How To Break 80: Here’s Our Ultimate Step-By-Step Process​

Presumably, one of the most demanding barriers in the game of golf is referred to as Breaking 80. Adequate skill, hard work, and brain is required for getting over the final hurdle.

For many golfers this is like a ‘final frontier’ and I am here to help you out by discussing about the parts of your game that need to be improved or transformed for consistently breaking 80.

I completely agree with one thing as mentioned in the popular book called “The Modern Fundamentals of Golf” – every golfer has the potential to break 80. Though, it may not be easy but once you set your sights on some targets then you will surely be able to effectuate.

As you will read below, the many myths that prevail about breaking 80 will also be dismissed.

If I talk about my career, it has been all about breaking 80. Over 95% of the rounds I play, I shoot in the 70s and you won’t believe this took me about 15 years or so for this.

What my entire journey has been like, playing by myself or watching the other golfers…..I want to honestly share today.

Breaking 80 – The Complete Guide

Misconceptions or Myths

Some things I would surely like to clarify prior to setting up a journey to breaking 80.

You don’t need to all this for consistently breaking 80:

• Making several birdies – if at all
• Hitting a bunch of fairways – missing more than half of them is just fine
• You can hit a ton of greens (average as little as 6-7 around)
• Drain the putts from over – 10 feet

The breaking 80 is not something that is perceived by all golfers. This is not just about firing pins and making birdie putts right and left. This is generally about removing the big mistakes and ensuring that some parts of your game are good enough to be carried around.

According to my viewpoint, the following are the major things:

• Keeping your tee shots in play
• Refraining from three putts
• Hitting enough to make pars
• Having a practical short game

Normally, on most of the courses, 7-bogeys can be made by you and still you can break 80. This could turn out to be infinitely harder, if you keep on making double or triple bogeys.

It is all about steadiness in golf and not golfing greatness.

Breaking 80 VS. Breaking 90 VS. Breaking 100.

This all depends on your game and where it actually is right now. You may be quite close to breaking 80. Right now if you are shooting in your 90s or 100s then also with some alterations with your course strategy and your practice you can change everything.

Every golfer wants to gets better day by day, shot by shot.

First barrier is breaking 100, then breaking 90, next breaking 80, and lastly going lower by shooting the 79.

All You Need To Do To Break 80

I have been a part of many golfers who are capable enough of breaking 80 on any day. Watching others and on the basis of my personal experience, I want to share with you a few things.

Either you be skilled in all parts of the game or just excel at one part.

What Does This Mean?

Predominantly, it all comes down to the way you strike your ball and with your wedges and putter how you score inside 100 yards.

Even the ones who have comparatively below average wedge and putter play are also able to manage to break 80.

On the contrary, I have witnessed golfers who do not have an extraordinary distance or hit several greens yet they manage to save par numerous times and calling them magicians is just apt.

You can also be a good golfer using a wedge and putter and also managing decent ball strikes.

I want to focus on one point out here that you will have to hit somewhere between 6-9 greens in regulation per-round at minimum.

You see yourself at the lower end of the extent, then give more practice for improving your swing or make commitments for improving your short game.

Focus on hitting as many greens as possible if you want a long-standing success and feel like breaking 80 at a normal occurrence.

What Direction You Should Follow?

As I have mentioned above also that if you seriously want to break 80 then improving ball striking plays a major role along with hitting a ton of greens.
You must be thinking, it is easier said than done.

And you are not wrong at this point as accomplishing your target will be pretty harder than it sounds. Furthermore, this could be time-consuming too.
I will rather say it again…..

Every golfer on earth possesses the desired abilities to improve their performance inside 100-yards using their wedges and putter. But not everyone has the quality to improve their ball striking.

So, here is the point where you will decide that breaking 80 is your goal.

Currently, where your ball strikes, and how many greens are you hitting on a consistent basis is what should be noted.

Can you spare all the time to work on your swing and improve that number, radically?

Think about your short game then.

When you miss the greens then how often you save par?

Ascertaining What The Low Hanging Fruit Is?

Finding out which part of your game lacks is what should be focussed.

This will let you achieve better rather than just the marginal improvements.

Let me offer you an example here:

If you are currently hitting 7 greens per-round (on average) then be clear to yourself. Improving your swing may be away from your reach as you are short of time.

If you are three putting 4-times on an average basis then for par you are getting only 15% of the time.

Without a big time commitment, you can drastically improve numbers if you aim at improving your wedge play along with working on your speed-control on the greens.

Analyse your stats, plan accordingly, and move towards improvement.

Cannot ignore the ball striking….

Ball Striking

Seamlessly intricate is the golf swing and there could be no proper diagnosis as to what is holding back the swing from delivering consistent results.

Two big ideas for all golfers for being more consistent off the tee and hit more greens:

1. Impact Location

All the golf players should be well aware that their aptness in very much concerned with their impact location. Striking the ball close enough to the sweet spot is an exceedingly essential skill.

A drill from Adam Young- Practical Golf Insider Library. I recommend this one if you actually want your ball strike to improve.

2. Balance and tempo

This is another elemental aspect that every golfer should work on to break 80. Though you should not copy a pro golfer swing in the same manner but you will notice that every golfer on the tour have a flawless balance. They also repeat their swing tempo almost in the similar pattern every time.

Short Game

The capability to score 100-yards using your wedges and putter is another major step in support of breaking 80.

Dramatic results can be witnessed by the players if they give more time especially to this part of the game.

Few ideas to work on your short game.

1. Play Games

Many of the golf players do not enjoy while using their and wedges and putter for practice. In case they do then they are resorting to monotonous routines and are unable to stimulate what a real golf round is like.

Exactly here it is where your practice sessions become more interesting and you get to learn skills that can be transferred over the course.

If you want to have a flow of some competitive juices then try to play Par 18, and this probably the best game you can play.

2. Get The Basic Shots Down

Proper guidance on working on the techniques for various shots around the green may not be available to many of the golfers. Some videos of Brandon Stooksbury – short game expert I am sharing here for you.

He has also been freshly named as one of the best teacher of Golf Digest under 40 yrs.

Standard Bunker Shot

20-40 Yard Pitch Shot

The Bump And Run

The Mental Game

Certainly we cannot forget the mental game and the strategy needed. Several golfers possess the tools for breaking 80 from a physical-standpoint but their mind may hold them back. Why I am saying this as in my case I experienced that I could not break 80 till I caught up with my body.

I strongly believe and recommend that the top most players should keep a clear head prior to each shot and make a smart decision.

It’s going to be seriously difficult during your rounds at some point and this happens to all golfers irrespective of their scoring abilities. All those who can prevent small mistakes and can focus properly will always be in a position to shoot lower scores.

This becomes very important if you are breaking 80 than breaking 100 or 90.

Simply, you cannot make double-bogeys due to mental errors. Your mistakes may appear like this:

• You may be going for the green from the somewhere in the middle of the trees as you may be annoyed by your offending tee shot.
• The ball may be buried in the rough and you may have to clear a water menace in the front of green.
• You aim at a pin while it’s tucked somewhere on the side of the green encircled by trouble.

The low-percentage plays and the golfers who lack discipline to play cautiously will fuse their initial wrongs and this is surely going to fill up their score card with double bogeys.

And breaking 80 with those 2-3 double bogeys is something like magic.

Final Thoughts On Breaking 80-

Things are not impossible yet not easy too.

A fairly good ball striker at the minimum is what is required. If you are confident with this part of the game then look for your short game.

As I mentioned above also, you should evaluate your current stats and make a systematic plan to for improving the parts of your golf game. This works as a great tool as to improve your deficient areas.

Minimize mental errors, become a better decision maker on the course and feel the difference!!