That was my thought as well… though shooting even par should show you breaking 80 is coming…
I think one of the best things you can do for your score is play for par, take the birdies you get and avoid doubles…
With 11 pars you can break 80… I think that’s the secret to golf. Avoid mistakes, and you’ll end up consistently shooting better…
The easiest way to shoot 79 is to be consistently shooting low 80s and have a good day.
Yeah if you can shoot 36 on a nine, you’re definitely capable of shooting 79 (or lower) for a full eighteen.
I’ve broken par a handful of times for nine holes but I’ve never done better than +2 for a full eighteen. Its not that I have any mental hangups about shooting par its just that its really hard to put two of those spectacular nines back to back.
I might take time to build out a dumb math model about score variance based on average outcome…
Two things likely affecting this. One is if you have a 20% chance of breaking 40, that roughly is a 4% chance of breaking 80. It’s not quite that because you could do 39-40 but it’s still much less.
The other is when you play 18, if you start poorly then you relax and play better, while if you start well, you get nervous and tighten up.
Honestly the solution to both of these is to play as much as possible. It’ll happen. Good luck!
I thinks the others are right. You have a mental obstacle to breaking 80.
When I 18 I was playing 7 days a week and practicing every day and living with a golf pro. I was getting close to breaking 80 on a par 70 course for the first time. I kept having really good front nines and then blow up on the back nine for a low-mid 80s score. Then one day I was 7 over on the front nine and thought I had blown it and came home in 2 over for a 79. I’m sure that once I stopped “trying” and had mentally given up I played more freely leading to a new lowest round. That knocked me down to 12 hcp and then I was never able to play to it. Probably feeling too much pressure.
At my current course I have shot +2 on the front and back nines but not together and my best round is +10
The advice from @Craigers is spot on. Play for par and don’t put the pressure on yourself to make birdie. Tiger said his best scoring year wasn’t when he made more birdies, those he says, have stayed consistent throughout his career. However, what he did was make more pars. He put himself in a position to not make bogies. Narrowed down his area to miss. It is so important to remember this, if you are playing to make par you won’t care about birdie, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities for birdie. I think one of the huge mistakes we as amateurs make, is approaching a hole that we think we should make birdie on. I would often times believe most amateurs think they should make birdie on par 3’s. When in fact, par 3’s actually play over par on the PGA tour.
Yeah, I’ve become more convinced that getting into the low 70s is more avoiding compounding mistakes than anything else…
Taking medicine when you are in the trees… picking smart targets out of the rough. Playing to the middle of the green.
I think if I ignored the pin from 50 yards out, my score would improve… whether or not I can implement that is a different question.
Yeah, I get pin lock like my range finder. It’s the strangest thing, I start shaking and buzzing…
Yeah, I need to internalize scores the pros make from various distances… they average 3 shots from 100 yards? Why am I disappointed with a par from the fairway?
Wow, I was not aware of that stat!!! Those are the things I need to tell myself to be mentally better.
Completely agree and would add Scott Fawcett, as well. Scott is a really, really good man who has been through some unimaginable trauma and is doing his part to turn his pain into ways to help others.
Just googled him… whoa. That’s some stuff.
Agree - I just said Lou since he posts more charts with the stats.
100% they’re both great resources.
This is a really interesting discussion for me. I find many similarities in my own game. I regularly shoot 40-43 when playing 9 holes (that is what I usually play due to work schedule)…but find it more difficult to break 90 when I play 18.
I’ve also found that I score much better when playing alone.
I also lost my golf buddy last year…he used to keep my score for me - so I had no idea at times where I was in relation to par (or bogey) on any given hole. I always shot my best scores with him (perhaps he was generous with the scores???)…
Anyway, the mental game is rough!
I think there is something to be said about the mental game but I also think you need to consider that the more holes you play the more your score stabilizes…
My current goal on the mental side is basically making the smartest shot I can from the position I’m in… it doesn’t matter how I got where I am, good or bad. Take the “best” shot that will give me the best average score.
My overall goal is to avoid compounding mistakes by playing aggressively from a point of weakness… and playing aggressively from points of strength.
For me it’s also focusing on leaving a gimme from outside 10 feet vs trying to make it.
I also like the “match against par” mindset. If in position, get on the green and hopefully a putt rolls in. If it ends up being a tap in par, great next hole.
Hit a tee shot in the woods? Start thinking “just get in a position to have a chance at par”… it may be 10 - 20 ft but just give yourself that chance… ends up tap in bogey? No biggie move on to the next hole
Agreed… I think the goal at the start of most holes should be a stress free par. Fairway, middle of the green, two putt.
Birdies will fall into line on their own doing that.
When you miss the fairway or green, adjust the strategy to get back into play… I have a bad habit of trying hero shots. They are fun. They are bad for my score.