Shooting a score in the 60s is the golfing milestone every serious player dreams of, a clear sign that you’ve moved from being a good golfer to a truly formidable one. This guide breaks down the tangible skills and strategies you need to turn that dream into a scorecard reality. We’ll skip the generic advice and focus on the practical changes that separate golfers who shoot 72 from those who shoot 69, covering everything from elite course management and precision scoring shots to the mental game required to finish the job.
Breaking 70 isn’t just about hitting great shots, it’s about a complete shift in how you think and prepare. The players consistently carding scores in the 60s have adopted a professional mindset that minimizes errors and maximizes opportunities. They leave very little to chance.
This is the most significant mental adjustment you need to make. Most amateurs chase birdies. Elite players hunt for pars and try relentlessly to eliminate bogeys. When your goal is to never make a bogey, your entire strategy changes. You stop firing at tucked pins. You stop hitting driver on tight holes where trouble lurks. You start playing for the fat part of the green and putting yourself in positions where a two-putt par is the most likely outcome. Birdies will happen naturally when you consistently hit greens, but a round without bogeys - or even just one or two - is the bedrock of a sub-70 score.
Players who shoot in the 60s don’t just show up and wing it. They arrive with a specific plan for the course. Before your round, think through all 18 holes.
The biggest difference between a 75-shooter and a 68-shooter isn't a 20-yard advantage off the tee. It’s lethal precision from 120 yards and in. This is where you score, and this is where you save pars. To break 70, you must become dominant in this zone.
“Good with my wedges” is too vague. You need to know, with certainty, what shot produces what distance. Go to the range or find a practice facility and build a "wedge matrix." The idea is to develop stock swings for different yardages. Think of it like this:
By a "stock" shot, we mean an 80% effort swing with smooth tempo. This is your reliable, go-to swing under pressure. When the flag is 85 yards away, you shouldn’t be guessing between a soft full sand wedge or a hard lob wedge. You should know that your three-quarter gap wedge goes exactly 85 yards. This level of precision removes doubt and leads to more birdie putts.
Great putting at this level isn't about draining 30-footers, it’s about becoming automatic inside 10 feet. This range serves two purposes: converting your close birdie chances and, more importantly, saving pars after a chip or pitch. The confidence that comes from knowing you will make nearly everything inside 6 feet is transformative.
A Simple, Effective Drill: The Gate Drill. Find a straight 4-foot putt. Place two tees just wider than your putter head, a few inches in front of your ball, creating a gate. Place two more tees just outside the width of the hole. Your goal is simple: start the putt through the first gate so it goes cleanly into the cup through the second gate. Do this 10 times in a row. Then 20. Then 50. This drill ingrains a repeatable path and a square face at impact, the two ingredients for holing short putts.
You are going to miss greens. That’s a guarantee. The players who break 70 are get-up-and-down artists. While having a variety of shots is great, start by becoming a master of one highly-reliable shot. For most, that’s a low-spinning chip with an 8 or 9-iron.
Practice a simple bump-and-run: narrow stance, weight slightly forward, hands ahead of the ball. Use a putting-style stroke to get the ball on the green and rolling like a putt as quickly as possible. Having this fall-back shot that you can execute under pressure will save you countless strokes by eliminating the dreaded chunked or bladed chips from fluffy lies.
Breaking 70 requires tour-level course management. It’s a game of chess, not checkers. Every shot decision should be made with the next one in mind, always working to avoid big numbers and keep yourself out of jail.
A smart golfer knows not only where to aim, but also where to miss. Tucked pins over a bunker are tantalizing, but they are fool's gold. For example, if the pin is on the right side of the green with a bunker guarding it, the smart play is to aim for the center of the green. If you pull it a little, you’re left of the pin with a putt. If you push it a little, you’re on the right-center of the green. A pure shot puts you on the green with a birdie look. Your miss is safe. This one concept alone will save you from countless bogeys and doubles, which are the absolute killers of a low round.
Think about where you want to hit your next shot from. Hitting driver down the fairway is great, but if it leaves you with a downhill, sidehill lie to an elevated green, was it the optimal play? Sometimes, hitting a 3-wood to the flatter, wider portion of the fairway is the smarter move, even if it leaves you with a slightly longer iron in. You are more likely to make solid contact from a good lie, and that increases your chances of hitting the green and securing your par.
You can have all the physical tools, but if your mental game falters, a 68 can balloon into a 73 on the final few holes. This is the final frontier of scoring low.
"One shot at a time" sounds like a cliche, but it’s the most powerful mental tool in golf. The moment you start thinking, "If I just par the last two holes, I’ll shoot 69," your focus has shifted from the process to the outcome. That’s when the tension creeps in. The best way to combat this is with a strong, unwavering pre-shot routine. It should be the same for the first shot of the day as it is for a 5-foot putt on 18 for 69. Pick your target, visualize the successful shot, take one or two feels, and go. The routine is your anchor, keeping you grounded in the here and now.
You are going to feel nervous when you have a great round going. That's a fact. Don't fight it. Accept it as a positive sign that you are in a position to do something special. Your heart is racing because you care, and that adrenaline can be used for good. Take an extra deep breath, slow down your walk between shots, and focus even more intently on the rhythm and tempo of your swing. Nerves can sharpen your focus if you let them. Treat them as a friend, not an enemy.
Ultimately, breaking 70 is a puzzle solved with strategy, discipline, and a sharp short game, not just raw power. It’s accomplished by eliminating the boneheaded mistakes, knowing your yardages cold, mastering your game from inside 120 yards, and developing the mental toughness to stay present and focused for 18 holes.
While building these skills is about time on the range, making smarter on-course decisions is an attribute you can sharpen immediately. Thinking through ideal strategy on a tough tee shot or figuring out the best way to handle a weird lie in the rough are places where an expert opinion can save you critical strokes. Our goal with Caddie AI is to give you that tour-level strategic partner right in your pocket. Imagine getting a smart play off the tee, a club recommendation, or an instant second opinion on a difficult recovery shot. We offer you the tools to help take the guesswork out of course management, allowing you to play with more confidence and turn good rounds into great ones.
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