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Breaking 80 or No Double Bogeys - Which is easier?

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greenOak

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Title is self-explanatory. Which do you think is easier?

Based on my experience I have to think breaking 80 is easier. I personally have broken 80 eight times, and have had one double-bogey free round in my life (shot 80). It just seems so ridiculously easy to make a double bogey - a drive OB basically guarantees it, a drive into a penalty / recovery situation basically means you have to play the rest of the hole like par to not make double, a missed green + a 3 putt means a double bogey, etc. At least with breaking 80 you can fluke a number of birdies to compensate for bad holes. I for one have never broken 80 without a birdie, and most of my sub 80 rounds have multiple birdies.
 
I would say breaking 80. That being said I have broken 80 several times with a double bogey (only 1 though) on the scorecard.
 
For a wild man like me, breaking 80 is infinitely easier than going double bogey free. About my only chance of going double bogey free is playing a sub 6k yard course and hitting nothing more than a 7i. Even then odds wouldn’t be in my favor.
 
No doubles. Course management can eliminate a lot of them.
 
No Doubles is Easier, hands down.
 
I would also say breaking 80. The course I play the most has lots of knee-high grass just off several fairways. Lots of potential for lost balls and/or one or two shots sideways to get back to the fairway. I shot a 79 today with 4 doubles. It was definitely a feast or famine kind of day.
 
Well, I guess I can use the short course by my house which is probably the only one I have a realistic shot at breaking 80 on. That course is extremely tight on the front 9, and there are a couple holes that being out of position on can really turn into carnage. On that one I'd say breaking 80 is easier than avoiding doubles.

On a fairly wide open course though, I think avoiding doubles is easier. Shot a really good score for me on an easier course on the South of the island a few weeks ago and not carding anything worse than bogey was huge. Still didn't break 80 but was probably the only round ever for me not having anything worse than bogey.

Guess after that ramble... it's a little course dependent?
 
I want to say no doubles is easier. Keep the ball in front of you, and have your short game up to avoiding my worst enemy, chipping on and still 3-putting.
 
greenOak said:
Title is self-explanatory. Which do you think is easier?
Click to expand...

On a par 72 course no double bogeys is easier to achieve than breaking 80.
 
I'm going to go with breaking 80 on this one. Though in general they kind of co-vary for me. Eliminating doubles is one of the keys to scoring for sure. It kind of depends on the kind of course you play, double are a lot easier to avoid when there is no water or OB. On a harder course with lots of hazards, you can still break 80 with a loose double or two.
 
Id say no doubles. You can pretty easily eliminate them if you hit a hybrid or long iron off the tee and hit the ball fairly straight. I feel like breaking 80 and avoiding doubles kind of goes hand in hand.
I started breaking 80 pretty regularly when I learned to keep the driver in the bag when I just didnt have it and hit a hybrid or FW off the tee and learned how to eliminate penalty strokes. Penalty strokes are a killer.
 
Course dependent but no doubles is probably a little easier. Now on the other side of the argument breaking par is way way easier than no bogies, Doubles can be course management as long as you stay away from OB double crosses. Be right back will count my stats and see.
 
Nope breaking 80 is easier it turns out. I have 413 rounds on the grint and 269 are below 80 while 159 are double bogey free.
 
ntanygd760 said:
Nope breaking 80 is easier it turns out. I have 413 rounds on the grint and 269 are below 80 while 159 are double bogey free.
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Those are some great numbers!
 
For a guy with my age and ability, these are pretty much both impossibilities. For you single digit handicappers, 80 is easy, for us double digit guys, it might be easier to have a double free round.
 
No doubles for me. Have achieved it more often than breaking 80.


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For me it’s breaking 80 but for many I’m guessing the no doubles might be. I had two doubles my last round and broke 80.
 
olperfesser said:
For a guy with my age and ability, these are pretty much both impossibilities. For you single digit handicappers, 80 is easy, for us double digit guys, it might be easier to have a double free round.
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I agree with you. As someone who has had a handicap between 11 and 18 for the last 30 years, I have found it easier to avoid doubles than to break 80.
 
Smiter said:
For a wild man like me, breaking 80 is infinitely easier than going double bogey free. About my only chance of going double bogey free is playing a sub 6k yard course and hitting nothing more than a 7i. Even then odds wouldn’t be in my favor.
Click to expand...

Lol this sounds like me. I'm virtually guaranteed to make a double bogey on any course that isn't wide open. Even hitting 4 iron on every tee, it's almost certain one of them will still find trouble. I have two (found another since I posted the OP) that are double bogey free, and both are on the same course - 6500 yards, every hole is either wide open or at least wide open on one side.

I can't get on board with doubles being avoidable simply through good strategy - maybe for straighter hitters, but not for me. I'll hit a 4 iron 30+ yards offline one time in ten (probably more actually), and there are a lot of holes where if you miss 30 yards to either side you're completely screwed.
 
It's probably no double bogeys, although the only time that I haven't had double or worse was the time that I shot 72 (+1).

In addition to that 72, I've had 2 79s (1 quad; 2 doubles) and a 76 (1 3-putt double on 17).
 
Hands down no doubles is easier and it can’t be close.
 
olperfesser said:
For a guy with my age and ability, these are pretty much both impossibilities. For you single digit handicappers, 80 is easy, for us double digit guys, it might be easier to have a double free round.
Click to expand...
No way. I'm playing at ~-12 right now. I've broken 80 twice recently, but I couldn't tell you when the last time I had a round with no doubles (or worse). I actually alot 75 with a double on 1 and a 79 with a double AND a triple.

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Golf Ghost said:
No doubles for me. Have achieved it more often than breaking 80.


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Click to expand...
Really? That's very tough to believe.

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I have 170 rounds in GolfPad now. Two under 80 and 0 with no doubles or worse. No doubles is definitely harder unless you're just really consistent par/bogey.

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