Many golfers ask, “Can I really shoot below 100?” Yes, absolutely! Breaking 100 in golf means completing an 18-hole round with a score of 99 or less. This is a major goal for many new and improving players. It shows you are making consistent progress. This guide will show you simple steps to help you reach that goal. It’s about playing smart, not just hitting hard.
Breaking 100 is a realistic goal for most golfers who play regularly and practice a little. It often means averaging about 5 or 6 strokes over par on each hole (playing bogey golf). This sounds much easier than trying to make pars and birdies.
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Grasping the Goal: What Does “Breaking 100” Mean?
Shooting 99 or less on a standard 18-hole golf course is called “breaking 100.” For a par-70, par-71, or par-72 course, this means you are averaging roughly a double bogey per hole. A double bogey is two strokes over par.
Let’s look at the numbers on a par-72 course:
- Par for the course: 72 strokes
- Your goal score: 99 strokes
- Strokes over par allowed: 99 – 72 = 27 strokes over par
If you play 18 holes, you can average 27 / 18 = 1.5 strokes over par per hole. This means you can make some bogeys (one over par) and some double bogeys (two over par) and still reach your goal. You don’t need any pars or birdies, though they are nice bonuses!
Hitting the ball far is not the most important thing. Playing smart and avoiding big mistakes are key.
The Foundation: Why Golf Tips for Beginners Matter
Starting with the right ideas makes a big difference. Golf can seem hard. There are many rules and skills to learn. But focusing on a few basic golf tips for beginners helps a lot. Don’t try to learn everything at once.
Think about these simple tips:
- Keep it simple: Focus on making clean contact with the ball. Don’t worry about fancy shots.
- Play your game: Don’t compare yourself to others. Play shots you know you can hit.
- Learn the rules: Basic rules help you play faster and avoid penalty strokes.
- Be patient: Improvement takes time and practice. Enjoy the process.
These basic ideas set you up for success as you work on how to break 100.
The Power of Short Game Practice
Where do most golfers lose strokes? It’s usually around the green. Poor chipping and putting can add many strokes to your score. This is why short game practice is so important.
Imagine you hit a good drive and a good second shot to be near the green. If you then take three or four shots to get the ball in the hole, all the good work on the previous shots is wasted.
Improving your short game is the fastest way to lower your scores.
Honing Your Putting: How to Improve Putting
Putting is more than just hitting the ball towards the hole. It’s about speed and line. Getting the speed right is often the most important part.
Here are simple tips to improve putting:
- Practice speed control: Find a flat area on the practice green. Hit putts different distances (10, 20, 30 feet). Try to make them stop past the hole but not too far. Use alignment sticks or clubs to create “gates” that your ball must go through at different distances.
- Read the green: Look at the slope from different sides of the hole. Water and mountains can give clues about how the green slopes. Grass grows towards the sun, which can affect the roll.
- Basic stroke: Keep your putting stroke simple and repeatable. Use your shoulders to swing the putter back and through. Keep your wrists firm.
- Routine: Have a simple routine before each putt. This helps you focus. Step back, read the putt, step up, take practice strokes, hit the putt.
- Start close: Practice short putts (3 feet) until you make almost all of them. This builds confidence.
Banishing Three Putts: How to Avoid Three Putts
Three-putting is a quick way to add strokes. It often happens because the first putt was too far away or the wrong speed.
Tips to avoid three putts:
- Get the first putt close: On long putts, your main goal is to get the ball close enough for a simple second putt. Don’t try to make every long putt.
- Visualize the speed: Before you hit, imagine the ball rolling all the way to the hole and stopping.
- Practice from different distances: Spend time practicing putts from 20, 30, and 40 feet. This helps you learn speed control.
- Play practice games: Put three balls down 20 feet from the hole. See if you can get all three balls to finish within a 3-foot circle around the hole.
| Putting Practice Drill | Goal | How To Do It | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gate Drill | Improve starting line | Place two tees just wider than your putter head about 1 foot in front of ball. | Ensures your putter head goes straight through. |
| Ladder Drill | Improve speed control | Place tees at 3, 6, 9, 12 feet. Putt from the first tee, then second, etc. | Teaches you to control distance on different putts. |
| 3-6-9 Drill | Practice short putts | Putt 3 balls from 3 feet, 3 balls from 6 feet, 3 balls from 9 feet. | Builds confidence in making short putts. |
| Long Putt Feel | Practice long distance speed | Find a long putt (30+ feet). Hit several balls focusing only on the feel. | Gets you used to the speed needed for long putts. |
Practicing your putting helps a lot with how to shoot 99 golf.
Sharpening Your Chipping: How to Improve Chipping
Chipping is the shot you play when you are close to the green, but not on it. A good chip gets the ball on the green quickly and rolling towards the hole.
Tips to improve chipping:
- Choose the right club: This is key. You don’t always use the same club. A lower lofted club (like an 8-iron or 9-iron) makes the ball roll more. A higher lofted club (like a sand wedge or lob wedge) makes the ball fly higher and stop faster.
- Think “chip-and-roll”: For most shots around the green, you want the ball to roll like a putt once it lands. Use a club that lets the ball land just onto the green and roll the rest of the way. A 9-iron is a great club to practice chipping with.
- Simple technique: Use a short swing, mostly with your shoulders. Keep your wrists firm. Ball position slightly back in your stance. Weight slightly forward.
- Practice landing spot: When you look at your chip, pick a spot on the green where you want the ball to land. Practice hitting that spot.
- Go to the practice green: Find the chipping green. Chip to different pins. Practice with different clubs.
Combining good chipping and putting saves many strokes and makes breaking 100 much easier. Short game practice is essential.
The Core Skill: Golf Swing Basics
You don’t need a perfect golf swing to break 100. You need a swing that is repeatable and gets the ball in the air and moving forward most of the time. Focusing on golf swing basics helps you build a solid foundation.
Forget complex swing thoughts for now. Focus on these simple things:
- Grip: How you hold the club is important. Hold it lightly, like a bird. The most common grips are the overlapping or interlocking grip. Make sure your hands work together.
- Setup (Address): How you stand to the ball matters. Feet about shoulder-width apart for full shots. Ball position varies depending on the club, but generally slightly forward for longer clubs, middle for irons. Bend from your hips, not your waist. Let your arms hang naturally.
- Backswing: Turn your body (shoulders and hips) away from the target. Don’t just lift the club with your arms. Keep your wrists hinged properly.
- Downswing: Start the downswing by shifting your weight towards the target. Uncoil your body. Let your arms and the club follow the body turn. Hit the ball first, then the ground (for irons).
- Finish: Finish your swing facing the target, balanced.
Finding a golf pro for a few lessons can be very helpful for learning basic golf swing basics. They can check your grip and setup and give you one or two simple things to work on.
Consistency Over Power
For breaking 100, hitting the ball straight and consistently is much better than hitting it far but crooked. A shorter, straight shot is better than a long shot that goes out of bounds or into trouble.
- Focus on hitting the center of the clubface: This is called the “sweet spot.” Even if you don’t swing hard, hitting the sweet spot sends the ball further and straighter.
- Don’t swing too hard: Trying to swing too fast often leads to mistakes. Make a smooth, controlled swing.
- Practice hitting less than full shots: Learn to hit your 7-iron, 8-iron, and 9-iron different distances by controlling your backswing length and speed.
Golf practice drills for the full swing should focus on solid contact and control, not just power.
Playing Smart: Course Management Golf
This might be the most important area for breaking 100. Course management golf is about thinking your way around the course. It’s about making smart decisions to avoid trouble and reduce big numbers (like triple bogeys or worse).
Many golfers lose strokes because they take risks they shouldn’t.
Key principles of course management for breaking 100:
- Know your limits: Don’t try to hit a shot you only make 1 out of 10 times. If there is water or a hazard you can’t carry, lay up (hit a shorter shot to a safe spot) before it.
- Aim for the safe side: If the pin is tucked near a bunker or water, aim for the middle of the green. A putt from the center of the green is much better than a penalty stroke or a difficult bunker shot.
- Avoid hero shots: Don’t try to hit a low hook around a tree if you aren’t sure you can do it. Chip out sideways to the fairway. It might feel like losing a shot, but it often saves two or three.
- Play for bogey: Remember, you only need an average of 1.5 strokes over par per hole. A bogey is perfectly fine! Don’t feel pressured to make par on every hole.
- Think about the next shot: Before you hit, consider where you want to be for your next shot. If you’re in the rough, sometimes just getting the ball back on the fairway is the best play, even if it’s short.
Where Do Strokes Go Wrong?
Think about a typical hole for someone shooting over 100:
- Tee shot: Slice or hook into the trees (1 penalty stroke or lost ball, re-hit)
- Next shot(s): Hitting out of trouble, maybe another bad shot
- Approach: Finally get near the green, but hit it in a bunker
- Bunker shot: Takes two tries to get out
- Putting: Takes three putts
That one hole quickly becomes an 8, 9, or 10! One bad hole can ruin a good round. Course management helps you avoid these blow-ups.
Let’s compare two ways to play a par 4 with water down the left side and bunkers on the right near the green:
| Risky Play Example | Smart Play Example |
|---|---|
| Tee Shot: Try to hit driver, aiming left to cut the corner. Ball goes in water. | Tee Shot: Hit hybrid or 3-wood, aiming down the safe right side of the fairway. |
| Penalty: 1 stroke. Drop area. | Result: Ball in fairway, 200 yards from green. |
| Next Shot: 200 yards to green, hazard still left, bunkers right. Try to hit long iron to green. Hit it in the bunker on the right. | Next Shot: 200 yards from green. Not trying to reach green. Hit 7-iron 150 yards up the fairway, leaving 50 yards to green. |
| Bunker: Difficult lie, takes 2 shots to get out. | Result: Ball in fairway, 50 yards from green. |
| On Green: Takes 2 putts. | Next Shot: Simple 50-yard pitch shot to green. Ball lands on green, 20 feet from hole. |
| Total Score: 1 (tee shot) + 1 (penalty) + 1 (drop) + 1 (approach) + 2 (bunker) + 2 (putts) = 8 | On Green: Takes 2 putts. |
| Total Score: 1 (tee shot) + 1 (next shot) + 1 (pitch) + 2 (putts) = 5 (Bogey) |
On this one hole, smart course management saved 3 strokes! Over 18 holes, these smart choices add up quickly and help you shoot 99 golf.
Mastering Practice: Effective Golf Practice Drills
Simply hitting balls at the range is okay, but focused practice is much better. Golf practice drills help you work on specific parts of your game.
Short Game Drills (Already mentioned, but worth reinforcing)
- Putting ladder: Tees at different distances, practice making putts from each one.
- Chipping to targets: Put down towels or hoops at different distances on the chipping green and practice hitting them.
Full Swing Drills
- Alignment sticks: Use sticks on the ground to check your foot position and the direction you are aiming. Poor alignment is a common cause of hitting the ball off target.
- Impact bag: Practice hitting an impact bag to feel the correct position at impact. This helps with solid contact.
- Half swings: Practice hitting shots with only a half backswing and half follow-through. Focus on hitting the ball in the center of the clubface. This drill improves contact and control.
- Tee drill: For irons, place a tee slightly in front of where the ball sits. Try to hit the ball first and then the tee, without hitting behind the ball. This promotes hitting down on the ball for better contact.
Driving Range Strategy
Don’t just blast drivers.
- Warm-up: Start with wedges and short irons.
- Work on shape: Practice hitting shots that go slightly left (draw) and slightly right (fade) to learn control.
- Use targets: Pick specific targets on the range and try to hit them. Don’t just hit into the wide-open space.
- Practice your “go-to” clubs: Spend time hitting the clubs you use most often for tee shots on par 4s and 5s (maybe a hybrid or fairway wood instead of driver) and for approach shots.
Regular, focused practice using golf practice drills is key to improvement.
The Goal in Sight: Playing Bogey Golf
Remember the goal: breaking 100 on a par 72 course means averaging 1.5 strokes over par per hole. This means playing bogey golf (one stroke over par) on many holes, mixed with some double bogeys.
How to think about playing bogey golf:
- Par 4: Aim for Green in 3 shots, 2 putts (Bogey).
- Shot 1: Safe tee shot (maybe 180-200 yards).
- Shot 2: Advance the ball towards the green (maybe 150-180 yards).
- Shot 3: Chip or pitch onto the green.
- Putts: Two putts.
- Par 5: Aim for Green in 4 shots, 2 putts (Bogey).
- Shot 1: Safe tee shot.
- Shot 2: Advance the ball up the fairway.
- Shot 3: Lay up to a comfortable distance for your approach.
- Shot 4: Chip or pitch onto the green.
- Putts: Two putts.
- Par 3: Aim for Green in 2 shots, 2 putts (Bogey).
- Shot 1: Hit tee shot towards green. If you miss, that’s okay.
- Shot 2: Chip or pitch onto green from off the green or rough.
- Putts: Two putts.
This mindset changes how you play. You aren’t trying to force shots you can’t make. You are playing smart, avoiding big numbers, and accepting bogeys. Many golfers who shoot 90s have a mix of bogeys, double bogeys, and maybe a par or two, but they avoid scores higher than 7 or 8 on any hole. Avoiding those big numbers is often the difference between 95 and 105.
Putting It All Together on the Course
You’ve practiced your short game, worked on your swing basics, and learned about course management. Now, take it to the course.
- Warm up: Get to the course 30-45 minutes early. Hit some putts, some chips, and a few balls at the range. This gets your body ready.
- Have a pre-shot routine: For every shot, have a simple routine. This helps you focus and makes your swings more consistent. It could be: check yardage, choose club, pick target, visualize shot, step up to ball, waggle, swing.
- Stay positive: Golf can be frustrating. Don’t let one bad shot or hole ruin your round. Forget the last shot and focus on the next one.
- Play ready golf: Be ready to hit when it’s your turn. This helps with pace of play.
- Know your distances: Practice helps you know how far you hit each club. This is important for course management. Use a rangefinder or GPS app if possible, but also learn to estimate distances.
- Limit practice swings: Take one or two practice swings that feel like the shot you want to hit. Too many can make you tired or confused.
Following these steps will help you string together consistent holes and lower your score. This is how to shoot 99 golf consistently.
Your Practice Plan to Break 100
To make progress, you need a simple practice plan. You don’t need to practice for hours every day. Regular, focused practice is best.
| Practice Time Allocation (Example: 2 hours per week) |
|---|
| Short Game (Putting & Chipping): 1 hour |
| Full Swing (Range/Net): 45 minutes |
| On-Course Practice (if possible): 15 minutes |
Short Game Focus:
- Spend 30 minutes on putting. Focus on speed control (ladder drill) and making short putts (3-6-9 drill).
- Spend 30 minutes on chipping. Practice with different clubs (8-iron, 9-iron, Pitching Wedge, Sand Wedge). Practice landing the ball on a spot and letting it roll.
Full Swing Focus:
- Spend 45 minutes at the range.
- Start with wedges (10 minutes).
- Hit short irons (9, 8, 7) focusing on hitting the sweet spot (15 minutes). Use the tee drill.
- Hit mid/long irons and hybrids/fairway woods, focusing on consistent contact and aiming at targets (15 minutes). Use alignment sticks.
- Hit a few drivers if you want, focusing on smooth swings and hitting the center (5 minutes).
On-Course Practice (if allowed):
- If your course allows, drop balls in different spots around the green and practice chipping and putting.
- Play a few holes but drop multiple balls to practice different shots from the same spot.
Remember, short game practice is key. If you only have 30 minutes, spend it chipping and putting.
Getting Ready for the Round
The day you play, arrive early enough to warm up properly.
- Putting Green: Spend 10-15 minutes hitting some putts. Start with short ones to see the speed, then hit a few longer ones. Get a feel for how fast the greens are that day.
- Chipping Green: Hit 5-10 chips to get a feel for the grass around the green.
- Driving Range (optional but helpful): Hit 10-20 balls. Start with a wedge, then an iron or two, maybe a hybrid/fairway wood, and finish with just 2-3 drivers. Don’t try to change your swing here; just get loose and find your rhythm. If you don’t have time or a range, make some practice swings on the tee box.
Being physically ready helps, but being mentally ready is also important. Tell yourself you are going to play smart, manage the course, and not let bad shots get to you. You are playing for bogey golf.
Analyzing Your Game
After your round, think about how you played.
- Where did you lose the most strokes? Was it putting? Chipping? Tee shots?
- Did you have any really high scores on a hole? What caused them? (Often a penalty stroke or multiple chips/putts).
- Did you play smart? Did you try shots you shouldn’t have?
Keeping a simple scorecard that tracks more than just score can be helpful. Note how many putts you took on each hole, or if you lost a ball. This helps you see where to focus your practice time. This is part of good course management golf off the course.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: How long does it take to break 100 in golf?
A: It’s different for everyone. If you play often and practice the right things (especially short game and smart course management), you can often break 100 within a year or two of starting, sometimes sooner. Consistent effort is more important than how long you’ve played.
Q: Do I need new clubs to break 100?
A: Probably not. Most beginner sets are perfectly fine for breaking 100. Focus on improving your skills first. Better clubs won’t fix a poor swing or bad putting stroke.
Q: What’s the most important thing to practice?
A: For breaking 100, the short game (chipping and putting) and course management are usually the most important areas. You can save many strokes by getting up and down better and avoiding penalty shots. Short game practice pays off fast.
Q: Should I take golf lessons?
A: Yes, even a few lessons with a good pro can help you with golf swing basics and setup. They can spot problems you don’t see and give you simple things to work on. Lessons can speed up your progress.
Q: What should I do if I have a really bad hole?
A: Forget it! Golf is hard. Everyone has bad holes. Don’t let it affect the rest of your round. Focus on the next shot and try to play that hole well. Use your course management skills to play it safely.
Q: Is 99 a good golf score?
A: Yes, for many amateur golfers, breaking 100 (shooting 99 or less) is a significant and respected achievement. It shows you have a good handle on the game’s basics and can manage your way around the course without major disasters. It’s a great milestone on your golf journey.
Breaking 100 is a major step in golf. It shows you have developed key skills and learned how to manage your way around the course. By focusing on short game practice, improving your chipping and putting to avoid three putts, learning golf swing basics for consistent contact, using smart course management golf strategies, and using effective golf practice drills, you are well on your way to achieving this goal and enjoying the game even more. Keep practicing, stay patient, and celebrate your progress on your path to success!