What ALWAYS and NEVER to do to break 80.

[Nate<80]

For those who are frustrated with ”blow up” holes, do you find yourselves trying to make a miraculous par and compounding the mistake or are you willing to “take your medicine?”

I think in the past I would get risky and try to make miraculous (dumb) shots. I have changed recently and just try to limit the damage. I always tell myself, "Don't make more than one mistake". If I spray one, try to play smart to find a way to get out with a bogey.

 

[BigMac]

I think in the past I would get risky and try to make miraculous (dumb) shots. I have changed recently and just try to limit the damage. I always tell myself, "Don't make more than one mistake". If I spray one, try to play smart to find a way to get out with a bogey.

I think of it as "Don't follow a bad shot with a stupid shot". Trying that one in a hundred hero shot just leads to more trouble and higher scores most of the time. Feels awesome when you pull it off, but you immediately hate yourself when you don't.

 

[Jimmy3864]

Great tips and if breaking 80 is your goal then I agree that is a solid game plan. But....if I’m inside 120 yds and unless pin is 3 feet from fringe, I’m going straight at it. I’m going for birdies. I agree with his driving approach, it is critical to get good lie from the fairway to get a better chance to hit a quality second shot. For the mid to high handicapper, my experience is the fairway is more important than an extra 10 yards off the tee but in the rough.

 

[Scorp]

That's making an assumption someone is good enough with their game to aim for pins... yes, I know the article's about breaking 80 but still...

 

[Nate<80]

I think of it as "Don't follow a bad shot with a stupid shot". Trying that one in a hundred hero shot just leads to more trouble and higher scores most of the time. Feels awesome when you pull it off, but you immediately hate yourself when you don't.

Oh I have had that feeling of hating myself many a times. That is why I refuse to try to make up for that bad shot. 95% of the time it does not pay off. Good way of looking at it @Snowman

 

[Nate<80]

Great tips and if breaking 80 is your goal then I agree that is a solid game plan. But....if I’m inside 120 yds and unless pin is 3 feet from fringe, I’m going straight at it. I’m going for birdies. I agree with his driving approach, it is critical to get good lie from the fairway to get a better chance to hit a quality second shot. For the mid to high handicapper, my experience is the fairway is more important than an extra 10 yards off the tee but in the rough.

Say you are 120 yds out, the pin is 5 ft from the fringe, and next to that fringe is either water, or a bunker, or a major sloping hill. Are you still attacking the pin? Or are you going for the fat part of the green?

 

[OldandStiff]

It sounds more like a recipe to break 90 to me, but it's sound advice in a general sense. The center of the greens/not at the pins thing kind of drives me bonkers. Take the word 'never' out and I can handle it, but there's countless situations where it's the lower percentage play, even for a mid/high capper.

I think it's more important to learn what the smart and stupid plays are for you. And then play aggressively smart and very selectively stupid.

 

[Nate<80]

It sounds more like a recipe to break 90 to me, but it's sound advice in a general sense. The center of the greens/not at the pins thinks kind of drives me bonkers. Take the word 'never' out and I can handle it, but there's countless situations where it's the lower percentage play, even for a mid/high capper.

I think it's more important to learn what the smart and stupid plays are for you. And then play aggressively smart and very selectively stupid.

I need to get better at differentiating smart and stupid..

 

[OldandStiff]

I need to get better at differentiating smart and stupid..

Don't we all. Every time I think I've got it down I get cocky and compare my wife to my mother out loud try to draw an 8-iron around a tree or something. Life's a learning process..

 

[chile]

I need to get better at differentiating smart and stupid..

for me, I've started to get a feel for my stupid...it usually starts with "that's gonna take an aggressive shot...I can probably make it if I concentrate..." (and in this scenario, there's usually an alternative shot that is exponentially more makeable (but with zero sexiness) to play)...smart usually starts with "put this back into a position to play at the GREEN from..." it used to be stupid won 8/10 times....now it's almost even, stupid is 6/10 and does as it does. but when the 1 shot out of those 6 works, tho…yeah. utter ecstasy. ☄

 

[DaBuckBoys]

Can't say I've seen a pin 3-5 feet from the fringe...

Middle of green isn't always the safest place. Narrow or thin greens with trouble on one side can make the middle closer to trouble than the side away from trouble. Now if the pin is on the side of the trouble then you have a choice to make.

My best rounds have almost always been solid on the par 3's, like even or +1 or +2

 

[MattyD-MPLS]

I would revise “Never aim at pins” to “Make an agressive, focused swing to a conservative target.”
Sometimes the pin can be a conservative target.

Or just a target in general. It doesn’t even have to be conservative. Commit to something.

 

[DNice26]

Or just a target in general. It doesn’t even have to be conservative. Commit to something.

Yeah, sadly some guys I’ve played with don’t realize they’ve committed to the water hazard! Lol...

 

[Nate<80]

for me, I've started to get a feel for my stupid...it usually starts with "that's gonna take an aggressive shot...I can probably make it if I concentrate..." (and in this scenario, there's usually an alternative shot that is exponentially more makeable (but with zero sexiness) to play)...smart usually starts with "put this back into a position to play at the GREEN from..." it used to be stupid won 8/10 times....now it's almost even, stupid is 6/10 and does as it does. but when the 1 shot out of those 6 works, tho…yeah. utter ecstasy. ☄

Great points. I think some players want that ecstasy so bad that they believe it is worth the risk, and I used to fall into this trap. I would say I am to the point where I am 2/10 stupid, and 8/10 smart.

 

[Nate<80]

Can't say I've seen a pin 3-5 feet from the fringe...

Middle of green isn't always the safest place. Narrow or thin greens with trouble on one side can make the middle closer to trouble than the side away from trouble. Now if the pin is on the side of the trouble then you have a choice to make.

My best rounds have almost always been solid on the par 3's, like even or +1 or +2

I would agree to that regarding Par 3's. When my par 3's are hot, I am in a great position. It is my biggest struggle.

 

[Qwkz51]

I have hit 80 several times and just a few blow up holes have prevented me from breaking that threshold. I know the main reason is course management, bad decisions. I will get there eventually though!

 

[pattyboy21]

Another thought process I used to have is that if I par two out of every three holes, I shoot 78. Thus, hit one third of the greens, get up and down half the time and avoid three putts and you break 80. That always sounded doable to me. Avoiding double bogey is so crucial.

I used to do something similar when I was first playing in Jr. High and trying to break 80 consistently. I would play 6 X 3-hole mini-rounds and have a goal of +1 over each 3 hole set; that would be a 78 on a par-72 course. The best part is that I could start off hot with a birdie or two, and then be far more relaxed during the subsequent 3-hole sets. If I started off poorly, I felt that I always had more 3-hole sets to make it up.

This also helped when I was going for my record bests - instead of getting ahead of myself and thinking of the possible low score, I'd just keep focused on 3 holes at a time. I'd recommend this to anyone that wants to break 80 consistently.

 

[Nate<80]

I have hit 80 several times and just a few blow up holes have prevented me from breaking that threshold. I know the main reason is course management, bad decisions. I will get there eventually though!

I am seeing a few 78 and 79's in your future, love the positivity.

 

[Nate<80]

I used to do something similar when I was first playing in Jr. High and trying to break 80 consistently. I would play 6 X 3-hole mini-rounds and have a goal of +1 over each 3 hole set; that would be a 78 on a par-72 course. The best part is that I could start off hot with a birdie or two, and then be far more relaxed during the subsequent 3-hole sets. If I started off poorly, I felt that I always had more 3-hole sets to make it up.

This also helped when I was going for my record bests - instead of getting ahead of myself and thinking of the possible low score, I'd just keep focused on 3 holes at a time. I'd recommend this to anyone that wants to break 80 consistently.

I would never have thought to look at it this way. I find myself adding up the scorecard throughout the round and seeing what I could potentially shoot if I par out.. Feels like a bad habit, and probably puts unnecessary pressure on myself. Maybe I will try breaking it up into these three hole sections

 

[Ft Worth Golfer]

I read this article a couple of days ago and thought his advice was meh. As someone who has been living in the 80's for the last 3 years I've discovered if I minimize 3 putts and penalty strokes I break 90 every time with a chance to break 80. For me that means swinging driver off the tee box less (tee box is 99% of my penalty strokes) and practicing putting more.

 

[Nate<80]

Really enjoyed this interview from yesterday with Brooks by his coach Claude Harmon. Something that stood out that brought me back to this thread...

28:50:

Claude: How many pins are you actually going at?
Brooks: Not many. 3 or 4 maybe.

 

[Tenputt]

It sounds more like a recipe to break 90 to me, but it's sound advice in a general sense. The center of the greens/not at the pins thing kind of drives me bonkers. Take the word 'never' out and I can handle it, but there's countless situations where it's the lower percentage play, even for a mid/high capper.

I think it's more important to learn what the smart and stupid plays are for you. And then play aggressively smart and very selectively stupid.

This is such great advice. Whenever I see “always” and “never,” my red flag antennae are up. Just the slope of a green can change the risk/reward regarding where is the safe target. Our own strengths and weaknesses can dictate the “safe” play.

 

[Nate<80]

This is such great advice. Whenever I see “always” and “never,” my red flag antennae are up. Just the slope of a green can change the risk/reward regarding where is the safe target. Our own strengths and weaknesses can dictate the “safe” play.

Amen to this

"Our own strengths and weaknesses can dictate the “safe” play."

 

[Tread23]

I should really play a round where I don’t aim at pins and see what happens. Would be interesting to see if it lowered my score.

 

[Nate<80]

I should really play a round where I don’t aim at pins and see what happens. Would be interesting to see if it lowered my score.

That is my plan next time I go out