To help you break 80, we asked our team of data experts to shed light on the stats surrounding this scoring milestone.
Through their analysis of millions of rounds, they’ve identified the key areas that separate an 80s shooter from a 70s shooter.
The Shot Scope Six:
- Number of tee shots in trouble
- Greens in regulation (GIR)
- Multiple shots inside 70yds to hit the green
- Number of three putts
- Missed putts inside 5ft
- Driving distance
Let’s dive into the three most impactful stats to help you consistently break 80.
Key Stat No.1 – Greens in Regulation
If you want to start seeing your score begin with a ‘7’, hitting more greens is a non-negotiable.
Golfers who consistently shoot in the 70s typically hit 9 Greens in Regulation per round, which is nearly double that of a golfer who scores in the 80s.
Statistically, based on the Shot Scope Six, this is the biggest difference between a player who shoots in the 80s and 70s. By hitting more greens, players reduce the number of times they must attempt a tricky up and down, which, for many golfers, is not easy.
By simply aiming for the middle of the green rather than attacking pins, players may find that they hit more greens and in doing so, save strokes when they play.
Knowing your club distances and choosing the right club are paramount here. The golfer who typically shoots in the 80s fails to get up and down 60% of the time.
Key Stat No.2: Three Putts
Once safely on the green, minimizing three putts is critical for saving strokes.
For golfers scoring in the 80s, 2.5 three putts per round is the norm, which means that they have 2 or 3 per round typically. The good news is that to break 80, they simply need to have one fewer per round.
The biggest culprit for three-putts is often poor lag putting – leaving your first putt too far from the hole.
If you want to stop dropping these easily avoidable strokes, then work on your distance control. From long distance (20ft+), anything inside 3ft is good, and if it’s past the hole, even better.
Shot Scope data tells us that from inside 3ft, a 25 handicap golfer (their higher handicap benchmark), holes 9 out of 10 putts from this distance (88%). Improving your lag putting will dramatically reduce your three putt frequency and your scores.
Key Stat No.3: Multiple shots inside 70yds to hit the green
Despite many players wanting to nestle their ball a few feet from the hole from inside 70yds, you may be surprised at how often they fail to even hit the green.
Golfers shooting in the 80s average 2.7 instances per round where they will take multiple shots from inside 70 yards to simply hit the green. For those breaking 80, this number drops to just 1.6. That’s a saving of over one full stroke per round just by hitting the green inside 70yds, regardless of how close!
Prioritize getting the ball on the green with your first chip or pitch, even if it’s not a tap-in. A two-putt from the fringe is always better than a duffed chip followed by another chip and two putts.
To show the progression through the scoring barriers, we have the Shot Scope Six benchmark data:
In summary, to break 80 consistently, you should aim to:
- Hit at least 9 greens in regulation (GIR)
- Have no more than 1 three-putt per round
- No more than 2 holes where multiple shots are needed to hit the green inside 70y
While these three stats are key, improving across all of the Shot Scope Six metrics will undoubtedly help you achieve your goal.
If you’re looking for a seamless, subscription-free way to track these stats and over 100 other tour-level metrics, check out Shot Scope’s performance tracking products. They offer GPS watches, rangefinders and more to help you get the most out of your game.
