Breaking 80 (@people who have done it)

[need_my_wedge]

Have a favourite shot, one you're really comfortable with playing into the middle of the green. Whether it be 100 yds, 120 yds or 150 yds, 7 iron, 8 iron or 9 iron, whatever it is. Play from the tee to that yardage, knowing you're going to hit the green with the next shot.

 

[D-S]

Hit 6 greens in regulation, knock it somewhere near the green with the other 12, get up and down 6 times, don’t duff any chips or bunker shots, don’t 3 putt - 6 over

 

[Albo]

The other thing I’d say here and this goes for breaking any score barrier is the ability to forget the last shot.
I played a few weeks ago and was playing really well (for me) and was 3 over on 9 tee, short par 4 hit an iron off the tee into the fairway and had a wedge in, got to the ball which was sat in a divot, stood over it and didn’t feel comfortable hit the shot into a green side bunker, fuming at my lack of luck I thinned my bunker shot through the green chipped on paying no real attention cos now I’m seeing my score disappear and 3 putt for a 7. Get on the next tee take more club than I need and end up with a double there. I’ve suddenly gone from 3 over to 8 over in 2 holes and purely because I was unlucky and found a divot which sent me into tilt mode. Had I just bunted out of the divot 50y forward and chipped on I’d have made bog at worst and then taken the right club on the next hole and even made bog there I’d have been at 5 over rather than 8. I ended up shooting an 82.
You can’t do anything about luck nor a bad shot as it’s in the past all you can do if focus on the next shot

 

[clubchamp98]

The main reason most don’t break 80 is they get in their own way.
As they get to 15/16 and on they are thinking about the score.
To be in with a chance you must have played good golf .
It’s more a mental thing for the first time, and the pressure builds.
most play their best golf when their not even thinking about it.

I played society golf before I joined a club and broke 80 after about 18 months

 

[Mel Smooth]

If you're under 150 yards from the pin with 3 shots left to the par of the hole, you want to be making pars or better. If you do that, you'll break 80.

 

[Backache]

If you're under 150 yards from the pin with 3 shots left to the par of the hole, you want to be making pars or better. If you do that, you'll break 80.

That is probably true but is it actionable.?
PGA tour pros average 2.92 strokes from the fairway at 150 yds, so asking someone struggling to break 80 to do something similar is probably a tough ask.

 

[BiMGuy]

Don’t chase birdies, avoid doubles.

It’s all in the long game. You can be the best in the world at putting, but it’s pointless if you are making putts for double. I haven’t read the other replies but I’m sure someone will have said it’s all about chipping and putting or just making sure you hit the fairway.

You can get lucky and break 80 hitting it 180 off the tee and getting up and down having missed every green, but we aren’t good enough to sustain that over the long term.

Quite simply, you need to hit it a decent distance and keep it in play off the tee, then hit it close to or on to the green with your second. If you miss a green make sure you don’t short side yourself.

Then avoid 3 putts.

 

[Oddsocks]

It always was about course management and limiting the damage on bad holes.

 

[Backache]

Don’t chase birdies, avoid doubles.

It’s all in the long game. You can be the best in the world at putting, but it’s pointless if you are making putts for double. I haven’t read the other replies but I’m sure someone will have said it’s all about chipping and putting or just making sure you hit the fairway.

You can get lucky and break 80 hitting it 180 off the tee and getting up and down having missed every green, but we aren’t good enough to sustain that over the long term.

Quite simply, you need to hit it a decent distance and keep it in play off the tee, then hit it close to or on to the green with your second. If you miss a green make sure you don’t short side yourself.

Then avoid 3 putts.

I agree with much of that, however if someone is very close to breaking 80 they are likely already hitting it an adequate distance and may be able to eke out a few extra strokes with improved short game and possibly course management.
They are probably more readily achieved than distance gains.

 

[jim8flog]

I did it several times whilst still in the late teens handicap best being a 76 when a 16 handicap which showed to me I could do it.

Doing it on a regular basis however did not come until I had been playing on a regular basis (member of a club playing twice a week) for about 6 years.

The advice, as always, is short game and at least 75% of practice should go in to the short game remembering a 3 ft putt in to the hole counts as 1 shot and 300 yard drive counts as 1 shot.

Around the green you should be aiming at 1 or 2 shots ie holing out on up and a single putt frequently ( you will never do this 100% of the time).

Never compound an error i.e after a shot which has ended up deep in the boonies be the target should be to get it back in to playable position and look at lifetime bests to get it on to a green.

 

[pendodave]

If you're serious about getting better, and want something more useful than anecdotal chit chat (including from me!), I'd recommend looking at Lou Stagner on twitter @loustagner.
He works for Arcos and analyses the stats for 1000's of golfers, rather than dealing in dodgy memories and misinformation. He also pulls in lots of data from tour players for comparison.

As an example of something that might be useful in this discussion, the difference between scratch and 10 handicap (normally break 80 vs occasionally break 80) is

40% approach play
28% off the tee
16% around the green
16% putting

So spending all your time on the putting green probably isn't going to cut it.

Of course, everyone always thinks they're special, but sadly we're all pretty average. Which is useful if you want to get better.

 

[Newnsy]

Did it for the first time this year in a medal - Started the round badly missed a 1 foot putt on the second then blasted a ball OOB on the 3rd hole, made a birdie with the second ball for a bogey. Stopped looking at my score because i thought i had ruined my round ended up relaxing and playing well. been playing properly about 3.5 years yet to repeat again yet lots of 80s but there is always next week

The biggest thing for me was short game, i had some lessons with Alex Buckner and it was revolution for my game.

 

[Anoetic]

It took me about 5 years after I started playing, but 2 major external factors come into play…what is the par of the course you want to break 80 on, and what time of the year…scoring low in the winter and summer is harder on most courses…spring and autumn when you have some control of the ball on the fairways I find is best…..
it was about another 4 years until I broke 70…..

 

[Deleted member 1147]

how to break 80:
- hit more fairways, which can mean using the correct club
- hit more greens, largely dependant on hitting more fairways, or correct clubbing
- when you miss the green get up & down more, so miss on the correct side, ie don't short side yourself
- hole more putts, don't 3 putt as much, so get long putts closer and hole out more shorter putts.
In other words, you need to hit the ball better, and manage your way around the course better.

 

[Springveldt]

I think you will find the older generation will tell you it's all about chipping and putting while the younger generation or stat nerds will tell you hit it longer and keep it in play off the tee.

For me, it's all about keeping it in play off the tee. If you can do that (not always fairway but still have an unobstructed shot to the green) then you will essentially turn the course into a bunch of par 3's and short par 4's.

As an example on Saturday I shot 77 while driving the ball well but everything else was pretty poor but I did managed to hole 1 long putt. Last night I drove the ball terribly, hit my irons great but it was no use since my 2nd was hacking out of trees, trying to get back into position from a different fairway or playing 3 off the tee. I shot 86 last night.

 

[Orikoru]

I think you will find the older generation will tell you it's all about chipping and putting while the younger generation or stat nerds will tell you hit it longer and keep it in play off the tee.

For me, it's all about keeping it in play off the tee. If you can do that (not always fairway but still have an unobstructed shot to the green) then you will essentially turn the course into a bunch of par 3's and short par 4's.

As an example on Saturday I shot 77 while driving the ball well but everything else was pretty poor but I did managed to hole 1 long putt. Last night I drove the ball terribly, hit my irons great but it was no use since my 2nd was hacking out of trees, trying to get back into position from a different fairway or playing 3 off the tee. I shot 86 last night.

The real answer is probably that it's equal parts both. If you can be long and in play off the tee, plus minimise three-putts and get up and down more - you'll break 80.

 

[sunshine]

Breaking 80 on a par 68 is easier than on a par 72. Just saying.

 

[Anoetic]

Breaking 80 on a par 68 is easier than on a par 72. Just saying.

One of my points exactly.
Also you dont need to be stupidly long…..I broke 80 and there wasn’t an ounce of fancy pants metals or carbon fibre in sight In any of my clubs, just steel shafts and wooden woods...You hit most of the shots in a round with your putter and irons….that’s a good place to start…

 

[BiMGuy]

One of my points exactly.

But you’ll always know it didn’t really count ?

 

[Curls]

Good advice above is not to get in your own way. If you have a good round going you have to detach yourself from the result (or potential result) and focus on the process. I cringe when people say “I’ve only got 4 strokes left on my handicap”, or “I’ve got a few easy /hard holes next I’ll pick up/drop shots”. That’s not what you should be thinking about.

Every time you think that, immediately put it to the back of your mind and say to yourself that you are going to hit a great shot next. The ball you’re walking up to is the only one you can influence. Not a few holes ahead, not the cumulative total. When you do that and stay present in the moment you get there. If you think “if I drop two more shots I won’t break 80”, that’s when you invite the danger in.