Last Updated on July 3, 2024 by Britt Olizarowicz
Breaking 90 is a big milestone. When I first did, I shot 84. All those times I missed the putt for 89; the first time I did this, I shot 84. This taught me a lot about what I had been doing to shoot above 90 and what I needed to fix it. If you haven’t broken 90 yet, or you would like to break 90 more often, here are things you should know about how to do this and the fixes you may be missing.
Your Lag Putting Needs Practice
Three putts are a killer and they just shouldn’t happen. Most golfers shooting in the 90s have a few three putts in every round. It’s not the short putts that are really causing the problem, it’s not practicing the long ones.
Most golfers go out to a putting green, put a few balls down, and try to make putts around 10 feet long. This isn’t bad, but when was the last time you practiced the 30, 40, or even 50-footers?
As an amateur golfer shooting in the 90s, you are much more likely to have a 40-foot putt for birdie than a 10-foot putt for birdie. Aim to get all putts from 30 or more feet away within a three foot circle around the hole. Work on both technique and distance control.
Change Up Your Course Strategy
Don’t play the golf course the same way every time. If you are playing it the same way and continue to shoot the same score, something needs to change.
Try experimenting with a different club off the tee, like a 3 or 5 wood instead of a driver. Try laying up to a different spot on the par 5 or intentionally hitting a shot short on a par 4 to avoid trouble, chip up, and one putt.
Sometimes, changing this strategy helps you avoid hazards, play to your strengths and reduce the number of bad shots.
Check Your Wrist Position at Impact
Until I studied this concept, I was missing out on some opportunities in my game. The lead wrist position at impact in your golf swing should be flat to slightly flexed.
If the top of your lead hand is getting close to your wrist position, take a look at your impact position; this is an extended position that creates an open clubface and inconsistency.
Instead, you want to see more flexion or bowing of that lead wrist. This puts you into a more powerful position and allows for straighter ball flight and more distance.
Take some slow mostion swings and make sure you deliver your wrist to impact consistently (and slightly bowed) each time.
Track Your Rounds and Use the Data
Start tracking your rounds in more detail. You’ll be able to determine exactly what you should practice and where your weaknesses are in your golf game.
Keeping track of fairway hits, greens in regulation, scrambling, and putts is helpful. However, if you can get a strokes gained tracking tool, you’ll really see what you need to practice.
Strokes gained are a way to see how you compare against golfers of differing abilities. So, if you get a great strokes gained tracker, you can set it to help you compare yourself to a 15 handicap.
See what you are doing that is maybe just as good or better than a 15 handicap and where you need some extra work. Strokes gained tracking is truly a game changer, and it’s not reserved for the professionals.
Overcoming the Fear of a Low Number
Probably the most interesting of all the things you are not doing to break 90 is the fact that you are scared to break 90. You may think that’s ridiculous because you’ve had this goal in mind for years, but it’s not.
When was the last time you made three pars in a row? What did you start thinking?
Chances are you weren’t thinking about another par but a triple or double bogey instead.
Here’s how you can fix this.
Pick an afternoon when your golf course is quiet, and go out and play around from a tee box at least one or two up from where you normally play. The course will seem easier, you’ll get a chance to hit different shots, and you may break 80.
Bryson Dechambeau used this strategy when he was young, and it’s a very good one. He went out to the shortest tee box and started shooting in the low 60s and eventually the high 50s.
We don’t need to get that aggressive; all you need to do is learn not to be scared of seeing those 86 and 87 on the scorecard.
Once you do that a few times, you can do it from anywhere!
Final Thoughts
Everybody thinks breaking 90 is about drives in the center of the fairway and long putts you drain. It’s really not. These simple adjustments to your game and slight changes can make everything different and take your game to the next level. Give them a try, and you can thank us when those scores finally drop into the 80s.
