Breaking 80 in golf isn't about perfecting a tour-level swing, it's about learning to score like a seasoned player. The good news is that the jump from shooting in the 80s or 90s to consistently posting scores in the 70s is less about raw talent and more about smarter strategy and discipline. This guide lays out the practical, on-course game plan that will help you finally conquer the 70s barrier.
Let's get one thing straight right away: your goal is not to play perfect golf. The golfers who consistently shoot in the 70s have simply mastered the art of playing imperfect golf really well. They understand that the game is about managing your misses and making your bad shots better. They embrace "boring" golf because they know it leads to exciting scores.
The single biggest mental shift you need to make is to stop caring about how your scorecard looks and start focusing on how it adds up. This means letting go of your ego. It means that when you’re facing a tough par-4, your target isn't par - it's bogey. A "strategic bogey" where you carefully plot a path that avoids all major hazards is a massive win compared to the "heroic PAR attempt" that ends up as a 7 on the card.
This is the mindset of a 70s shooter. They don't try to win the hole, they simply try not to lose it. The big numbers - the double bogeys, triples, and worse - are what inflate your score. Erase those, and you're most of the way there.
Pressure is often a big part of what keeps golfers in the 80s. You feel like you need an endless string of pars just to have a chance. But let’s look at the math, because it's incredibly freeing.
To shoot a 79 on a par-72 course, you need to be +7. Here’s a very simple and achievable way to get there:
That’s it. No birdies. No eagles. Just more pars than bogeys. Do you see how manageable that looks? Do you make seven bogeys in most of your rounds right now? Probably. The difference is that you also have a few doubles or triples. The mission isn't to make more birdies, it's to turn those doubles into bogeys.
Let’s look at an even more realistic scenario for a 79:
This should be your reality check. You can make an occasional double bogey and still break 80. You can have plenty of bogeys. You do not need to be a par-making machine. Every time you step onto the tee, remind yourself that a bogey is not a failure. It might be just what you need on your path to 79.
Scoring low is a result of a solid game plan on every single hole. It's time to stop stepping up to the tee and just mindlessly bashing the driver. From now on, you will have a clear, conservative plan for every shot you hit.
The smartest players don't think about how far they can hit their tee shot. They think about where they want to hit their second shot from.Before you pull a club, ask yourself: “What is my ideal yardage for my approach shot?” If you love your 150-yard club, then find the spot in the fairway that is 150 yards from the green and make that your target.
This simple change in thinking does a few amazing things:
This might be the hardest piece of advice for an amateur golfer to follow, but it's the most powerful: stop firing at pins tucked behind bunkers or close to the edge. Pin-hunting is an ego-driven, low-percentage play that leads to big numbers.
Your new target for every single approach shot, regardless of where the pin is, is the center of the green. Get out your rangefinder or GPS and zap the yardage to the middle of the putting surface. Choose the club that gets you there, and swing with confidence.
Thinking this way means:
You’ve effectively doubled or tripled the size of your target. You will hit more greens, and when you do miss, you’ll be much closer to the hole for an easy chip.
Most golfers are guilty of under-clubbing. They grab the 7-iron that they have to hit absolutely perfectly to cover the 160-yard distance. This forces them to swing too hard, throwing off their tempo and creating miss-hits.
Here’s the rule from now on: When in doubt, take one extra club and make a smooth, controlled swing.
If the yardage is 160, grab your 6-iron instead of your 7-iron. Swing at 80% effort. The benefit is huge. A smoother swing leads to much better, more centered contact. You'll find your shots are not only more accurate but often fly a more consistent distance because you’re not trying to force it. Let the loft of the club do the work for you.
This is where scores are made and lost. A great short game won’t just help you save par when you miss a green, it will help you turn botched approaches into easy pars. Getting comfortable and confident inside 100 yards is non-negotiable for breaking 80.
“How far do you hit your sand wedge?” If your answer is, “Uhh, about 80 to 90 yards,” you’re guessing. And guessing leads to bogeys.
Go to the driving range or a practice area and figure this out. Hit 10 balls with each of your wedges (Gap, Sand, Lob) with three different an swings:
Find the average carry distance for all of them. Write these numbers on a piece of tape on the shaft or in a small notebook you keep in your bag. Now, when you have 85 yards to the pin, you’re not guessing. You know with certainty that it’s your full Gap Wedge or your 3/4 Sand Wedge. This precision turns a weakness into a major strength.
You don't need a wide array of fancy, tour-level shots around the green. You need one simple, reliable, go-to chip shot that you can execute under pressure.
For most players, the best option is a straightforward bump-and-run. Use your pitching wedge or even a 9-iron. Set up with your weight slightly forward and use a motion that feels very similar to your putting stroke. The goal is simple: get the ball onto the putting surface and let it roll out to the hole. Stop trying to fly everything perfectly to the pin. Get it on the ground and get it a putt.
For any putt outside of about 15 feet, your objective is not to make it. Your objective is a perfect two-putt. Your goal is to get your first putt to die somewhere within a 3-foot "tap-in" circle around the hole.
Lag putting is all about speed control. When you practice, stop worrying about holing long putts and start focusing purely on distance. Pick a spot 30 feet away and see how many putts you can leave within that 3-foot radius. Shifting your focus from "making" to "lagging" takes an immense amount of pressure off and immediately translates to fewer three-putts per round.
The single greatest difference between a 79 and an 85 is the blow-up hole. We’ve all been there: one bad tee shot leads to a risky recovery, which leads to a penalty, a flubbed chip, and a dreaded 8 on the card. That ends today.
You’ve hit your drive into the trees. You see a tiny window to the green. The old you would grab an iron and try to thread the needle. The new, 70s-shooting you recognizes this as a fool's errand. You take out a wedge, find the safest, widest path back to the fairway, and chip it out sideways. You're now lying 3 in the fairway instead of lying 4 (or 5) still in trouble. It’s not glorious, but taking your medicine is what saves rounds.
Every golfer needs a reliable, go-to shot for pressure situations. When you're standing on a tight par-4 with water on the right and out-of-bounds on the left, pulling out the driver is not a smart play. Your "fairway finder" is the club and shot you trust most to simply get the ball in play.
For some, it's a 3-wood. For others, a 4-hybrid or even a 5-iron. It doesn't need to go far, it just needs to go straight. Practice this shot so it's second nature. When you're facing a must-hit-the-fairway moment, you’ll have a tool ready for the job.
Shot-to-shot discipline is vital. A bad shot only becomes a disaster if you let it affect the next one. Create a mental rule for yourself. After a poor shot, you have exactly 10 seconds to be angry, frustrated, or disappointed. Once those 10 seconds are up, it's over. That shot is in the past. Your entire focus shifts to the next one - finding your ball and figuring out the smartest way to play from there.
Shooting in the 70s consistently is a benchmark that boils down to disciplined strategy, not a dramatic overhaul of your swing. By focusing on smart course management, mastering your game inside 100 yards, and - most importantly - eliminating the blow-up holes, you build a foundation for a game that can withstand mistakes and still produce better scores.
It’s this exact kind of on-course strategic thinking that we designed a tool for with Caddie AI. A huge part of smarter golf is having an expert opinion to guide you, which is why we created it to be your personal caddie and coach. When you’re stumped on the tee, you can get a straightforward play-by-play strategy in seconds. And if you find yourself with a terrible lie, you can even take a photo to get instant advice on the smartest shot to play. It’s all about removing the guesswork so you can step up to every shot with clarity and commitment.
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