Somehow, I broke 80 for the first time in my life last week. A 10-under-par score of 79 at The Springs Golf Club in Oxfordshire.
I don’t think I ever believed I could do it, and the fact that it has now happened is something that still shocks me.
You may like
For context, I hadn’t played a round in more than two months previously, I’d recently received a lesson from Golf Monthly Top 50 coach Tom Motley which noticeably altered my swing (for the better), and – crucially – my handicap index was 18.1.
Add in the fact that I zipped into the car park no more than 10 minutes before my scheduled tee time and didn’t so much as look at the practice putting green, and you should be starting to understand my surprise.
The Springs requires you to play around several bodies of water
(Image credit: Azalea)
The reason I’m typing this article is not to brag, I can assure you. I would also like to promise it was not me who suggested doing it. I’m aware there are far more special achievements out there, but I’m really proud of myself regardless.
The point of the story is to prove there really is hope for everyone in terms of achieving their golfing dreams and to show how a couple of small changes can make a massive difference to your game.
HAVE A LESSON
(Image credit: Jonny Leighfield)
Firstly, go out and have a lesson. You can keep putting it off and trying to work it out yourself, but I promise you a lesson is never a waste of time and you should leave feeling better about your game.
Whether it takes one or 10 visits to see your local pro, make sure you do it because you could be just a minor tweak away from taking a huge step forward.
The hip-rotation drill that coach Tom had me implement ultimately helped me flush almost every single one of my drives in that round of 79. I’ve never driven the ball better in my life, period.
What to read next
It’s still a work in progress with my irons, but the foundation I now have in my swing allowed me to produce so many more consistent shots.
MANAGE EXPECTATIONS
(Image credit: Future)
Another key difference between my first round of 2026 and my previous golf was expectation and mindset.
I rocked up kind of feeling like when you lift a piece of tissue after squashing a spider – there was a sense of not really wanting to see the final result, but I knew I just had to go out and get it over with.
As a result, there was no level of expectation about what I could achieve and my mindset was purely focused on my technique.
You know when pros talk about taking one shot at a time? I often think ‘that’s ridiculous, that can’t be possible.’ Well, I now know it isn’t ridiculous, and dare I say, it’s actually very helpful.
(Image credit: Azalea)
I spent my whole day with John, Neil and Robert – the three lovely gentlemen I was paired with – just chatting away and enjoying my surroundings. Then, when it was time for a shot, I locked in, considered my one swing thought and tried to execute as best I could.
Crucially, I was relaxed the whole time. Largely because I was playing pretty well, but also because the company was fantastic, the sun was out for the first time all year and there were a plethora of wild birds of prey around – which I’m absolutely fascinated with.
On a similar note, aside from one or two brief considerations, I almost never thought about my score. The one time I did, which was fairly late on, I figured I was probably playing bogey golf and I was fine with that. Then *poof* I was back to looking at the big birds circling above.
MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Last of all, you do probably need a bit of luck as well. But I’m a huge believer in making your own luck, and the sole birdie of my day is clear evidence of that.
After hitting a decent tee shout out to the left on a tight dogleg-right par 4, with water protecting the green for those who thought about going for it all, I resisted the urge to fire at the flag which was in a small collection area no more than five yards away from the water’s edge.
Instead, I wedged into the heart of the green on the top tier and opted to try and two-putt. In hindsight, I hadn’t realized the severity of the slope in front of me and remarked to Neil that I wasn’t sure I could keep my ball on dry land.
Thinking it would be safer and more helpful to leave the flag in and try to nudge my ball to the crest of the sheer drop in front of me, I somehow judged the weight of my 20-foot putt perfectly and I knew it was in from the moment it reached the bottom level.
I’m pretty sure there are an infinite number of alternative universes where that ball does not go in, so I appreciate the luck from the golfing Gods.
(Image credit: Howard Boylan)
Just before heading up to the clubhouse to debrief with my new golfing buddies, Robert quipped “you probably broke 80, didn’t you?” I scoffed and said “no chance!” before a quick tally up on my scorecard helped me realize what I’d just done.
I had 40 strokes out and 39 coming back in. Let me count that again… Oh my goodness. My five-foot par putt on the last, which just about grabbed enough of the right side, was for 79. Thank Fairway Jesus I didn’t know that at the time.
I recently wrote a feature about being scared to go out and play a full round again after a lesson for fear of undoing all of the progress I had made on my own. How wrong was I?