For many golfers, the task of breaking 80 for the first time can seem impossibly out of reach. But perhaps if you knew what was required, it wouldn't be such a daunting and seemingly unachievable goal? In this video, Dan Parker goes through some crucial shot data courtesy of Arccos which explains the areas that are most important when it comes to shooting something in the 70s, so you can adjust your strategy and expectations and learn how to break 80 in golf.
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00:00Breaking 80 is a goal for a lot of you golfers out there,
00:03but it can feel like a long way away.
00:06Well, I've got all the data and all the stats
00:09to tell you how it's done.
00:14So if you shoot below 80,
00:15you're probably somewhere between seven and 10 over par,
00:18depending on the par of the course.
00:19So in this video, we're gonna take a look
00:21at an eight index handicapper.
00:23I'm gonna see how they compile their round
00:25and try and learn some lessons from what they do
00:27according to the data.
00:30So before we head out onto our virtual golf course
00:32with our eight index golfer
00:33to learn a few lessons about breaking 80,
00:36let's take a look at what they need to score
00:38in order to break that target.
00:39So on average, an eight index golfer
00:42makes just 0.9 birdies per round, 7.7 pars,
00:467.2 bogeys and 2.3 double bogeys or worse.
00:51So what is this showing us then?
00:52Well, first and foremost, it's not a birdie fest
00:55by any means to go and break 80.
00:56And this eight indexer on average
00:59isn't birdieing even once around.
01:01It's just a little bit below that.
01:03But what it is showing us is that we probably need
01:05to keep those doubles, triples and worse off the card
01:08as much as possible.
01:09I think this is a scoring area
01:11where a lot of people fall down in that goal
01:13of trying to break 80.
01:14So if you break that down a step further,
01:16we can see that an eight index golfer
01:18averages 3.6 on par three holes,
01:214.5 on par fours and 5.4 on par fives,
01:27which to me suggests that playing the slightly longer holes
01:31better is the key to breaking 80.
01:34So sneaking the odd birdie on a par five
01:37or playing well on a shortish par four
01:40are the keys to breaking 80.
01:41That par three scoring isn't great,
01:42but maybe you're going to attack those par fives a bit more.
01:45Right then, let's get out onto our virtual course then
01:50with our eight index golfer.
01:51No better place to start than the tee box
01:53with some driving statistics.
01:55Now, our stats show us that on average,
01:57this eight index handicapper is averaging 237 yards off the tee,
02:02finding 47% of fairways.
02:04Now, that 237 might feel like a long way away off the tee.
02:07It might not seem like that much.
02:09And I average about 245 off the tee.
02:11So I'm in that area to go and break 80 more often than not,
02:16according to the data here.
02:17So don't worry about it too much.
02:19But to me, more than anything,
02:21these numbers on driving statistics
02:23suggest that accuracy and driving
02:24are probably actually the least important factor
02:28to breaking 80 on the golf course.
02:30These two stats suggest there's more emphasis
02:32on good course management,
02:34better quality iron shots, a solid short game.
02:38These are the real keys to breaking 80.
02:41Whereas driving doesn't need
02:42to be the strongest part of your game to beat that score.
02:49So I just mentioned quality iron striking there.
02:51And I think this is an area we really need to look at
02:54to actually break 80.
02:55So let's look at approach game and iron shots.
02:57So the average eight index golfer
02:59is hitting a green in regulation 40% of the time.
03:03So that equates to 7.2 greens per round.
03:06And when we're looking at how far they are away from the green,
03:09a green in regulation will find them
03:11about 30 foot away from the hole.
03:13Whereas a missed green will find them
03:14about 60 foot away from the hole.
03:16So we can see quite a big difference there.
03:18But also that the greens in regulation
03:20are still quite a way away.
03:22They're not stiffing it every time, right?
03:23They're still 30 foot away when they hit that green.
03:25So something to bear in mind.
03:27But if we break this green in regulation thing down
03:29to nine holes, that's 3.6 greens per nine, right?
03:35So all you're gonna do to beat the eight indexer
03:37statistically is hit four greens per nine, right?
03:42If you do that, you're on track
03:44to shoot somewhere in the 70s,
03:45which I think is actually, when you break it down,
03:48quite an achievable score, right?
03:50So if your current green in regulation percentage
03:52is around that 40% mark, you're already in a gray area.
03:56If it's a little bit below it,
03:58you know, what's stopping you here?
04:00Is it your driving putting you in bad positions?
04:02Let's work on that.
04:03Is it your iron shots?
04:04Missing greens more often than not.
04:05Let's work on the iron shots.
04:07Whichever one it is, you know which one to work on.
04:10But I think focusing on that 40% green in regulation
04:13index percentage and not being that close to the pin
04:17every time is something to work on in order to break 80.
04:21Let's move our way up the hole now.
04:26We've hit our drive, we've hit our approach shot
04:28and let's say we've missed that green in regulation by 60 foot
04:32as the eight indexer might do, you know,
04:35every other time pretty much, a little bit more in fact.
04:38Chipping and your short game.
04:40This is the area to strengthen if you want to break 80 right now
04:43and you can go and work on that.
04:44It's pretty easy.
04:45But let's look at what an eight index golfer is doing right now
04:47and how you compare to them, right?
04:50So an eight index golfer gets up and down 40% of the time
04:53when they're within 25 yards of the pin.
04:56So sort of, you know, aprons or, you know, pin high right,
05:00pin high left, whatever it is.
05:02And this is actually quite a good conversion rate.
05:04I think where eight index golfers become eight index golfers, right?
05:08This is how they maintain that index and shoot low rounds
05:11because it isn't that far off a scratch golfer.
05:12So a scratch golfer gets up and down from 0 to 25 yards 57% of the time.
05:17There's a decent comparison there, I think, for the eight indexes
05:20and something to think about.
05:21Let's pop our eight index golfer in a bunker near the green,
05:24just a little green side bunker from inside 25 yards.
05:29Now here, their up and down ratio drops a little bit.
05:31It's only 24% of the time,
05:33which I think shows how tough bunkers are, I guess.
05:37And we can all agree on that.
05:38But also that, you know, even eight index
05:40don't get up and down that often.
05:42The most important stat from bunkers that I found
05:45is that they find the green from this green side bunker 81% of the time.
05:49And this is showing us then that they very rarely leave it in the bunker,
05:54you know, duff it in there, thin it into the face, whatever it is,
05:56and waste valuable shots around the green.
05:59So, you know, compare yourself to those stats there.
06:01How often are you leaving yourself in a bunker?
06:04You know, how often are you getting up and down from 25 yards and in?
06:07And if you can improve on that, you'll be well, well on your way
06:10to shooting something in the 70s.
06:16Now we're on the green,
06:17and here is where a round can turn from a career best,
06:20something in the mid to high 70s, even the low 70s,
06:23to a run of the mill, something in the 80s.
06:25It's the putting green.
06:26Now let's have a look at what our eight index handicapper friend
06:30is doing over here.
06:30They're on the green.
06:32And how are they putting?
06:33So if we break it down, they are one putting 3.9 times per round,
06:38two putting 11.7 times per round,
06:40and three putting just 2.4 times per round on average.
06:44And I say just, because that to me does feel pretty low.
06:48You could consider it high, I don't know.
06:50It depends how you look at this thing.
06:51Depends how you put at the minute.
06:52But when I put the three putt stats next to a scratch golfer,
06:56so a scratch golfer's three putting 1.7 times a round,
06:59they're not that far off again.
07:01It's like that up and down percentage.
07:03I don't think these things are far off.
07:05And it's just proving to me that a tight short game
07:08is what you need to break 80.
07:09And I'm not going to say you're playing off scratch here,
07:11but just a tighter short game brings you to that level
07:14of these really, really good golfers breaking that number
07:17a lot of the time.
07:18So if you put that all together, it's 1.8 putts per hole
07:22and 33.4 putts per round, which might feel like an achievable number.
07:26I hope it does, because it's something you need to do to break 80.
07:30But it's there or thereabouts.
07:31You don't have to be too far off two putts per hole to break 80.
07:35An up and down here or a really stiff approach shot there is a one putt,
07:40and it brings that average down a little bit.
07:41That's all you're having to do here.
07:43You're not having to rake in 100 foot putts all the time.
07:47And I think it should be treated like the double bogey situation.
07:50They're going to happen three putts, but don't worry about them.
07:54Keep them to as minimal as possible, and it really chips down
07:56on your average and your scoring then.
07:59And I think putting, as I said with short game, is the way to break 80.
08:02Really focus on this and the stats are showing us.
08:05So there you have it.
08:06The stats and the data that should help you break 80 next time you're on the golf course.
08:11Now, I can't help your swing or your ability.
08:13That's not my job.
08:14My job is to give you the data, give you some thoughts to go away with,
08:18whether it's course management or more importantly,
08:20where to focus your next practice session.
08:22So all of the data we're referencing in this video comes courtesy of Arcos Golf.
08:26Now, they've got a vast bank of over 750 million golf shots from real golfers
08:32on real golf courses all across the world.
08:35So this is a really fascinating bit of information that we can use
08:39to go and learn for ourselves and play better golf ourselves.
08:42Now, if you want to try these smart sensors out for yourself,
08:44I've put some handy links down in the description where you can find the best price in your location.
08:49And I think from this data, we can see the driving isn't particularly important.
08:53Greens regulation are, but maybe the approach game can be worked on.
08:56But it's all about that short game.
08:58Eight index golfers have a really tight short game.
09:01And I think they're achievable stats.