Breaking 80

Hijpo

I broke 80 once in a casual round, 78 on a 133 slope.

Other than that I'm constantly shooting 90 but when I break 90 im in the low 80s. I compound errors and my putting should/could be better. To paint a picture I shot 82 recently which consisted of 3 birds, 6 pars, 5 bogies and 4 double bogies.

Extremely frustrating. I use a hybrid or 5i off the tee all the time because driver is too erratic, even after lessons and practice.

con___manx1

I had an 83 this year. I was 10 over for the front 9. 3 birdies in the round off the back sticks. Three 3 putts in that round aswell.

Ivefoundgod

Have broken 80 3 times in the last couple of years since i got back playing but on a par 70. Have a 78, 79 and 77 but the 77 was off the whites rather than the more difficult blues that the other 2 were off. I should have broken it two other times this summer but completely bottled it, was -3 through 5 holes and contrived to shoot 81, -2 through 5 another day and shot 80. The front 9 is tougher than the back on my home course generally and whats notable about all the times i've broken 80 has been the a better than normal front 9 followed by a good back 9. I've shot +1 on the back 9 plenty of times at various points but usually its after ruining the card on the front 9 so its irrelevant.

I notice comments about birdies vs double bogies and my experience is similar but the other way, if i have more pars than bogies i'll break 80 or very close to it. Main difference looking at arccos is a few up and downs and the odd birdie. If the putter is hot for me and i'm in play i'll usually score, if i'm struggling off the tee and putter is cold i won't. Another thing based off my game is I think i'd rather another couple of par 5s on my course to get it to par 72 as i can reach both par 5s fairly comfortably in 2 with a good drive which gives me an advantage against the shorter hitters. Have had some near misses to break 80 on par 72s where i think if i'd known the course i'd have managed it easily enough. I'm a very patchy player though, my lack of consistency drives me crazy but i assume most golfers are the same!

joebloggs32

My home club is par 70 and i play handicap index is 6.3 so id often break 80, with my lowest at 73.

A few times I have gone out and just played 9 holes under par in the winter with placing and forward tees

However i was playing Lahinch this year and i shot 80 with two double bogeys on 14 and 15, each one i got stuck in a bunker and took two to get out. Its still bugging me now just thinking of it.

coillcam

Shot 86 off whites over the weekend in a major rd1. I lost a ball wildly off the tee and missed three putts inside 4ft. I also thinned one over the green from 80 yards and doubled that hole when generally I'm a decent wedge player for my hc. It's very frustrating but at the same time I know I'm not that good of a golfer, nor am I entitled to be able to post that low score I desire. Ultimately those mistakes/inconsistencies are what has plateauing me in the mid-80s at the moment. I'm 100% certain there's an 80-82 in me before the end of the year with a bit of luck. Maintaining that level and trying to shave the further couple of strokes will be the tough part. Another thing I'm trying to do more often is pairing up with single-digit players. Sponging by watching their play and discussing how they approach various spots.

willabur

I play on a par 66 course. So breaking 80 is pure handy

blue note

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119665511#Comment_119665511

No it's not :(

FixdePitchmark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119665511#Comment_119665511

Had a 69 there , unbelievably better achievement of breaking 80 anywhere else in my world....

paulos53

Our club competition yesterday was a 4ball off the back tees. Due to late withdrawals myself and my playing partner were left in a 2ball so we decided to enter a general play score for our handicaps.

We knew it would be a slow round so there was no point in moving up to the white tees. So we set up ourselves up for a long slog from the back tees with no run on the fairways. My hybrids and fairways woods never got used so much but luckily my long game was behaving itself on the day.

I reached the final tee on +7 knowing that I needed par on the final hole for a 79. A tough prospect on a 473 yard par 4. I hit a driver and 3 wood about as well as I could and left myself a 40 yard chip. Luckily I managed to hit it to 5 feet and hole the putt.

Factoring in how long the course was playing, I would have to rate that as one of my best rounds in a very long time. Just a pity it wasn't a competition round as it would have been a banker for a prize.

11 FIR

7 GIR

28 putts

1 birdie

10 pars

6 bogeys

1 double

redzerdrog

hcap index is 10.2 and I have never broken 80 in competition.

Had a 8ft putt lip out on the 18th a couple of weeks ago to not only achieve this but also a level par back 9 for first time ever. Still sick over it.

But I will be back here in a few week to tell you all I done it!!!!

coillcam

Where is the Par 66, is that Corballis? I recall someone mentioning it has a shortened layout or is being reworked.

@paulos53 - savage shooting wp. That's a monster par 4 any time of the year.

Rikand

@paulos53 - Fairplay to you man. Sounds like you've put on some distance from the last time we played together, but the 40 yard chip to 5 feet is something you've always had in the locker. A legend with the shorter sticks in your hand!

willabur

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119665521#Comment_119665521

sorry dude, saw your post on the dedicated thread there... This wasn't a dig!!

phelimb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119654459#Comment_119654459

Kinda similar for me - will consistently hit 6/7 pars and similar number of bogeys but a couple of doubles always sneak in and push me over 80. (HI 8.7 and home course is par 72). Don't get enough birdies to offset the doubles.

Last 'good' round was level par after 5 but then +5 after 8...finished +10. Such an annoying game!!!

Motivator

The magic run ended on Sunday, finished with an 80. My last 72 holes I’ve had 3 rounds in the 70s and an 80. Sunday was actually a good 80 as I was +9 after 8 and wrestled the round back to go level par for the remaining 10 holes. One stupid double bogey on the front 9 annoyed me and I’m surprised I settled down after it. Played some really poor golf on the front and played very well on the back 9. It’s a terrible time of year to be hitting decent form as I’m restricted to weekend golf only now and pretty soon the weather will potentially turn that into golf every second or third weekend.

I know a few have mentioned the double bogeys are the killers and yes they absolutely are, but they’re so preventable. I watched one of my playing partners take on stupid shots to get himself out of trouble. Shots he had no chance of pulling off. I’ve only recently rid myself of those kind of decisions but I was doing it for years. I hit the ball long enough to be able to chip out sideways from trees on a par 4 that if I do have 200 yards into the green I’m still hitting an iron and I’m still giving myself a chance of a 4 and I always think to myself the worst I can take here is a 5. Once I have that mindset I feel it helps me. Lads saying to themselves “oh that’s a scratch now” if they hit a bad shot annoy me. It’s one shot, take your medicine and back yourself to get out of jail. There’s an old guy that plays in our club, he’s a super golfer and if he’s not comfortable standing over a shot or he needs to get himself out of trouble, he’ll aim at any bunker within 20 yards of the green and he’ll back himself to get up an down. He’s a tremendous bunker player and purposely plays for bunkers on some holes as he’d rather a bunker shot than a chip from off the green in heavy rough. The amount of times I’ve seen him get up & down out of sand is unbelievable. But that’s his strategy to avoid bad scores on holes, he puts himself back in position to where he feels comfortable. If players can get into that frame of mind then they’ll start improving. One of the par 5s on our course is reachable in 2 for me but I rarely take it on anymore, there’s too much danger. I realised I can take a 6 or 7 iron for my second shot and leave myself the perfect yardage for a 3rd shot in that I’m really comfortable playing. If I leave myself 80 - 95 yards from the flag I back myself that I’ll make birdie more often than not. I’m learning to play smarter golf and course management is king when it comes to lowering the handicap and getting good scores in.

The Big Easy

Have never broken 80, think 83 might be my best score, had that a couple of times and plenty of other mid 80s rounds, have had a few in the 100s recently too.

I've been watching a lot of golf sidekick (waddaplaya), probably a marmite dude, but if you get past the schtick, he talks quite a bit of sense.

I think just by course management I could almost break 80, have to tidy up the short game obviously to make it happen. He has a 6, 6, 6, process for breaking 80. 6 up and downs, 6 GIRs and 6 other.

I had 4 up and downs and 4 GIRs in my last round, which I was quite pleased with, I could often enough 7/8/9 GIRs so I know where I need to pick up the shots.

One of his others things is: "there are no hero shots only stupid shots", and that mantra alone will lower my scores significantly

willabur

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119666012#Comment_119666012

what would you regard as the equivalent of breaking 80 around corballis?

+7 (73) as per par 72 as each hole is its own unique challenge or should it be pro rata like (79/72)*66= 72

FixdePitchmark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119679191#Comment_119679191

Sounds about right .

But Corballis is very short .

Could work out by slopes / new data from WHS

paulos53

I just realised that it is highly likely that I have never broken 80 on an Irish links. I don't play much links golf but this will have to be a new target for me.

slingerz

ive broken 80 on my home course, a par 71, a number of times mostly a 77/78 but best being a 74. Shot 78 on an away course par 72 in a scratch cup once as well

Lately i've consistently shot 83/83, like my record for the past 6 rounds are all those scores. threaten a good score but derailed by a couple of bad holes with doubles/triples.

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119679191#Comment_119679191

There might be an argument to say it could be a bit higher based on the lack of Par 5's?

In that, most guys breaking 80 would tend to capitalise (under par or not lose shots/go over par) on Par 5's and there's only one in Corballis Vs 4 or 5 on the majority of courses.

FixdePitchmark

That is a great point....but the counter point is ...the par 3s are little fuckers ?

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119679674#Comment_119679674

True, the relative shortness of the Par 3's would counter it somewhat. Plenty of danger on the par 3's... but a good (breaking 80) golfer is probably avoiding that more often than not.

willabur

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119679708#Comment_119679708

its the sheer penality of the mistake, Bunker on the right of 4 will ruin more than a good start, it would ruin your day. Any one of the three greenside bunkers on 6 the same

Kiith

I've only broken 80 once, in Tullamore with a 79, about 2-3 years ago. Had an 80 the week before, and thought i'd never do it, but didn't have to wait long. Closest i've come since is an 83 in Ring of Kerry (par73). Was shooting mostly mid 80's at home the last few months, with a few bogey rounds in there.

Going to work hard on my game this winter and try shoot a few more next year though.

token56

I've gone from shooting exclusively in the 90s+ last year and early this year to having 3 of my last 4 rounds being in the 80's, with rounds 85, 84, and 82. A good couple of match plays in between these of a similar level. Big difference this year for me has been my driving, I have managed to add some good length to it a consistent shot shape with a draw (avg of 220 yds to 260yds). Most par 4's now I'm being left with short irons and wedges so if I can tidy that up and start hitting more GIRs I'm very confident I can break the 80. Maybe not this year with the limited playing opportunities but it's the big goal for next year.

almostover

Have broken 80 about 10-15 times but only ever on my home course (par 71). An 82 is the best I've ever shot away from home. I'm a 10 handicap playing golf 3 years after not playing regularly since I was 17. Now 31. Best score is a 74. The key I've learned is double bogey avoidance. Most times I don't shoot any doubles in a round I break 80 or at worst shoot 80-81. That's the key. No OB shots and play for a bogey if you're in trouble.

charlieIRL

Having not broken 90, I’ve shot 4 rounds in the 80’s in my last 5 rounds, practice really paying off now.

Should have got closer to breaking 80 today only for 4 silly 3 putts but my recovery from bad positions and getting up and down a few times kept my score going.

Winter can you go away for another few weeks?!!!