What It REALLY Takes To Break 80 (Not Much) 

Yaaaaaaas!

Fair. I definitely feel very comfortable inside 100 yards and that's huge in lowering scores.

I three putt almost every time from outside 10 feet Can't break 80 doing that

It took me almost three years from going from breaking 90 to breaking 80. I still only do it about 30 percent of the time. It’s so hard to get over the wall. You can do it though.

I’m in the same boat, I broke 90 3 times this year and looking forward to break 80 next year. We shall see.

It’s becoming more rare that I shoot over 85 which I’m happy about but yeah my next goal is to break 80 I’m going one more time before the year is over so we will see lol

Same. Got an 81 last month and a couple 82 it's winter now and might not get another try until next year

Same goal here. I’ve shot even 80 four times this year but recently my scores have skyrocketed and I honestly feel like packing it in until the spring and just sticking to the range

Totally agreed

And chip well!

Thanks so much! And keep grindin', you'll get there!

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thanks man.

@@NotAScratchGolfer you, Golfsidekick, Mr Short Hitter, and Not a Perfect Golfer have taught me so much about enjoying the round, staying in the moment, and having a “goldfish memory” in order to carry on and often salvage a bad hole or two into a respectable round. Thanks for making your content. It helps.

Love this.

Good stuff!

I thought it was only me that saw the Patrick Reed moment.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F47FFpy-xxw.htmlsi=vYy0Xj03CIE54vcT&t=218

lol I'm always amazed by how observant people are! I didn't even notice it, either while playing or editing.

Came to the comment section for this comment 😂

Thanks so much! Where are you losing strokes?

@@NotAScratchGolfer I feel like I lose most strokes off the tee. I'm not a 100% sure though to be honest. First year was all about learning the game and falling in love with it. I'm at the point where I want to improve, so I might invest in something like the garmin or arccos system. Just to get some data about my game. I've thought about some lessons, but it's been way to fun trying to figure it out myself lol

I'm a big advocate of Arccos. It's a little finicky and only valuable if you love pouring through data. But if that's you, it's a great tool!@@KingZee

Thank you!

Thank you!

Ack! You'll get there!

Wow, that's massive improvement, congrats. Once you're flirting with a 10 index, it's just a matter of time before you break 80!

I'd love to do this. I wish I were more proficient at shooting/editing. Just maintaining ~1 vid/wk in 2023 proved to be more difficult than I imagined. Hopefully someday, though!

Thanks man!

His swing is really not that bad. His takeaway is a bit on the inside but he turns through the ball really nicely (better than most high single figure hcaps) and makes good contact. He also doesn't change his swing constantly throughout the round trying to fix what went wrong on the last shot. Wish I had the same discipline 😂

The most condescendingly nice comment ever, btw his swing isn't that of a "total beginner" lol

@@kdenishere I just meant that everyone should carefully listen to all what he says, as it obviously works, and works great. He is great in putting. Short game... Ups. Approach - not bad. Off the tee - I don't know how he manages to land on the fairway almost all the time... For me it is pain to watch as I expect massive hook or even breaking the club... But I keep watching as his advices are pure gold. "How to get great scores while playing not that great."

He succeeds with an unconventional swing because he's a putt machine...

Thanks!

Haha that's Milt (who was featured in my last vid). I tend to play some of my best golf with Milt. I don't think it's a coincidence!

Typo on the scorecard, it was a 38 I believe

Thank you!

Thanks!

lol that's the first time I've heard that one. And thanks for the kind words!

Thank you!

Glad you enjoyed it!

The first two questions are almost always going to be impossible to answer without knowing either how much time your lifestyle allows OR how efficient you are with your practice. Third question I can answer fairly easily if you know a couple of extra stats for yourself. It's the same basic math everyone uses. You're averaging +13 with a single 3-putt (which is good! congrats!) You're averaging 4 or 5 GIRs per round. Which actually means you're doing everything else pretty darn well. Even for a high-level golf a 50/50 up and down rate is good. So, AT BEST if you hit 4 greens in a round, your best score you can reasonably hope for is 79. 14 missed GIRs * 50% UPDN% = 7 bogeys. 72 + 7 = 79. That's making no mistakes anywhere else. You're hitting 55% of the fairways. (let's assume 4 Par 4s per 18 holes) that means of the 7 or 8 fairways you're hitting, plus the four Par-3 holes you've got 12 solid chances to hit the green. Of those 12 you're only converting 4 or 5 of those opportunities. I'd guess your UpDn% is around 22% since you average 7 pars. I'll assume you make par on all 4 of your GIRs, so that means 3 Pars must be coming from UpDn. 3 remaining Pars from 14 missed greens is 21.4%. You've got an average of +13, with +1 from a 3-putt, +7 from missed greens and no UpDn, + 2 penalty +1 floater shot that doesn't matter too much. The only real question is where are the two penalties coming from? My guess is approach shots into hazards is more often than wild drives due to your high % Fairways hit. But I could be wrong. Maybe 1 drive in a hazard for every 3 or 4 in a greenside hazard? That would be good data to gather. So, what's the conclusion? Your biggest opportunity is from hitting more greens, whether that's learning and trusting your club selection or through better ball striking I can't say. But the reason this is the case is because even if you got to 50% UpDn on your missed greens you'd still shoot 80 at best. Remember: 14 missed GIRs * 50% UPDN% = 7 bogeys. 72 + 7 = 79 + 1 3-putt = 80. Let's say you can improve your approach play by removing that penalty [-1] + hitting more Greens (let's get your average to 8) that's 3.5 more GIRs 3.5* .78 strokes per GIR (due to your 22% UpDn) = -2.73 scoring average. That's essentially going to get you from 85 to [85 -1 -2.73] = 81.27. That doesn't include all the partial shots that you'll gain from improved approach play. If you're hitting more greens your average distance to the hole for your first putt or chip will be less. So, you'll make more putts, have easier UpDn (maybe putting from fringe instead of a chip that needs to carry 5 yards onto the green) and maybe drop your 3-putt average to be less than 1 per round. If that improved approach play means you stop hitting that ball into the green side hazard, that's basically more than 1 stroke saved. Because remember, when you hit the ball in the lake in front of the green, you'll have to drop and RE-CROSS the lake AFTER the penalty.rd, that's basically more than 1 stroke saved. Because remember, when you hit the ball in the lake in front of the green, you'll have to drop and RE-CROSS the lake AFTER the penalty. Conclusion: Approach play strategy improvement should be the goal. Learn EXACTLY how far you hit your irons. An 8-iron isn't an "about 140 club" it is your " 142 flight, 4 yards of roll" club. You need to know that for every approach club in your bag (let's say 6 iron and below). Next, commit to NEVER being short of a green again without a severe miss hit. Always take the extra club. Remember, if you flush a shot and it lands pin-high, you pulled the wrong club because anything less than perfect would be short. Once you start missing more 60% of your greens by being too long, then you can start taking less club. Until then, if you're in between clubs ALWAYS take the longer one. Targets, you need to figure out where to aim into greens so that your normal "not great" shot still lands on the putting surface (or not in a hazard) and your good shot also lands on the green. Read/Listen to some Scott Fawcett interviews about DECADE for ideas on this.

Wow, thanks@@johnblaker2454 for such a detailed analysis. I think you are spot on with the stats, I know I need to get my GIR percentage up and reduce the penalties. I've been practicing a lot more lately (trying to now get about 4 to 5 hours of dedicated practice in). Interestingly, I get a lot of my GIRS on PAR 5s because I drive about 250 - 270 yards, leaving a 3 hybrid (210 yds) and a short chip on. My trouble spots are PAR 3s - many times I will mess them up and get a bogey or double bogey - many times missing the green. The PAR 4s normally leave a wedge in with a partial shot. Many times I miss that partial shot slightly short so your thought of using a longer club or just playing the shot like it is a longer shot could definitely help me improve the GIRs in those scenarios. I plan to make better notes after each round so I can hone in on shots that cost me points so I can try to practice to eliminate those mistakes. Thanks again for spending the time to help me out, I greatly appreciate it.

Good stuff. Anything specific that's helped?

@@NotAScratchGolfer Hey! It was the 10 commandments. Just something to concentrate a round with. It came in handy. Unfortunately it's Winter in the UK now so I've only done it once so far!

Thanks! When does your season start again?@@RealSweetTom

Not carry, total. Probably only carried ~230-240. I'll take it, though!

Wow, congrats!

Thanks!

Typos on the scorecard

Thanks, glad to have ya!

Thanks!

Thanks, man! How'd ya do?

Thanks, man!

Yeah! I think Eagle Falls is the hidden gem in the desert. Fabulous layout and topography, great conditioning, and tee times seem to always be available!

I hear ya! And thanks. I'm definitely hitting drives considerably better after some instruction. I'm sure it would be better still if I really committed to major changes, but I just don't want to, lol.

Thanks! Yeah, even though I'm not a huge practice guy, I'm a big believer in PGA Instruction rather than just queuing up Rick Shiels videos (with all respect to him). And Swingtweaks has definitely helped me level up my driver!

Thanks! I switched to Sub70s a few months ago. Nothing wrong with the PXGs, I just went down a vanity rabbit hole and wanted to look at a more compact club head.

Fair!

Great guys!

Thanks!

If you still made contact, you're living well!

Love it!

Awesome stuff. Keep grindin'!

Ack!! You'll get there!

I rarely try to take anything off of a driver, although every now and then I'll try to squeeze a bit more out of it. Conditions play a big factor, too. A little uphill, a little downhill, a little into wind, a little downwind all add up. I think my "normal" drive (i.e. neutral conditions) is typically ~240-250.

Thanks!

lollll

haha yeah a bunch of typos on the scorecard today. I'm not a scratch video editor, either :p

Thanks so much! I've been meaning to get to Poppy Ridge and get to the Bay Area a few times each year. I'll make an announcement in my Community tab the next time I'm out there. Feel free to email me (info@notascratchgolfer.com), as well!

Impressed by how many people noticed this, considering I didn't (both while playing and editing)!

Single length clubs could be a fun thing for you to try

;)

Consciously, no. But I've read a lot about how we subconsciously tend to grind a little harder to save par than to make birdie. It's fascinating how much of the game takes place between the ears.

Haha thanks.

Bingo

❤🙏🏻Thanks for talking sense, appreciate you

Bingo

Yeah I botched the scorecard sequences here.

I think I've just played so much golf that I'm no longer particularly attached to the outcome of each round. I try to just treat each shot as a new endeavor, whether I'm 1-under or 15-over.