Luke is an avid weekend-warrior golfer from the East Coast who plays golf more than he cares to admit.
In the golfing world, breaking 80 is often seen as the ultimate achievement. Many feel as though they might never get there, as it can sometimes be so daunting.
Many great golfers have insisted that it’s possible for just about anyone to break 80, but getting there certainly isn’t easy.
If you’re at the stage in your golfing career where breaking 80 seems like it’s on the horizon, we’ve got some advice for you below.
Rest assured that you don’t need to spend tons of cash in the way of lessons to finally get down to the 70s, you just need some practice and the right mindset.
To find out more about how you can successfully break 80, keep reading as we take a look below.
Clearing Up Some Misconceptions
It often seems as though those around us who have already successfully broken 80, now like to spread a lot of misinformation about what it takes to get there.
Breaking 80 has a lot of myths surrounding it, and most of them are completely false.
Many say that in order to successfully break 80, you need to hit a lot of fairways, greens, as well as draining putts from over 10 feet away.
These are all common misconceptions, and are not necessarily something you need to be achieving to hit 80.
Hitting 80 is far more about making sure that you’re not messing up hugely on the course. You need to make sure that your game is strong, and not consistently making the same mistakes.
Triple or double bogeys make it infinitely more difficult to hit 80, so you need to try and keep these as low as you can.
Most people who have managed to hit 80, are either super good at one portion of the game, which they excel in, or they’re pretty good at everything, but don’t necessarily excel.
For example, perhaps you’re extremely good at saving par, but aren’t necessarily good at consistently hitting greens.
Either way, you need to make sure that you excel at something if you’re not generally an all rounder.
Short Game Shots For Hitting 80
In order to get down to the 70s, there are some shots that you should be practicing consistently. The majority of these will be shorter shots, that measure up at around 125 yards or nearer.
In order to find more about the specific shots that you can start practicing today in order to improve your golfing game, keep reading below.
Improve Your Bunker Shot
One of the key things that you should do whenever you’re trying to hit 80, is to consistently practice those bunker shots.
The sand wedge is infamous for being one of the most difficult clubs to master, but it’s incredibly important to do so if you’re serious about your golfing journey.
Consider investing in a lob wedge too, which can make hitting these difficult shorts infinitely easier. The main thing that you need to be able to do is simply get it out of the bunker.
If you can do this and get it into a decent position for a put, you’re well on your way to breaking 80.
We know that this will take some practice, but everyone gets there eventually. Conquering your fear of bunkers is super important for breaking 80.
Practice Your Putting
Now let’s move on to talk about putting in general. This is probably the thing that you should be dedicating 70 percent of your time on the green to improving when trying to break 80.
Most golfers don’t even realize how important putting practice is, and sometimes choose to avoid it.
Despite this, you need to remember that around 45 percent of your time is spent whilst you’re on the course. So, in order to hit 80, you’ll need to get this aspect of the game down.
The ideal range to practice with is around four to fifteen feet, so consistently try putting at this range to improve your game.
Master The High Pitch
Another thing that you should dedicate some practice time to when trying to break 80, is mastering your high pitch shots.
This means that you’ll regularly need to get your lob wedge out of the golfing bag and practice with it.
Hit these high and soft shots from around 30 yards for the best practice. This will significantly improve your game and help you to achieve your golfing goals.
Ball Striking
Another important thing that you should always aim to be practicing out on the course is your ball strike. Make sure that your tee shots are always in play, and hit as many greens as humanly possible.
This will guarantee that you’ll eventually break 80 with some practice.
This is why you need to be incredibly dedicated to golf and improving your game in order to hit 80. In order to break 80 and improve your ball strike, your swing will need to improve in general.
This means high levels of practice, which requires a lot of time, dedication and patience. Something that many people aren’t able to dedicate to their golfing progress.
You need to decide if you’re willing to put in the time and effort to improve your swing.
Final Thoughts
Breaking 80 in golf is often seen as the ultimate challenge within the game, and can be incredibly difficult to achieve.
This doesn’t mean that it’s impossible however, and everybody can get there depending on how much time and effort they’re willing to dedicate to the game.
Practicing your swing, ball strike, the number of greens you make, and improving bunker shots will all be important for breaking 80.
