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"I have to play well today." When I stand on the tee box with this thought, my judgment wavers on every hole.
You aim for a win, and if that doesn't work out, you try to make up for it, but in the end, you collapse.
If you set the goal as a number, it determines what to choose for each hole.
And the strategy is completely different for those around 100 strokes and those around 90 strokes.
01How many strokes are there per hole per goal?
| target | 18-hole average | Hole |
|---|---|---|
| Breaking 100 hits | 99 strokes | Double bogey on a Par 4 |
| Breaking 90 strokes | 89 strokes | Par 4 Standard View |
| Breaking 80 strokes | 79 strokes | Par 4 standard view, half par, half |
To break 100, you just need to make a double bogey on every hole. You don't even need to make a single par.
Knowing this will completely change your mindset.
02Breaking 100 strokes, not losing much
The goal here isn't to play well. It's to not lose more than four strokes on a hole.
- Avoiding OB and water is all there is to it.One penalty breaks the whole calculation.
- Par 4s are three shots to near the green.Don't try to do it all at once.
- Roll near the greenIf you hit the ball high and then hit the ground behind it, it's two strokes ([[LINK:L11]] side)
You don't have to use a driver. You can get a double bogey just by keeping the ball on the fairway with a wood.
If I get a bogey once on a par 3 and once on a par 5, I break 100 strokes that day.
03Breaking 90, eliminating three-putting and penalties
From here on, it's not a battle of shots, but a battle of reducing waste.
| Where is it leaking from? | In one round |
|---|---|
| three-putting | 3~4 hits |
| OB/Hazard Penalty | 2~4 hits |
| More than twice in the bunker | 2~3 hits |
| Approach fat shot/thin shot | 2~3 hits |
Even if you reduce just these four by half, it's five hits.
I get an 89 even without fixing my swing.
- Three-putting → Distance sense of [[LINK:L12]] convenience
- Penalty → [[LINK:L37]] Select Convenience Club
- Bunker → [[LINK:L05]] Subtract convenience all at once
- Approach → [[LINK:L11]] Convenience Roll
04Breaking 80 strokes, increasing the number of spots to make par
From here on, it's the green hit rate.
Because to make par, you have to get on the green in regulation strokes.
- The probability of placing a tee shot on the fairway
- The probability of getting the ball onto the green from within 100 meters
- These two are all there is.
If you come this far, you should concentrate your practice time on wedges and putters ([[LINK:L30]] section).
05How do I know my seat?
Check out the average of your last five rounds. It's all in the records section on our site.
- Recent average scoreIt's the average, not the days I played well.
- Par, Bogey, and Double countLook where they are all clustered.
- How many doubles or more?It is fastest to reduce this part.
- Where to lose hole by holeIs it a Par 3 or a Par 5?
My average is 105 strokes, but if I aim for 90, I end up pushing myself too hard on every hole.
Increase one step at a time. Like this: 105 → 99 → 95 → 89.
06Setting a goal makes things easier.
This is a real advantage.
If your goal on a par 4 is a double bogey, don't panic even if your tee shot goes into the rough.
If you take it out, lift it up, and putt twice, it goes according to plan.
If you play without a goal, you try to make up for it every time you go into the rough, and you end up losing even more each time.
I enjoy rounds that go according to plan. And when I enjoy it, I play better.
The next episode is the final part of Part 4. I will cover what you should do in the five minutes after finishing a round.
