How to break 90 in golf

Doubles, not pars, decide it

A golfer shooting 95 often makes three or four pars a round. The score comes from the doubles and triples around them. Turning two double bogeys into bogeys is worth exactly as much as making two extra pars, and it is usually far easier.

Where doubles come from at this level

• A missed green from close range followed by a poor chip, so a bogey chance becomes a double.
• One penalty stroke a round from a tee shot or an approach over water.
• Three-putts, usually from a first putt that finishes six feet or more away.
• Approaches that come up short because the club was chosen for a perfect strike.

Take enough club

Most club golfers come up short far more often than they go long, because they pick the club for their best strike. Knowing your typical carry for each club, not your longest, fixes a surprising number of approach shots on its own. Our guide to golf club gapping shows how to measure it.

Get up and down more often

At this level greens are missed more often than they are hit, so the shot from just off the green is played many times a round. The aim is not to hole it but to leave a putt short enough that two shots finish the hole. Use the least lofted club that carries the fringe and lets the ball run: a putter or a seven iron is often a safer choice than a lob wedge.

Check what the cards say

These are the common causes, not necessarily yours. Count fairways, greens, putts and penalties for a few rounds, and compare them with golfers of your handicap. Caddora does this from a photo of the scorecard, ranks the opportunities by the shots each is worth, and shows the three to work on first.