I Finally Broke 90 (With An Asterisk)... It Counts And I Won't Hear Otherwise!

It finally happened - fire up the band and set off the fireworks.

After years of trying, I managed to break 90 for the first time ever… but annoyingly, there is a potential asterisk.

The triumph occurred on a wet and windy day in early March 2026. I played the best and most consistent golf of my life at my home course, with plenty of pars and a cheeky birdie thrown in for good measure, but here’s the catch - there were five temporary greens.

This means it wasn’t technically a counting course and I therefore did not submit a card - but I am absolutely taking it and I will verbally duel anyone who challenges my claim (but feel free to do so in the comments below).

Here are 5 reasons why I will staunchly defend my honour and my maiden sub-90 score…

1. I worked hard for it

Over the off-season, I took part in a winter golf rebuild with the aim of using expert intervention to help me break 90.

This plan paired some of the best golf fitness exercises, which actually made me a better golfer in just 30 days and produced a 106% power boost in my game, with a series of lessons to improve my swing.

This took more than just a commitment of my time, it also tested my mental resolve as I spent four months either being freezing cold, wet or in a state of fatigue from my intense golf-specific gym sessions.

The goal was to cut my handicap in 2026 - which is something I achieved fairly early into the golf season following the rebuild, but no achievement allowed me to feel the sort of gratification that I felt when I knocked in that putt on the 18th green at Sand Moor Golf Club for an 86.

2. The course wasn’t hugely different

Now yes, there were five temporary greens, but we are just splitting hairs here. The course was shortened marginally, due to the temps being cut just in front or to the side of the main greens, but you still have to put the ball in the hole.

Whether the hole is 380 yards or 400 yards makes very little difference to me, a distinctly average golfer, as I was often scrambling for bogeys anyway. If I could find the putting surface in three and give myself two putts, I was winning.

I’d like to think that, even in soft conditions, I have the necessary length to find the green in three on any hole under 450 yards, so why crush my dreams for the sake of a 20-yard cut five times in the round.

3. Putting on temps is harder than on main greens

There, I said it. What I did was actually harder than breaking 90 on normal course conditions. Putting on temps is hard to get right.

My colleague, Nick Bonfield, wrote an interesting piece about putting on greens that resembled broccoli recently. That wasn’t the case here.

The temporary surfaces at Sand Moor Golf Club are of a significantly higher quality than some other courses I have played, which is no surprise considering the main greens are superb.

However, they still pose a few questions that you might not have to answer on a fully open course.

The unpredictability of the roll, the challenge in managing pace and the lottery of the random imperfections that you’d expect to find on a fairway means wielding the flat stick with any sort of consistency is difficult.

I actually took the putter completely out of the equation with one of the temps anyway, as I chipped it to within an inch after ricocheting off the flag - so make of that what you will!

4. My playing partners said it counts

I was initially concerned about what others would say in response to my contentious achievement.

Like making a hole-in-one or sinking your first ever birdie, you want to be able to shout about it from the rooftops - especially if it has taken you as long to achieve as this has for me.

However, I felt a bit sheepish about sharing the news. Thankfully, my playing partners were bullish about my performance.

“It absolutely counts, you deserve it after that performance”, said one.

“Forget the asterisk, you did it”, said another.

I even went to my colleagues at Golf Monthly HQ to test the water, but the response was mostly congratulatory and positive.

If I can convince people that I rarely play golf with, and a band of dedicated golf industry professionals who are never shy about sharing their opinion, then why should I continue to question myself?

5. It's hard to do again!

I’ve tried to do it again, trust me. I’ve come close a few times, shooting a 94 at Sand Moor and a spectacular 92 at Alwoodley Golf Club, but I haven’t managed to get over the line a second time.

I will accept that fact does, in itself, raise concerns about the integrity of my 86 - but it has only been a couple of months and I have plenty of time left in the season to do it.

The data says that 24% of golfers never break 90, which is a club I am very keen not to be a part of.

If I can, therefore, convince myself that I’ve already secured this particular milestone, I feel like it might free me up on the golf course to achieve similar feats organically without the added pressure or weight of expectation.

I still feel it my duty to come clean when I tell the story to others in the clubhouse, the golf course or the supermarket while paying for my groceries, but do I really need to keep adding the asterisk?

I think not, perhaps I’ll drop it, or maybe I’ll wait to see how much condemnation I receive in the comments section below!