How to break 70 in golf
A 69 on a par 72 needs three more birdies than bogeys: three birdies and fifteen pars, or four birdies, one bogey and thirteen pars. It is a scratch level round, and on the benchmark model a scratch golfer sits about 1 stroke a round behind the tour average, so breaking 70 is a day of tour level golf from tee to green rather than a lucky putting round.
What a 69 is made of
Every round below par is birdies minus bogeys. The compositions below assume no doubles, because one double bogey costs two birdies, and a golfer chasing 69 cannot afford to buy them back.
Ways to shoot 69 on a par 72
| Birdies | Bogeys | Pars | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 15 | 69 |
| 4 | 1 | 13 | 69 |
| 5 | 2 | 11 | 69 |
| 6 | 3 | 9 | 69 |
Where birdies come from
Birdies are approach shots. From 150 yards in the fairway the tour average needs 2.945 strokes to hole out; a shot to 10 feet leaves 1.626 expected putts, so the approach was worth 0.32 and the birdie chance is real. A shot to 20 feet leaves 1.878 and the birdie is a bonus. From 120 yards the average is 2.850, which is why hitting driver to leave a wedge is the birdie strategy on every par 4 where the drive is safe.
The math of the round: eighteen approaches, of which perhaps ten are wedges or short irons from the fairway. Three of those inside 10 feet is a 69 with fifteen pars. That is a proximity target, not a putting target, and it is measured by band and club in Insights.
What is off limits
The mistakes below each cost a full stroke or more on the published baseline, and any one of them turns a 69 into a 70. A round that breaks 70 usually contains none of them.
Mistakes that cost a stroke or more
| Mistake | Cost in strokes |
|---|---|
| A tee shot out of bounds on a 400 yard hole | 2.05 |
| Three putting from 20 feet | 1.12 |
| Three putting from 30 feet | 1.02 |
How the round is measured
A 69 measured in strokes gained shows exactly where it came from: approach proximity, the birdie putts holed, and the absence of penalties and three-putts. Against the Scratch lens the same round reads close to zero; against the Tour lens it reads about -1 plus whatever the day gave. The lens shows the round on your scale; the categories show what to repeat.
In PinFlag
On the course PinFlag prices every target before you swing with your own dispersion, so the aggressive line to a birdie pin is priced against the fat side of the green on your real spread. Tournament mode logs every shot in full and holds the live number until you finish. Afterwards Insights shows approach proximity by band and club, the putts holed by distance, and Score Killers, which for a golfer breaking 70 should read zero.
Frequently asked questions
How many birdies do you need to break 70?
What handicap breaks 70?
Is breaking 70 about putting?
How much does one three-putt cost a round of 69?
Which golf app does this on the course?
Related
Sources
- World Handicap System, Wikipedia
- Handicap (golf), Wikipedia
- Mark Broadie, Columbia Business School (Wikidata entity)
- How PinFlag calculates strokes gained
Every figure on this page is computed from the published baselines, the same ones PinFlag prices your shots with. The scope of the figures: Compositions are arithmetic on a par 72 with no doubles; the shot values are the published tour baseline and the benchmark model’s scratch gap.
Get PinFlag for iPhone
PinFlag shows you this number on the course, for the shot in front of you, before you swing: any target priced with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course map, your real shots drawn on the hole, and two taps to log. Golfer is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with a 14-day trial on the annual plan through the App Store.