KEYS to breaking 100

[mrprovisional]

Shoot a 5 on every hole. You shoot 90.

[Rexx]

  zeg said:

For me, the key was just eliminating the total flubs. Make sure you hit the ball cleanly, and as long as it flies vaguely in the direction of the hole, you're well on your way. Keep it close to the fairway, but for 100, you can afford to chip out a few times in a round. Also, be good enough at putting. If you can 2 putt most of the time, and not do worse than 3 99% of the time, you're probably good enough that you can break 100 with consistency.

I like this. Get rid of wasted strokes... flubs and penalty strokes. But, you're advice about a shot that generally flies in the direction of the hole is right on... I'll do exactly this when things aren't quite feeling right. For higher handicappers, this usually means learning to hit a 175-190 yard drive, a 150 yard 5 iron/hybrid, and a 90-100 yard wedge. These should all feel like even-tempo'd 3/4 swings that consistently gets the ball advancing forward. Oh... and chip like you're using a sledge hammer, so you stop trying to use your wrists to get under the ball. If you pretend like it's the weight and feel of a sledge hammer, there's no way you're going to be jerking that thing back and through and flicking your wrists at it. And chip with 7 and 8 irons more.

[srjorion]

I agree with most of the posts so far, but the easy way to break 100 is to find a pro and take a lesson or two. That will reduce the number of flubbed shots and help you get a little distance while keeping the ball in play. If you shoot bogey on each hole with a few double bogeys you will break 100. Keeping the ball close to the fairway and then close to the green will give you more chances.

Investing in a lesson early will really improve the quality of your play and make the game more enjoyable in my opinion.

[Philip9210]

I finally broke 100 a few weeks ago, and I must say, hitting a nice drive of the tee and then having a 8,9, or wedge into the green helps a TON!!! However, live by the sword die by the sword, the last two times I've been out I've shot 105 and 104 because of a few errant drives that have ended up being drops. Biggest thing is eliminate penalty strokes and 3 putts. Also, I 100% agree with the hit it forward, duffs, etc will kill the score very quickly, but as long as it's going straight and about 100yds, it's better than a duff. Also, this hasn't been mentioned, but before you break 100 and all the time, keep a legit score, no mulligan's, count your penalty strokes, etc(if your playing for score) it makes breaking 100 so much sweeter :) (But if you're just playing with buddies for the hell of it, I say go ahead and do whatever haha). Just my 2 cents.

[Maxxthedog]

When I was working to break 100 consistently, I stopped looking at the people I was playing with. I thought "if he can hit a 7 iron 150 yards I should be able to" when really it was a 5 iron or 7 wood for me. One I started playing my own game it helped a lot. I also started playing bogey golf. On in 3 and 2 putt. That way I was not trying to get onto the green in 2 (which I still cannot always do). I had my friend start with playing 6's, on in 4 and 2 putts. You develop a lower risk game plan that way and learn course management IMO.

[DaSportsGuy]

  mrprovisional said:

Shoot a 5 on every hole. You shoot 90.

That's exactly what I try to do. Make up a few strokes on Par 3's and your right around 85.

[Deryck Griffith]

I think one of the biggest keys to breaking 100 is smart play off of the tee. Whenever I play with someone who struggles with breaking 100, they average, at least, 2-3 strokes just off the tee alone once you factor in the slicing or hooking of their big badass driver. They are either in water have to drop, or are in crap (rough, waste area, etc) and spend 2 shots trying to get out of it. That alone throughout 14 (take away the par 3's) is enough to blow up scores. My advice for people who want to break 100 is to hit an iron or hybrid off of the tee. After that, lots of practice with irons.

[JWL1957]

When I broke 100 for the 1st time,... It was all about course management. I was listening to a golf announcer talking about Jack Nicklaus during the Memorial tournament years ago, and he said that Jack was always in the right position. He said that Jack almost always planned to miss where he could safely recover. I talked a buddy of mine into playing a few rounds where we would discuss how to play each hole. We were both about the same caliber. We both shot low 90's the 1st time out. After a couple weeks.....we both broke into the mid 80's.

A few things we both discovered:
1. Chipping or putting from off the green was easier than using wedges.
2. A 3 wood or 4 wood was actually better than a driver at our level. I even used alot of 3 irons off the tee. (I still do today)
3. Chipping back to the fairway from the trees.... and play for a safe bogey.
4. Using the correct side of the tee box. (We both had a little slice back then.)
5. 200-220 was better off the tee, than 250 in the rough or woods or water :)

[mhenrickson]

  Rexx said:

I like this. Get rid of wasted strokes... flubs and penalty strokes.

This is so true. My biggest problem is wasted shots. Duffed tee shots and duffed chips mostly. I also think consistency off the tee is crucial, no matter what club you use. It is such a nice feeling to play your second shot from the fairway with a nice line to the green, instead of behind a tree, or even worse, short of the fairway after a duffed shot. I count the number of wasted shots I take, and I would consistently be under 100 if I could eliminate that.

[saevel25]

First key, get off the tee, period. Go practice your drives, they drive for show, but if you can't get the ball in play there's an issue. Iron play is imporant, but that can be made up with a good short game. You might not get birdies that way, but you can make par's with a poor iron game. I like a complete game, with strong emphasis on putting and driving. If i hit driver or a wood off the tee, i haven't hit a ball OB or in water in over a year, and that was when i tried to hit it over some trees on the right to drive a green and i ducked hooked it back and through the fairway into the lake. Lessons are really helpful, espeically with video analysis.