Breaking 100, 90, 80, and 70

[cfreeman8]

Which Barrier do you think is the most important to break? Why?

In my opinion, it is breaking 80 because that seems to be the difference between a mediocre and good player. How about you??

[bennet00]

Even though I haven't done it yet, I would agree with you. Breaking 80, and continuing to do so on a regular basis would be a huge milestone in my eyes.

[nyhacker]

Braking 60 is what separates the men from the boys!

[littlepingman]

Braking 60 is what separates the men from the boys!

 

I break 60 consistently on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007. :tongue:

[DRGJR72]

I think they are all important to different types of golfers.

 

Breaking 100 for the guy that is newer to the game or is not that good yet

Breaking 90 for the guy that is a little more into the game and is showing signs of improvement

Breaking 80 for the more serious golfer, shows that he is on his way to being a nice player

Breaking 70 for the very serious golfer, shows that you have the skill set to play very competitively.

 

Each barrier is a milestone so to speak, especially to each individual.

 

For me it was breaking 70 under tournament conditions. It showed me that I could in fact play the game at a certain level, and play it to that level which I thought I could.

 

DG

[Kade]

I believe breaking 90 is crucial to everyone. When you shoot in the 80's you are starting to have fun and can enjoy yourself a little more with the other players in your group. Also, everyone on the course will benefit from your faster play. No one enjoys playing with or behind someone who obviously has never stepped foot on a range or taken instruction.

 

From that point, breaking 80 will simply be a personal challange......

[SheriffBooth]

For me, I didn't really feel like I'd made a breakthrough until I broke 80 the first time. And I know my brother is pissed to shoot 81 but satisfied with a 79. Breaking 70 for me was exciting, but really felt about the same as the first time I shot even par.

 

My mother, on the other hand, is happy to break 100. So I'd have to say it's a matter of perspective.

[kencanuck]

Someone told me when I first started playing that if you could play bogey golf you could pretty much play anywhere in the world...for me breaking 90 was big because I could now play the game on a pretty consistent basis...

 

Of course now 80 is the goal and I keep flirting with that score!!! I am sure 70 will be the new number once I break 80! :tongue:

 

Ken

[gotgolf?]

I also agree that 90 is the most crucial barrier. When you look at the shots you need to improve to break 90, this threshold probably holds the needs (although there is no concrete outline) shot reduction from all types of shots (drives, irons, short game, putting.) To break 90 you may just need to drastically improve in one area. For 80 and 70 you are again focusing on less variety of shots.

[LR Hog]

I broke 70 once on the course I grew up playing. It was a 9-hole dump in the middle of a cotton field, and I was really proud of myself at the time. I then went off to college and didn't have the $$$ to play golf so my game went almost extinct. When I did play it was more to drink beer than to shoot a good score. Since I have been out of college the last few years I have gotten back into golf and from April until September golf is all I think about. Then college football takes over my life so I put the clubs up through the fall and winter. The past 2 years I really started trying to improve my game with a big push this year to really get better. I even took my first lesson EVER and I really enjoyed it. I am playing better courses now and I am not getting anywhere near breaking 70 but I have broken 80 a few times, and I get a lot of satisfaction when I do it on a more challenging course rather than on one where I broke 70 ONCE. The thing I worry about is that if I don't break 80 I feel dissapointed, and I am putting way too much pressure on myself. I guess what I am trying to say is that if you can break 100, 90, 80, 70 you should be happy and unless you are playing competitively don't take the game too seriously. And for goodness sake don't throw your clubs because it makes you look like an a** and it makes your playing partners uncomfortable. The only guy in the World that can get away with throwing clubs is Tiger. With his ability he can throw a club after every bad shot if he wants to.

[Gadster]

I don't know what it feels like to break 70, but breaking 80 was far more satisfying than breaking 90. It has been my biggest accomplishment (in golf) and the one I'm MOST proud of.

[Diesel]

certainly breaking 70 is a huge accomplishment, but for most people it's not going to happen...

 

to me breaking 80 is the milestone everyone wants to get to... it kind of separates you from the 80's shooters... a guy that shoots 80's isn't a bad player, but he's in a different class to the guy shooting 70's...

[leetch]

80 was huge for me. I felt like I was actually decent at the game and it boosted my confidence immensely. Now that I'm consistently in the 70's, low 80's, par is my next goal. I've done it once but it was at an easy course. I will only consider it an achieved goal when I play at one of the tougher courses and of course from the back tees. It's also a big difference when you break 80, 70 or whatever from white tees (amateur) versus tournament or pro tees. I will only play the back tees now to make sure my game is on and I'm not scoring well due to short approach shots on every hole. I think that came with consistently breaking 80.

[uscheese]

The 90 barrier was hard and I think I've only broken 40 for 9 holes once...I've shot pretty low in the 80's but never really scared the number...I think the difference between 86 and 78 is mostly mental for me though...I could see it happening in the next few years.

[cyrick]

I think breaking 90 is important in terms of really being able to enjoy the game. Once you get to the point that you know you can play a hole the way it is supposed to be played, it really adds to the amount of fun you can have doing it (though that knowledge also leads to some frustration because you don't actually play that well consistently).

 

Breaking 80 is more of a satisfaction and personal accomplishment. You find that your game is actually improving beyond where a lot of weekend players get to. Once you are scoring in the 80s consistently, you don't get as nervous about playing on unfamiliar courses and with people that you haven't played with before (which used to make me really uncomfortable).

 

I broke 80 for the first time last summer. I now find myself consistently shooting in the 80-85 range. I'm at the point now where I expect to shoot around 80. While that can cause frustration, it is also 100x more fun than when I was struggling to break 90.

[GolfMN]

To me, 90 is pointless. Since I started breaking 100 I've had the game to break 90 and simply been

struggling with consistency. Breaking 80 is huge though, for the recreational golfer thats the holy grail. I shoot about 92-96 right now and if I didnt blow up holes I'd be there, I just need to play, but once I shoot high 80's my game needs to improve again to take the next big step. Now a golfer who isn't struggling with consistency (not blowing up holes) might find that breaking 90 is bigger because it requires far better ballstriking then 100 does.

 

Overall, I think most people will be happier to break 80, thats what makes you a good golfer.

[hobbes]

I'm with Kade on this one. Each milestone is important for their own reason. Importance is different than accomplishment though. If you can't break 100 it is unlikely you are every really going to get into the sport.

 

Breaking 90 was really fun to me, it signaled the point where I was making at least a few pars and limiting most other holes to bogey.

 

I've shot 80 three times now (one was last weekend) and I figure it is only a matter of time.

 

To me 90 was proof that I have golf skills, 80 will prove that I've mostly tuned those skills and 70 will be when I've tuned everything and can trust my whole game rather than being hot with one area at a time.

[dachtor]

Breaking 90 for the first time was great because the game really became fun. Pars are a lot more fun than bogeys and double bogeys and at least when you break 90, you are making some solid pars.

 

Breaking 80 is when the game gets frustrating again because there is so little room for error to consistently break 80. I've been hovering around that 7-9 hadicap range for a while now and it's extremeley frustrating.

[Spumoni]

Started with a handicap in the 20's years ago. Breaking 100 & 90 came fairly fast as the handicap dropped to 15-18. Been playing at a 12-13 handi the last 3 years or so and shot 80 a number of times but could never break 80. Finally this year in the last day of the city tournament I shot a career low 78. So for me 80 was the hardest to break. 70 is pipe dream for me....

[FreddyD]

Breaking 70 for me was a trill! I was just 15yrs old at the time and my father just played 69 from the middle tees at my home club that week. Came home really proud of himself showing off is scorecard too rubb it in a little. 2 days after, I shoot 69 from the back tees in competition at the same course.

 

I think the real challenge for me as always been to break my own best score. So after shooting a 66 (10 birdies, 2 doubles), 65 is the only number that gets too me a little.

 

It's a bit funny how I remember every shot of that first 69 that happen 12yrs ago and don't have a clue for my lone 66 that happen 6 yrs ago.

[Merlin_T]

It's my 4th year playing (seriously ;)) golf and last year I've played +/- 40 rounds. The most I've played before was... 5 rounds in one year! So I was really happy when I broke 100 last year, and it happened at my last game in November :clapping:.

 

This year, I'm not playing as much as I want to (too busy at my job and no vacation yet :secret:) But I improved a lot last winter by practicing twice a month (by myself) in a launch monitor environment (2 hours each time, 30$ /h).

 

So for me, actually, breaking 90 is just a matter of time and breaking 80 will be my next accomplishment, & satisfaction :fool: And this, without steroids!! :tongue: :yes:

[mikpga]

Breaking the 70 barrier has to be the most difficult. It's a simple law of averages.

[himacgolf]

I would say breaking 80 was the biggest feeling. Breaking 70 was very speacial for me as well.

[beachgrovejunior]

80 didnt really seem like a big deal to me,it was more i counted up the score and was like oh...

but going under 70 will be better, because it will show me that i can shoot low enough to be able to compete

[smithg1053]

For me breaking 70 was huge...and I have done it maybe a dozen times. When I first started though my goal was always going under 80 as really being "it." Any round under par is in my mind truly something special. Play in a 9 hole league weekly for work and shot even par on the front side tonight (course rating is 71.7/131) and actually had it even under through 7 (1 bogey, 1 birdie) but then bogeyed the 8th...and the 9th is a sure birdie hole...which got me back to even. Really wanted that subpar thing!

 

Guess you have to put it into really what is "it" for you...what is the national average handicap...I look at anyone who can consistently play mid 80's or less as a pretty accomplished player.

[ezra76]

Each milestone holds it's own importance IMO

 

When I broke 100 I was still hitting a lot of poor shots, chipping was crap and putting was, well, a crapshoot. I'd been working on the areas I needed to and was pleased to see it pay off. I first realized that I didn't need to hit a perfect long drive, hit and iron to 3feet everytime to score better. The answer was in avoiding all those blown stokes once I was close to the green. I pretty well broke it and never went back after learning to chip and practicing it for about 10-12 hours over a few weeks.

 

When I broke 90 not long after I learned to manage my game a lot better. I realized that I don't need to try to bomb a driver 60yds. out on a dogleg left. I can lay back with less club in the fairway because I can hit an 8iron pretty good now. This started translating into far less blowup holes. No more 9's and 8's on the card. I started making a few pars in a row and saw the possibility... if I could just make pars and bogey's... what if there were more pars than bogeys?

 

When I broke 80 last year it showed me I can play this game consistantly. I did it on an easier course but got under last week on a 134 slope. It's more about managing misses than making really good shots. I didn't really make any spectacular shots but I also didn't make any total crap ones either. It's only a few strokes from 81 to 79 but man what a mental difference. For me it was not getting into trouble off the tee and short game.

 

Breaking 70 and/or par is my ultimate goal. It's a long way off from where I am now. Everything has to get better to do this. That's what's great about this game. It will take me 3 or 4 years more than likely to accomplish that goal and another 3 or 4 to get to scratch. That's the goal though.

[Kade]

To me, 90 is pointless. Since I started breaking 100 I've had the game to break 90 and simply been

struggling with consistency. Breaking 80 is huge though, for the recreational golfer thats the holy grail. I shoot about 92-96 right now and if I didnt blow up holes I'd be there, I just need to play, but once I shoot high 80's my game needs to improve again to take the next big step. Now a golfer who isn't struggling with consistency (not blowing up holes) might find that breaking 90 is bigger because it requires far better ballstriking then 100 does.

 

Overall, I think most people will be happier to break 80, thats what makes you a good golfer.

 

Hello GolfMN.....just wanted to comment. Breaking 90 probably wasn't pointless when you were shooting 100. You say you have the game it takes to break 90, but your consistency issues ARE your game. Of course the 80's and then 70"s are huge. but takes alot of work.

keep up the hard work.

[Trxjw]

I think it's whatever plateau is next in your sights that is most important. For me, it's breaking 80 on a regular basis. I've dipped under the mark into the 70's 4 times, but I can't seem to do it consistently. I think it has more to do with not playing enough than my skill not being there, but I also suffer a bit with working the ball with my irons.

 

Though, when I was working my way down from my first 18 hole round score (122.. nice!) to the low 80's where I am now, I never thought that much about breaking a certain number. I just wanted to beat my previous score and feel better about my game as a whole. I focus much more on stringing shots together on a single hole than I do on what I'm on pace to score. I know that if I can have one hole where I cut my drive around the bunkers on the right, pull out my 7 iron and hit a high draw into a back left pin guarded by water and get it within 15 feet and walk off with a birdie or a par, I'm well on my way to shooting lower scores. I just tell myself, if you can do it on one hole, you can do it on all of em. I've birdied every hole on my home course.. just never in the same round :tongue: -- and that's my ultimate goal.

[iteachgolf]

I would say the biggest milestone was breaking 72 for the first time. As far as which felt better between breaking 80 or 70 i'd probably say it was the 80. It just happened to be the last time my mom has seen me golf so it sticks out as a memorable time. She is busy and most of my golf tournaments are out of town or state so she hasnt seen me play in about 6 years

[Viking Golfer]

Braking 60 is what separates the men from the boys!

 

:black eye: :clapping: ;) :D .......................... :beruo: :)