For most people it can take 1 to 2 years to start breaking 80 from the time they first start playing the game. If you have been playing for more than 2 years, I believe with the right guidance, clubs and work ethic one can get to break 80 in 6-12 months.
We would define breaking 80 as playing good golf, however, for some people they may just want to break 100 or 90.
Unfortunately, some golfers never even break 90 or 100, but with the right game plan, I believe everyone can eventually break 90 at a minimum! Check out tip #2 below!
The journey to play better golf is always on our mind. Whether someone is new to the game of golf or has been playing 30 years, there is always the desire to shoot lower scores and play better golf and most importantly to play more consistently.
Golf has many benefits that we all love. We believe that golf is the best sport around. However, a question that many people ask is how long does it take to get good at golf?
If you are a beginner or have been playing for 5 years now and have decided you are going to work hard to reach your full potential we want the answer to this question. Below I will answer this question and then provide 7 tips to help you play better golf today.
Keep in mind that golf is a journey, here at golfjourney365, I have played for 28 years now and enjoy the process of getting better. Some days the results are there are some days it just doesn’t quite happen, but I continue to work at the game and share my findings with you to help you play better golf (beginners guide). Together, we can all learn and play better golf more consistently.
How Long Does it Take To Get Good at Golf: Related Topics
What is considered a respectable score in golf?
If you can break 90, you are starting to make some pars and are on your way to breaking 80. The key is to eliminate the big blow up holes and work for bogeys and pars. However, once you can break 80 you are really playing the game at a great level.
It is estimated that only 2% of golfers can break 80, it is considered the Holy Grail of scoring. When someone can break 90, they are close and just need the right information with the right work ethic. If you are in the category of breaking 90 and striving to get to 90, make sure you check out the 7 tips below.
How to Get Good at Golf Fast?
- Improve your short game
- Find an online instructor
- Train for speed
- Increase your practice time
- Utilize swing training aids
- Know your distances
- Watch the Pros
Tip #1 – How to Get Good at Golf Fast – Short Game is Vital
The short game is vital. Even if you become a great ball striker, you still need to be able to save par and get up and down and make putts inside of 10 feet. The short game is the quickest way to getting better at golf.
People of all ability levels should spend quality time practicing the short game. On my journey to breaking 80, I was fortunate that when I was 14 and 15 years old, we would finish playing golf for the day and have to wait for our ride to pick us up.
This left us on the putting green for hours at a time, practicing all types of chips shots and competing with friends for lower dollar amounts. This forced us to try different shots and it can really help lower the scores.
When I first started breaking 80, I might only hit 8 out of 18 greens in regulation, but was able to get up and down for par around 50% of the time. This meant I was able to make 10-12 pars on average and was only hitting the greens in regulation less than 50% of the time. 10 pars put you right around 80 and that 11th par helps you break 80.
Instead of standing at the driving range, save yourself some money and head to the practice green and chip and putt. You should work on chips from all areas and work on putts from inside of 10 feet and outside of 30 feet.
The goal is to make a high percentage of those putts inside of 10 feet and not 3 putt from 30 or more feet. These are the two areas where there is the biggest difference between amateurs and pros – inside of 10 feet and outside of 30 feet. Embrace the challenge of becoming the best short game player in your group – your score will thank you! Here are 22 practice games you can utilize.
Tip #2 – How to Get Good at Golf Fast – Find an Online Instructor
There are some awesome golf teachers online. I have been able to take my average golf score from the upper 70s to the lower 70s from following these instructors online. In today’s golf world, we are fortunate to have access to the brightest minds in the game.
If you are brand new to the game of golf I would highly recommend Shawn Clement – He is phenomenal and will help you get started using gravity as your friend and making natural motions in your golf swing. He has changed my game with a target/task based approach to the game.
Gone are the days of chasing positions in the golf swing and growing frustrated with trying to make certain body parts move in a certain direction.
Another awesome teacher for those that have been playing the game for awhile and want a simple approach to the game is Mike Malaska. His approach of using the hands and directing the momentum is refreshing and helpful for golfers of all ability levels.
He often shares his own story of trying to get into certain positions and then he often ended up in a stuck position. He is worth checking out.
Overall, the key is to find someone that communicates at a quality level and provides some awesome instructional videos and supports through membership sites.
These membership sites sell for a lower monthly cost and helps you grow your understanding of what you should be trying to accomplish in the swing. It provides a system for when you struggle and something to work on at the range and on the course.
Remember that golf is a journey and you want the right path to head down with the full swing. I personally love the Shawn Clement approach, but have learned elements of my current swing from each of the instructors that I have reviewed below. They all have some majors pros to following them as instructors. Check out our reviews:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
Tip #3 – How to Get Good at Golf Fast – Train for Speed
To reach your full potential you must unlock your hidden speed that your body and mind contain. Did you know that you can only swing as fast as your body feels comfortable putting on the breaks?
Your mind will control your body to keep your body safe and from over swinging. Let me introduce you to SuperSpeed Golf. It is an over speed training system that helps unlock your swing potential by following their training protocols using golf training sticks that are three different weights. These include:
- The green training club is 20% lighter than your average driver.
- The blue training club is 10% lighter than your average driver.
- The red training stick is 5% heavier than your average driver.
SuperSpeed Golf provides training protocols that you will use 3 times a week and it only takes 8-10 minutes per session. You could see up to a 5-8% increase in your golf swing speed. For most golfers this could be an additional 20-30 yards off the tee and more distance with your irons as well.
I have increased my swing speed from 100-101 all the way up to 108-109. It has provided me extra distance even though I have shorten my driver by one inch for more control as well.
Check out SuperSpeed Golf and make sure you use discount code Golfjourney365 for a 10% discount. In order to swing fast you must train fast. The biomechanics of your swing can improve from this training as well. Here is my full review on SuperSpeed Golf with Results.
Tip #4 – How to Get Good at Golf Fast – Increase Your Practice Time
While playing the game is great to maximize your ability to score. Training and practicing are also vital to your overall growth. Your game should become well rounded and you should work to not have any weaknesses and work to have at least one area of strength.
For me this is my short game for the person I play with, he hardly misses a fairway, but his short game struggles. He makes more birdies than me, but I make many more pars and do not have the high scores such as double and triple bogeys.
Our games are contrasting, but we both break 80 regularly. The key is that we both have strengths in our game.
I make sure my short game remains a strength, while I work on hitting more fairways and he works on keeping his driver straight while constantly working on his short game.
The goal is to know your strengths and weaknesses and find ways to improve. There are many ways to make pars and many ways to break 80. The goal is to have a plan. In our series below, we spend a great amount of time on course management and working to make the pars that you need to get your game to the next level.
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
Tip #5 – How to Get Good at Golf Fast – Utilize Swing Training Aids
There are some great training aids on the market today. We already discussed the SuperSpeed System above, but others include the Orange Whip and the DST Compressor. We believe these are two of the best. Here at golfjourney365, I purchased a SkyTrak to provide data to help me improve my ball striking.
While my short game has always been at a high level, I set the goal of becoming a better ball striker. I utilize the SkyTrak at both the driving range and in my Golf Simulator setup in my garage. Having the ability to play 365 days a year and continuously work on my game has helped me improve. I am able to play and practice on the SkyTrak system and have some excellent data to help me improve.
I love the ability to play at any time of day and not worry about the cold, snow, rain or darkness. The ball striking in my game has improved drastically from a combination of quality instruction, swing aids, SuperSpeed Golf Training and from watching the pros play. Overall, this has helped me the most as I live in an area where the weather is pretty rough November thru March!
Here is an overview of our top 5 recommended Training Aids
Tip #6 – How to Get Good at Golf Fast – Know your Distances – GPS Watch
Every good golfer knows how far they hit each club. If you need a guide to how far you should hit each club, visit our post here. Golf is a game about precision, especially from 175 yards and in. Know how far you hit a full siwng with each club, a 75% swing with each club and around a 50% with each club.
Chart these distances out and make sure you know how far you have left into each shot that you play. In order to get to the highest levels, you need to know your distances left into the shot you are hitting. There are two great options on the market today to help with your distance.
These are GPS watches and the Lasers that are also very popular. I know golfers that own both to provide quick reference to front, middle and back with the GPS watch the laser to utilize when he wants an exact distance to the pin or off the tee to spot how far certain trouble is. Here are our top two recommendations for these products:
This is my current Garmin Watch that I wear. I love the great looking display and the simple to use features. It is at a great price point:
My golf partner uses this Laser Rangefinder. It provides slope adjustments and works rather easily. It is very well priced for some great features:
There are great tools out there in today’s game. Make sure you are utilizing the tools to help you get better. These tools can help reduce the time it takes to break 90 or 80! Get started with the right gear!
Tip #7 – How to Get Good at Golf Fast – Watch the Pros Play
If you can find someone who is better than you to golf watch, make sure you watch them play and watch the little details they put into their game. Even better, watch how the pros manage their games and utilize a pre shot routine.
They are systematic in their approach and are detail oriented. They have their system and trust their system to produce results. They keep an even temper most of the time and work hard to produce great results through following a process and managing their emotions.
The reality becomes that you will have good days and bad days. How great can you good day become and can you keep your bad days from becoming blow up rounds that leave you upset and frustrated with the game.
Four hours is a long time to play any sport, but we must embrace the challenge and the journey and keep in mind how fortunate we are to be playing golf that day. It is better than being at work right?
Love the game, embrace the game and remind yourself how fortunate you are to be playing when times get tough with your game. Hopefully, you will fall in love with the journey and the process. Sometimes to me that is the most fun part of trying to reach my full potential!
Take Action
Get started today and find a way to get better. A quick recap on our 7 tips:
- Short Game Is Vital
- Find an Online Instructor
- Train with SuperSpeed Golf
- Increase your Practice Time
- Utilize Swing Training Aids
- Know your Distances
- Watch the Pros Play
Golf can be a wonderful game. Embrace the journey and have a blast. Find others that love the game as much as you do and enjoy the camaraderie. Make sure you challenge your game by putting some pressure on you by playing for something that matters. You can take your experience and hopefully find a way to get better.
If you are brand new to the game, find someone that can help support you through your journey. There are many excellent golfers that enjoy supporting people in their journey. And keep in mind that I am here to help!
I have plenty of posts to answer many of the common questions. We are all on this journey together and will enjoy the process of reaching our full potential. Golf is a game that we continue to learn more about.