What ALWAYS and NEVER to do to break 80.

[Birdieputt]

Yes, I like this one, too.

Driver #2 at 44 inches is in play for a reason.

GIR is my mantra - getting there starts with being in the fairway or just off the green.

Then learn how to read a green and how to putt.

I have long thought the most important stat in golf is GIR.

 

[Nate<80]

another thread on 65 foot putts got me thinking. Center of the green makes great sense on smaller greens but on huge ones setup for tournament golf, it might leave you a testy 100ft putt across three levels for bird. a three putt from there might be a good effort. That said, aiming for a 10ft landing area from 150 yards does not make any sense for a high handi either.

as someone who on any given day could be -1 after 4 holes and end up with an 85 for the day, i will share what I need to do better to get under 80 more consistantly

1- Eliminate the 4-8 really bad shots. These are most commonly getting excited on an approach wedge and hitting fat and advancing the ball 50 yards on a 100 yard pitch. In short, I revert to the golfer I was 30 years ago.
2- Make all the 3 & 4 foot putts. I play on fast greens and struggle at times to start the ball online on very small swings
3- Leave the ball in better places when I miss. I know this specifically is frequently root cause of the 8 on a par 4. But this is hard to fix. My swing is far from perfect and being 25 foot right of pin on some holes puts me in near impossible spots

This is a good point. I do think aiming at the pin is a good idea on massive greens. I mean for us mortals, 60-100 footers are almost automatic three jacks.

 

[MGoBlue]

ALWAYS make committed swings to conservative targets, and NEVER follow one mistake with another.

 

[Nate<80]

ALWAYS make committed swings to conservative targets, and NEVER follow one mistake with another.

LOVE the second part. If I hit into the trees off the tee or duff it, I always try to tell myself, no more mistakes on this hole.

 

[David7]

I feel like I just got Rick rolled.

 

[greenOak]

I think most people severely underestimate how good you have to be to stop aiming at the center of the green. I know that I can still miss up to 15-20 yards right/left from 100 yards and that part of my game grades out as about average for my skill level (high single digits). With that level of dispersion, aiming at the center of the green is going to be the prudent play the majority of the time. I'd guess you'd have to be in the low single digits before it start making sense getting more aggressive (still doesn't mean aiming directly at the flag) from 100 out. Most amateurs should only be aiming away from the center of the green if there is a hazard on one side of the green but not the other. Note that depending on the pin placement this might mean aiming even further away from the flag.

I don't even take direct aim from 30-40 yards out if the pin is tucked (though I don't aim center of the green either).

Also, quit aiming at the center of the fairway. If there's OB left and miles of room right, aim sufficiently far right so you almost never hit it OB left - if that location is in the right rough aim there. You'll severely reduce penalties, and you'll probably be surprised that you more or less end up hitting the same number of fairways.

 

[Jason89er]

Funny story that is so relevant to this…
Right when the pandemic broke out a course near me removed all the flags. The holes were there but in most cases due to this layout you could not really see where they were. So we had no choice but to aim at the center or easiest to hit part and hope that the flag was on that side. Tees we played weren’t terribly long. Was just under 6200. Par 72. I hit 12 GIRs that round enroute to a personal best at the time 81. Which included a double on a miss hit approach which I put in the water. The next week the course instructed everyone to leave the pins in and they put a section of pool noddle at the bottom. However this was quite insightful and is amazingly hard to replicate in your mind when the flags are there. It’s very difficult for them not to influence your shot. But if you can it pays off. At least it did for me.

 

[hadi05]

Always focus on the shot in front of you only. Never ever let negativity get the best of you..