Breaking 80 (@people who have done it)

Slab

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It’s been really interesting reading all the posts, some pretty applicable and relatable to the task.

With a PB of 84 a couple of months back I’ve only just started to wonder if it’ll ever happen for me & while its great reading about how the really low guys play, it's not really going to work for me (if I had any sign of reaching that kind of potential I’d have broken 80 yonks ago)
So what would be of interest is not what they do going round in 72, that isn’t going to have much bearing for me... what I really need to hear about is what a guy playing off scratch did when they scored a 79 :giggle:
 
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Playing devil's advocate - one man's "leaving himself uphill putts" is another man's "consistently under-read the break and missed on the low side". ? It does suggest he got the pace moderately correct though.

On the rest of your post on missing in the easier spots - I try and do this, but my scope for missing left or right is obviously bigger than the guy you're talking about. I could aim for middle of the green and easily miss it 10 yards left or 10 yards right. So it's not quite as simple as suggesting to someone 'miss it in the right place'. Long and short you can as that's more about club selection.

I guess that’s the thing - he’s grown up on the course and probably played there for 25 years. He is the best putter, and best short game player at the club (and no one else comes close tbh) so seeing it with my own eyes and knowing he wasn’t misreading putts or getting it wrong, sparked something in my brain to try and take that approach moving forward. Previously, I’d be trying to hole every putt. Now, I try to work out which putts are an opportunity and which are a trap ?

Obviously you are right, you can try to miss in the right spots and then hit a bad shot - we all do that. Then it’s just about taking your medicine and not compounding mistakes as this thread has covered.

Generally though, if you’re taking the “correct” strategy through all 18 holes then it’s amazing how average you can get away with playing. It’s also amazing how well some people can play yet score so badly because they’re playing golf on hard mode.
 

Orikoru

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I guess that’s the thing - he’s grown up on the course and probably played there for 25 years. He is the best putter, and best short game player at the club (and no one else comes close tbh) so seeing it with my own eyes and knowing he wasn’t misreading putts or getting it wrong, sparked something in my brain to try and take that approach moving forward. Previously, I’d be trying to hole every putt. Now, I try to work out which putts are an opportunity and which are a trap ?

Obviously you are right, you can try to miss in the right spots and then hit a bad shot - we all do that. Then it’s just about taking your medicine and not compounding mistakes as this thread has covered.

Generally though, if you’re taking the “correct” strategy through all 18 holes then it’s amazing how average you can get away with playing. It’s also amazing how well some people can play yet score so badly because they’re playing golf on hard mode.
Yeah I agree with a lot of that. On the downhillers you're not trying to hole them, you're just praying they actually stop rolling at some point. :LOL: I try and pick my spots as best I can but it doesn't always work.
 

babylonsinger

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Nothing to add personally on this as it is a pipedream for me but Adam Scott was asked this in a brief article on golf.com a few days ago. Not sure if copying the article in here is allowed but he felt short game was the easiest way as most amateur golfers wouldn't have the time or knowledge to dedicate to improving the long game whereas chipping and putting can be improved with less effort
 

Bamberdele2.0

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It’s happened. 20 months in / 3 months after this thread and the holy grail has finally been broken.

After 3 weeks of struggling to break 100 I turned up Friday with a 79.

Having an original 4 ball out with mates but having to break into a 3 & 2 ball because of an extra pal who wanted to play - made it even better as we were the last groups out struggling for daylight (my 3 ball was held up by 4 seniors) so we joined on together as 5 ball on the back 9. So having 4 of my mates there to witness it made the occasion even better and one that I will live long in the memory bank. Never played in a 5 ball with mates before and most likely wont ever be repeated for obvious reasons but it was an absolute craic. I’d say we were about 3-5 minutes away on the 18th from it being unplayable due to light so if you can imagine the stars were aligned everything just seem to fall into place for us to finish the round.

The irony is - I wasn’t even thinking about breaking 80 at any point during the round (1st tee my drive duffed 50 yards so that probably eased off any expectation from the get go) but it was only because my PP’s mentioned it to me on the 17th tee that it ever entered my head.

What I will say is - i had 3 doubles and 3 bogeys on the card - but my short game was what really made the difference. It wasn’t a pretty 79 by any stretch but something just clicked in and around the green and also on my approach shots. Getting the ball close enough to sink a 1 putt really made a difference. Also course management (taking hybrid off tee instead of driver on a tricky hole in particular) just to keep the ball in play helped enormously. I missed the fairway on a couple of occasions but getting the ball back in play without chasing that ‘risky’ shot was totally out of character for me. I normally play very aggressive shots taking silly lines over trees / through gaps etc but I seemed to have a very ‘mature’ mindset with this round and didn’t risk as much as I normally would.

Course rated at 128 par 71 so by no stretch an easy track to break 80.

So in hindsight - not thinking about scores / short game (especially putting) / keeping the ball in play and not doing anything too risky I.e taking medicine at the right moments. I went into a few holes thinking (I can’t par / bogey this so take a sensible 5 / 6 etc) - this really helped me as I am prone to a good couple of 9’s. And one last thing. I started using my mates tee’s after the first hole duff which I’ve never used before. They look like pink castles but are wooden orange ones (slighter longer) and Jesus they made a difference. Funny how one little tweak can do wonders for your psyche. I was a different animal on the tee box after giving me the confidence to boom it.

Obviously there was money on the line (front back overall plus sauce from the group) but I was so occupied trying to work out stable-ford scores that any gross score on the card went straight over my head. Had a good laugh afterwords in the bar as not played with my close pals for a good while and leading up to the game I was explaining to them how I’ve been playing extremely poor in the comps - so the few quid we put on the line was me basically giving it away free - yet I’ve turned up and taken everyone’s. Now they think Ive mugged them all off and hustled them ?

Been a rough few weeks trying to transition from summer to winter golf as it’s my first official season playing in winter so to come out Friday with that score was completely out of nowhere. I was trying to get a block of lessons lined up only last week but just shows I’ve got it in the locker without them. Got a couple of pictures from the day. Another tick off the list for sure. Breaking 70 is probably never going to happen getting my name on a board comp will be my next milestone.

Thanks for reading and cheers for the replies. Looking back and so many made sense.
 

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clubchamp98

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It’s happened. 20 months in / 3 months after this thread and the holy grail has finally been broken.

After 3 weeks of struggling to break 100 I turned up Friday with a 79.

Having an original 4 ball out with mates but having to break into a 3 & 2 ball because of an extra pal who wanted to play - made it even better as we were the last groups out struggling for daylight (my 3 ball was held up by 4 seniors) so we joined on together as 5 ball on the back 9. So having 4 of my mates there to witness it made the occasion even better and one that I will live long in the memory bank. Never played in a 5 ball with mates before and most likely wont ever be repeated for obvious reasons but it was an absolute craic. I’d say we were about 3-5 minutes away on the 18th from it being unplayable due to light so if you can imagine the stars were aligned everything just seem to fall into place for us to finish the round.

The irony is - I wasn’t even thinking about breaking 80 at any point during the round (1st tee my drive duffed 50 yards so that probably eased off any expectation from the get go) but it was only because my PP’s mentioned it to me on the 17th tee that it ever entered my head.

What I will say is - i had 3 doubles and 3 bogeys on the card - but my short game was what really made the difference. It wasn’t a pretty 79 by any stretch but something just clicked in and around the green and also on my approach shots. Getting the ball close enough to sink a 1 putt really made a difference. Also course management (taking hybrid off tee instead of driver on a tricky hole in particular) just to keep the ball in play helped enormously. I missed the fairway on a couple of occasions but getting the ball back in play without chasing that ‘risky’ shot was totally out of character for me. I normally play very aggressive shots taking silly lines over trees / through gaps etc but I seemed to have a very ‘mature’ mindset with this round and didn’t risk as much as I normally would.

Course rated at 128 par 71 so by no stretch an easy track to break 80.

So in hindsight - not thinking about scores / short game (especially putting) / keeping the ball in play and not doing anything too risky I.e taking medicine at the right moments. I went into a few holes thinking (I can’t par / bogey this so take a sensible 5 / 6 etc) - this really helped me as I am prone to a good couple of 9’s. And one last thing. I started using my mates tee’s after the first hole duff which I’ve never used before. They look like pink castles but are wooden orange ones (slighter longer) and Jesus they made a difference. Funny how one little tweak can do wonders for your psyche. I was a different animal on the tee box after giving me the confidence to boom it.

Obviously there was money on the line (front back overall plus sauce from the group) but I was so occupied trying to work out stable-ford scores that any gross score on the card went straight over my head. Had a good laugh afterwords in the bar as not played with my close pals for a good while and leading up to the game I was explaining to them how I’ve been playing extremely poor in the comps - so the few quid we put on the line was me basically giving it away free - yet I’ve turned up and taken everyone’s. Now they think Ive mugged them all off and hustled them ?

Been a rough few weeks trying to transition from summer to winter golf as it’s my first official season playing in winter so to come out Friday with that score was completely out of nowhere. I was trying to get a block of lessons lined up only last week but just shows I’ve got it in the locker without them. Got a couple of pictures from the day. Another tick off the list for sure. Breaking 70 is probably never going to happen getting my name on a board comp will be my next milestone.

Thanks for reading and cheers for the replies. Looking back and so many made sense.
Very well done.
Good scores come when you least expect them and just enjoy it while you can.
Which it looks like your doing.
 

bobmac

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It’s happened. 20 months in / 3 months after this thread and the holy grail has finally been broken.

After 3 weeks of struggling to break 100 I turned up Friday with a 79.

Having an original 4 ball out with mates but having to break into a 3 & 2 ball because of an extra pal who wanted to play - made it even better as we were the last groups out struggling for daylight (my 3 ball was held up by 4 seniors) so we joined on together as 5 ball on the back 9.

I'm afraid as you played as a 5 ball, you have broken the rules so your 79 won't be allowed.

















I may have made that up :whistle:
Well played
 

Rlburnside

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Play an easy course.
Actually the first time I did it was on a moderately difficult course.
I'm a high handicapper and only do it on an occasional basis so can't really give advice but I rarely check my score as I'm going along.

I agree about playing a easier course , I’m 68 and play a hard links course and the best scores I have had are 83 a good few times, I played a course down in Kent (same length as ours) for the first time and scored 81 , now if I was a member of that course I’m convinced I would have broke 80 plenty of times, and probably had my h/c cut by 3/4 shots.
 

rosecott

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It’s happened. 20 months in / 3 months after this thread and the holy grail has finally been broken.

After 3 weeks of struggling to break 100 I turned up Friday with a 79.

Having an original 4 ball out with mates but having to break into a 3 & 2 ball because of an extra pal who wanted to play - made it even better as we were the last groups out struggling for daylight (my 3 ball was held up by 4 seniors) so we joined on together as 5 ball on the back 9. So having 4 of my mates there to witness it made the occasion even better and one that I will live long in the memory bank. Never played in a 5 ball with mates before and most likely wont ever be repeated for obvious reasons but it was an absolute craic. I’d say we were about 3-5 minutes away on the 18th from it being unplayable due to light so if you can imagine the stars were aligned everything just seem to fall into place for us to finish the round.

The irony is - I wasn’t even thinking about breaking 80 at any point during the round (1st tee my drive duffed 50 yards so that probably eased off any expectation from the get go) but it was only because my PP’s mentioned it to me on the 17th tee that it ever entered my head.

What I will say is - i had 3 doubles and 3 bogeys on the card - but my short game was what really made the difference. It wasn’t a pretty 79 by any stretch but something just clicked in and around the green and also on my approach shots. Getting the ball close enough to sink a 1 putt really made a difference. Also course management (taking hybrid off tee instead of driver on a tricky hole in particular) just to keep the ball in play helped enormously. I missed the fairway on a couple of occasions but getting the ball back in play without chasing that ‘risky’ shot was totally out of character for me. I normally play very aggressive shots taking silly lines over trees / through gaps etc but I seemed to have a very ‘mature’ mindset with this round and didn’t risk as much as I normally would.

Course rated at 128 par 71 so by no stretch an easy track to break 80.

So in hindsight - not thinking about scores / short game (especially putting) / keeping the ball in play and not doing anything too risky I.e taking medicine at the right moments. I went into a few holes thinking (I can’t par / bogey this so take a sensible 5 / 6 etc) - this really helped me as I am prone to a good couple of 9’s. And one last thing. I started using my mates tee’s after the first hole duff which I’ve never used before. They look like pink castles but are wooden orange ones (slighter longer) and Jesus they made a difference. Funny how one little tweak can do wonders for your psyche. I was a different animal on the tee box after giving me the confidence to boom it.

Obviously there was money on the line (front back overall plus sauce from the group) but I was so occupied trying to work out stable-ford scores that any gross score on the card went straight over my head. Had a good laugh afterwords in the bar as not played with my close pals for a good while and leading up to the game I was explaining to them how I’ve been playing extremely poor in the comps - so the few quid we put on the line was me basically giving it away free - yet I’ve turned up and taken everyone’s. Now they think Ive mugged them all off and hustled them ?

Been a rough few weeks trying to transition from summer to winter golf as it’s my first official season playing in winter so to come out Friday with that score was completely out of nowhere. I was trying to get a block of lessons lined up only last week but just shows I’ve got it in the locker without them. Got a couple of pictures from the day. Another tick off the list for sure. Breaking 70 is probably never going to happen getting my name on a board comp will be my next milestone.

Thanks for reading and cheers for the replies. Looking back and so many made sense.

Now you just need to do it in a comp and get your handicap down - best of luck with that
 

BridgfordBlue

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Course management is the big thing for me. Had a lesson a few weeks ago on a top tracer purely about that and when and why to hit certain shots, made me realise how often I was making wrong decisions but getting away with it often enough (in my mind at least!) to keep doing similar.

Really helps with committing to the shot too, which makes it more likely to be a successful outcome. I did that, didn’t have a single technical swing thought in my mind all day, and it worked a treat.
 

Bdill93

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It’s happened. 20 months in / 3 months after this thread and the holy grail has finally been broken.

After 3 weeks of struggling to break 100 I turned up Friday with a 79.

Having an original 4 ball out with mates but having to break into a 3 & 2 ball because of an extra pal who wanted to play - made it even better as we were the last groups out struggling for daylight (my 3 ball was held up by 4 seniors) so we joined on together as 5 ball on the back 9. So having 4 of my mates there to witness it made the occasion even better and one that I will live long in the memory bank. Never played in a 5 ball with mates before and most likely wont ever be repeated for obvious reasons but it was an absolute craic. I’d say we were about 3-5 minutes away on the 18th from it being unplayable due to light so if you can imagine the stars were aligned everything just seem to fall into place for us to finish the round.

The irony is - I wasn’t even thinking about breaking 80 at any point during the round (1st tee my drive duffed 50 yards so that probably eased off any expectation from the get go) but it was only because my PP’s mentioned it to me on the 17th tee that it ever entered my head.

What I will say is - i had 3 doubles and 3 bogeys on the card - but my short game was what really made the difference. It wasn’t a pretty 79 by any stretch but something just clicked in and around the green and also on my approach shots. Getting the ball close enough to sink a 1 putt really made a difference. Also course management (taking hybrid off tee instead of driver on a tricky hole in particular) just to keep the ball in play helped enormously. I missed the fairway on a couple of occasions but getting the ball back in play without chasing that ‘risky’ shot was totally out of character for me. I normally play very aggressive shots taking silly lines over trees / through gaps etc but I seemed to have a very ‘mature’ mindset with this round and didn’t risk as much as I normally would.

Course rated at 128 par 71 so by no stretch an easy track to break 80.

So in hindsight - not thinking about scores / short game (especially putting) / keeping the ball in play and not doing anything too risky I.e taking medicine at the right moments. I went into a few holes thinking (I can’t par / bogey this so take a sensible 5 / 6 etc) - this really helped me as I am prone to a good couple of 9’s. And one last thing. I started using my mates tee’s after the first hole duff which I’ve never used before. They look like pink castles but are wooden orange ones (slighter longer) and Jesus they made a difference. Funny how one little tweak can do wonders for your psyche. I was a different animal on the tee box after giving me the confidence to boom it.

Obviously there was money on the line (front back overall plus sauce from the group) but I was so occupied trying to work out stable-ford scores that any gross score on the card went straight over my head. Had a good laugh afterwords in the bar as not played with my close pals for a good while and leading up to the game I was explaining to them how I’ve been playing extremely poor in the comps - so the few quid we put on the line was me basically giving it away free - yet I’ve turned up and taken everyone’s. Now they think Ive mugged them all off and hustled them ?

Been a rough few weeks trying to transition from summer to winter golf as it’s my first official season playing in winter so to come out Friday with that score was completely out of nowhere. I was trying to get a block of lessons lined up only last week but just shows I’ve got it in the locker without them. Got a couple of pictures from the day. Another tick off the list for sure. Breaking 70 is probably never going to happen getting my name on a board comp will be my next milestone.

Thanks for reading and cheers for the replies. Looking back and so many made sense.

Well in Jonny! Great finish to your season!
 

Bamberdele2.0

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Cheers fellas. It’s a great feeling to have broke through the barrier. Looking back it seems I can really dish out some decent scores on softer conditions around my course. The greens are stickier now but so much harder to hold in summer. Even though I get more distance and better roll in the hotter months it can really be all about luck on my course with how hard and fast the greens are.

@Bamberdele2.0 well played, great result after a relatively short time. You provided a lot of info, may have missed it but what tees was it from? The card didn't seem to indicate.


Forgot to add. They were actually from our brand new ‘blue tees’ and the course has just had a review for its rating. The blue tee matts are in a very similar position to the yellows (same distance as yellows just off the tee box) so I would imagine it’s not far off the yellow course rating (128 - par 71)

I know you have played here and it was all our first times off them on Friday. We had a mate who came from a different club and many good things were said about how it played. There are maybe 2 matts that could do with adjusting slightly but atleast it frees up the tee boxes to repair itself for next season. There are mixed reviews from members at the club but as you can imagine - they get the thumbs up from me!
 

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Sats

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Nearly broke 80 at littlestone this year, but one putt sealed my fate! It's hard but I drove the ball well, kept all but one double off the card and putted very well.
 

IainP

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Cheers fellas. It’s a great feeling to have broke through the barrier. Looking back it seems I can really dish out some decent scores on softer conditions around my course. The greens are stickier now but so much harder to hold in summer. Even though I get more distance and better roll in the hotter months it can really be all about luck on my course with how hard and fast the greens are.





Forgot to add. They were actually from our brand new ‘blue tees’ and the course has just had a review for its rating. The blue tee matts are in a very similar position to the yellows (same distance as yellows just off the tee box) so I would imagine it’s not far off the yellow course rating (128 - par 71)

I know you have played here and it was all our first times off them on Friday. We had a mate who came from a different club and many good things were said about how it played. There are maybe 2 matts that could do with adjusting slightly but atleast it frees up the tee boxes to repair itself for next season. There are mixed reviews from members at the club but as you can imagine - they get the thumbs up from me!
Cool, so you don't go into a muddle - from the card you posted, for yellows the slope is 127. The course rating is 69.8.
Hope that makes sense.
 

Region3

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Congratulations! Now you’ve done it once hopefully there‘ll be many more to follow.
I remember when I first got close it was the thing I wanted most, more than winning competitions or anything else.

For what it’s worth, I think as soon as you’re hitting most shots anywhere near solid (which you probably are to get close to breaking 80) it’s mostly about good course management.
I forget which book this comes from but I read once “play the shot you know you can play. Not the shot Seve would play, or even the shot you think you ought to be able to play.”

If you get in trouble, try your best to take double out of the equation. Bogeys don’t kill your score and every now and then you’ll make par.
 
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