Welcome to our breaking 80 page!  You're a solid player who may have a double bogey, mostly pars and bogeys in your round with a stray birdie in there for fun.  You're merely some fine tuning away from reaching this milestone.  You'll need to stop some of those 3 putts that seem to happen and also start making more of those birdie putts which seem to be burning the edges.

We are not going to talk about swing path or arm angles.  We will leave that to your local teaching professionals.  This page is dedicated to the mental side of the game, short game fundamentals and putting.  The goal is to get you to start thinking about a plan to shoot 79 and lower.

MISSION 79:

Course knowledge is one of the most important issues for amateur golfers.  The more you play the course, the more you'll know what trouble to avoid, giving you the best chance to succeed.  You might already be a student of the score card, but if not, start looking at the course map to determine where you would ideally like to be on each shot for each hole. 

You're good from tee to green, but the short game gives you trouble.

• Let's break down the score card.  On a par 72, you will need to shoot a maximum of 7 over par for 18 holes.  That's 0.39 over par per hole.
• It's basically par golf with a handful of bogeys that you will need to maintain throughout the round.  If you get a double bogey on one hole, you'll need a string of pars or better the next few holes to keep pace.
• Let's make an assumption that you can get to any green in regulation.  Your goal should be to keep the par train rolling.  You'll take pars all day long, right?  You will be wayward from time to time and your short game will need to save you.  A few bogeys won't hurt you, but don't get complacent.  Birdies tend to be elusive so it's best not to depend on having to get one later in the round in order to get to 79.
  
• Next time you want to practice, instead of hitting the driving range go to the putting and chipping green.  Although you don't get the same feeling of crushing that scuffed-up range ball as you do knocking in five-foot putts, if you want to bring your scores down you must become an excellent chipper and putter.
• Getting up and down is really an art form.  Sometimes you need to get creative.  You'll need to hone those short game skills to get the ball as close as you can to the hole for an easy tap in.
• Making 5, 10 and 15 foot putts are critical if you want to score in the 70's.  Practice these putts religiously.  And try them from all angles such as downhill, sidehill and uphill before you play to get the speed of the greens.  You don't want to be guessing when you're out there.
  
• You'll need to lag the ball from 30 and 40 feet to within 5 or less to the hole.  The game gets a lot easier when the ball's sitting next to the hole and your playing partner calls it good.
• When was the last time you went to the practice sand trap?  You will find those nasty bunkers from time to time on the course, and it's important you can feel confident that you can get the ball close for reasonable par saving putts.  Getting a sandy can be a real mental lift and brings you one step closer to 79.

Green Strategy:

• You must know where the holes will be on any given day.  Find the pin sheets where you can plan your strategy.
• Pros have a partner to work with, their caddy, who knows what every inch of the green will do.  You get this information without a caddy by playing a course multiple times and taking notes on where the breaks will be on each green.
• There are two components to putting:  Knowing where your putt line is and executing the putt.  If you know for sure what the line is, you'll be much more confident stepping up to execute your putt with the right speed.
• What putts do you feel most comfortable with?  Most right handed golfers like a straight uphill putt or a slight break to the right uphill putt.  Figure out where on the green will get you that type of putt.  Put yourself in the best position possible to get the best result possible.
  

You're good around the green but the tee and fairway can get adventurous:

• The wildness from tee to green is hurting your score.  Are you playing from the rough a lot?  Course management is key for you as well as solid tee shots that keep you in the fairway.
• The driver is a big weapon out there, but if you're spraying it a bit, pull out a club you have a lot of confidence in, ala Tin Cup and his 7 iron.  We don't encourage the Tin Cup method, but being comfortable with your club choice on the links is extremely important.
• Do you hit a three metal (wood) off the tee more consistently?  How about a longer iron or even a hybrid?  Sure it's not as fun as trying to blast the driver, but what are you trying to accomplish?  Staying in the fairway and out of trouble is key (as well as a lot more fun).
• Go to the driving range and work on picking out a target.  Many amateur golfers hit shots without caring where they go on the range.  Treat it like you're actually playing.  This procedure will get you more focused mentally when playing each shot.

SCENARIO:  Let's say you're looking at a 200 yard, uphill par 3 with a pond in front of you, but you have 40 yards of fairway leading up to the green.  The pin is in the middle of the green.  The green is guarded by bunkers on both sides.  The strategy here is to play for the front of the green.  You'll more than likely be coming in with a longer iron or even a hybrid.  If you hit it fat, you should still make the fairway where you can chip and putt for a 3.  If you hit it a little right or left, you still should have a decent chip and putt for your par.  If you hit it correctly, you'll have a decent and probable uphill putt for birdie.  Even if you're an excellent sand player, it's better to be chipping uphill than blasting out of the bunker on a green slanting downhill or even sideways.  Although if the rough is looking like US Open rough, then the bunker might be better.  Position A is still the front portion of the green in this case and where you should be looking to plant the ball.  Remember, if you can keep taking pars you'll be in the mid 70's easy.

Mental Focus bringing you down?

• Concentration and execution are important in most sports, but they are extremely important in golf.
• Don't let a bad shot take you out of your game.  Regroup, forget about it, and think about what the next shot will require to get you back on track.
• Golf is a mental game and it's a chess match with yourself sometimes.  As soon as you lose mental focus, calm down and concentrate on the next shot.  If you can't, then forget about your dream round for that day, flag down the drink cart and enjoy a beautiful day on the links.

Mission accomplished?

We're not naive enough to think that after reading this section you'll go out and shoot 79 today or tomorrow.  But hopefully with these tips you can begin to start thinking in a way that will give you that chance to reach your new low.  Use our forum to discuss what others are doing in their quest.  And, if you do card a number in the 70's, please come back to our forum to tell us all about it.  We love a good success story.

Good luck and may your bounces be kind!