FINALLY Broke 80!!!!!

Well folks, I finally did it. I was finally able to break through the 80 barrier and post my first ever score in the 70’s with a 79. The course I played isn’t the most difficult, but I am still excited about it since I have never been below 80 on any course before in my life.

I started this blog about 2+ years ago and the entire goal was to post about the journey to breaking 80 while living in a city. There are a few unique hurdles that Chicago golfers face and I wanted to prove that you can in fact get better at golf while living in a big city. By no means has it been easy and I have put a lot of work into my game. That is why this first 79 means so much.

The funniest part about the score was how the round itself started. I hit the fairway on the first hole, sailed the green with my approach shot which hit the cart path and bounced OB. After two bad chips and a few putts I carded a quad bogey 8. I said to my playing partners “there goes breaking 80 today” and started to just play. Letting go of the score was the biggest part for me. Starting off so poorly really allowed me to enjoy the round and focus on playing the course one hole at a time. I made a few pars and a few bogeys, but also carded 4 birdies during the round. I birdied 2 of the 3 par 5s and 2 of the shorter par 4s which really helped me recovery from that brutal first hole.

I didn’t even know I had a chance to be in the 70’s until I stood on the 18th tee box. I found the fairway and the green, but the nerves kicked in on the green and I 3 putted for a closing bogey. Once the putt dropped I thought I would feel much more excited and give a fist pump or something more dramatic, but all I felt was relief. It was a moment that I knew would eventually come and when it finally did I was just happy to have the pressure off. I have been chasing the 70s for over 2 years and on a day I wasn’t expecting it to come it decided to show up.

Now that I have broken 80 once I know I can do it again. I’m not expecting to be in the 70s every time now, but the belief that it is possible is there for good now. I know my game and I know my ability level. Finally putting it together was something I will never forget.

Stats from the Round:

Fairways: 8 of 13 hit – 62%

Greens in Regulation: 11 of 18 hit – 61%

Scrambling: 14%

Putts Per Hole: 1.83

Total Putts: 33

Here is the Swing!

I finally took the time to video tape my swing the other night at the driving range and I wanted to share.  When I look at my swing the first thing that jumps out at me is the fact that I take the club too far back.  I know this is a problem I have, but I have yet to find a drill or swing thought that really helps me fix it.  In all of these swings I don’t feel like I am swinging 100% but it is clear that my backswing is going back too far.

The second thing I notice is that my take away seems to be too far outside of the ball.  I don’t know if this is really affecting my swing that much, but it looks funny to me.  All of these shots were actually good results, but it is clear I have flaws in my swing and I have room to improve in a bunch of areas.

I sent these same swings to the guys over at FixYourGame.com and am interested to see what they have to say about the swing.  Hopefully they don’t rip me apart too bad.  I will be posting their video lesson based on these swings as soon as I get it back from them.  If anyone else has comments or tips please feel free to send them my way.  I am all ears and  am eager to hear what people have to say.

Full Speed Swings

Slow Motion Swings