How to break 80
Breaking 100 and breaking 90 are both subtraction: take the disasters out and the number arrives. Breaking 80 is the first target that cannot be reached by removing anything. You need 11 pars, they have to be made, and a par is an approach problem.
Why the task changes here
Bogey golf is 90. 79 is 11 shots better than that, which is a different order of request from the one shot that breaking 90 asks for:
| Pars | Bogeys | Doubles | Holes | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 79 |
| 14 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 79 |
Every row totals 79.
11 pars and 7 bogeys, with nothing worse. Allow yourself three doubles and you need 14 pars, which is most of the round played to a standard you are trying to reach rather than one you have.
What a par is actually worth
Here is the number that reframes it. Expected strokes to hole out from each approach distance, from the published tables. Anything above 2.00 means par from there is better than average, not average:
| Approach | From the fairway | From the rough | Rough costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75 yards | 2.738 | 2.948 | 0.210 |
| 100 yards | 2.800 | 3.020 | 0.220 |
| 125 yards | 2.865 | 3.098 | 0.233 |
| 150 yards | 2.945 | 3.190 | 0.245 |
| 175 yards | 3.055 | 3.290 | 0.235 |
| 200 yards | 3.190 | 3.420 | 0.230 |
Every row is above two. From 150 in the fairway the average player is 2.95 strokes from the hole, so on a par 4 they take 3.95 and par is already better than average. Even from 75 yards it is above two. Making 11 pars means beating the average approach after approach, which no amount of disaster avoidance produces.
Which is why distance pays here
A drive leaving 125 instead of 175 is worth 0.19 of a stroke on that hole, before you have hit a better iron. Across the fourteen full shots in a round that is the largest lever available to a golfer at this level, and it is why an 10 handicap loses 7.2 strokes a round in the long game against 1.7 on the greens.
Two putts from 20 feet is 1.88 on the published table, essentially par for the green. The greens are not where these five strokes are, and the statistics that suggest otherwise are the ones that mislead hardest.
What actually moves it
- Take the tee shot that leaves the shortest approach you can hit from short grass. The table above is the whole argument for it.
- Aim at the middle of the green until the flag is genuinely worth it. At this level the tucked pin costs more greens than it saves strokes.
- Know your real carry numbers rather than your best ones. Approach distances are where 11 pars are won, and a 7 iron number you cannot repeat loses them.
- Keep the doubles at zero. Each one costs three of the pars you are working for.
What is deliberately not on this page. The published expected strokes tables begin at 20 yards and are flat below it, so chipping and pitching cannot be priced from them. Every number here is a full shot or a putt. Other pages will tell you exactly what a chip is worth; that number has to be invented, and this one is not going to invent it.
Frequently asked questions
What handicap do you need to break 80?
Why is breaking 80 so much harder than breaking 90?
How close do you need to hit approach shots to break 80?
Do you need to be long to break 80?
Should I practise putting to break 80?
By The PinFlag Team.
Price the approach first
PinFlag prices any target on the hole you are playing with your own distances behind the number, so the middle against the flag is a number rather than a feeling.