What's Stopping You Breaking 80

Breaking 80 is a Holy Grail for golfers during their lifetime playing the game. It's a milestone that signifies you have reached an impressive level of ability, a benchmark for improving players to ascend to, pushing into single-figure territory, and it's a strong base for any everyday amateur golfer to work from.

Whether you are someone who shoots in the 70s regularly, a golfer who hasn't done so for a long time, or someone who is still reaching for that peak, it's a helpful exercise to see just what is required to achieve that standard.

It would be easy to say that you simply need to get better at everything if you are falling short of breaking 80, which certainly wouldn't hurt, but having the correct statistics to hand should outline the pathway you need to follow.

We studied the Golfshake Score Tracker - and the numbers posted by many thousands of golfers - to see the stats you have to consistently record in order to break into the 70s.

Focusing on those golfers whose average score is around 79, here is how you could emulate them and get your hands on that sought after goal.

Driving

Hitting the ball further could make a dramatic difference in lowering your handicap (Read: Why You Don't Hit The Golf Ball Farther), but accuracy is also key, essential when it comes to minimising mistakes. Tiger Woods' former coach, Hank Haney, made fixing your big miss with the driver one of his keys to better scoring.

Therefore, it's worth seeing just how many fairways are hit by golfers who break 80 regularly. Our golfers who shot 79 average ten fairways hit a round, which will instantly reduce the number of penalty shots you take off the tee, in addition to missing thick rough, trees, bunkers, and other hazards that make scoring more difficult.

Iron Play

Once you've found the fairway, hitting the green in the requisite number comes next, and that can be accessed through better iron play. Greens in regulation is a solid stat to work from and our golfers who broke 80 typically hit eight of them during their rounds to guarantee birdie putts on almost half the holes that they played.

If you can then capitalise on that by making a few birdies - or ensuring that you walk off the green with a par at worst - that is a necessary ingredient for better golf.

Scoring 

If you're missing the greens, then your short game will be a handy ally, but relying on that too often isn't a sustainable model to getting into the 70s. 

That said, another key of Hank Haney is eliminating two chips and pitches, meaning that you get onto the green in one shot, and eliminating two bunker shots, ensuring that you always escape from the sand on the first attempt, and getting rid of three-putts. It might be easier said than done, but the more often you can reduce those wasted shots, the better your scoring will instantly become. 

In terms of specifics, the golfer who shot 79 averaged 3.5 on par threes, 4.5 on par fours, and 5.3 on par fives.

Putting

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

If you think that a two-foot putt equals the same as a booming, 300 yard drive, then it can quickly become frustrating when you start missing too many on the greens.

There is very little between those who averaged rounds of 79 and those who shoot 83, just one putt per round, meaning that even modest improvement with the putter in hand could make all the difference in reaching the next level. Those who shot 79 averaged 32.2 putts-per-round - which should feel achievable for most of you.

As Haney says, reducing the number of three-putts you record will see your scores tumble. 

Course Management

Indeed, it goes without saying that it's not just about how well you can hit the ball or save yourself around the greens, it's also about making the right decisions, that's something that prevents many golfers - even some of the world's best - from fully reaching their potential.

Choosing the right club off the tee, playing the percentages when you're facing a difficult approach shot, or need to navigate a hazardous position, might not be the most exciting of ideas, but you'll be amazed at how just thinking about the game more intelligently can see your scores fall significantly - and deploying better strategy can be done without hitting better shots.

Practice

Unless you are one of those annoying people who can seemingly play well without putting much effort in, most of us will need to spend many hours on the range or practice area to improve our games. 

But putting in the time and hitting all the shots isn't the only thing you need.

When asked for advice on how golfers can break 80, two-time major champion and former world number one Nelly Korda had some insightful thoughts on the subject - recommending practice with alignment sticks and targets.

"If you don't know where you're aiming there is a high chance you don't know where you're aiming on the golf course," Korda said.

"I see a lot of people stand on the range just drilling golf balls or just practicing a lot instead of going out and visualising. At the end of the day, golf is a game of creativity and you're never going to have your A-game. One day the wind will be off the left and one day off the right. The hole will play completely different," she added. "It's all about creativity."

Golf Equipment

Having the right equipment is also a factor when it comes to playing better golf. That doesn't mean spending a fortune on the latest or most expensive clubs, but we can certainly recommend that you take up the opportunity when possible to get fitted, as optimised shaft lengths and lie angles, tailored for you, will make it more likely that you will swing the club better and hit more consistent shots.

If you're someone who is aspiring to break 80, you may now have seen exactly where you are falling short. Make these your targets and ambitions for the weeks and months ahead - and keep a record of your progress in our Score Tracker to identify those game-changing benchmarks!

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