How To Break 80 In Golf – What The Stats Say
Breaking 80 is one of many golf milestones that typically take golfers years and years to achieve.
If you hit under 80, that means you’re probably between seven and ten over par. So in this article we look at the stats of an 8 handicap golfer to see how they put together their rounds and what you can learn.
We’ve previously written about the stats behind a scratch golfer and how scratch and 18 handicap golfers compare. So what can we learn from eight handicaps? We take a look at different aspects of the game.
The stats in this piece from Arccos Golf, with data from more than 540 million shots from 11.5 million rounds worldwide.
Break 80 stats – points
The most important numbers to consider when attempting to break 80 relate to the score. On average, 8 handicap golfers only make 0.9 birdies per round, 7.7 pars, 7.2 bogeys and 2.3 doubles or worse.
These numbers show that in order to hit 80 you don’t need to birdie after birdie, you need to cut back on the doubles, triples and blobs. Eight handicappers average 3.6 on par-3s, 4.5 on par-4s, and 5.4 on par-5s, suggesting they’re playing the longer holes a little better and probably a birdie or two on the par make -5.
If you have more than three or four double bogeys per round, limiting yourself to just two would make a big difference to your score.
Break 80 stats – Driving
The typical handicap 8 averages 237 yards from the tee and finds 47% of the fairways
(Image credit: Future)
The average 8 handicapper averages 237 yards off the tee and finds 47% of the fairways. However, it has to be said that as important as distance, accuracy and driving are, this area is probably the least important when it comes to breaking the 80.
If you’re only hitting the ball 220 yards, or maybe you’re a bit unpredictable off the tee, there are still plenty of opportunities to hit in your 70’s thanks to course management, well-hit irons, a solid short game and good putting.
Break 80 stats – approach
Typical 8 handicap golfers typically hit only 40% of the greens, which is an average of 7.2 per round. Break that down to 3.6 per nine holes and it shows that if you hit 4 out of 9 greens on each half you’re in the 70’s ready to shoot.
If you’re only hitting between 4 and 6 greens per round, that’s a real area to improve if you want to break 80. Maybe your shot is usually costing you the chance on greens, or maybe it’s bad iron play.
The average 8 handicap player hits his approaches at 30 feet when he usually finds the green and at 60 feet on all approaches.
Break 80 stats – short game
The typical 8-handicapper makes only 24% of sand saves from within 25 yards, but finds the green 81% of the time
(Image credit: Future)
Short game is crucial when trying to break 80, with 8 handicappers pacing 40% of the time within 25 yards of the pin. If you’re nowhere near getting 4 out of 10 ups and downs, then heading to the putting green will do you a world of good.
From within 25 yards, 8 handicappers only get up and down bunkers 24% of the time, but they find the green 81% of the time – likely indicating that they rarely leave it in the sand and waste shots.
Break 80 stats – putting
This is where a round can really go from a 77 to an 81 – on the putting green. Typically, 8 handicappers make 3.9 putts per round, 11.7 2-putts per round, and only 2.4 3-putts.
Overall, they average 1.8 putts per hole, 33.4 putts per round and 3.1 putts per green typically.