but not how to accomplish it. Being on a golf course is like taking an exam. To be successful with exams, you have to study. Directed practice is the golfing equivalent of studying. The more you practice, the better your score will be. Just read a brief piece about Ray Floyd--his father owned a golf course. Guess what he grew up doing. Arnold Palmer's father managed one--ditto. Almost all pros have spent a huge portion of their lives practicing. Their ratio of practice time to playing time is way, way higher than amateurs.

I don't quite understand what you are getting at. I would assume most people here have jobs, families, etc. which limits practice time, let alone actually getting to the course. Comparing the practice time of a pro to an amateur is ridiculous - if my job were to play golf then yes, practice would be necessary and I'd do a lot of it.

I don't think breaking 90 is comparable to what it takes to shoot like a pro. If the thread were about becoming scratch or making the tour, I'll give it to you. One CAN break 90 and do so consistently without spending all of their time practicing. Hell, one of my good friends scores mid to low 80s on a regular basis and he practices less than I do, which isn't much.

[dhanson]

I think there are two keys to consistently scoring in the 80's: Ball striking and course management. This is an excellent article on course management, in my opinion. Play towards your tendencies. If you tend to push the ball consistently, play for a push and know where to miss, whether that be the green or fairway. Same goes for chipping. Leave the ball underneath the hole, ect.

[Meddle]

No major blow up holes, if you get more than a double it's probably because of poor course management.

Sink a few 6 footers. Almost all my putting practice is devoted to 5-7 footers, you see them all the time on the course and sinking a few helps tremendously.

Get your drives under control. A huge milestone for me was doing this, it's tough to score from the trees, and being in the fairway for your second is big.

Lastly, keep your emotions in check. Try to play with some relaxed guys, who like to have fun out there. Try to maintain a relaxed attitude, not thinking about how well (or badly) you are playing, just thinking about the next shot.

[CalBoomer]

I don't quite understand what you are getting at. I would assume most people here have jobs, families, etc. which limits practice time, let alone actually getting to the course. Comparing the practice time of a pro to an amateur is ridiculous - if my job were to play golf then yes, practice would be necessary and I'd do a lot of it.

Everything is relative. My point was simply the percentage of time one spends practicing vs playing. Many amateurs spend too much of whatever time they have available playing rather than practicing. Your friend may not practice much now, but at some point in his life he must have spent time assembling a better game and techniques than you have. If he practiced more, he might be shooting in the 70s. It's a simple fact that you can't improve your game much if you never practice. For example, in an average round, you hit 14 drives, interspersed among 76 other shots. You simply can't teach yourself to hit a high draw or a power fade by playing a round of golf. It takes considerable time on the driving range. Same for dialing in all your wedge shots from 30 to 100 yards. Same for learning how to hit various greenside and fairway bunker shots. None of us has the time to practice that a pro does--unless you're retired. But the amateur who takes the time to practice various aspects of the game will ultimately learn to score better.