Quite a few golfers I coach as a golf instructor in Orlando, and at McLemore Resort, are trying everything they can to breaking 90.
Breaking 100 legitimizes your place in golf as an enthusiast, an average player. But breaking 90 is something different. Breaking 90 is a credibility badge you wear to the course that let’s others know you’re beyond a beginner and golf is a more serious journey for you. It’s a commendable milestone for all golfers, signifying you are becoming more consistent. And your skills are improving beyond those of the average golfer.
Breaking 90 in golf is a continuation of breaking 100 when it comes to improving precision and patience. And it requires you refine how and how often you practice. While it might seem daunting, it’s a more achievable goal than you think. With the right focus and strategy, you can lower your scores and enjoy the game even more.
Below is a general guide to breaking 90 in golf. Over the coming months, John Hughes Golf will feature a few of the specific details below that make the biggest impact to your ability to break 90.
Breaking 90 Requires More Consistent Ball Striking
Your ability to strike the ball in the middle of the club face becomes more important with every milestone you break. Including breaking 90!
One of the most critical aspects of breaking 90 is hitting the ball consistently. This doesn’t mean you need to hit every shot perfectly, but rather, you need to minimize the number of significantly off target shots you hit in a round. Most likely, the shots that you are losing or being penalized by. You’ll need to be more detailed with various elements that comprise your ball striking abilities. And make alterations or adjustments as needed to ensure the ball is striking the center of the club face.
To eliminate the lost balls and penalized shots you’ll need to:
Continue to Focus Upon Set Up Fundamentals
It’s now not enough to just get the basics. There are more details to the basics than you realize. And those details must start repeating more often in better way. Ensuring your aim and alignment are becoming a more secondary but repeatable set up position, you’ll now have more brain space to adjust other parts of your set up that can assist with better ball striking. These small adjustments make big differences.
Practice
Your ability to break 90 consistently depends upon your ability to practice consistently.
It won’t be enough to practice every so often, or before you play, to break 90. It’s now time to schedule time that is dedicated to practice and practice only. And each practice session must be more purposeful.
Understanding Length and Accuracy
As you practice and play, you’ll need to take note of how far each golf club “carries”, or flies in the air. You need to abandon the carry and roll distance because you can’t control or predict the roll of your shots. Also worth the effort is a better understanding of club face control. More control of the club face directly affects the accuracy of each shot.
Breaking 90 Requires Short Game Mastery
Whether your paid attention or not in your effort to break 100, a significant portion of your total score happens within 50 yards of the green. The facts are you’re still not hitting enough greens in regulation at this point to have more birdie opportunities versus par opportunities. Breaking 90 requires you to:
Your ability to improve your short game is the math you need to decrease your score to 90 or below.
Enhance Your Chipping and Pitching Skills
Your ability to get the ball close to the hole when not on the green in regulation plays a big part in you converting par save opportunities. Being able to increase the amount and quality of shots from around the green, using various clubs is essential to breaking 90.
Decreasing Your Putting Average
Getting your total putts close to 30 putts per round is a great way to break 90. But most importantly, your ability to develop control of the distances you hit putts, as well as how you aim putts, will help reduce or eliminate a bad first putt. Which is the cause of all 3 putts. That is the goal, no more 3 putts.
Breaking 90 Requires Course Strategy and Management
There are only 2 things that manage the golf course, Mother Nature and the Superintendent. You must start managing yourself better on the course. And making better decisions with a heightened awareness of course strategy is essential to breaking 90.
Create a Strategy for Every Hole
Assessing and understanding the nuances of each hole provides you and your brain the data needed to navigate the course using the strengths of your skills. It also allows you to make an audible when needed if your skills are off so you can keep the ball in play. Breaking 90 includes avoiding the big numbers, double bogie and worse. And making conservative decisions you can play aggressively provides you more opportunities to break 90.
Club Selection
Club selection to break 90 includes carry distances only. And your ability to choose a club wisely when faced with a shot that puts you in between clubs. It also includes continuing your efforts to limit driver to the holes where distance is a premium. Keeping tee shots in play with a 3 wood will sacrifice less yardage than you think and keep the tee shot in play.
Breaking 90 Requires You Obtain Mental Toughness
I bet you’ve been disappointed, even frustrated, with your golf game. The emotional stress you place yourself in on the course is not helping you break any scoring records. And will continue to be a distraction,
Dealing with adverse situations is part of the learning curve to breaking 90 in golf.
if not a hurdle to breaking 90. The keys to mental toughness on the course are:
Staying Focused
Focus begins with your eyes and your ability to maintain eye contact with your target. While eliminating swing thoughts. This should be the last item on your pre-shot routine that is checked off and maintained as you approach, address, and swing through the golf ball. Doing so can deflect the distractions of disappoint and frustration over the previous “bad” shot.
Manage Pressure
Only you allow yourself to feel pressure at any given moment. Your routine can help alleviate some of the pressure. Pressure is related to how important you believe each shot or round may be in the grand scheme of breaking 90. By learning and practicing handling the pressure you place yourself in, more often, you’ll become better golfer without improving your golf skills.
Positive Mindset
Many golfers tell me they lack confidence. They do because they lack the trust in themselves. Trust begets confidence. And you must start trusting your abilities and skills so you can have a chance of breaking 90
Breaking 90 Requires Fitness
Golf is not a sport or game that requires a lot of physical intensity. But it is a sport that requires specific movements are bodies don’t normally perform. Improving and maintaining your fitness level will provide you an opportunity to hit the ball farther while reducing the chance of injury.
Balance and Stability
More than ever before, your ability to stabilize your golf swing will result in better scores. While dynamic balance allows you to swing faster while keeping control of you and the club head at the increased speeds. You should start doing exercises that improve your balance and stability, which are crucial for a consistent swing and effective short game.
Strength and Flexibility
Incorporating exercises that enhance your strength, flexibility, and endurance can lead to more consistent ball striking. Using a strong core section and flexible hips eliminates swing deficiencies that are holding you back from reaching your potential.
Breaking 90 Requires a Better Practice Routine
Your practice can no longer be the warmup before you play. Practice is time spent at a facility hitting shots, not playing. And creating a structured practice routine is essential to breaking 90.
Evey shot you practice must have a purpose if you plan to break 90 consistently.
Purposeful Practice
Going to the practice area with a specific goal for each practice session. If your practice time is limited, split the total practice time into equal amounts that you can practice 2 to 3 different skills, specifically and purposeful, each time you visit the practice area.
Simulating Your Experiences
Remembering and reliving your on the course experiences that did not go so well is not a bad way to practice. Practicing under conditions that simulate real course situations, such as varying lies and different weather conditions, goes a long way to not making the same mistakes again when faced with a similar situation.
Breaking 90 Requires the Right Equipment
It’s time to consider how your equipment works. And if your current equipment works with you or against you. We’re not just talking about getting fit for new equipment. But inventorying if you have all the equipment you need to get the job done of breaking 90.
If your clubs do not fit you, chances are all the work you’re doing to improve could be in jeopardy.
Scheduling and Participating in a Club Fitting
Call clubs are not built the same. And all golfers do not swing the same. It’s a good idea to go through a rudimental club fitting session with an accredited club fitter. You’ll discover if your current clubs can help you break 90. Or your clubs might need slight adjustments. Using clubs that work against you can significantly decrease your chances of swinging well and breaking 90.
Set Make Up
Do you have the best set of clubs, from a number’s standpoint, to break 90? I’m not only talking about having no more than 14 clubs in the bag. But if you have the correct number of wedges at the right separation of lofts to accomplish the short game shots you’re improving? Or if there should be a hybrid in the bag versus a long iron? If you have a lot of clubs that are the same, or you can’t hit, then checking the makeup of your set could improve your odds of breaking 90.
Conclusion
Breaking 90 is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of solid skill and strategy. By focusing on consistent ball striking, mastering the short game, practicing smart course management, building mental toughness, staying physically fit, maintaining a structured practice routine, and using properly fitted equipment, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goal. Remember, progress in golf is often gradual, so stay patient, stay committed, and enjoy the journey of improvement.
If you fit into this category of golfer, you should consider using John Hughes Golf as your coach to help you break that scoring milestone. Contact John at John@JohnHughesGolf.com or call 407-852-8547 to schedule a coaching session with John that will ultimately lead to you breaking 90.