Break 80 ..Question of all you single digit handicapers out their ..

[delav]

NO three putts and getting up and down when you miss the green.

I agree with Deryck here. When I was 14, I was much more concerned with fixing my slice and hitting picture-perfect shots. I never really broke into the lower scores as a result. Good swings and bad swings will come and go, and as you grow older you'll gradually improve your swing mechanics. Developing a great short game now will help you recover from bad shots, as well as keeping your score down. In terms of cost and reward, I bet you'd see the biggest drop in your scores focusing on approach shots, chipping and putting. At your age, not too many players will focus keenly on their short game as well. Playing tournaments against kids who chip it close and drains long puts is a real challenge psychologically as well :)

Good Luck.

[rwfastrax]

The strategy (mental) that worked for me was to stop obsessing about "breaking 80" and just play good smart golf. I check the scorecard after nine and not again until after 18. Leave each shot that you hit... behind you, both good and bad...you're still going to need to focus and put a good swing/putt on the next ball too. You definitely need to putt well and be good inside 100yds and hit good tee shots like others have mentioned...but I found that when I had a good round going...it was easier to have a concentration lapse and have a meltdown if I was computing what I'd need to do it..every other hole. There were many times I should have done it before I did..but the obsession got the best of me. When I finally stopped worrying about it..and let my game take over..not only did I have a chance to break 80 that day....but a legitimate chance to shoot par, which I didn't accomplish. I shot 75. Shooting par will be the next thing not to obsess about.

[BallStriker]

This may seem obvious, but it depends on how you are losing your strokes.......I have always been a very solid iron player with a good short game....thus, I needed to work on keeping the ball in play off the tee...once I figured out how to turn the course into 18 par 3s (i.e., being smart and getting the ball in the fairway and scoring from there), I had no problem.

Also, if you get into trouble, play smart and avoid compounding the mistake....trying and failing at a miracle recovery shot will not only hurt the score, but you mental attitude as well....

[Varsity_Golf]

I've never broken 80, but 82 once (because of one stupid double!!) anyhow, I played good that day because
1.) I had the confidence in myself that I could play well
2.) I Played shots safe and tried to use the course to my advantage (ie fairway slopes, fast greens, etc)

I too am working on breaking 80, with my current scoring usually coming (for 18) between 85-88. Anything above that I am generally not happy with.

Good Luck,

[Stretch]

This may seem obvious, but it depends on how you are losing your strokes.

Right. The weakest link will vary for each of us, so you need to do an honest self-assessment of your game. Personally, I think keeping stats helps with this though others here disagree. For myself, I get around pretty decently from tee to green and can shoot in the low 80s while averaging over 37 putts a round. No real mystery about where I need to be spending my practice time.

[Jay-Bird]

Make More Putts.

[golfro]

manage blow up holes a little better.
for me, getting back into the game recently, I played some great holes, and i blew up on some. a scorecard of -1 sprinkled here and there with double bogeys and even triple bogeys on some hole.

its managing my play a little better is what got my handicap down.

[sean_miller]

Right. The weakest link will vary for each of us, so you need to do an honest self-assessment of your game. Personally, I think keeping stats helps with this though others here disagree. For myself, I get around pretty decently from tee to green and can shoot in the low 80s while averaging over 37 putts a round. No real mystery about where I need to be spending my practice time.

When I started the season my ball striking was peaking - but rounds with 39, 37, and 38 putts led to rounds in the low 80s which was "okay" but not really. My last round I lost a couple balls, including a triple bogey on the first hole, but shot a 79 because on the other holes I was putting the ball in the proper side of the hole to make putts. In the end it all comes down to that. 1.) keep the ball in play, 2.) chip or putt the ball to a makeable distance, and 3.) don't quit on any holes because going up 18 you can't get those strokes back.

[Paradox]

Find the fairway and keep the ball in play. I just broke 80 for the first time today and I'm pretty stoked about it.

I took the time to think about each shot. I just played my game..but I think the biggest thing that helped me was to stop fighting my natural tendencies and just play to them. I have a natural left to right ball flight..sometimes its a slice, most of the time its a fade. I make things worse when I focus so much on trying to change my flight to right/left. It caused so many problems in my swing and just threw everything off. I went out today with the intentions of letting my ball flight be what it is, control the left to right but NEVER try to make it go the other way. I aimed smartly off the tee and gave myself every opportunity to hit fairway. I ended up 8/14 for the round and another 3 or 4 misses were just off the fairway so I can live with those.

With my irons, I also just took the time to make sure I was aimed correctly, I thought about bailout areas, I didn't focus on "this has to be perfect contact"..i didn't try to overswing.

I ended the round with 29 putts, 6 GIR, 1 birdie and 1 double bogie. So my advice is to not fight your tendencies..play to them.

[Gerald]

I have been struggling to get into the 70's aswell, first I really worked very intense on putting and scrambling ..... As soon as I got better in these I started to break 80 regularly .... My current goal is to break 75 regularly and all it takes is hitting most fairways...... For me hitting the fairway is about equal for making à realistic par, but still I know I make to less birdies to really get to a serious low handicap.

My scrambling is very good, I really have to become more accurate on driving and I really need a near 3.00 average on the par 3's

[mobosecomin]

wow guys their are some great posts here. think the ones thats really interest me are the "no bloe up holes" and play smart. i think these are equally as important as some of the other points but its something i could put into play straight away.

i do have alot to work on and i think il use some of this advice to devide up my practise time over the winter.thanks guys