Opinion & Analysis
A Modern Blueprint to Breaking 80
Background
When I was lucky enough to join a golf club many years ago, my No. 1 goal was to become a real 5-handicap. But first, I had to figure out how to break 90 on my new difficult golf course. I played on weekends and 9-holes after work without seeing improvement. I took one lesson from the pro, who laughed at my list of ambitious goals. His response was, “OK, but how about we start with letting me see you hit a 5-iron.” His prescription was a minor grip change and much more practice time on the range.
In my second month of membership, I signed up for my first event: a one-day member-guest with my 70-year-old, 36-handicap father who had introduced me to golf when I was seven. We played nine holes every Saturday at a public course in Washington, DC, that had no hazards and no sand traps – just nine tees, nine circular greens and one gigantic fairway. When I was 12, “real sports” took over and I dropped golf and my dad.
Anyway, here we were at my great new club getting ready to play in our first event together. My dad, a lofty 36, and me, a shiny new 14-handicap. I was nervous for myself, but I was much more nervous for my Dad. How he would enjoy — or NOT enjoy — the long, difficult test of golf. I was so nervous, I guess, that I started to hit shanks on the practice tee… and I couldn’t figure out how to stop them. Finally, it was time to head to the tee for the shotgun start. To my horror, we were starting on the most difficult par-3 on the course. It was 165 yards over WATER and we were paired with two fairly good golfers that I didn’t know.
“Go ahead,” one of them said. “Lead us off!”
Not wanting to expose my dad to the extreme pressure of going first, I took the tee. I somehow summoned my inner pride and made a fairly good swing with my 6 iron. I did NOT s_____, and my tee shot hit the green. I not only broke 90; I shot 78. Dad chimed in on a couple of holes with his two strokes and we won low net. It’s amazing what can happen when one totally forgets score and focuses on the process of selecting and hitting quality shots.
From there, I worked hard on my game and reached my 5-handicap goal and more. It led me to start a business providing a new type of golf statistics and analysis for golfers, now known as Strokes Gained, and you can read about the History of Strokes Gained on my website www.ShotByShot.com.
Want to break 80? Here is my blueprint
The game of golf is a puzzle and all the pieces fit together. Further, each round is a mix of good shots, average shots and bad shots/errors. The challenge is to determine which piece of your game’s unique puzzle is your greatest weakness in order to target your improvement efforts on the highest impact area. If you track the simple good and bad outcomes listed below for a few rounds, your strengths and weaknesses will become apparent.
Tee Game/Driving
Distance: I’ll ignore this and assume you’re playing from the appropriate tees for your game.
Fairways: Hitting fairways is important, as we are all more accurate from the short grass.
Errors: Far more important than Fairways Hit is the FREQUENCY and SEVERITY of misses. ShotByShot.com users record THREE types of Driving Errors:
- No Shot: You have missed in a place from which you do not have a normal next shot, requiring some sort of advancement to get the ball back to normal play. Preferably, your one error will be of this, less costly, nature.
- Penalty: A one-stroke penalty due to hazard or unplayable lie.
- Lost/OB: Stroke and distance penalty
Approach Shots
Error = Penalty/Second: This means either a penalty, or a shot hit so poorly that you are left with yet another full approach shot from greater than 50 yards of the hole.
Short Game (shots from within 50 yards of the hole)
If you miss NINE Greens, you will have EIGHT of these greenside save opportunities.
Chip/Pitch shots
Errors = Shots that miss the green. The fringe does not count as an error
Sand shots
You should have ONE of these greenside save opportunities.
Errors = Shots that miss the green. The fringe does not count as an error
Putting
You need 32 putts.
Good luck, and please let me know if and when you are successful.
Chart
Click to enlarge.
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My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.
As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.
The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.
Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply. Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:
Mis-aligned hands
By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.
The position of the grip in the upper/left hand
I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean. Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.
To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.
Too much lower (right) hand on the club
It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.
Gripping too tightly
Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.
So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.
More from the Wedge Guy
- The Wedge Guy: Golf mastery begins with your wedge game
- The Wedge Guy: Why golf is 20 times harder than brain surgery
- The Wedge Guy: Musings on the golf ball rollback
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As the Florida swing comes to an end, the PGA Tour makes its way to Houston to play the Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course.
This will be the fourth year that Memorial Park Golf Course will serve as the tournament host. The event did not take place in 2023, but the course hosted the event in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Memorial Park is a par-70 layout measuring 7,432 yards and features Bermudagrass greens. Historically, the main defense for the course has been thick rough along the fairways and tightly mown runoff areas around the greens. Memorial Park has a unique setup that features three Par 5’s and five Par 3’s.
The field will consist of 132 players, with the top 65 and ties making the cut. There are some big names making the trip to Houston, including Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala.
Past Winners at Memorial Park
- 2022: Tony Finau (-16)
- 2021: Jason Kokrak (-10)
- 2020: Carlos Ortiz (-13)
In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value).
Key Stats For Memorial Park
Let’s take a look at several metrics for Memorial Park to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds:
Strokes Gained: Approach
Memorial Park is a pretty tough golf course. Golfers are penalized for missing greens and face some difficult up and downs to save par. Approach will be key.
Total Strokes Gained: Approach per round in past 24 rounds:
- Tom Hoge (+1.30)
- Scottie Scheffler (+1.26)
- Keith Mitchell (+0.97)
- Tony Finau (+0.92)
- Jake Knapp (+0.84)
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
Memorial Park is a long golf course with rough that can be penal. Therefore, a combination of distance and accuracy is the best metric.
Total Strokes Gained: Off the Tee per round in past 24 rounds:
- Scottie Scheffler (+0.94)
- Kevin Dougherty (+0.93)
- Cameron Champ (+0.86)
- Rafael Campos (+0.84)
- Si Woo Kim (+0.70)
Strokes Gained Putting: Bermudagrass + Fast
The Bermudagrass greens played fairly fast the past few years in Houston. Jason Kokrak gained 8.7 strokes putting on his way to victory in 2021 and Tony Finau gained in 7.8 in 2022.
Total Strokes Gained Putting (Bermudagrass) per round past 24 rounds (min. 8 rounds):
- Adam Svensson (+1.27)
- Harry Hall (+1.01)
- Martin Trainer (+0.94)
- Taylor Montgomery (+0.88)
- S.H. Kim (+0.86)
Strokes Gained: Around the Green
With firm and undulating putting surfaces, holding the green on approach shots may prove to be a challenge. Memorial Park has many tightly mowed runoff areas, so golfers will have challenging up-and-down’s around the greens. Carlos Ortiz gained 5.7 strokes around the green on the way to victory in 2020.
Total Strokes Gained: Around the Green per round in past 24 rounds:
- Mackenzie Hughes (+0.76)
- S.H. Kim (+0.68)
- Scottie Scheffler (+0.64)
- Jorge Campillo (+0.62)
- Jason Day (+0.60)
Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult
Memorial Park is a long and difficult golf course. This statistic will incorporate players who’ve had success on these types of tracks in the past.
Total Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult in past 24 rounds:
- Scottie Scheffler (+2.45)
- Ben Griffin (+1.75)
- Will Zalatoris (+1.73)
- Ben Taylor (+1.53)
- Tony Finau (+1.42)
Course History
Here are the players who have performed the most consistently at Memorial Park.
Strokes Gained Total at Memorial Park past 12 rounds:
- Tyson Alexander (+3.65)
- Ben Taylor (+3.40)
- Tony Finau (+2.37)
- Joel Dahmen (+2.25)
- Patton Kizzire (+2.16)
Statistical Model
Below, I’ve reported overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed.
These rankings are comprised of SG: App (24%) SG: OTT (24%); SG: Putting Bermudagrass/Fast (13%); SG: Long and Difficult (13%); SG: ARG (13%) and Course History (13%)
- Scottie Scheffler
- Wyndham Clark
- Tony Finau
- Joel Dahmen
- Stephan Jaeger
- Aaron Rai
- Sahith Theegala
- Keith Mitchell
- Jhonnatan Vegas
- Jason Day
- Kurt Kitayama
- Alex Noren
- Will Zalatoris
- Si Woo Kim
- Adam Long
2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open Picks
Will Zalatoris +2000 (Caesars)
Scottie Scheffler will undoubtedly be difficult to beat this week, so I’m starting my card with someone who I believe has the talent to beat him if he doesn’t have his best stuff.
Will Zalatoris missed the cut at the PLAYERS, but still managed to gain strokes on approach while doing so. In an unpredictable event with extreme variance, I don’t believe it would be wise to discount Zalatoris based on that performance. Prior to The PLAYERS, the 27-year-old finished T13, T2 and T4 in his previous three starts.
Zalatoris plays his best golf on long and difficult golf courses. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the category, but the eye test also tells a similar story. He’s contended at major championships and elevated events in the best of fields with tough scoring conditions. The Texas resident should be a perfect fit at Memorial Park Golf Club.
Alex Noren +4500 (FanDuel)
Alex Noren has been quietly playing some of his best golf of the last half decade this season. The 41-year-old is coming off back-to-back top-20 finishes in Florida including a T9 at The PLAYERS in his most recent start.
In his past 24 rounds, Noren ranks 21st in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 30th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, 25th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses and 21st in Strokes Gained: Putting on fast Bermudagrass greens.
In addition to his strong recent play, the Swede also has played well at Memorial Park. In 2022, Noren finished T4 at the event, gaining 2.2 strokes off the tee and 7.0 strokes on approach for the week. In his two starts at the course, he’s gained an average of .6 strokes per round on the field, indicating he is comfortable on these greens.
Noren has been due for a win for what feels like an eternity, but Memorial Park may be the course that suits him well enough for him to finally get his elusive first PGA Tour victory.
Mackenzie Hughes +8000 (FanDuel)
Mackenzie Hughes found himself deep into contention at last week’s Valspar Championship before faltering late and finishing in a tie for 3rd place. While he would have loved to win the event, it’s hard to see the performance as anything other than an overwhelming positive sign for the Canadian.
Hughes has played great golf at Memorial Park in the past. He finished T7 in 2020, T29 in 2021 and T16 in 2022. The course fit seems to be quite strong for Hughes. He’s added distance off the tee in the past year or and ranks 8th in the field for apex height, which will be a key factor when hitting into Memorial Park’s elevated greens with steep run-off areas.
In his past 24 rounds, Hughes is the best player in the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Greens. The ability to scramble at this course will be extremely important. I believe Hughes can build off of his strong finish last week and contend once again to cement himself as a President’s Cup consideration.
Akshay Bhatia +8000 (FanDuel)
Akshay Bhatia played well last week at the Valspar and seemed to be in total control of his golf ball. He finished in a tie for 17th and shot an impressive -3 on a difficult Sunday. After struggling Thursday, Akshay shot 68-70-68 in his next three rounds.
Thus far, Bhatia has played better at easier courses, but his success at Copperhead may be due to his game maturing. The 22-year-old has enormous potential and the raw talent to be one of the best players in the world when he figures it all out.
Bhatia is a high upside play with superstar qualities and may just take the leap forward to the next stage of his career in the coming months.
Cameron Champ +12000 (FanDuel)
Cameron Champ is a player I often target in the outright betting market due to his “boom-or-bust” nature. It’s hard to think of a player in recent history with three PGA Tour wins who’s been as inconsistent as Champ has over the course of his career.
Despite the erratic play, Cam Champ simply knows how to win. He’s won in 2018, 2019 and 2021, so I feel he’s due for a win at some point this season. The former Texas A&M product should be comfortable in Texas and last week he showed us that his game is in a pretty decent spot.
Over his past 24 rounds, Champ ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 30th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses. Given his ability to spike at any given time, Memorial Park is a good golf course to target Champ on at triple digit odds.
Robert MacIntyre +12000 (FanDuel)
The challenge this week is finding players who can possibly beat Scottie Scheffler while also not dumping an enormous amount of money into an event that has a player at the top that looks extremely dangerous. Enter McIntyre, who’s another boom-or-bust type player who has the ceiling to compete with anyone when his game is clicking on all cylinders.
In his past 24 rounds, MacIntyre ranks 16th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 17th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 10th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses.
MacIntyre’s PGA Tour season has gotten off to a slow start, but he finished T6 in Mexico, which is a course where players will hit driver on the majority of their tee shots, which is what we will see at Memorial Park. Texas can also get quite windy, which should suit MacIntyre. Last July, the Scot went toe to toe with Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open before a narrow defeat. It would take a similar heroic effort to compete with Scheffler this year in Houston.
Ryan Moore +15000 (FanDuel)
Ryan Moore’s iron play has been absolutely unconscious over his past few starts. At The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field, he gained 6.1 strokes on approach and last week at Copperhead, he gained 9.0 strokes on approach.
It’s been a rough handful of years on Tour for the 41-year-old, but he is still a five-time winner on the PGA Tour who’s young enough for a career resurgence. Moore has chronic deterioration in a costovertebral joint that connects the rib to the spine, but has been getting more consistent of late, which is hopefully a sign that he is getting healthy.
Veterans have been contending in 2024 and I believe taking a flier on a proven Tour play who’s shown signs of life is a wise move at Memorial Park.
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B.F. Skinner was one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century, developing the foundation of the development of reinforcement, and in doing so, creating the concept of behaviorism. In simple terms, this means that we are conditioned by our habits. In practical terms, it explains the divide between the few and far between elite instructors and college coaches.
To understand the application, let’s quickly review one of B.F. Skinner’s most important experiments; superstitions in the formation of behavior by pigeons. In this experiment, food was dispensed to pigeons at random intervals. Soon, according to Skinner, the pigeons began to associate whatever action they were doing at the time of the food being dispensed. According to Skinner, this conditioned that response and soon, they simply haphazardly repeated the action, failing to distinguish between cause and correlation (and in the meantime, looking really funny!).
Now, this is simply the best way to describe the actions of most every women’s college golf coach and too many instructors in America. They see something work, get positive feedback and then become conditioned to give the feedback, more and more, regardless of if it works (this is also why tips from your buddies never work!).
Go to a college event, particularly a women’s one, and you will see coaches running all over the place. Like the pigeons in the experiment, they have been conditioned into a codependent relationship with their players in which they believe their words and actions, can transform a round of golf. It is simply hilarious while being equally perturbing
In junior golf, it’s everywhere. Junior golf academies make a living selling parents that a hysterical coach and over-coaching are essential ingredients in your child’s success.
Let’s be clear, no one of any intellect has any real interest in golf — because it’s not that interesting. The people left, including most coaches and instructors, carve out a small fiefdom, usually on the corner of the range, where they use the illusion of competency to pray on people. In simple terms, they baffle people with the bullshit of pseudo-science that they can make you better, after just one more lesson.
The reality is that life is an impromptu game. The world of golf, business, and school have a message that the goal is being right. This, of course, is bad advice, being right in your own mind is easy, trying to push your ideas on others is hard. As a result, it is not surprising that the divorce rate among golf professionals and their instructors is 100 percent. The transfer rate among college players continues to soar, and too many courses have a guy peddling nefarious science to good people. In fact, we do at my course!
The question is, what impact does all this have on college-age and younger kids? At this point, we honestly don’t know. However, I am going to go out on a limb and say it isn’t good.
Soren Kierkegaard once quipped “I saw it for what it is, and I laughed.” The actions of most coaches and instructors in America are laughable. The problem is that I am not laughing because they are doing damage to kids, as well as driving good people away from this game.
The fact is that golfers don’t need more tips, secrets, or lessons. They need to be presented with a better understanding of the key elements of golf. With this understanding, they can then start to frame which information makes sense and what doesn’t. This will emancipate them and allow them to take charge of their own development.
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EddieEdwards
Aug 2, 2017 at 1:14 am
Most important, you need to keep your drive in play, minimize penalties, and have a shot at the green most of the time. Next you need to hit greens or miss close. If you can do this, it’s unlikely your short game and putting will be that far behind. A couple up and downs, longer putts made, close approaches and you will break 80 and have a good day. On a bad day, penalties, duffs, 3 putts, burning the edges, an errant shot will keep you in the eighties.
I’ve broke 80 several times, par once recently. Hopefully, I don’t have to resort to playing from the womens tees to break 70.
BobInNH
Jun 14, 2017 at 9:32 am
I walk half the time and ride half the time on a very hilly course in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. My scores do not depend on that fact. But, while walking I sometimes shoot my lowest scores because I am totally focused on my game, and not for looking for balls and taking care of the other guy.
golfraven
May 18, 2017 at 8:47 am
Stats are way to go and each serious player should collect their own independent of Hcp. I would be looking at the avarage on the PGA tour. Considering that avarage for GIR is 66%, FIR 61% and scrambling 60% ish, this are the numbers to strive for in the first place to put down a reasonable score. Assuming you don’t 3/4 putt on 50% of the holes you should be in good shape.
If you want to break 80 or Par then my best advise is to take your scorecard hopefully with a course map and set a strategy for each hole how you hit it of the tee (fade, draw or straight) and most importantly the landing spot of the ball on the fairway and green. Start recording where you miss it (also on the green) and this will give you and idea what to work on.
Play your game and shots for instance the hybrid (if what is required) of the tee even if big Joe hits a driver – don’t bother what others play unless those guys are aspiring players and you practice with them.
From the stats you should get a picture of your range, patterns and tendencies and you can adjust your practice and course management accordingly.
Photo
May 18, 2017 at 1:10 am
The more I play and the closer I get to breaking 80, my tee ball has become the difference maker. An OB on the back 9 has been my downfall each time i’ve been close. Distance plus the strokes are killer. Other than driving, 3 putts are a nemesis. Outside 40 feet, the 2 putt % needs to be much higher. Good data!
Dell Man
May 17, 2017 at 5:32 pm
This is great. I started keeping stats when I play almost any round. Fairways, Greens, and Putts. I also putt little tick marks when I get into the sand and circle it when I get up and down. Keeping the stats don’t necessarily make you play better, but they give you a better idea of what is costing you strokes. And if you can figure out what is really costing you strokes based on trends over several rounds, then you can use your likely minimal practice time to focus on those aspects. I struggle hitting full mid-irons shots and it has cost me because I hit 10 or more fairways quite often, but I’m hooking 7/8-irons and wasting the opportunities. So instead of hitting drivers on the range, I have been working hard on mid/short irons. This is a good way to break down your rounds. Good stuff.
larrybud
May 17, 2017 at 3:30 pm
9 GIRS is PLENTY to break 80. I’m a 2 index who averages 55% girs. I just don’t make big numbers.
Even when I was a lousy 40-42% GIRS I shot half my rounds under 80 and was a 4-5 index.
setter02
May 17, 2017 at 1:47 pm
Personally off the tee is the biggest issue. If I’m in the fairway off the tee, I’ll likely have a good day regardless of ball striking and putting (unless a complete outlier day happens) as I know I will avoid big numbers unless something is seriously off. Can’t go wrong with avoiding costly penalties (which likely also hurt you mentally for the rest of the hole) and being in a good position into the green.
Scott
May 18, 2017 at 12:12 pm
Agreed. I have never had a great round if my driving was bad.
Gurn
May 16, 2017 at 5:14 pm
95- (GIR *2) = score
Assuming you putt to a Hula hoop distance… NO 3 putts
So 8 GIR is minimum to break 80, 9-11 is a better goal..
4-5 GIR a side is my goal…
Gurn
Adam
May 16, 2017 at 3:56 pm
This matches up with my experience really well. I got down to a single digit handicap after just a few years of playing. From my second season to my third I dropped from a 16 to a shaky 6, and it was almost entirely due to cleaning up mistakes. My ball striking improved just enough that I largely stopped hitting tee shots into the woods/water, and largely stopped duffing iron shots. I still missed half the greens, but I learned how to miss in places where I had relatively straightforward chips. I don’t think I even made more birdies – I just stopped throwing shots away.
Max
May 16, 2017 at 2:39 pm
Nice blueprint. For me, the GIR is definitely the difference for breaking 80 since I count anything withing 6 feet as a gimme. On a good day 7 GIR can get it done, but the more the merrier.
Also, you forgot the number one tip: Play a par 70 course!
Jack
May 16, 2017 at 11:01 pm
Anything within 6 feet as a gimme? Well that’s one way to lower your score lol. Look up the pro averages from 6 feet.
ROY
May 17, 2017 at 11:02 am
Why not move that magic circle back to 10 feet and shoot for breaking 70?? At 15 feet the course record is in danger!!!
Scott
May 18, 2017 at 12:15 pm
HAHAHAHA. 6 foot gimmes! I love it! You turned your course into a par 60 with that method.
Sh
May 16, 2017 at 2:27 pm
Try doing that on a US Open set up. You’d be hard pressed to break 100 this way.
JC
May 16, 2017 at 4:40 pm
When was the last time any of us played on a US open setup, dweeb.
B
May 16, 2017 at 10:03 pm
That’s the point. That this article doesn’t put handicap and slope to the formula because different courses will require different means to break that same 80.
Jack
May 16, 2017 at 11:02 pm
If you can’t break 100 on a US open setup then you shouldn’t be playing on it expecting to score well. What’s your point? Most of us should pick courses that suit our skill level.
DW
May 17, 2017 at 2:55 am
1000 yard Par 3 9-hole courses, then?
birdie
May 16, 2017 at 2:25 pm
Another example of good shot or bad shot…you’re 120yd out, you cold top your approach and it rolls to front of green?
just seems there is a difference in using the above in tracking scoring and tracking actual ball striking or playing level. are we trying to get to a point we’re tracking the quality of shots or simply the outcomes.
BobInNH
Jun 14, 2017 at 9:38 am
“you’re 120yd out, you cold top your approach and it rolls to front of green?”
We call that a “son-in-law” shot. Meaning that, it was not what you expected, but in the end it turned out pretty good!”
dapadre
May 16, 2017 at 2:24 pm
Love love love this!
My pro who also happens to have played pro sports ( NHL) and became scratch himself within 2 years of taking up golf, uses this philosophy and Ive used it to break 80 several times. His approach, cut the game into little strategical pieces based on GIR. 7-10 GIR almost guarantees me I will break 80. I simply focus on the task at hand, hitting the green, INSTEAD of getting to the hole. I know it sounds absurd, but that mental picture is easier.
birdie
May 16, 2017 at 2:22 pm
my only question is regarding tracking errors in driving. is it only based on the outcome of the shot, or the actual shot. if you slice it into an opposing fairway and have a good look at the green, do you count this as an error even though the outcome is very playable.
PSG
May 16, 2017 at 2:10 pm
This is a great format in terms of how to think about how to break 80. I think it is a very thought-provoking article.
My only issue with it is that it is way way too broad, and ignores that each shot influences the next, so it doesn’t actually show you what you need to work on.
For example, you want five one-putts. But practicing putting isn’t the best way to improve your one-putt percentage or number. The best way to get better at putting (And it isn’t close) is to hit the ball closer to the hole. There is no putter on Earth who is worse from 10 feet than the best PGA Tour putter is from 20. “5 one putts” sounds like a putting statistic, but it isn’t. Its an approach statistic. It should be in the approach box, not the putting box. Avoiding 3 putts should be the only thing in the putting category, because it is the only thing that evaluates solely putting skill.
Similarly, “fairways” is meaningless. I can hit the fairway with a pitching wedge. While this is an extreme example, you will always be less accurate the longer you are (i will miss much further 1* open swinging 110 than 90 – the 90 will be a “fairway” in your system, the 110 won’t).
Its the same thing with “chip/pitch” shots. Whats the best way to get up and down more often? And by “best way” I mean “most efficient way to practice”. Its not to hit pitches and chips until your hands bleed, its to improve your approach shots! If you hit one extra green, you can “get up and down” one more time by two-putting instead of pitching/chipping.
This entire article should simply say “practice your driving and your approach shots” because that’s all that matters until you are around scratch. There is no amount of chipping, pitching or putting practice that will make up for hitting it closer and hitting the green more often. None. Zero.
It is always more efficient to improve your putting, pitching and chipping by improving your approach shots. Practicing putting, chipping and pitching is a horrifically inefficient way to break 80 (and this doesn’t even include missing in the right spots – your article treats all missed greens equally, when this couldn’t be further from the truth – missing in the right spot is just as important to pitching and chipping success as technique).
So, great article concept, just too long – you didn’t need to go past driver and approach. The rest doesn’t matter until you get up around scratch.
Please note I DID NOT SAY pitching, chipping and putting don’t matter. I said that practicing them is way less efficient than practicing your full swing and your full swing controls how difficult your putting, chipping and pitching are on the course. Of course practicing them will “help”, but practicing chipping is silly unless your approach shots are around scratch level – you will automatically be better because you’ll hit more greens and have to chip less.
“A Marine and a Navy man are using the restroom. The Marine leaves without washing his hands. The Navy man says “in the navy, they teach us to wash our hands. The marine says “in the marines, they teach us not to piss on our hands. ” Hitting greens is not pissing on your hands.
“32 putts” is meaningless. If I hit it an inch from the hole on every hole I would get 18 putts!!!!! Best putter in the world!!!!!!! Until a certain very high level, the full swing is all that matters.
Brandon
May 16, 2017 at 3:00 pm
Great comment
Iutodd
May 16, 2017 at 5:02 pm
I disagree that tee shots and approach shots are all that matters until you are around scratch. Nor do I think that practicing putting is an inefficient way to practice if you are trying to break 80.
I’m actively trying to break 80 so I feel like I can comment on this with some meaningfulness. I’ve broken 40 for 9 many times but have never been able to put it together.
Because on a par 72 course – getting to 79 means only giving up seven shots to par. Obviously if I hit every fairway and hit every approach shot to an inch I’d break 80. Then I’d have my girlfriend Jennifer Lawrence pick me up from the course in her Ferrari and fly to Vegas for the weekend. Practicing with that goal in mind just has no basis in reality.
Missing fairways and greens are all part of being a golfer. The best golfers in the world miss fairways and greens all the time so it’s quite likely that I’m going to miss just as many, if not more. So in order to only give up seven shots to par you have to be able to limit mistakes in every aspect of your game. So you need to hit about 8 of 14 fairways. You need to hit about 9 of 18 greens. You need to have around 5 one putts and maybe sneak a birdie in there to make up for the inevitable 3 putt or drive that goes awry. When you miss the green you need to be able to get up and down 3 or 4 times out of 9 or 10 greens missed.
The point he is trying to make – and he says it pretty clearly – is that breaking 80 involves EVERY skill you have. You have to drive the ball cleanly, get onto the green and 2 putt. You only have 7 strokes to give up. Yes limiting mistakes off the tee and on your approach is important…but it’s not any more important than chipping and putting well.
I think if you were trying to break 90 focusing just on tee shots and approach shots would make sense. But if you’re trying to break 80? You gotta make putts and you have to score. That means you have to make putts.
Denny Jones
May 16, 2017 at 9:19 pm
+1
TR1PTIK
May 17, 2017 at 8:53 am
Agreed. The one and only time I’ve managed to break 80 I drove the ball decent (only getting into severe trouble on one hole – damn water!), hit 7 greens, pitched/chipped well, and putted slightly better than average (which is about 1.89 putts/hole). Simply put, it took every aspect of my game working together to achieve that feat. Since then, I haven’t been able to sniff 80 because pitching/chipping has been horrible and I haven’t been hitting enough greens. On the rare occasion pitching/chipping has been good, my driving or putting has slipped. You gotta be able to do it all moderately well and manage the course.
PineStreetGolf
May 17, 2017 at 9:19 am
Read the part of my post that said “PLEASE NOTE”.
I’m not saying putting isn’t important. Of course it is. What I’m saying is that no amount of practice with your putter will make you better at putting than hitting the ball five feet closer to the hole. Its not that “putting doesn’t matter” or “putting practice is stupid” its that “the best way to practice putting is to hit it closer”.
There is no better way to get “good” at putting than to make your putts shorter by being better at irons.
Iutodd
May 17, 2017 at 5:19 pm
I just don’t agree. Billy Horschel is T51 in terms of proximity to hole after his approach shots. He averages almost 36 ft! Number 1 is Chez Reavie at 33′. Alex Noren is last at 43′.
The average 10 handicap golfer is probably, what, 50 feet? What does being 5 feet closer to the hole get me?
I don’t think I’d make significantly more putts from 45 feet than from 50 feet – I don’t think anyone would. I make more 5 footers than 10 footers for sure – but THAT is down to chipping and lag putting – not approach shots or tee shots. That is true for pros as well and the statistics bear that out. Even inside 100 yards the average pro hits it to like 15-20 feet.
Bottom line here: 79 is a great score for me – it’s about 6 shots better than my average round of 85 – so it’s like Rickie Fowler shooting a 62. Rickie can’t ball strike his way to a 62 and I can’t ball strike my way to a 79. Gotta make putts and I have to save strokes in all aspects of my game.
wrxer
May 17, 2017 at 5:01 am
@ psg- players who hit their shots 1 inch from the hole struggle for breaking 50 in stead of 80.
Nevertheless your point is clear.
Leezer
May 17, 2017 at 1:59 pm
Sounds like you’re looking for a real plan. Here’s the article from 2012… the links are dead on this site but you can find them by digging a little. http://www.golf.com/instruction/how-break-80-your-six-week-plan-lifetime-low-scores
iShankEveryArticle
May 16, 2017 at 2:10 pm
Great article. A hack like me needs a blueprint for breaking 90 though…
Radim Pavlicek
May 18, 2017 at 3:49 am
No OOB. Simple as that.
Alex
May 16, 2017 at 12:20 pm
What you just described is looking at every shot in a vacuum. Don’t look at the entire round, don’t think about the hole on the score, focus on the task that is immediately at hand. There is no water, there is no green side bunker, the only thing that should be going through your mind is if you hit that 6 iron the way you should, it will go 170, and the rest will take care of itself. Getting to low single digit handicap is entirely mental. Being able to repeat the right mindset over 18 holes is what makes for good scores.
Gareth Roberts
May 16, 2017 at 11:00 am
Hi Peter,
How would you recommend tweaking those numbers to look at shooting low 70’s? (for context I’ve just been cut to 5 and keen to keep getting lower meaning regular rounds in the low 70’s are necessary)
Thanks,
Gareth
Peter Sanders
May 17, 2017 at 8:36 am
Gareth,
Briefly, GIR’s should go up to 11 or 12 and weed out all the errors and short game saves to 50%.
I hope this helps.
Steve Dodds
May 16, 2017 at 10:28 am
I’ve always based it on GIR. If, using your formula, you have 9 GIR, and get up and down on 40% of the greens you miss, that’s 13 pars. That gives you an 8 shot buffer for the other five holes. So you can have 3 bogeys and two doubles.
First time I broke 80 I had a couple of birdies which made up for the triple I had on the last as I limped over the line.
Peter
May 16, 2017 at 10:42 am
Thanks Steve,
Yes, birdies provide a nice cushion. Bear in mind, those 9 GIR’s are only pars if followed by 2-Putts. Also, the errors sited tend to result in bogeys or worse unless followed by 1-Putts. It is a complicated puzzle.
BobInNH
Jun 14, 2017 at 9:41 am
Seven shot buffer, not eight.