Breaking 100-90-80: your monthly guide to the scoring basics - golfing tips, depending on the degree of accomplishment

Play Graduation Golf

Here's a different way to approach golf's major scoring barriers: Think of breaking 100 as having earned your bachelor's degree. If you break 90, you've got your master's. And if you break 80, you've earned your Ph.D. The point is, to reach each new level, you must build on your previous knowledge, and your understanding of the game must improve.

Use the 90-degree backswing rule

Most golfers have no idea where the clubhead is during their backswing. Some players are in such a hurry to get the swing over with, they start their downswing before they finish their backswing. Others take the club so far back, they lose their balance. To be more consistent, take the club back to the same spot every time. I recommend the point where the bend in your right arm creates a 90-degree angle. Start your downswing from here. This hinged position will help produce a powerful, well-timed swing.

Breaking 100

Study the Short Game

Bachelor's degree: Earning a four-year degree is something to be proud of. I wish more players took the same pride in breaking 100. If you're playing by the rules, breaking 100 is an accomplishment. To do this, let's focus on the short game.

Practice putting from these three key distances

Speaking of academia, I once did a 10-week "field study" with members of a golf club. Whenever members hit a green in regulation (i.e., with the second shot on a par 4), I asked them to pace off the ball's distance to the hole and record it. Again and again, the same three general distances kept being reported: 36, 24 and 12 feet. I now tell all new players to get used to hitting putts from these three distances. You'll soon be turning potential three-putt situations into routine two-putts, and your scores will drop significantly.

Grip down to hinge

Gripping down on the club makes it easier to cock the wrists during the backswing. This hinged position will boost clubhead speed.

Wear what feels comfortable to you

There's a lot of stylish clothing in the golf shop. I think that's great. If wearing golf sandals instead of traditional shoes helps you relax on the course, then wear the sandals. If you look and feel relaxed, you'll play relaxed.

Play `air golf'

My wife gets on me all the time because I swing an imaginary golf club at home, in the grocery store, wherever. To me, it's no different from playing air guitar while listening to your favorite band. It's a good visualization exercise, too.

Punch out your chip shots

Remember the old Batman television show? When Batman punched out a villain in one of those corny fight scenes, the punch always was accompanied by a "Pow!" or "Wham!" or "Thud!" That last one is the sound you want when learning to hit most shots around the green. It's important to accelerate through this shot and allow the club to bottom out at impact with a heavy "Thud!"

Breaking 90

Control the Ball

Master's degree: If you're trying to break 90, then you've committed to becoming a better player. Just like someone going for a post-graduate degree, you have to be willing to spend more time honing your craft. The first step is controlling the ball flight.

Learn the knockdown shot

The term "knockdown shot" comes from the fact that the ball flies on a lower trajectory than normal. But what it really means to hit a knockdown is to take a club, narrow your stance, and hit a ball a shorter distance than the club normally would allow. It's a great shot for improving accuracy. You still make a full swing, but narrowing the stance shortens the swing radius and improves your tempo. It also reduces the ball's spin, helping it fly lower and straighter.

Gloves are optional

On a hot, sweaty day, a golf glove will help keep the club from slipping. But I normally don't wear one because I lose feeling in my hands. Remember, a golf glove is not mandatory.

Play fast and quiet

The two most important rules of golf etiquette are (1) to remain silent and still when someone has addressed the ball, and (2) to play as quickly as possible. For some reason, these two rules of etiquette seem to be ignored more than any other.

50 balls and out

If you're serious about improving your swing, buying a jumbo bucket of range balls and blasting them onto the range is not going to help. Hit no more than 50 a session.

Lay up to your favorite yardage

For most amateurs, a 120-yard shot is easier to execute than a 65-yard shot. It's simply a matter of being more comfortable with one club over the next. An 80s shooter knows a 120-yard shot requires less finesse than a 65-yard shot. So my suggestion would be to play golf like chess. Before teeing off, know your next move. Decide what yardage you would like to play your next shot from and try to reach that position.

Breaking 80

Learn to Play Smarter

Doctorate: If you're trying to break 80, you should think in terms of earning a Ph.D. In other words, be schooled in all the elements of the game. Not just your swing, but how to attack a golf course. This requires hard work and serious thought.

Give your drives an uppercut

If you want to break 80, it's time to start hitting those par 5s in two and cutting off doglegs on longer par 4s. In other words, it's time to use the driver and use it correctly. To maximize the length of your tee shots, learn how to make contact with the ball on the upswing. Practice this by breaking off the eraser and teeing your ball on top of a scorecard pencil. Now take your normal swing. If the ball pops up or you break the pencil, your golf swing is too steep. Shallow out the swing and give the ball an uppercut.

Value good vision

If you have to wear sunglasses when playing, wear ones that make it easier to see the contours of a course. That $10 pair won't.

Accept a bad hole

So you took a triple bogey on the first hole. Big deal. On a par-72 course, you can still double bogey two more holes and break 80 without ever making a birdie. Remember, you play golf from shot to shot, but you have to look at a much bigger picture when setting your goals.

Grips: Thin to win

Building up the grips on your clubs may feel more comfortable, but it also makes it tougher to rotate your arms through the shot.

Stay below the hole

PGA Tour pros have to fire at the flag because most of their tournaments come down to who is putting the best. Sometimes, they can't afford to make pars. But you can. Your best plan is to learn the ups and downs of every green and try to hit your approach shots so you're left with an uphill putt. Sometimes, this may require you to fly the ball past the pin; at other times, you may have to land your ball on the fairway or fringe and let it release onto the green. But as long as you have an uphill putt, you can make an aggressive putting stroke without worrying that the ball will roll 20 feet past the pin if you miss.

COPYRIGHT 2002 New York Times Company Magazine Group, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group