Break 100: The Formula
Have you ever wondered how to make easy work of breaking 100?
Well, I have the formula for how you can do just that. The photo shows a 400-yard hole. The question is simple: “What would you do vs What should you do?” You might take out the driver and bust it right down the middle and make easy work of hitting the green and having two putts for a par. Maybe that happens 2 times in your round of golf. Sound all too familiar?
The fact is, many golfers who struggle to break 100 put
themselves in position to limit their chances of breaking 100. After a miss-fire, the rest of the hole is spent recovering. Now let’s change your THOUGHT PROCESS!
The Strategy: On the Green in 1+Regulation
Pick your spots around the course with the goal of positioning yourself to get onto the putting surface in one stroke more than regulation.
•On a par 3, hit the green with your second shot. •On a par 4, hit the green with your third shot. •On a par 5,hit the green with your fourth shot.
This approach allows you to take much less risky shots and, if done correctly, could give you 18 straight par putts. Realize that if you 2-putt each hole, you’d shoot 90 on a par 72 course. But people, you gotta make one of ‘em don’t you? But wait, there’s more. You are going to have some shorter holes where you can hit the green in regulation. And you just might make a few pars: Uh oh, now were on our way to the mid-80’s!
The Skills You Need
1) Putting. Putting is unavoidable. You need to be a competent putter. Thankfully, this is the easiest skill in golf, from a physical standpoint.
2) Mid-short iron swing. You need to move the ball around the course, and the 7-iron is going to be your best tool for that job. You’ll need to learn to be reasonably accurate and consistent with your irons from 7 through PW.
3) Simple pitch and chip. If you understand and are committed to the fact you will miss greens in regulation, then having a strategy on how to get your ball on the green w a pitch or chip will lower your strokes.
Notice what you Don’t need:
• long irons, hybrids, fairway woods, flop shots, or, most of all, a driver.
For high handicap players, the driver adds more strokes than it saves by a huge margin. Yes, hitting driver is fun (sometimes), but you’ll notice that this is not a plan for having fun on the golf course, it’s a plan for breaking 100…which is fun all the time.
The Game Plan – Stay On Course
The first decision you’re going to make is choosing an appropriate set of tees. Playing tees that are appropriate for your game will take the pressure off your game and allow you to hit more good shots. There’s plenty of time to play the longer tees when you’re consistently shooting in the 90’s or 80’s
Keep the Ball In Play
By leaving everything longer than a 7-iron at home, you’ve already taken a major step towards keeping the ball in play. The other key is not over-swinging. Don’t stand on the tee and try to hit your 7-iron 250 yards. If you’re 7-iron goes 140 yards, don’t try to hit the green when you’re 160 yards out. Swing within yourself and keep the ball in play.
Avoid Unnecessary Risk
Even with nothing longer than a 7-iron, it’s likely that you will find trouble at some point. That’s OK, remember that there’s a lot of room for error in this plan. The key is not
compounding your mistakes.
• If you hit it into the trees, punch out. I
• If there is a forced carry that you could only make if you hit your 7-iron absolutely
perfectly, lay up.
You can make bogeys and doubles and break 100, making triples and quads, makes it much more difficult.
Aim for the Center of the Green
Until you’re putting, pretend that the flag doesn’t even exist. Hit the ball to the centre of the green. Give yourself the widest margin for error when attacking the green by aiming for the centre.
Happy Golfing!
Doug Lawrie is the Director of the Golf North Academy and a Internationally recognized Junior Golf expert having coached multiple World and Provincial title winners and being recognized as Jr Leader of the Year for the PGA of Canada, and US Kids Golf Top 50 Master Coach.