Breaking 100 In Golf Ultimate Guide – Is It Hard & How Long Will It Take

Breaking 100 In Golf Ultimate Guide – Is It Hard & How Long Will It Take

Breaking 100 is the first major milestone worth celebrating in Golf and it is incredibly achievable for almost everybody, despite only 55% of golfers ever hitting the milestone.

We’ve made quite a big claim here, that breaking 100 is easily attainable and now we are going to show you exactly how to do it, step by step.

Why We Want To Break 100 In The First Place

We want to break 100 because it is the correct goal to aim for if we have never done it before.

Most golfers are looking for Hollywood drives off the tee, but they are incredibly costly when they go wrong and even if you hit one or two amazing drives, the satisfaction will quickly dissipate.

Breaking 100 for the first time with consistent and smart golf produces a much longer lasting feeling of satisfaction.

It also produces an urge to score even better and to hit the course as quickly as possible, contrasting with the Ego Blaster who never improves their score because of wild shots destroying the scorecard.

The benefits can be huge.

Is It Hard To Break 100?

The honest answer is no but it obviously depends on your ability going in and how committed you are to breaking the barrier.

If you have a couple of clubs that you hit consistently well up to about 150 yards, you can break 100 very easily and quite quickly.

If you are a complete newbie to the sport, it will be a little bit more difficult but still entirely possible and within a relatively short period of time as well.

 

What Percentage Of Golfers Break 100

Despite breaking 100 being achievable for over 95% of golfers, only 55% of golfers are actually reported to break the milestone.

The biggest reason why people fail to break 100 is poor and costly shots off the tee from the wrong club selection and trying to hit the ball too hard.

If you are decent at golf and put the right strategy in place, you are almost certain to break 100.

 

Can The Average Golfer Break 100?

The average golfer can easily break 100 if they eliminate triples and quadruples from their card, mostly by playing safe off the tee, avoiding hazards and having a majority of two putts on the green.

 

How Long Will It Take To Break 100?

If you have a club you can hit straight 150 yards consistently and have an acceptable level of putting, you can break 100 certainly with 4 – 6 Rounds.

If you are starting from scratch with golf, it can be possible to break 100 in 6 – 8 rounds provided you can practice your game enough between rounds.

 

5 Key Steps To Break 100 In Golf

• 1. Having The Right Clubs

• 2. Knowing Your Yardages With Each Club

• 3. Know The Distance To The Flag At All Times

• 4. Develop And Nurture Your Favourite 7 or 8 Clubs

• 5. Having A Super Reliable Club Off The Tee

 

Having recently thought 100 was out of my reach and then smashing it easily and getting closer to 90 in a couple of rounds, here are the key things you need to do.

1. Having The Right Clubs

You need Game Improvement irons as a beginner full stop.

Having irons that are built for better players will kill your consistency.

The same is true for your driver, fairway woods and hybrids but especially your irons.

If you can hit your consistently, you are half way to break 100 already.

Pro Tip: If you are not sure about your clubs, go for a fitting, they are usually free but keep in mind, a second hand set of quality irons is more than enough to break 100, 90 and even 80. They should also be much cheaper.

 

2. Knowing Your Yardages With Each Club

The next step is getting your yardages for each club.

You can do that by going for a bag fitting at a golf shop or trackman studio and asking them to give you your yardages with each club.

You could also buy a launch monitor yourself or visit a driving range with Trackman bays.

Knowing your yardages eliminated doubt from your swing and you will learn how to hit each distance with ease.

Garmin R10, Garmin G80 or Swing Caddie SC300 as personal launch monitors to learn your yardages.

 

3. Know The Distance To The Flag At All Times

If knowing your yardages is step 1, knowing the distance to the pin when you are playing golf is step number 2.

You can do this with an entry level GPS watch or with a rangefinder of your choice.

Know how far you hit each club and how far away your target is will give you a massive benefit over those who are just guessing their way around the course.

Garmin S12, it gives you all the distances you need on 42,000 courses around the world. It’s also fast and accurate, with an incredible battery life.

 

4. Develop And Nurture Your Favourite 7 or 8 Clubs

We all hit certain clubs better than others and these become our go to clubs from any situation.

Your job is to learn which clubs you hit well and which clubs which are inconsistent and don’t fill you with confidence.

Your job for breaking 100 is to find and use your favourite clubs as much as possible.

 

You should have a consistent club for each of the following distance to break 100:

• 150 Yards – 5/6 iron
• 125 Yards – 7 Iron
• 100 Yards – 9 Iron

Added to the clubs you need – Sand Wedge, Putter

And the clubs which are optional for breaking 100 – Driver, Woods, Hybrids.

If you have a club you can consistently hit 150 yards, you can easily break 100

If you have a club you can hit 180 – 200 consistently, you can break 90 easily.

Pro Tip: By only carrying the clubs you hit well every time, you eliminate unnecessary choices and build your confidence to break your score.
 

5. Having A Reliable Club Off The Tee

1. If you hit your driver straight and accurate every time, congratulations, breaking 100 is going to be a walk in the park.

If you are hitting 3 or more shots out of bounds off the tee, you are going to have a much more difficult time.

When I broke 100, I was hitting the driver well but as soon as it started to act up, I put it away for the rest of the round and used the 5 iron to hit the fairway every time.

Playing with others not on this Break 100 system and watching them keep playing with the clubs that were breaking down, ensured I was on the right path and I started to dominate them on the scorecard.

There is nothing more interesting than watching someone’s game completely break down and they continue to play with the clubs that aren’t working for them, once you have surpassed this way of thinking.

Having a reliable club off the tee is the absolute key, it will take the high scores off your round.

Whether it is a 3 iron, a 5 wood, or the driver. You need to find the fairways the majority of the time to score well and you have to eliminate triple and quadruple bogies.

Utilizing Proper Course Management To Break 100

Most golfers who never break 100 are pulling out their driver on every par 4 and 5, hitting balls out of bounds 5 or 6 times per round which causes plenty of triple and quadruple bogies, ruining the round.

Truth be told, most of them aren’t even keeping score because of their wild shots making it embarrassing.

Other Key Elements Of Course Managment

• Replace Chipping With The Bump And Run
• Pratice Putting Much More
• Avoid Hazards At All Costs
• Aim For Your Par Score (100) – Not 72!
• Play A Home Course More Often

Change The Scorecard To A Par 100

Now that you have the goal of hitting 100 on the course, you are half way to achieving it.

If you are willing to put the work in and belief you can achieve the goal, you are almost certain to hit it.

The first course management step is to forget about aiming for 72 shots on the course, it’s not going to happen.

The standard golf course is a par 72, meaning you have 28 extra shots to hit 100.

Each hole has a score index- 1 being the hardest and 18 being the easiest.

For Index 1 – 9, you will have an extra 2 strokes to complete the hole. E.G Par 3 becomes a par 5, 4 becomes a 6 and 5 becomes a 7.

For index 10 – 18, you will have an extra stroke to complete the hole. 3 becomes 4. 4 becomes 5 and 5 becomes 6.

Anyone how can hit a club 150 yards consistently well, can easily achieve these numbers.

Avoid Hazards At All Costs

The key to breaking 100 is eliminating wasted from your round.

If there is a 300 yard par 4 and there is bunkers at 200 yards.

You need to think about the best way to tackle it.

If you have a super consistent 150 yard club, hitting it twice will leave you on the green.

If you hit the driver, you are bringing the bunker into play and the other risks that come with the driver, especially if you aren’t hitting it well.

Develop Your Favourite Approach Distance To The Green And Aim For It

For me, I was hitting the 7 and 8 iron very well from the 110 – 130 mark and it makes sense to lay up to the distance where you can hit your most comfortable club into the green.

Laying up to 50 – 70 yards can be a tricky position for beginners as it can leave a difficult chip that many new players struggle to hit.

Better to be a little further back and be able to play a wedge shot, 9,8 or 7 iron that you now you can hit consistently well.

Shot Selection Around The Green – Avoid Chipping

When most beginners get around the green, they pull out a sand wedge or pitching and try to chip the ball onto the green.

While this is great for PGA players and low handicappers, the chip is a dangerous shot for beginners with an inconsistent swing.

The big risk is to catch the ball with the teeth and send it straight off the back of the green.

The Other risk is to hit the ground and the ball rolls out 3 feet in front of you and you are down a stroke.

A much better option is the bump and run with an 7, 8 or 9 iron.

Grip down on the club and swing it like a putter for a lower and faster ball flight that will roll out towards the green or the flag.

The main reason for the bump and run is that even if you hit it poorly, you will still end up much closer to the flag than if you mess up a chip shot,

 

Have A Home Course That You Play Consistently And Use It To Break 100

Breaking 100 on a course that you know is going to be a lot more manageable than on a course you don’t know.

Playing the course multiple times allows to realize where you are repeatedly doing well or making mistakes.

The goal is to maximize what is working consistently and start playing different shots on the holes that are causing you problems.

 

Make Adjustments On The Course

Sometimes, especially with the longer clubs in the bag, we can start out the round well with them but as we get tired and the concentration can dip a bit, we can start hitting slices or topping the ball and it’s usually with the Driver, Woods and Hybrids.

For me hitting one slice with the driver off the tee means putting it back in the bag for the rest of the round and hitting the more consistent clubs.

Fatigue makes cowards out of even the toughest among us and if that is why being able to hit irons well is such a big advantage.

Top Tips For Breaking 100 Stress Free

Just by setting the goal to actually break 100 and focussing on getting around the course in as little strokes as possible, by playing smart, puts you ahead a huge amount of golfers who will never break 100.

The ones who will never break 100 are the ones that pull out their driver on every long hole and end up in trouble consistently.

That being said, we all still have to learn to hit our clubs consistently to actually break the score.

It is half strategy and half execution and getting the execution in line shouldn’t be that difficult either.

 

Breaking 100 Tips At A Glance

• 1. Work From The Green Back To The Tee In Practice

• 2. Putting Is The Name Of The Game

• 3. Practicing The Bump And Run

• 4. Have A Favourite Approach Distance And Use It

• 5. You Don’t Need A Lob Wedge

• 6. Get Super Good With Your Irons

• 7. Fairway Woods And Hybrids – (If They Work Consistently)

• 8. Play Even Safer When Fatigued

• 9. Leave The Ego At Home

• 10. Learn To Relax And Slow Your Game Down

• 11. Work On Your Swing Tempo

• 12. Record And Analyze Your Swing

• 13. Avoid Swing Mechanics Videos On Youtube

• 14. Play By Yourself On A Home Course Regularly

• 15. Practice, Practice, Practice

• 16. It’s All About Strokes Shaved, Not Strokes Gained

• 17. Go As Far As You Can Then Get Some Lessons

 

1. Work From The Green Back To The Tee In Practice

Just like you course management needs a shift in perspective, your practicing mentally also needs an equally transformative shift.

The driver is a great ally in your quest to beat 100 but again, most golfers who will never break 100, go to the range and smash their driver, woods and long irons for 100 shots and go home happy.

That is not the strategy we are going to use on the course and it is not the strategy we are going to use at the range either.

One we have established our favourite 7 or 8 clubs, they are the only clubs we should be hitting.

Putting is the most important part you need to work on, which we will come back to in the next post.

The next shots are your greenside bump and run shots. Then you need to move further back playing those longer bump and runs.

When you get to 100 yards, you should have an 8 or 9 iron that can hit that distance accurately and consistently every time.

The same is true for our 125 and 150 yard shots.

We want to work on our 150, 125 and 100 yard shots until we are super confident that we are going to be able to pull these shots out of the bag at will on the course.

We don’t need to hit any further than this to break 100 but if you have a wood or hybrid you are super confident with that can go a bit further, you are at a big advantage.

 

2. Putting Is The Name Of The Game

Putting is the place where the 100 is either going to be made or broken.

The putter makes up the highest percentage of your shots out of all your clubs and it offers a great opportunity to shave strokes off your round.

The goal is to hit a 2 put almost every time you are on the green while accepting the odd 3 is likely to happen.

Because putting is so important, we recommend spending double the amount of time practicing putting as you do practicing at the driving range.

To break 100, hitting a majority of two putts is going to expected. That’s not to say the 3 putts won’t happen but we need to improve our putting game to the level that we are confident in hitting two putts.

Work on some putting drills at the putting green on the course or at the range and buying a putting matt for your house is another excellent option to get your putting pace up to speed.

 

Pro Tip: You should be practicing your putting twice as much as you do with other clubs, it really is that important. For every hour spent striking, aim for two hours putting and what your score fall effortlessly.

 

3. Practicing The Bump And Run

The area inside 100 yards to the pin can be an awkward position for high handicappers who don’t have the skill to chip accurately and consistently.

This results in plenty of duffs but also hitting it thin and sending it out the back of the green.

When hitting the bump and run, you want to use a little bit less loft and more of a putting motion.

For these strikes, using a 7, 8 or 9 iron is more ideal.

Pro Tip: When you mess up with a bump and run, you are going to be a lot closer than when you mess up with a chip.

 

4. Have A Favourite Approach Distance And Use It

Find your approach club that you love to hit and aim to leave that distance to the pin as often as possible.

Say you hit your 9 Iron 120 yards perfectly 99% of the time, then aim to leave 120 yards to the green as often as possible.

It will avoid the awkward shorter layups and will increase your confidence in the club tenfold.

It could be a PW, 9, 8 or 7, try to get very good from a certain distance.

 

5. You Don’t Need A Lob Wedge

A lob wedge is a great tool for PGA Tours and low handicappers but it is more difficult for beginners and high handicappers.

Trying to hit Lob wedges is likely going to cause a lot more harm than good for your score.

 

6. Get Super Good With Your Irons

Irons get a lot of stick these days but they are the easier clubs to hit straight, consistently when you get them going.

Make sure they are game improvement cavity backs that will provide a ton of forgiveness for off centre strikes and will also provide more distance.

If you can get good with your irons, you can hit any distance and you have a valuable ally off the tee. It’s worth getting lessons for your irons.

 

7. Fairway Woods And Hybrids – (If They Work Consistently)

Some people are going to naturally hit these clubs better that their irons and their driver.

Embrace what you can hit consistently well.

If you have a 180 yard 3 or 5 wood, that hits 90% of fairways off the tee, use it.

If you have a 2 hybrid that hits 180 yards straight off the tee every time, have it as your go to club.

You inly need a consistent 150 club to break 100 but if you have more yards in the bag, your job is going to be easier.

Cobra Speedzone Hybrids, Woods And Drivers are some of the best we have seen. It’s almost like they have a cheat code for adding 20 yards and keeping the ball straight.

 

8. Play Even Safer When Fatigued

When we get mentally and physically tired on the course, we need to avoid risks even more.

Once the driver breaks down on a round, put it away until the next round.

When you are fatigued, the swing will break down and the slice will come out, destroying your score and your confidence.

As you start to get tired on the course, you want to be using your shorter shafted irons and hybrids that can hopefully provide more consistency to finish out your round strong.

Pro Tip: There is nothing more silly than hitting the driver out of bounds consistently. You are so much better off laying up with a safer club and pitching in. Bad shots off the tee will cause bad shots in other areas too. Do whatever you can to keep your confidence high.

 

9. Leave The Ego At Home

Trying to blast the ball 300 yards is the primary reason why most golfers will never hit the score or handicap they are aiming for.

When the swing is too fast, the swing breaks down and the ball can go any where.

Develop a rhythm for hitting the ball more softly and avoid the heroics, they also cause more harm than good.

Pro Tip: PGA players blast the ball because it’s the only way they can win. You are not aiming for 20 under however, you are aiming for 28 over. Playing more safely is by far the better option for your game.

 

10. Learn To Relax And Slow Your Game Down

When I started playing again, I thought I was holding people up and needed to move quickly around the course.

I started rushing my shots to please others and my game suffered.

It often comes from a feeling of not begin good enough to hold others up.

You need to relax on each shot, take a couple of deep breaths and take as much time as you need to play an unrushed and better quality shot.

 

11. Work On Your Swing Tempo

Swing tempo is an often forgotten component of learning to play the game at a higher level.

Most beginners are too fast in the back swing and this causes problems in the downswing.

Learning to slow down the backswing will allow you to hit the ball better, longer, straighter and more consistently.

Use the 1-2-3 method which means counting in your head 1 – 2 to the top of the backswing and then 3, through the ball, this can really help to slow things down and improve consistency.

 

12. Record And Analyze Your Swing

Your swing is probably going to feel a lot different than it looks and recording your swings can give you some vital feedback of where things are going right and wrong.

When you do improve, you can compare your new videos against what you use to produce before.

You can also send on to a reputable coach and get their opinion as well.

 

13. Avoid Swing Mechanics Videos On Youtube

Videos about where to place your feet for drivers and irons shots can be very useful.

Super technical swing breakdowns are not so helpful.

They are more likely to just mess with your head and cause your game to suffer.

If you want the advice of a pro golfer for your particular swing, you need to get a lesson.

 

14. Play By Yourself On A Home Course Regularly

Playing by yourself means you can go for a round whenever you want and aren’t constrained to other peoples free times to go and play.

Find a home course that is suitable for solo players, maybe one that is more quiet and practice to your hearts content.

By playing on your own, you are not likely to get into an ego contest or be thrown off your game, which will allow you to play the strategic game needed to break 100 consistently every time.

Playing the same course will allow you to shave strokes as get better and learn which holes and shots you can play well and more importantly what to avoid.

It will also allow to keep calm as you are in familiar surroundings and you start to see the same people around the course.

 

 

15. Practice, Practice, Practice

To become a master at any craft, you need to practice it for 10,000 hours.

To break 100, you don’t need quite that much but practice is still the key to hitting the goal.

The more you practice, the more experience you will get and that is the real key to breaking 100 right alongside your strategy and technique.

Practice on the course, at the range, at home and on the putting green.

Consistent practice is the best way to get your score down.

 

16. It’s All About Stroke Shaved, Not Strokes Gained.

You may have guessed it by now but the correct strategy for breaking 100 isn’t likely to represent the PGA Tour, its more likely to represent the LPGA tour where they know their distances and aren’t trying to burst the ball.

Breaking 100 is more likely to come from the shots you avoid messing up on than by magically getting better at trying to hit the ball 300 yards every time off the tee.

Skill and experience are absolutely a big part of the equation but just playing the right way to avoid triple and quadruple bogies is the best way to start improving your score off the tee.

If you don’t believe me, play two shots off the tee on every hole. One with your driver and one with your go to, reliable club and see which one ends up better more often.

 

17. Go As Far As You Can Then Get Some Lessons

You may be able to break 100 easily without lessons if you put the work in and play consistently.

If you are plateauing at a level above 100, you may need to get a lesson.

If you don’t have a club that you can hit 150 yards consistently, you will need to get a lesson.

If you need to see where your game is breaking down on the course, get an on course lesson.

We recommend you play at least 4 – 8 rounds by yourself, just focussing on playing smart and to the best of your abilities before seeking out a lesson.

Lessons are going to be a lot better for breaking 90 or 80 than for breaking 100.

 

 

Conclusion

Breaking 100 is every bit a mental battle as it is a physical one.

Find you reliable club off the tee, avoid costly errors, leave your ego at home and practice your bump and run shots, putting and iron play to break 100 easily and consistently every time.