How nice would it be if you get break 50 on a regular basis? Breaking 50 is one of the first steps towards becoming a decent golfer and having more fun on the course.
How do you break 50 for 9 Holes of golf? To break a score of 50 for 9 Holes of golf, the golfer should:
- Use newer golf clubs
- Spend more time on the short game
- Memorize club distances
- Play high percentage shots
- Be lazy and swing easy
- Love the putter
- Develop a routine for every shot
Golf is a hard game and learning it can lead to a lot of confusion and frustration. Read more details about the 7 steps down below, and you will start to become more confident in your game, today!
What is a score of 50?
Most golf courses have a ” total par” score of 35,36 or 37 for 9 holes. This means that if you got a par on every hole on a par 36 course, you would have shot a 36. Pretty self-explanatory, I know!
This means that golfers who are shoot above 50 for 9 holes are shooting an average of 2 strokes over par. For example, if there is a par 3, shooting two-over par would be a score of 5.
To break 50, a golfer needs to change the 2 strokes over par average down to 1.5 strokes over par average. In summary, if you can save an average of .5 strokes per hole, you will be on a far better track to break 50! I know this may sound confusing now but saving only .5 of strokes on a hole isn’t as hard as it seems. How many times have you hit an unnecessary shot or made a small mistake that led to extra strokes on a hole? If we can avoid even just one of those strokes, we are on the right path towards breaking 50. Let me explain how below
1. Use newer golf clubs
Newer golf clubs do help your game. Plain and simple. With new club technology coming out each year, clubs are more than ever assisting golfers to improve in distance and accuracy. But with so many to choose from, which club should you use?
Each golf company has several different club models that are geared towards the various skills of golfers.
- Player’s clubs- Geared towards advanced players to have more feel in controlling their ball flight as ball distance is usually not an issue. Typically, players clubs are made in the muscle back (blade) or cavity back styles.
- Player improvement clubs- These types of golf clubs are for golfers who are looking for more distance and consistency. They generally have larger clubheads and have a thicker bounce on the bottom of the club to help with better contact.
2. Spend more time on your short game
Over half of your golf round is going to be spent around the green. This means that most strokes are lost when either putting or chipping.
Chipping Help
Chipping is one of the hardest skills to learn in golf because every shot is different and requires a sense of feel and touch to be consistent. To improve your chipping fast, follow these steps:
- Keep your weight on your front leg during the duration of the chip
- Use your shoulders to make the swing, not your wrists
- Use a high lofted club (like a sand wedge) if you are in the rough to pop the ball out
- Use a pitching wedge or 9 iron if you are just off the green and treat the chip like a putt
- Always accelerate through the shot with a calm tempo to learn distance control
- Practice chipping before your round and after your driving range practice to accelerate your learning
Putting Help
How many times have you missed a putt that was within 3-feet? Making more short putts is crucial when trying to cut strokes in your round. To improve your putting fast, follow these steps:
- Keep a steady tempo with your backswing and follow through. Avoid any jerky motions
- Look at both sides have your putt to understand the break. Behind the ball. And from behind the hole
- Use the upper body to make the putting stroke
- Widen your feet to have a strong base
- Keep your head down for 3 seconds after you make contact with the ball
- Focus more on the perfect speed over the ideal line of the putt.
3. Memorize your club distances
Many golfers don’t know how far they hit every club in their bag. This info is vital to know when on the course as the difference between 10-15 yards can be two completely different clubs.
The best way to memorize your club distances is to go to the driving range and look for flags whose distances have already been recorded. You can then hit shots at different flags and make a note of the approximate distance you hit the ball with each club when struck well.
Another method is to use a golf simulator or Trackman to check your distances. These days golf simulators are becoming more and more popular with companies like TopGolf and XGolf. All you have to do is show up and purchase a small amount of time to learn your distances. Trust me; it will make all the difference when you are out on the course to know how far you hit your clubs!
4. Play high percentage shots
Remember watching Tiger Woods hit out the trees, and somehow, he would avoid all obstacles and land 5 feet from the hole? This is not a high percentage shot for almost all golfers. A high percentage shot is a golf shot that can be repeated fairly consistently without error.
Often times, golfers will stay with “what they should be hitting” over “what shot has the highest percentage of success”. For example, a golfer who is struggling with the driver usually chooses to hit a driver on every long hole because they assume they should be using it. The problem with this mentality is that (for this example) the driver keeps putting the golfer into poor locations, and their scores keep getting higher and higher.
To play a higher percentage shot, play what you feel most comfortable with. This means that if you need to hit a 5 iron off the tee so that you are in play, use the 5 iron! There is no shame in playing smart golf over risky golf.
5. Be lazy and swing easy
Have you ever swung so hard, that you missed the golf ball? Or maybe you tried to add some extra power and you hit a nasty slice instead? Patience is critical to the golf swing. There are a lot of moving parts that need to flow naturally so that you can return the clubface to the proper position and make solid contact.
The best way to have a natural golf swing is to be lazy and swing easy. The easiest way to think of the golf swing is that the arms fall at the ball on the downswing just by gravity, not your muscles. When a golfer tries to add power, they are then trying to time the golf swing with their hand-eye coordination rather than having the proper body position that will naturally hit the golf ball correctly. This extra power leads to wasted energy and inconsistencies in ball contact. So relax and just let your swing flow smoothly and you will start to see more shots go the way you want them to
6. Love your putter
Your putter needs to be your best friend. If you are not happy with your putter, keep searching. Golfers who have a putter they love tend to have more confidence and lower anxiety making small putts. As we discussed in the tip earlier, half of your golf round is spent around the putting green. Wouldn’t it make sense to have a club you trust to help eliminate extra strokes?
If you are unhappy with your putter, here are a few changes you can make to gain that extra confidence to lower scores:
- Change your putter grip to something that feels more comfortable. A few starting places are SuperStroke Grips, Winn Grips or Ping Grips. You can find these putter grips at local golf shops and ask the pro to switch grips so you can play with something more comfortable.
- Change you putter style if you aren’t feeling confident making short putts. It is widely believed that mallet putters help golfers improve putts made around the hole because of the added weight and larger clubhead. It is always best to try a multitude of putter styles to find a look that best suits your eye and where you gain the most consistency.
7. Develop a routine for every shot
The best golfers in the world have a habit for every shot they hit. This helps them get into a comfortable zone where their brain recalls muscle memory on how to hit golf shots.
Just like a free-throw routine in basketball, golfers should have routine that they follow before they hit the golf ball. This routine could include any of the following:
- Practice Swings
- Looking behind the ball and visualizing the shot
- Club waggle (video below)
- Breathing techniques
- Repetitive affirmations
The purpose of the pre-shot routine is to get the brain into a state of mind that helps alleviate stress and enhance the golfer’s motor memory to hit more consistent shots.
Related Questions
What score does a bogey golfer shoot? A bogey golfer is a golfer who shoots an average of one over par on every hole. For 9 holes, a bogey golfer would shoot 45 on a par 36 (9-holes) or 95 on a par 72 (18-holes).
What is the fastest way to improve your golf score? The fastest way to improve your golf score is to play from a closer tee box to the hole. Golfers who want to score lower should play from the right tees that suit their playing skill set. Beginners should play from the closest set of tees while experts should play from the furthest set of tees.
Is breaking 50 a good golf score? Breaking 50 is a key milestone for golfers transitioning from beginning to intermediate golfing skill sets.
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