How to break 85 in golf
Breaking 85 is bogey golf minus six: six pars and twelve bogeys, or seven pars, ten bogeys and one double. It is the target where pars from approach play matter as much as the removal of blowups. On the benchmark model a 84 is 13 strokes over the tour average, and 8.5 of them sit in the long game.
What a 84 is made of
An 84 is twelve over. Every double costs a par and a bogey, so the budget is one double a nine at most, and the pars have to come from approaches that finish inside 25 feet.
Ways to shoot 84 on a par 72
| Pars | Bogeys | Doubles |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 12 | 0 |
| 8 | 8 | 2 |
| 9 | 6 | 3 |
| 11 | 2 | 5 |
| 12 | 0 | 6 |
Where the strokes come from
Pars 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 and the approach was worth 0.32, a shot to 25 feet leaves 1.931 and the approach was worth 0.01. From 120 yards the average is 2.850, which is why a drive that leaves a wedge is the par strategy on every par 4 where the drive is safe.
An approach from 150 yards, by finish
| Finish | Expected putts | Approach worth |
|---|---|---|
| 10 feet | 1.626 | +0.32 |
| 15 feet | 1.784 | +0.16 |
| 20 feet | 1.878 | +0.07 |
| 25 feet | 1.931 | +0.01 |
| 30 feet | 1.984 | -0.04 |
| 40 feet | 2.058 | -0.11 |
Cutting the median finish from 40 feet to 25 is worth 0.13 of a stroke per approach.
What is off limits
Each mistake below costs a full stroke or more on the published baseline. A round that breaks 85 contains at most one.
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 84 in strokes gained shows where it came from: the long game carries 8.5 of the 13 strokes over the tour average on the benchmark model, the short game 2.6 and putting 2.0. Against a 12 handicap lens the same round reads close to zero; against the Tour lens it reads the gap. 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 line that risks a penalty is priced against the safe one on your real spread. Afterwards Insights shows approach proximity by band and club, three-putt frequency, the putting heat map and Score Killers, which for a golfer breaking 85 is the card that matters most.
Frequently asked questions
How many pars do you need to break 85?
What handicap breaks 85?
Is breaking 85 about putting?
How much does one penalty cost a round of 84?
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 pars, bogeys and doubles; the shot values are the published tour baseline and the benchmark model’s split by handicap.
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.