Percentage Of Golfers That Break 80: Explained In Detail

The percentage of golfers that break 80 is quite a mystery to golfers. It’s not a milestone that most golfers strive to achieve and it’s not that easy of a task as well. 

However, some golfers really love the challenge, which drives them to break 80. It’s quite impressive and you can’t achieve it without a mix of skill, consistency, and even luck. 

Below, have a look at the actual percentage of golfers that break 80 along with why it’s such a difficult achievement for most of them. You’ll find helpful tips on how you can increase your chance of breaking 80 that you can follow. 

Real Percentage Of Golfers That Break 80

According to a USGA study, only 4% of golfers break 80 in their games and that’s a huge milestone for golfers. That being said, it’s a very hard challenge for even seasoned golfers, and most of them score under 80. That number is somewhere around 8-12 percent.

It’s completely fine for a casual golfer not to aim for breaking 80. It’ll take a lot of effort and dedication to make it above 80, and you need to set your goals according to your desires. If you really want to make this huge achievement, then you should train for it by all means. But as only 4% of golfers make it, you know how difficult it is. 

Why So Many Golfers Can’t Break 80?

So many golfers try and fail to break 80 and it’s not a coincidence. Many factors play huge roles and you need to understand all of them to be able to overcome them. Check why it’s a difficult challenge for golfers. 

Weak Strikes: The #1 thing you need to break 80 is to have accurate and powerful strikes consistently. If your shots can’t get enough distance or you lose control over the direction you decide to shoot the ball, then there’s no way you can break 80 in a game. Weak strikes are the most dangerous thing that holds a golfer back from breaking 80. 

Inexperienced In Short Game: Chipping and putting the ball is one of the vital skills you need to have to break 80 in the game. This is called having a good short game and it’s absolutely necessary that you hone your short game to near perfection. Taking one inefficient shot can mess up your efforts badly. 

Lack Of Course Management Skills: Every experienced golfer knows course management can absolutely make a night and day difference in a game. Poor course management skills will hold you back from breaking 80. So, you need to develop this aspect greatly if you want to break 80 and achieve something that not many golfers can achieve. 

Weak Mental Game: Most casual golfers get too excited after getting a few good shots. That can cause a lot of tension and mess up your chance of breaking 80. You must be non-reactive to short successes and look at the big picture instead. That means, if you really want to break 80, celebrate after breaking it. 

Being Too Hasty: Having patience is one of the key components of scoring high and actually breaking 80 in golf. Golfers often rush to their next shot or are too hasty executing the shot, which can cause terrible missed shots. 

How To Break 80: Practice These Shots

Now that you know the habits that can hold you back from breaking 80, it’s time to learn how you can break 80 yourself in your games. Remember, having a method will help you significantly in achieving this huge goal and you can follow the methods shown below. 

Consistent Tee: Most beginners focus on distance rather than building precision, which makes it harder for them to improve. You need to improve your accuracy in shots to get better shots, and that’s the only way you’ll get closer and closer to breaking 80. 

Solid Approach: The solid approach shots are amazing as it’s a way to set priorities in your iron hitting and aim for the green in regulation. 

Pitch And Chip: This is the best way to reduce the distance for easier putt shots. You’re going to get the ball as close as you can to the pin so that it’s an easier putter shot for you. 

Lag Putting: The lag putting shots can take some time to learn. But when you get used to them, it’ll save you multiple putting shots and help you finally break 80. 

Bunker Play: Bunker shots are a must if you want to cut down the amount of swings and recover any bad shots quickly. 

Focusing on these shots alone won’t be enough to break 80. But these are just like foundations and can help you a lot in growing the skills you need to finally break 80 in your next games. 

Additional Tips To Increase Your Chance Of Breaking 80

The following tips will help you tremendously if you’re serious about breaking 80 in your games. 

  • Try to cut down the amount of shots by avoiding uncertain shots.
  • Keeping track of your progress is the key to increasing the chance of breaking 80 as a golfer. 
  • Be mindful of course management as that’s the game-changer that will allow you to conquer this hard challenge. 
  • Try to practice as frequently as possible to build a reliable technique that can get you to your goal. Remember to be consistent throughout the journey and it’ll be very possible for you to break 80 yourself. 

Wrapping Up

Now you know what the real percentage of golfers that break 80 truly is and why it’s lower than most people think it is. As you saw, breaking 80 takes a lot of skill, great course management, luck, and consistency to pull off. You can’t break this score without a little bit of all the aspects. 

That being said if you want to conquer this cool achievement, you need to work super hard for it. Follow our guide and the tips we provided as they’ll help you win this challenge if you stay consistently at it. 

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