Finally broke 70!

[Jtgavigan]

So, I have been playing on and off for 39 years. I have been capable of shooting in the 70s for probably 36 of them. I used to be a terrible putter, had a terrible temper, and really struggled to shoot below 75. 

 

About 15 years ago, I decided to get my short game better and get my temper under control. I finally broke par for the first time in 2009 (39-32-71). Now, at age 50, I regularly shoot under 75.

 

My quest for the last year plus has been to finally break 70. I have had a 70, numerous 71s, 72s, and 73s. Everyone I played with was shocked I had never broken 70. I have had all the pieces physically, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't get over the hump (mentally). I just couldn't put it all together.

 

Until....today. I finally did it. I easily could have shot 67, as I lipped out short putts on 9 and 10. Recently, I had several rounds where I was rolling along through 11 or 12 holes and then would fall apart. I bobbled today on 13 and 14, but kept going. I hit one fat out of a fairway bunker on 14, then knocked it 6 inches away for par from 50 yards. I think I knew then, it might be the day. I actually missed a 15 footer for birdie on 18 just right for 68. Best thing was, it was in a friendly money game and I finished T2 (paid top 2 spots), and won a skin.

 

So stoked!

[Murphy76]

 

Congrats!!!   It is always so wonderful to achieve a goal.  

 

Kudos!!

 

[Righty to Lefty]

I was in your same boat, now I'm in there alone, as my best ever score right handed is 2 over and left handed it is 1 over.  I've had the game to do it...but it seems to be quite a hurdle to get into that club.  I've had it to 3 under on multiple occasions but didn't close the deal. Only a very small percentage of players will ever shoot under par so I will truly cherish the day when I get it done.  Biggest congrats on your achievement! 

[Jtgavigan]

2 hours ago, Righty to Lefty said:

I was in your same boat, now I'm in there alone, as my best ever score right handed is 2 over and left handed it is 1 over.  I've had the game to do it...but it seems to be quite a hurdle to get into that club.  I've had it to 3 under on multiple occasions but didn't close the deal. Only a very small percentage of players will ever shoot under par so I will truly cherish the day when I get it done.  Biggest congrats on your achievement! 

 

Right handed and left handed? That is serious talent right there! 

 

Here were the things I made sure of:

 

1. Figure out the holes in your game and work on them: better tee ball (in play), solid short game, dialed in equipment, one shot at a time mentality (regardless of score), better game management. 

2. Play with better players regularly. Two ex mini tour guys helped me when I asked them what was holding me back. They were brutally honest. They had played with me enough to see my flaws. 

3. Play from forward tees (6000 yards or so) and maybe start there. Yesterday was from 6700 yards,  but I played up a lot in the last year.

4. Get your body strong and flexible. A herniated disc in my neck had me out from mid November last year through mid February this year. So, I work out with weights several days a week, do pilates twice a week, and stretch several times a week. Helps especially when you get older, as I am 50 now. 

5. Get to where you consider yourself a good putter. Just keep trying to hit good putts, regardless of whether they fall or not. Be convinced they will eventually start going in.

6. See a pro to clean up any technique issues. My swing is much more consistent,  which gives me more opportunities,  and more confidence in my swing.

7. You have to practice. No substitute for this. Played with a guy yesterday who is normally a plus cap, but now plays twice a month and doesn't practice a lot. He struggled. He may go out and shoot 68 next round, but will struggle to be consistent. 

[Hawkeye77]

Whoooo!

[RSinSG]

Nicely done. How were your nerves on 18?

[Phabs]

Congrats… 68 is pretty lights out.  
 

18 tee ball under par never fails to get your stomach in a knot.  Doesn’t matter how many times you do it. 

Edited October 4, 2021 by Phabs

[milesgiles]

congrats

 

16 gir? didnt miss a green til 13?? How on earth have you never broken 70?

 

I have to ask.. are these actual 100% girs, or fringes/near misses? 

 

good shooting 

[Ferguson]

Many, many rounds of 70 in my life.  Never broke it.

 

Great job.  

[Jtgavigan]

9 hours ago, RSinSG said:

Nicely done. How were your nerves on 18?

I had nerves, but not too bad. A little bit of nerves started on 16. 200y par 3 into a 1 club wind. Pin on the left side near a bunker. Picked out a spot 20 ft right of the flag. Hit a 4i slightly off the toe, drew just left of the flag. Ended up 20 feet away. Blew my birdie putt past by 4 ft. Made it in the center. That gave me confidence. 

 

Knew I needed a birdie on 17. Par 5, DL right, into wind on the approach. Piped the drive. Drove a 3w in low on my approach to exactly the gap between bunkers I was looking at. Chipped to 8 ft and drained the putt. Knew I needed that. Kept trying to swing aggressively at conservative targets. Focused on my routine for every shot,  and light grip pressure on my putts. 

 

On 18, 385y DL left, into wind off the tee. Pulled 3w immediately. Picked out a spot and wanted to hit a little draw. Swung aggressively and turned hard through it (I have hit the odd pull/hook before when I needed it, because I was tentative). Piped it. Playing partners had all pulled driver. Never thought twice about it. Needed par and didn't care. 142 R to L wind, pin left. Talked to myself about what to hit. That is a stock choke down trap draw with my 9i. But asked myself if I was too pumped for that and should hit wedge. Nope, wasn't overly jacked, so picked a spot right of the flag and again swung aggressively. 15 feet left/behind the pin. Knew then it was happening,  but told myself to finish the job.

 

I was very aware, but not really nervous, just tried to focus on my targets, how I wanted the ball to fly, and swung aggressively. I could deal with the results. Hit every ball on the last 3 holes where I wanted. 

[Kmagnuss]

Congrats!

[puttingmatt]

Congratulations, I have been scoring  low to upper 70's all season. I can see where I lose strokes, just misses that add up. Sometimes, it is frustrating. 

[ShowMe]

The first time I had a chance to break 70, I stood on the 18th hole tee box at 5 under par (Par 72 course) thru the first 17 holes.  It was by far the best round of my life up until that point.  Everything was clicking.  I was playing unconscious golf.  The weather was perfect.  It was literally the best day ever in all of history. 

 

The hole was 410 yards - slightly uphill to the 150 marker then slightly downhill from there, slight dog hill to the right.  Killed a drive that caught the downslope of a little hill just off the right side of the fairway and ended up 87 yards from the hole in the center of the fairway.  I couldn't have placed it any better.  I got to the ball and told myself that I was golden, that all I needed was a double bogey or better to break 70 and that I could do that in my sleep.  I started thinking about how great it was going to be to shoot in the 60s for the first time.  The stories I could tell my kids and grandkids some day.  Maybe the local paper would even run a story on it or something.  Or a parade even.

 

I then proceeded to chunk my second shot.  Not a problem I told myself, just pitch it on and two putt for the bogey and final score 68.  

 

Then I bladed my third shot over the green.  Ok, no worries.  Chip it on and two putt for the double and final score 69. 

 

Then I chunked my fourth shot chip barely onto the green.  Left with a 40 foot putt.  Not a problem, just cozy it up close to the hole and tap in for the 69.

 

Then I left it 10 feet short.  Ok, I got this.  Sink the 10 footer for the 69.

 

Then I missed the putt.  Triple bogey.  Final score 70.  No story for the grandkids.  No story in the paper.  No parade.  Just one big fat CHOKE.

 

This was 10 years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday.  When I finally did break 70 a couple of years later, I had to birdie the last three holes to do it, so that was pretty cool.

 

 

[msg]

Congratulations. This is no easy feat. You hit so much greens and putted amazing! 

 

Closest I got was even par, 1 over and 2 over par. Yesterday I hit 13 greens and missed 5 and had two birdies but putted awful. I thought it would have been a special round. I shot 6 over par. 

[Jtgavigan]

12 hours ago, milesgiles said:

congrats

 

16 gir? didnt miss a green til 13?? How on earth have you never broken 70?

 

I have to ask.. are these actual 100% girs, or fringes/near misses? 

 

good shooting 

Lol. Yes, I didn't miss a green until 13. Last year, I shot 70 and had 13 fw and 12 gir on a windy day and a tight course. 

 

Like I said, poor putting an short game, a temper, being able to compound errors with the best of them, and there is your formula for never doing it. Lol. 

[Yuck]

Congrats.  It is the last milestone for most, as we most won’t likely ever break 60.

[Jtgavigan]

1 hour ago, msg said:

Congratulations. This is no easy feat. You hit so much greens and putted amazing! 

 

Closest I got was even par, 1 over and 2 over par. Yesterday I hit 13 greens and missed 5 and had two birdies but putted awful. I thought it would have been a special round. I shot 6 over par. 

I actually had 31 putts. There was a hole on the front 9 where I didn't record my putts. 31 putts on 16 greens is still pretty good...

[Jtgavigan]

2 hours ago, ShowMe said:

The first time I had a chance to break 70, I stood on the 18th hole tee box at 5 under par (Par 72 course) thru the first 17 holes.  It was by far the best round of my life up until that point.  Everything was clicking.  I was playing unconscious golf.  The weather was perfect.  It was literally the best day ever in all of history. 

 

The hole was 410 yards - slightly uphill to the 150 marker then slightly downhill from there, slight dog hill to the right.  Killed a drive that caught the downslope of a little hill just off the right side of the fairway and ended up 87 yards from the hole in the center of the fairway.  I couldn't have placed it any better.  I got to the ball and told myself that I was golden, that all I needed was a double bogey or better to break 70 and that I could do that in my sleep.  I started thinking about how great it was going to be to shoot in the 60s for the first time.  The stories I could tell my kids and grandkids some day.  Maybe the local paper would even run a story on it or something.  Or a parade even.

 

I then proceeded to chunk my second shot.  Not a problem I told myself, just pitch it on and two putt for the bogey and final score 68.  

 

Then I bladed my third shot over the green.  Ok, no worries.  Chip it on and two putt for the double and final score 69. 

 

Then I chunked my fourth shot chip barely onto the green.  Left with a 40 foot putt.  Not a problem, just cozy it up close to the hole and tap in for the 69.

 

Then I left it 10 feet short.  Ok, I got this.  Sink the 10 footer for the 69.

 

Then I missed the putt.  Triple bogey.  Final score 70.  No story for the grandkids.  No story in the paper.  No parade.  Just one big fat CHOKE.

 

This was 10 years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday.  When I finally did break 70 a couple of years later, I had to birdie the last three holes to do it, so that was pretty cool.

 

 

 

 

You know, that is EXACTLY why I was telling myself to take it one shot at a time. I knew so much could go wrong. I knew getting ahead and thinking about how great it would be would distract me. 

 

Thanks for sharing that story. Very kool one and glad you finally broke 70!

Edited October 4, 2021 by Jtgavigan

[Jtgavigan]

2 hours ago, puttingmatt said:

Congratulations, I have been scoring  low to upper 70's all season. I can see where I lose strokes, just misses that add up. Sometimes, it is frustrating. 

Yes it can be. I was trying to review everything after every round. Decisions,  execution,  etc. 

 

Many tines, a poor decision at the wrong time would knock me off track. Maybe next time it would be a poorly executed shot that I would compound into additional errors. 

 

Just keep reviewing and practice your weaknesses. 

[Jtgavigan]

So here has been a typical round. Miss an 8 footer on 1 for birdie. Bogey 2 and 4. Then get it to 1 under on 11. Thinking of going deep. Playing the blue tees at a resort course. 

 

Pull driver (shouldn't have, bad decision) on 12, just miss my line right. Into thick trees/palmetto bushes. 2 chips to get out. Miss green with 4th. Chip on and 1 putt. Fan it right on the next hole. OB. Hit 4 from the fairway. Double. Now I am pissed. Bogey the next 2. But, determined to get back on track. Miss 4 footer for birdie on 16, 20 footer for birdie on 17, make birdie on 18. That should have been 66, not 76. 

 

 

[bobfoster]

Deepest congratulations. Still remember the first time I did. (In fact, still have the ball that I sunk for a long par on 18 to hit 69 - had a crazy girlfriend at the time that painted a gold start on the ball with nail polish.) Its a day you'll likely remember for quite some time.

 

Was looking at 70/80/90/100 stats last week. If I remember right, less than 1% of US golfers have ever broken 70. You've now reached a seriously elite level dude. Quite the moment.

 

Now do it again this weekend ... 😉

[Jtgavigan]

2 minutes ago, bobfoster said:

Deepest congratulations. Still remember the first time I did. (In fact, still have the ball that I sunk for a long par on 18 to hit 69 - had a crazy girlfriend at the time that painted a gold start on the ball with nail polish.) Its a day you'll likely remember for quite some time.

 

Was looking at 70/80/90/100 stats last week. If I remember right, less than 1% of US golfers have ever broken 70. You've now reached a seriously elite level dude. Quite the moment.

 

Now do it again this weekend ... 😉

Thanks and I appreciate everyone saying congrats. Means a lot. 

 

You made me think I should have kept the ball. I will fish the one I think it is out of my bag and mark it. Will go right next to the bowling pin I took from the rack when I shot 814 in bowling in 1995. 

[gripandrip]

Congrats. Hopefully many more to come.

[PJE]

Congratulations! 

[lefthack]

Congrats, that's awesome. So far I've only played with 1 better player, so it's only me. 🤣

 

I would like to get to scratch, I would be pretty happy with that.

[byoshio82]

On 10/2/2021 at 7:04 PM, Jtgavigan said:

So, I have been playing on and off for 39 years. I have been capable of shooting in the 70s for probably 36 of them. I used to be a terrible putter, had a terrible temper, and really struggled to shoot below 75. 

 

About 15 years ago, I decided to get my short game better and get my temper under control. I finally broke par for the first time in 2009 (39-32-71). Now, at age 50, I regularly shoot under 75.

 

My quest for the last year plus has been to finally break 70. I have had a 70, numerous 71s, 72s, and 73s. Everyone I played with was shocked I had never broken 70. I have had all the pieces physically, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't get over the hump (mentally). I just couldn't put it all together.

 

Until....today. I finally did it. I easily could have shot 67, as I lipped out short putts on 9 and 10. Recently, I had several rounds where I was rolling along through 11 or 12 holes and then would fall apart. I bobbled today on 13 and 14, but kept going. I hit one fat out of a fairway bunker on 14, then knocked it 6 inches away for par from 50 yards. I think I knew then, it might be the day. I actually missed a 15 footer for birdie on 18 just right for 68. Best thing was, it was in a friendly money game and I finished T2 (paid top 2 spots), and won a skin.

 

So stoked!

Congrats!!! Hope you saved that golf ball and dated it! Always amazing to break through a scoring barrier. I still have mine. Also kudos for 16 GIR and 29 putts!

[Jtgavigan]

1 hour ago, byoshio82 said:

Congrats!!! Hope you saved that golf ball and dated it! Always amazing to break through a scoring barrier. I still have mine. Also kudos for 16 GIR and 29 putts!

actually it was 31. Missed a hole on the front. I will still take it! 🙂

[nvr3putt]

Congrats!!

 

As a mid-high handicapper, I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions.

1) How often do you practice and play a round per week?

2) How often do you get lessons?

3) Do you ever watch Youtube videos for the purpose of improving your swing/game?

4) Which is better, sex or shooting sub-70?

5) And most importantly, your WITB (sig) is mind-blowing! Can you describe how you got to your specs? Did you work with a fitter, instructor, or both?

 

Cheers

[coreyl]

Congratz amigo. I have been stuck at 70 for a few years now...seem to shoot it a few times a season but just don't break it. I'm stuck in my own head for sure.

[eht8266]

Awesome achievement! Love to hear these success stories - and like others also interested in the details on how you got there. My goal last year was to get to a 7 - and with a couple of 77s and 75s etc. I finally have gotten there. Putting, tee ball, and getting up and down from off the green were key.

 

Something else that I was wondering though is that once we hit a milestone, we want to get to the next one. What is a realistic goal for the rest of us? I don't think scratch is my goal - but maybe shooting par could be obtainable. The lower you get, the tougher it is to make those incremental improvements. Any thoughts out there on the journey? Thx.