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Breaking 90 - the "easiest" way?


Z1ggy16

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3 putt avoidance is just a mindset change. The thing to remember is that 3 putts are caused by the 1st putt, not the 2nd putt.

Statistics also show that 3-putts are often caused by the shot that hits the green. Even at the PGA level, a player will 3-putt from 50 feet more often than he 1-putts. For the group of players who are trying to break 90, this primarily means they need to hit the green with chips, and get it semi-close. I don't mean inside 6 feet, I mean inside 20 or 25 feet, where a 2-putt is a pretty likely outcome. If that player hits the green in regulation, but is 50 feet away, a 3-putt still means bogey, not a bad outcome. But if a chip ends up 50 feet away, that's a big problem.

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The issue with breaking 90 by halving x2 is that once you do break 90, that's pretty much the ceiling for this approach. So, you've broken 90 for the vanity of breaking 90. Your game off of the tee will still have serious issues if you can't hit the ball further than halving the distance from tee to green. You're going to have to deal with this sooner or later if you have any aspirations of playing single digit golf, so better to deal with it sooner unless breaking 90 is the pinnacle of your golfing career.

 

Before the "what's wrong with breaking 90" crew gets all salty, it certainly is an accomplishment. However, once you break 90, everyone wants to break 80 and you're going to have to get the ball closer to the green with your tee shot if you ever hope to do that.

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3 putt avoidance is just a mindset change. The thing to remember is that 3 putts are caused by the 1st putt, not the 2nd putt.

Statistics also show that 3-putts are often caused by the shot that hits the green. Even at the PGA level, a player will 3-putt from 50 feet more often than he 1-putts. For the group of players who are trying to break 90, this primarily means they need to hit the green with chips, and get it semi-close. I don't mean inside 6 feet, I mean inside 20 or 25 feet, where a 2-putt is a pretty likely outcome. If that player hits the green in regulation, but is 50 feet away, a 3-putt still means bogey, not a bad outcome. But if a chip ends up 50 feet away, that's a big problem.

 

Absolutely... in general the higher the number of GIR's, the higher number of long lag putts (and subsequent 3 putts), but still generally with a lower total score. Most courses won't have a ton of pin locations that will allow you to have 50 foot putts.

 

When I mentioned a mindset change, it's setting a different goal and being satisfied with a different outcome. Making the putt is not the measure of success from 20+ feet. Getting the speed right and getting the line close to right is a successful putt from that distance.

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The issue with breaking 90 by halving x2 is that once you do break 90, that's pretty much the ceiling for this approach. So, you've broken 90 for the vanity of breaking 90. Your game off of the tee will still have serious issues if you can't hit the ball further than halving the distance from tee to green. You're going to have to deal with this sooner or later if you have any aspirations of playing single digit golf, so better to deal with it sooner unless breaking 90 is the pinnacle of your golfing career.

 

Before the "what's wrong with breaking 90" crew gets all salty, it certainly is an accomplishment. However, once you break 90, everyone wants to break 80 and you're going to have to get the ball closer to the green with your tee shot if you ever hope to do that.

 

While what you say is absolutely true, the topic started "breaking 90". Breaking 90 on a regular basis is a pretty good score as far as the average golfer goes.

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No, this seems like you are training yourself to play golf in a overly conservative way that will never allow you to improve. Also there are many par 4's that you need to carry the ball a significant way to the fairway. What happens if you mis hit one of these shots, or 3 putt, or miss the green on your approach.

 

Course management is a great way to shoot lower scores but this seems ill conceived. I know plenty of people, who if I caddied for them I could knock 5-10 strokes off their game, but this is NOT how I would approach most holes.

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No, this seems like you are training yourself to play golf in a overly conservative way that will never allow you to improve. Also there are many par 4's that you need to carry the ball a significant way to the fairway. What happens if you mis hit one of these shots, or 3 putt, or miss the green on your approach.

 

Course management is a great way to shoot lower scores but this seems ill conceived. I know plenty of people, who if I caddied for them I could knock 5-10 strokes off their game, but this is NOT how I would approach most holes.

 

We will have to agree to disagree. I'm sure a good golfer would not manage the course the way I do. When I started playing someone much better than I told me, "golf is a game of choices". Seems to me, at any level, that holds true. I started golfing at age 57 and have never been an athlete. The chances of becoming a scratch golfer are not even in my mind let alone feasible in reality.

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The approach suggested in the OP may provide some success for those who are still trying to break 100, but although being conservative off of the tee, will often leave the typical high handicapper with a difficult second shot.

 

First off, put in enough range time so that you know which clubs you are able to control both distance and accuracy to a reasonable degree.

The driver isn't always the problem. If you are chunking or topping irons from the fairway, experiment with more hybrids. Knowing your weaknesses is vital if you are serious about improving.

 

When teeing it up, move ahead so that you are at 6000 yards or less. If your group are long hitters, also go out with someone who isn't but has a keen short game and see how your rounds compare.

 

Breaking 90 requires a lot of work for some, but once you have done it once, you should be able to do it a few times a year, depending on how often you golf. Each milestone you achieve as you go lower will be more difficult to repeat.

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The irony in most of these posts is that most of the posts are penned by guys that broke 90 a long time ago and have forgotten what it's like to be a 26hcp. Playing conservative and avoiding trouble sounds so simple but for someone that shoots 100+ it isn't that easy. For that person, a topped tee shot could happen with a driver or a 7 iron. For a low handicap, of course hitting 7i, 7i into a par 4 eliminates the risk of a penalty, not necessarily the case for a high hcp. The way to brake 90 is the same as it's always been. Play, practice, and learn as much as you can and it will just happen. Don't neglect any part of the game because there's a theoretical shortcut to breaking 90. With enough practice and experience it will happen, and then the goal post moves to the next barrier to cross. That's why we all love this game.

 

I couldn't agree more. I'm a 21 HC, and whenever I play in my father's member-guest, the other older guys start calling BS on me when I open up with a 260yd drive straight down the middle followed by a great 150yd approach shot to stick it on the green. Yes, if I could do that every hole, I would easily break 90. The truth is, though, that I will inevitably mess up a few shots. An open face on an iron here, a raised head on a wedge there, and all of the sudden I've added a snowman to my score and I'm going to have to string together three pars in a row to catch up. I know the answer to breaking 90 for me is simply practice both at the range and on the course. The greatest obstacle to me breaking 90 are my 3yo and 5yo sons.

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If you're looking for the "easiest" way to do anything in golf, you probably need to find a new hobby.

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Today I had a perfect example of how I have been changing the way I manage the course. Hole 18 par 4, 365 yards to the center where the pin is. After duffing my tee shot 110 yards I have 255 to go. Experience tells me I cannot make it to the green with my next shot so it will be two shots no matter what. I could hit a 4 iron around 180 and and have 75 yards to go. 75 yards is not one of my best shots, although with taking lessons and practice I am working on it. Based on my know ability, two 9 iron shots at 130 each will get me to the back of the green for a chance at par but most likely two putt for bogey. So I split the 255 with the nine and two putt and card the bogey.

 

Before watching the videos that I am talking about, I would have went with the 4 iron/180 yard or even worse attempted 3 wood off the deck for a very hopeful 190+. Where would that have got me? It is still two shots after the duffed tee shot. Seems to me the best chance is to break it in two even shots with the same club that I have confidence in. That is how the breaking 90 vid has given me a new way to approach the course. Please explain how this is wrong. There has to be some high cappers on this forum that thinking about managing the course in a different way could be beneficial. That is what I got out of the videos I believe the original post is about.

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Today I had a perfect example of how I have been changing the way I manage the course. Hole 18 par 4, 365 yards to the center where the pin is. After duffing my tee shot 110 yards I have 255 to go. Experience tells me I cannot make it to the green with my next shot so it will be two shots no matter what. I could hit a 4 iron around 180 and and have 75 yards to go. 75 yards is not one of my best shots, although with taking lessons and practice I am working on it. Based on my know ability, two 9 iron shots at 130 each will get me to the back of the green for a chance at par but most likely two putt for bogey. So I split the 255 with the nine and two putt and card the bogey.

 

Before watching the videos that I am talking about, I would have went with the 4 iron/180 yard or even worse attempted 3 wood off the deck for a very hopeful 190+. Where would that have got me? It is still two shots after the duffed tee shot. Seems to me the best chance is to break it in two even shots with the same club that I have confidence in. That is how the breaking 90 vid has given me a new way to approach the course. Please explain how this is wrong. There has to be some high cappers on this forum that thinking about managing the course in a different way could be beneficial. That is what I got out of the videos I believe the original post is about.

This is the key.
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Today I had a perfect example of how I have been changing the way I manage the course. Hole 18 par 4, 365 yards to the center where the pin is. After duffing my tee shot 110 yards I have 255 to go. Experience tells me I cannot make it to the green with my next shot so it will be two shots no matter what. I could hit a 4 iron around 180 and and have 75 yards to go. 75 yards is not one of my best shots, although with taking lessons and practice I am working on it. Based on my know ability, two 9 iron shots at 130 each will get me to the back of the green for a chance at par but most likely two putt for bogey. So I split the 255 with the nine and two putt and card the bogey.

 

Before watching the videos that I am talking about, I would have went with the 4 iron/180 yard or even worse attempted 3 wood off the deck for a very hopeful 190+. Where would that have got me? It is still two shots after the duffed tee shot. Seems to me the best chance is to break it in two even shots with the same club that I have confidence in. That is how the breaking 90 vid has given me a new way to approach the course. Please explain how this is wrong. There has to be some high cappers on this forum that thinking about managing the course in a different way could be beneficial. That is what I got out of the videos I believe the original post is about.

 

Nothing wrong with what you are talking about but it has nothing to do with the original premise.

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Today I had a perfect example of how I have been changing the way I manage the course. Hole 18 par 4, 365 yards to the center where the pin is. After duffing my tee shot 110 yards I have 255 to go. Experience tells me I cannot make it to the green with my next shot so it will be two shots no matter what. I could hit a 4 iron around 180 and and have 75 yards to go. 75 yards is not one of my best shots, although with taking lessons and practice I am working on it. Based on my know ability, two 9 iron shots at 130 each will get me to the back of the green for a chance at par but most likely two putt for bogey. So I split the 255 with the nine and two putt and card the bogey.

 

Before watching the videos that I am talking about, I would have went with the 4 iron/180 yard or even worse attempted 3 wood off the deck for a very hopeful 190+. Where would that have got me? It is still two shots after the duffed tee shot. Seems to me the best chance is to break it in two even shots with the same club that I have confidence in. That is how the breaking 90 vid has given me a new way to approach the course. Please explain how this is wrong. There has to be some high cappers on this forum that thinking about managing the course in a different way could be beneficial. That is what I got out of the videos I believe the original post is about.

 

You should be able to hit it closer from 75 than from 130. For example, hit an easy (half swing, not a full swing that you slow down).

 

But let's assume you can't do that. Then hit 7-iron, gap wedge. Or 6-iron full sand wedge. Find a way to get closer for your final approach to the green.

 

 

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Watched a video last night on YT where a guy prescribed the easiest way to break 90 is by taking the par 4 yards, cutting it in half, and then playing that club x2, then working on short game to chip on (he assumes high caps won't hit greens) and then 2 putting. Same thing for a par 5, split it in 3, hit that club 3 times, chip on, 2 putt. For par 3, he suggested clubbing up once and then taking a very smooth relaxed swing and repeating the chip on and 2 putt process.

 

I think one major flaw is that it requires every single shot to at least go toward target and that high cappers can chip effectively enough from the rough. It doesn't happen often on a full iron for me but every now and again I'll severely fat one, or tug it by 20 yards. I'm also known to fat chips or leave them really short. It also assumes that a high capper can effectively get out of a bunker which isn't always the case. I think the biggest flaw of all though is that high cappers can lag putt effectively. Per my other recent thread... Above all else, I struggle lag putting.

 

Lastly... Good luck taking your 6i out on every tee when you're playing with others, especially strangers. If you're not hitting the ball on fairways and reaching near the green in regulation every hole, you'll slow down the pace a bunch probably and make your fellow playing partners a little triggered.

 

Do you all agree this is the easiest way to break 90?

I think you're talking about Golf Sidekick right? He has some good videos actually IMO. Good course management tips.

 

I don't think that's what he's advocated, at least in the Breaking 90 video. Because the old man in that video hit driver and then 4 iron on the par 4 410 yards (with a 30 yard chip to the green). Then on hole 2, it was 380 yards and he went driver - 7 iron.

 

What he advocates is leaving your approach shot the distance that you're comfortable and consistent with. For example, if you have 230 yards to the pin. Let's say your 3 wood goes 190 or so. You go balls out and nut it 190 yards. that leaves you 40 yards to the pin. A hard shot for a lot of high cappers.

 

But what if your pitch or Gap or 9 iron, whatever, is solid consistent 100 yards day in day out. Well if you have 230 yards to go, he says to pull out your 130 yard iron, leave yourself a full swing into the green.

 

If you were 240 out, then 140 in, and 100 yards in, etc. etc.

 

It's pretty sound advice.

 

Basically on par 5s. If you cannot reach the green in 2, then, on your second shot, hit it to your favorite approach yardage. That gives you a chance at birdie.

 

Now to blow your minds, check out this swing, and according to him, this guy breaks 80 often. There are two videos, and people doubted it after the first video, so on the second one he provided photo proof of the golfer winning events.

 

[media=]

[/media]

 

[media=]

[/media]

 

Look at that swing!

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The way that worked for me was to play each hole as GIR+1. So on every hole you have one extra shot to get the ball on the green. Once one the green, try to two putt.

 

Not having the pressure of trying to get a standard GIR, you make more sensible decisions with your shot choice and course management. You don't have to recover miraculously from a poor drive since you still have two shots (par 4) or three shots (par 5) to get onto the green.

 

Helped a ton. And then if you do get a GIR on a hole or two, then you're in "bonus" territory where you can park those holes and save a shot for use later.

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Today I had a perfect example of how I have been changing the way I manage the course. Hole 18 par 4, 365 yards to the center where the pin is. After duffing my tee shot 110 yards I have 255 to go. Experience tells me I cannot make it to the green with my next shot so it will be two shots no matter what. I could hit a 4 iron around 180 and and have 75 yards to go. 75 yards is not one of my best shots, although with taking lessons and practice I am working on it. Based on my know ability, two 9 iron shots at 130 each will get me to the back of the green for a chance at par but most likely two putt for bogey. So I split the 255 with the nine and two putt and card the bogey.

 

Before watching the videos that I am talking about, I would have went with the 4 iron/180 yard or even worse attempted 3 wood off the deck for a very hopeful 190+. Where would that have got me? It is still two shots after the duffed tee shot. Seems to me the best chance is to break it in two even shots with the same club that I have confidence in. That is how the breaking 90 vid has given me a new way to approach the course. Please explain how this is wrong. There has to be some high cappers on this forum that thinking about managing the course in a different way could be beneficial. That is what I got out of the videos I believe the original post is about.

This is the key.

Agree. Good course management can be summarized quite easily: play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. If you suck at 75yd shots, don't hit shots that are likely to leave you 75 yards away. If you suck from bunkers, do whatever you need to do to avoid them. Likewise (at a higher level) if you have a fantastic short game, go ahead and aim at more pins. If you hit your driver long and straight, hit more drivers. Etc., etc., etc.

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Watched a video last night on YT where a guy prescribed the easiest way to break 90 is by taking the par 4 yards, cutting it in half, and then playing that club x2, then working on short game to chip on (he assumes high caps won't hit greens) and then 2 putting. Same thing for a par 5, split it in 3, hit that club 3 times, chip on, 2 putt. For par 3, he suggested clubbing up once and then taking a very smooth relaxed swing and repeating the chip on and 2 putt process.

 

I think one major flaw is that it requires every single shot to at least go toward target and that high cappers can chip effectively enough from the rough. It doesn't happen often on a full iron for me but every now and again I'll severely fat one, or tug it by 20 yards. I'm also known to fat chips or leave them really short. It also assumes that a high capper can effectively get out of a bunker which isn't always the case. I think the biggest flaw of all though is that high cappers can lag putt effectively. Per my other recent thread... Above all else, I struggle lag putting.

 

Lastly... Good luck taking your 6i out on every tee when you're playing with others, especially strangers. If you're not hitting the ball on fairways and reaching near the green in regulation every hole, you'll slow down the pace a bunch probably and make your fellow playing partners a little triggered.

 

Do you all agree this is the easiest way to break 90?

I think you're talking about Golf Sidekick right? He has some good videos actually IMO. Good course management tips.

 

I don't think that's what he's advocated, at least in the Breaking 90 video. Because the old man in that video hit driver and then 4 iron on the par 4 410 yards (with a 30 yard chip to the green). Then on hole 2, it was 380 yards and he went driver - 7 iron.

 

What he advocates is leaving your approach shot the distance that you're comfortable and consistent with. For example, if you have 230 yards to the pin. Let's say your 3 wood goes 190 or so. You go balls out and nut it 190 yards. that leaves you 40 yards to the pin. A hard shot for a lot of high cappers.

 

But what if your pitch or Gap or 9 iron, whatever, is solid consistent 100 yards day in day out. Well if you have 230 yards to go, he says to pull out your 130 yard iron, leave yourself a full swing into the green.

 

If you were 240 out, then 140 in, and 100 yards in, etc. etc.

 

It's pretty sound advice.

 

Basically on par 5s. If you cannot reach the green in 2, then, on your second shot, hit it to your favorite approach yardage. That gives you a chance at birdie.

 

Now to blow your minds, check out this swing, and according to him, this guy breaks 80 often. There are two videos, and people doubted it after the first video, so on the second one he provided photo proof of the golfer winning events.

 

[media=]

[/media]

 

[media=]

[/media]

 

Look at that swing!

Yes this channel but he has another video where it's him doing the process. He shot an 87 I think... 87 pretty nice shots. I'll have a handful of really ugly ones tossed in... Thin a wedge over the green... etc.

 

 

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No, this seems like you are training yourself to play golf in a overly conservative way that will never allow you to improve. Also there are many par 4's that you need to carry the ball a significant way to the fairway. What happens if you mis hit one of these shots, or 3 putt, or miss the green on your approach.

 

Course management is a great way to shoot lower scores but this seems ill conceived. I know plenty of people, who if I caddied for them I could knock 5-10 strokes off their game, but this is NOT how I would approach most holes.

 

We will have to agree to disagree. I'm sure a good golfer would not manage the course the way I do. When I started playing someone much better than I told me, "golf is a game of choices". Seems to me, at any level, that holds true. I started golfing at age 57 and have never been an athlete. The chances of becoming a scratch golfer are not even in my mind let alone feasible in reality.

 

I don’t think we are disagreeing. I’m not a long hitter, my point is strategy is very important. I just like this standardized strategy. Each hole is different. Some holes you play safe, others can be attacked.

 

You want to drop strokes then learn to keep the tee shot in play. Use a driver when it makes sense, use a long iron if necessary then work on your short game. You’ll break 90 quickly.

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Ping G410 5 hybrid-not much use.  
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I think after reading some articles and seeing your advice... I may try teeing off with a 4i, or my incoming UDI. Even though I can hit driver pretty well most of the time, I think there's value in hitting the same type of club/shot over and over.

 

Over all else though I'll be practicing putting at least 1 hour per week on the greens. I may also experiment with "laying up" on all second shots that way I can avoid bunker shots, and touchy chips right off the green in the rough. I'm okay chipping off the fairway, 10/10 times I'll at least get it on the green. Usually just take a PW or GW and bump it. I'm sketchy on the 15 foot chips from the rough where I might need to use an open faced LW or something like that, which is usually what happens when I go for the middle of the green but pull or push the ball a bit.

If you can hit driver pretty well most of the time, why would you quit doing that which you can do pretty well most of the time?

 

I think it's because when a driver goes wrong, it can cost multiple strokes (OB, unplayable, failed to carry hazard, etc).

 

Say you hit driver on 12 holes and 8 of them end in the fairway. What is the cost of the other four? Could be as many as 12 strokes if you end up re-teeing or dropping out of a hazard. That's a lot of strokes to burn out of your 90.

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Today I had a perfect example of how I have been changing the way I manage the course. Hole 18 par 4, 365 yards to the center where the pin is. After duffing my tee shot 110 yards I have 255 to go. Experience tells me I cannot make it to the green with my next shot so it will be two shots no matter what. I could hit a 4 iron around 180 and and have 75 yards to go. 75 yards is not one of my best shots, although with taking lessons and practice I am working on it. Based on my know ability, two 9 iron shots at 130 each will get me to the back of the green for a chance at par but most likely two putt for bogey. So I split the 255 with the nine and two putt and card the bogey.

I've posted before that the way I broke 100 consistently and a technique I return to on bad swing days is to follow a simple rule - never approach a green from more than 110 yards or less than 80. That allows me to use my three wedges (SW 56, 60 and 64) with a full swing to get the ball onto the green. In my heyday (something I ought to revisit) I could reliably get the ball to within a couple of yards of the pin from there. And the really nice thing is that it's a huuuge target to aim for from your previous position. 30 yards deep and the entire fairway and light rough in width. Hundreds of square yards to aim for. An easy target for almost any golfer.

 

It may mean reducing the length of your tee shot but often that just means using a more reliable club. I didn't have to because my driver back then was my most reliable club anyway, but it meant I hardly ever used my longest irons/hybrids which was a good thing. I don't use that technique much now because it's pretty much exchanging the 'possibility of a par, likelihood of a double bogey' for the near certainty of a bogey. It'll only let you break 90 if you rely on luck for a couple of pars or play on a par 70 course. However any time I mishit a shot and it comes up short my next thought is always to pick a club based on that rule. Forget trying for an amazing recovery - go for something attainable :)

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I'll be experimenting today at my indoor launch monitor session. I know it's not the same because conditions are so much easier off a mat, indoors... But I'll be taking a 3i off every tee, then leaving every approach short of the green as to provide the 3rd shot as an easy bump and run.

 

Only time I will go for the green are par 3's or when my 2nd shot is <120 yards (unlikely to happen taking 3i).

 

Goal is to see if I can hit every fairway, and stay out of all the bunkers. My average score so far this year on the simulator is 76 but obviously it plays much easier than real life because I don't have to putt, and every single lie is perfect even if my drive goes in the rough, etc.

 

 

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Today I had a perfect example of how I have been changing the way I manage the course. Hole 18 par 4, 365 yards to the center where the pin is. After duffing my tee shot 110 yards I have 255 to go. Experience tells me I cannot make it to the green with my next shot so it will be two shots no matter what. I could hit a 4 iron around 180 and and have 75 yards to go. 75 yards is not one of my best shots, although with taking lessons and practice I am working on it. Based on my know ability, two 9 iron shots at 130 each will get me to the back of the green for a chance at par but most likely two putt for bogey. So I split the 255 with the nine and two putt and card the bogey.

I've posted before that the way I broke 100 consistently and a technique I return to on bad swing days is to follow a simple rule - never approach a green from more than 110 yards or less than 80. That allows me to use my three wedges (SW 56, 60 and 64) with a full swing to get the ball onto the green. In my heyday (something I ought to revisit) I could reliably get the ball to within a couple of yards of the pin from there. And the really nice thing is that it's a huuuge target to aim for from your previous position. 30 yards deep and the entire fairway and light rough in width. Hundreds of square yards to aim for. An easy target for almost any golfer.

 

It may mean reducing the length of your tee shot but often that just means using a more reliable club. I didn't have to because my driver back then was my most reliable club anyway, but it meant I hardly ever used my longest irons/hybrids which was a good thing. I don't use that technique much now because it's pretty much exchanging the 'possibility of a par, likelihood of a double bogey' for the near certainty of a bogey. It'll only let you break 90 if you rely on luck for a couple of pars or play on a par 70 course. However any time I mishit a shot and it comes up short my next thought is always to pick a club based on that rule. Forget trying for an amazing recovery - go for something attainable :)

So you'd lay up on a 170yd par 3 then? Something tells me that doesn't exactly maximise your likelihood of a good score.

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Today I had a perfect example of how I have been changing the way I manage the course. Hole 18 par 4, 365 yards to the center where the pin is. After duffing my tee shot 110 yards I have 255 to go. Experience tells me I cannot make it to the green with my next shot so it will be two shots no matter what. I could hit a 4 iron around 180 and and have 75 yards to go. 75 yards is not one of my best shots, although with taking lessons and practice I am working on it. Based on my know ability, two 9 iron shots at 130 each will get me to the back of the green for a chance at par but most likely two putt for bogey. So I split the 255 with the nine and two putt and card the bogey.

I've posted before that the way I broke 100 consistently and a technique I return to on bad swing days is to follow a simple rule - never approach a green from more than 110 yards or less than 80. That allows me to use my three wedges (SW 56, 60 and 64) with a full swing to get the ball onto the green. In my heyday (something I ought to revisit) I could reliably get the ball to within a couple of yards of the pin from there. And the really nice thing is that it's a huuuge target to aim for from your previous position. 30 yards deep and the entire fairway and light rough in width. Hundreds of square yards to aim for. An easy target for almost any golfer.

 

It may mean reducing the length of your tee shot but often that just means using a more reliable club. I didn't have to because my driver back then was my most reliable club anyway, but it meant I hardly ever used my longest irons/hybrids which was a good thing. I don't use that technique much now because it's pretty much exchanging the 'possibility of a par, likelihood of a double bogey' for the near certainty of a bogey. It'll only let you break 90 if you rely on luck for a couple of pars or play on a par 70 course. However any time I mishit a shot and it comes up short my next thought is always to pick a club based on that rule. Forget trying for an amazing recovery - go for something attainable :)

So you'd lay up on a 170yd par 3 then? Something tells me that doesn't exactly maximise your likelihood of a good score.

I might be wrong but I think the point is, when trying to break 90, you don't need to par the par 3's. On a Par 72 course you only need to par once, assuming you make bogey 17 more times. So theoretically on a 170 yard par 3, you hit a PW to 120... then pitch on from 50 yards, then 2 putt. That fits the bill. With 3 par 5's... you likely have 3 solid chances for that par, and probably another 1 or 2 more chances on the shorter par 4's.

 

Not saying I'd agree with laying up on a par 3, but the "game plan" supports that I guess.

 

 

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Today I had a perfect example of how I have been changing the way I manage the course. Hole 18 par 4, 365 yards to the center where the pin is. After duffing my tee shot 110 yards I have 255 to go. Experience tells me I cannot make it to the green with my next shot so it will be two shots no matter what. I could hit a 4 iron around 180 and and have 75 yards to go. 75 yards is not one of my best shots, although with taking lessons and practice I am working on it. Based on my know ability, two 9 iron shots at 130 each will get me to the back of the green for a chance at par but most likely two putt for bogey. So I split the 255 with the nine and two putt and card the bogey.

I've posted before that the way I broke 100 consistently and a technique I return to on bad swing days is to follow a simple rule - never approach a green from more than 110 yards or less than 80. That allows me to use my three wedges (SW 56, 60 and 64) with a full swing to get the ball onto the green. In my heyday (something I ought to revisit) I could reliably get the ball to within a couple of yards of the pin from there. And the really nice thing is that it's a huuuge target to aim for from your previous position. 30 yards deep and the entire fairway and light rough in width. Hundreds of square yards to aim for. An easy target for almost any golfer.

 

It may mean reducing the length of your tee shot but often that just means using a more reliable club. I didn't have to because my driver back then was my most reliable club anyway, but it meant I hardly ever used my longest irons/hybrids which was a good thing. I don't use that technique much now because it's pretty much exchanging the 'possibility of a par, likelihood of a double bogey' for the near certainty of a bogey. It'll only let you break 90 if you rely on luck for a couple of pars or play on a par 70 course. However any time I mishit a shot and it comes up short my next thought is always to pick a club based on that rule. Forget trying for an amazing recovery - go for something attainable :)

So you'd lay up on a 170yd par 3 then? Something tells me that doesn't exactly maximise your likelihood of a good score.

I might be wrong but I think the point is, when trying to break 90, you don't need to par the par 3's. On a Par 72 course you only need to par once, assuming you make bogey 17 more times. So theoretically on a 170 yard par 3, you hit a PW to 120... then pitch on from 50 yards, then 2 putt. That fits the bill. With 3 par 5's... you likely have 3 solid chances for that par, and probably another 1 or 2 more chances on the shorter par 4's.

 

Not saying I'd agree with laying up on a par 3, but the "game plan" supports that I guess.

There are plenty of par 3s in the 170 range with huge trouble left and right, no trouble in front. Depending on pin placement and such, it makes sense for any golfer to choose a club that will only reach the front of the green. For someone trying to break 90, avoiding a 7 on a par 3 makes a ton of sense, even if it means hitting the tee shot 150 yards.
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