The first time I broke 80

[c. lassiter]

It was in the mid 1990's in a round with two friends and my brother-in-law, an extremely poor golfer who hits only weak slices and, as the round progresses, begins to aim further and further left to try to keep his ball in the fairway.

Anyway, we had a morning tee-time, but arrived at the course in a torrential rain storm that looked like it would not abate.

But eventually it cleared, and became downright sunny, creating some ideal scoring conditions with cool temperatures, no wind and very receptive wet greens.

My round was going just OK until the 5th hole at around bogey level, when on the second shot on a par 5 I hit what was the most pure iron shot I've ever struck either before or since, absolutely ripping a 5 iron and having the ball make such a distinct sound leaving the clubface that even my playing partner walked over and said "that one was sizzling". I'll never forget that feeling, though I've never been able to replicate it.

I was 5 over after 6 holes facing the 224 yard par 3 7th, hit a 5 wood to about 15 feet and made a big breaking putt for birdie.

4 over on the par 4 9th tee, I absolutely killed the drive, hit a so-so iron over the creek fronting the green and then made about a 30 footer for a totally unexpected birdie and 39 on the front.

The back 9 was proceeding well and I got to the par 3 17th at 6 over for my round, which is the first time I really started to think about what I needed to break 80. I hit a 7 iron into the back bunker on the 165 yard hole, and faced a wicked down hill shot from a crappy lie that somehow trickled to about 3 feet where I made the putt.

That meant I headed to 18 - a very long par 5 over 2 different ponds - needed double bogey to shoot 79.

So I laid up short of the first pond off the tee, hit a solid 2nd shot short of the next pond and then had about 160 in for my third when I started to get tight. That shot was short of the green and in the rough, but no big deal and seemingly a ball I'd either get up and down, or, at the worst, make a 6.

I did not count on my brother-in-law imploding on the hole though, hitting his ball into the water, then short of the green, then duffing several chips in a row while I was waiting for my turn. After he chunked two more in a row he walked up and hit his ball like a polo player (a la John Daly at the US Open years ago when he hit the ball while it was still moving) and then picked it up.

Which totally through me off my rhythm, resulting in my chunking my own shot. Lying 4. Then doing it again. Lying 5, before I finally got the ball onto the green with a terrible shot leaving about 15 feet downhill to the hole for a double bogie.

Somehow I knew that ball was going in, though, and it did, dying into the cup for a 79.

[Chas]

May I be the first to congratulate you on an excellent post. For someone like me, who has never shot 80 but has come fairly close and fully intends to do it one day, this is inspirational. I don't play enough golf to achieve the necessary level of consistency but I've had a couple rounds where I'm shooting mostly pars but the odd double in with the bogies keeps me from posting in the 70s.

What is your % fairways hit with driver? Mine is pretty poor, I'm still too focused on length which is silly because I have enough to play 3W off of every tee and still have a reasonable approach shot on par 4's (white tees). My wife says I should leave the driver at home sometimes to see what that does to my score. She's probably right.

Must have felt good watching that putt die in the hole on the 18th. I hope your bother-in-law got over his terrible hole and congratulated you heartily on your accomplishment.

If and when I ever do it, maybe I'll start a similar thread - pour encourager les autres .

[c. lassiter]

So far this year I am averaging about 67% fairways hit, but most of the misses are just off the edges and very playable. I am not too long though, averaging maybe 240 this season.

For me the difference between shooting 75 and 85 is putting, and executing some short chips around the greens into 1 putt range.

[holeinon3]

For me the difference between shooting 75 and 85 is putting, and executing some short chips around the greens into 1 putt range.

This really is the difference from an okay score and a good score.