Breaking 80 is one of those numbers that can mess with your head – a milestone that seems to have been invented purely to torment golfers.
You can play perfectly respectable golf for 15 holes, keep the ball in play, hit a few decent irons… and then, almost without warning, you make one poor decision and the scorecard looks like you’ve never played golf before.
And that’s the thing: most golfers who live in the low-to-mid handicap world don’t fail to break 80 because they can’t hit a good shot. They fail because they throw in two or three moments of madness. A chased flag you had no business going at. A driver you didn’t trust but hit anyway. A sloppy chip, followed by another chip (we’ve all been there). Suddenly you’re scribbling an 8 and muttering about how you “should have been in the 70s”.
I should also be clear about something. I’m not a golf professional and I don’t profess to be a teacher.
But I do know this: the golfers who regularly shoot in the 70s aren’t perfect. They’re just better at keeping their round together when things aren’t quite there. Breaking 80 isn’t about suddenly finding a Tour-quality swing – it’s about avoiding the daft errors that turn a good round into an 81, 82 or 84. It’s about knowing when to be brave, when to be boring, and how to keep your head from wandering off into “what am I on?” territory when you’re standing on the 16th tee.
So I asked a golf pro, Aaron Holtom at the East Midlands Golf Academy in Derbyshire, for five tips that make the difference between “nearly” and “finally”.
If you can get these right – especially when the pressure starts to build on the back nine – you’ll give yourself a genuine chance of seeing a 7 at the front of your score.
Right then – over to Aaron
Breaking 80: 5 Tips to Golf’s Coveted Milestone
For any golfer stuck in the mid-handicap zone, breaking 80 represents a monumental leap. It’s the gateway to single figures, a bracket achieved by only a small, elite percentage of players worldwide. The journey requires sharpening specific skills and adopting a new level of course management. Here are 5 key tips to help you reach that target.
Tip: 1 Master the Art of the Approach
Hitting it close from 130+ yards is a skill that separates contenders from pretenders. It demands more than just a good swing; it requires meticulous shot planning. Before you even take the club back, you must account for:
Wind direction & strength Ball flight and trajectory Green elevation versus your stance The first bounce, given ground conditions and green contours
Many mid-handicappers simply aim at the flag. The pros? They play a smarter game.
Did you know? PGA Tour winners hit roughly 80% of their approach shots to the “fat” side of the green. They take the conservative route when necessary, avoiding reckless flag-hunting. Precision in target and shot selection is everything.
Tip 2: Control Your Mind, Not Just Your Swing
The desire to break 80 can become its own worst enemy. How many times have you shot a 38 on the front, started the back nine well, and then watched the round unravel?
The culprit is almost always leaving the present moment. You start thinking about the future score, and nerves take over.
Remember this: it’s hard to be angry unless you’re dwelling on the past, and impossible to be nervous unless you’re worrying about the future.
The fix: Forget the score. Commit to your pre-shot routine on every single shot. Follow your process, stay in the moment, and only add up the numbers after the 18th hole. A neutral mental state is your greatest ally under pressure.
Tip 3: The Golden Rule: Get the Ball Pin-High
It sounds simple, but it’s a game-changer. Elite players know their exact distances and adjust for conditions to land the ball pin-high. Why does this matter so much?
I once watched a pro friend have the round of his life. He was level par through 9, then shot 28 on the back with eight birdies. The remarkable thing? He didn’t play “out of his mind.” He drove it normally, didn’t putt extraordinarily, and was often slightly left or right of his target. But every single approach was pin-high. This meant every birdie putt was a makeable one, and he canned eight of them. A shot that flies 2 yards off-line but finishes pin-high leaves a 2-yard putt. Master your distance control.
Tip 4: Become a Short-Game Scrambler
Let’s reframe the challenge. Imagine a course where every hole is a par 4, and your second shot finishes within 25 yards of the green. If you can chip to one-putt range just nine times out of 18, you’ve just broken 80.
This perspective relieves the pressure of always hitting greens from 150 yards. Many golfers are content being 15 yards off, chipping to 20 feet, and taking two putts. To break 80, you must convert those situations into up-and-downs. As Padraig Harrington advises: if you want to lower your scores, work on your chipping.
Tip 5: Win with Your “B” Game
“Know thyself.” Some days you have your A-game, but most days you don’t – life, poor sleep, a hard week, general fatigue, all can make the driver feel alien by the first tee.
The best players excel at self-assessment. They know what they actually have that day, not what they wish they had.
If the driver is shaky, hit the rescue club or a trusted iron. Keep the ball in play. Strategically take a bogey on the course’s toughest holes when your swing isn’t cooperating. Play the shape you have. If your usual right-to-left ball flight is instead going left-to-right, don’t try to fix your swing on the 3rd hole. Embrace that shot shape for the day and adjust your aim. Save the swing fixes for the range.
Breaking 80 isn’t about perfection; it’s about minimising mistakes, managing your game, and capitalising on your strengths.
Focus on these simple tips, and you’ll find yourself in the 70s more often than you think. Now get out there and chase it.
One last thing ….
Breaking 80 isn’t about producing the round of your life. It’s about taking the big numbers out of play, making a few smarter choices, and giving yourself more chances without piling pressure onto every shot.
Will you still hit the odd ropey one? Of course you will. We all do. But if you can follow Aaron’s tips, commit to your routine, and keep your expectations in check when things aren’t quite clicking, you’ll be amazed how quickly an 82 turns into a 79.
And when that first 79 finally appears on the card, don’t overthink it. Enjoy it. Dine out on it for a week. Then get back out there and do it again because once you’ve broken 80, you’ll start believing it’s where you belong.
Derek Clements is a seasoned sports journalist and regular Golfshake contributor, specialising in tour coverage, opinion pieces, and feature writing. With a long career in national newspapers and golf media, he has reported on the game across Europe, the United States and Australia. A passionate golfer, he has played and reviewed numerous renowned courses, with personal favourites including Pebble Beach, Kingsbarns, Aldeburgh, Old Thorns and the K Club. His love of the game informs his thoughtful commentary on both professional golf and the wider golfing community.
