How Long Does It Take to Break 100 in Golf
Are you wondering how long does it take to learn golf? Are you struggling to score better than 100+ in golf? If you dream of days where you can score in the 90’s on a golf course or even break 80 in golf, this guide is for you!
If you want to quickly break 100 in golf and lower your scores, then it’s going to take an unusual approach. In this article I’ll be sharing a few things with you:
- How long would it realistically take for a beginner to score below 100 in golf?
- The strategy I would recommend a beginner focus on if score is all that matters
I like to keep the game of golf simple, especially when teaching beginners so if this post seems oversimplified you now understand why.
For starters, you need to understand why golfers score high to begin with (And here’s a plan to help you fix it).
Reasons You Struggle at Golf:
#1: You are a hack lol (let’s be honest). Every golf shot stumbles maybe 5-20 yards as you learn how to swing a golf club still. As your swing sequence improves, you begin making better contact with the ball and your ball striking consistency increases.
#2: Your short game lets you down. Once you can move the ball off the tee down to the green by having a decent swing, you find yourself finishing off holes with double, triple, and quadruple bogies as a result of poor chipping and putting. Two chip shots, followed by a 3 putt sound familiar?
If you’re brand new, you likely have both happening right now and it can be frustrating. But don’t worry, with some practice and a little strategy you can start lowering your scores this month.
To answer your question “how long does it take to learn golf” I would realistically give yourself a 6 month to 12 month time frame to start making progress and things will speed up as you learn.
How Long to Break 100 in Golf?
Let’s first break down scoring to simple terms. Par is 72 for most golf courses, so a bogey golfer would shoot 90 if making +1 score on every hole. Add on another stroke every hole and a double bogey golfer would score 108. Lastly, if you make triple bogey or worse every hole, then your score will be 126+.
So to break 100, you’re going to have to make double bogies consistently with occasional bogies and eliminate triple bogey or worse scores.
The double bogey formula on a par 4 is quite simple, take 3 shots to get to the green and then take 3 shots to get the ball into the hole for a double bogey 6.
Let’s assume you face a 370 yard Par 4, here is an example of how it likely will go for a beginner:
- Drive off the tee goes 160 yards (210 left to green)
- 2nd shot goes 110 yards (100 left to green)
- 3rd shot goes 80 yards, but gets you within 20 yards of the green
- 4th shot (pitch) ends up over the green in the rough
- 5th shot lucky chip to within 4 feet
- 6th shot makes the 4 foot putt for double bogey
Sound familiar? (:
If you suffer from problem #1 above, the golf swing, then you’re probably going to score above 100 for at least 6 months, but more likely 12 months.
As you saw in the example, you’re likely going to take 3-4 shots just to get down to the green and then another 2-3 shots with your short game. Add in occasional penalty shots, shanks, fat shots, etc. and you’re going to struggle with scoring.
But the good news is that if you practice weekly, hitting range balls and taking swing lessons, then you can quickly improve your beginner level golf swing to intermediate and start reaching the green in less strokes.
If you already have an okay swing then you can expect to get down to the green in 3 shots on most par 4s, and should reach par 5s in 3 shots as well, maybe 4 at most.
Then all you have to do is practice your chipping and pitching until you can consistently land your wedge shots onto the green on the first try. Finish off with no more than 2 putts.
The Strategy to Break 100 in Golf
In this paragraph section I’ll share my tips on how I would approach breaking 100 quickly if I was starting over and lost all my skills I have today.
Here’s the keys:
#1: Quickly determine which club in your bag you can hit the farthest
Most beginner’s make the mistake of trying to hit driver off of the tee so they don’t look silly using an iron. But remember the goal is to hit the ball down to the green in the least amount of strokes possible so that you can switch over to your chipping club and putter.
Find out which club you hit the furthest, which likely will be the driver but if you hit the 7 iron more accurate it could go further than your driver, so embrace it!
I still face this problem today in my golf swing. I actually can hit my 6 iron further (180 yards) than I can hit my 4 and 5 irons (160-170 yards). Rather than try to force the 4 or 5 iron on a 190 yard shot, I usually hit a softer 3 wood or hybrid to make sure I hit the ball at least 180+ yards while maintaining control and accuracy.
Start off hitting your best club on your tee shots and your fairway shots. This is the same concept I outline in my 7 iron challenge article, where I show you how you can play bogey golf by using only a 7 iron, wedge, and putter. Hit your 7 iron 140 yards for 3 shots in a row and you can reach most par 4 holes in 3 strokes.
Lesson: Don’t swing hard, swing in control and you’ll hit further golf shots
#2: Don’t use wedges around the greens
Again, this tip is counter-intuitive to what you likely would attempt to do because you don’t want to stand out as being weird for not using a wedge around the green.
Most beginners who score above 100 in golf struggle to make consistent contact with their wedges. They’ll experience all kinds of wild shots; skulls, fat shots, shanks, inconsistent distances
Instead, try using a 7 iron or 8 iron and hit bump & run chips. You don’t have to swing hard nor take a big back swing, so you’re likely to hit more accurate chip shots with these clubs compared to your wedges.
#3: Don’t Set High Expectations
As a beginner, you can’t expect to play the golf course like a scratch golfer. Don’t worry about what par is on the hole. If you average triple bogey golf, then treat double bogey as par.
Don’t worry about green in regulation being 2 strokes on a par 4. Your green in regulation may be 4 strokes instead of 2. Be okay mentally with taking an extra stroke or two to reach the green.
As your scores improve from 120+ closer to 100, you can raise your expectations and start aiming for bogies instead of double bogies.
#4: Take Lessons
Proper technique is the first building block to a solid golf swing. See a swing professional for assistance in making better contact with the ball. They’ll also help you gradually straighten out your ball flight, gaining more distance from a combo of both solid contact and straightness of golf shot.
Read lots of blogs, watch video lessons, etc. to help you learn the proper sequence and terminology of the golf swing. Repeat this for putting and chipping so that you have a good understanding of the game and how things are supposed to work.
Then go experience lots of trial and error on the practice range and putting green.
Concluding Thoughts on How to Break 100 Golf Scores
Overall, I would set a 6-12 month timeline for lowering your score from 120 to 100 or less. If you’re in the 115-120 score range you’ll see improvement quite quickly compared to someone going from 85 scores in golf to 80 or better.
Use these initial 6 months to build up your swing, learning how the hands and arms take the club away on the backswing, rising up into the air while the wrists hinge. Then learn the downswing motion, bringing the club back to the ball on the right swing path while keeping the face from rotating open or closed.
Spend hours on the practice green working on distance control with your chipping club as well as putting distance control with your putter. Practice lots of putts from 3 feet to 4 feet too.
Then head out onto the course and play to your strengths. Only use your best golf clubs, even if it means hitting the same club every shot until you get to the green.
Take 1/2 swings instead of full swings if you have more control, and thus hit the golf ball further. Give up power if you find that you hit further with more control.
Thanks for reading. Please check out our training programs that will give you structure and help you quickly lower your score from 100+ to the 90’s.