Golf Tips-How to Break 100 in Golf

Golf is enjoyable and relaxing, and it can be played by people of all genders and ages. A few individuals find it easy to play, while others find it somewhat difficult. If that is true of you and you struggle with the game and your shooting scores over 100, then try this simple golfing lesson and see if it helps you.

GOLF TIP#1: Use the White Tee's
If your golf scores are high and you struggle to break 100, then you should definitely play your tee shots from the white tee's. The tee's are set up according to a person's handicap, not according to a persons ego. Shooting over 100 means you need to play from the white tee's. If this is what you do already, excellent. In time, with a few golfing lessons, you might be able to lower your handicap enough to be able to play from the other tee's. But for now, PLAY THE WHITE TEE'S!

GOLF TIP#2: Tee Off With an Iron
A lot of golfers get into trouble with their golfswing when using their drivers from off of the tee box. This is primarily because of the big hitters we see on the tour, and so we end up choosing the driver to hit. The result is a ball that flies out of control to the left or to the right. However, the result we really want is a ball that goes fairly straight down the middle of the fairway.

Try this golfing lesson: pick an iron or a hybrid from in your bag, (notice I said, 'an iron' or a 'hybrid'), that you hit straight off the tee. You probably should go first to a driving range and practice hitting your irons or your hybrids to see which of them you can hit the best. If the iron or hybrid that you choose feels good and you hit the ball relatively straight down the fairway, then that is the club that you should use off the tee out on the golf course.

Golf Lesson to Break 100, Put to the Test
I suggested this test to my father, who typically shoots between 100 and 110. We spent a couple of hours out on the driving range and we discovered that the longest iron he hit the best off the tee was his 5-iron. This iron was now going to be the longest iron that was going to stay in his bag when out on the golf course. (As a side note: He left his 5-wood in his bag, just in case he came across a really long shot over a hazard. He hits his 5-wood fairly well, but not consistent enough off the tee to use it all the time, and so he only plays his 5-iron off the tee)

If you struggle to break 100 then try to do the same thing.  If you have a favorite iron that you hit good with on a regular basis, then use it. It could be 4-iron, a 5-iron, a 6-iron, or maybe even a 7-iron.  Some are finding success with hitting a hybrid as well. However, I would not go any lower than a 7-iron, though.  When you've found that perfect iron put it in your bag and make an effort to use it to hit off every tee.  (Except par 3's that are short.  Then you should hit the appropriate shorter iron from the tee).

GOLF TIP#3: Hitting your 2nd and 3rd Shots from the Fairway
In order to shoot par on any given course you need to reach par 3's, from off the tee in 1 shot.  You need to reach par 4's, from the tee in 2 shots. And par 5's, from the tee in 3 shots.  If you were then to be lucky enough to 2 putt on every green, then you would have shot even par.  But since that's not likely to happen soon, then it would be time to make adjustment in ones thinking.  Did you realize that if you were to reach par the 3's in 2, the par 4's in 3, the par 5's in 4, and then you 2 putted on the green, you would end up shooting a 90?  Yep, it's true.  That may come in time, but for now, what you want to be thinking about is breaking 100.

So while your are still at the driving range, now see what iron(s) or even a hybrid, you hit the best from off the fairway.  Going back to the example of my dad, we figured out that the best club he hit well from the fairway, was his 7-iron.  So when he has a fairway shot he hits his 7-iron for his 2nd and 3rd shots.  (Except when he is close enough to a green to use a shorter club).

High handicappers, you can do the same.  You may be able to hit a hybrid, a 6-iron, a 7- iron, or even an 8-iron good from the fairway.  However, I would suggest that you use the longest club that allows you to do that.  And I would not go any lower than an 8-iron.

So let's see what my father was able to do with this tip:

My father hits a 5-iron roughly 160 yards.

His 7-iron about 135 yards.

So after 2 shots he would be roughly 295 yards from off the tee.  This yardage is pretty close to the average a Tour Player would hit with his driver in one shot.  We have managed to hit this yardage in 2 shots, but we have done it more accurately than if we had done it with our driver.  Most amateurs average only about 220 yards off the tee anyway, so by hitting 2 irons shots we end up with greater distance off the tee and hopefully better placed on the fairway.

The first par 4 hole we played was 350 yards from the white tee's, according to the scorecard.  Now remember, we are going to try to reach this par 4 in 3 shots rather than in 2.  So my father hit his 5-iron right down the middle.  He hit a great 2nd shot with his 7-iron, again down the middle.  His 3rd shot was now only 55 yards from the center of the green.  He used his wedge and put his golf ball on the front of the green.  He struggles a little bit with his putter however, and he ended up 3 putting for a 6.  OK, just a minor setback.

When he finished playing the hole, I thought he was going to be a little upset with the result, but he wasn't.  In fact, he said he was happy because he played that hole for the 1st time from the fairway.  This boosted his confidence for the rest of the round.

When he came to one long par 5 he stuck to the game plan of trying to reach the green in 4 rather than in 3.  He hit his 5-iron off the tee and his next 2 shots he used his 7-iron from the fairway.  His 4th shot was only 70 yards from the center of the green and he played it great!  His shot landed 6 feet away from the flag and he 1 putted for a natural par!  Oh, now he was on fire.  This, in essence, was a birdie for him, and it wiped the extra shot that he had gained on the first hole away.  He was feeling really good by then.

He ended up shooting a 98. Believe it or not, that was the lowest score he'd ever shot in his life. He managed 2 pars, 8 bogey's, 6 double bogey's, and 2 triple bogey's. He couldn't believe it worked. And the good thing was, every shot that he hit off the tee was in the fairway. It also exposed where his other weaknesses were, and that is, his short game. He has since then worked on his putting and his wedge play and now regularly shoots in the low to mid 90's. We are now both working on learning how to break 90. Which I hope to document soon.

If you try these golfing tips you may be amazed at how well you can lower your golf score.  Many can benefit from these golf tips, beginners and high handicappers alike.  Take advantage of this tip and start finding out which irons and hybrids you can hit well.  Brush up on your short game, which includes pitching, chipping, and putting.  By doing these few simple things you will gain confidence and you will really enjoy playing golf.  So give these tips a try during you next round of golf and hopefully you too will be able to break 100 also!