Stuck In The 90s? The Simple One-Step Golf Rule To Break Through

You walk off the 18th, scorecard in hand and there it is again – that familiar feeling of coming up short. A 93 today, a 92 last round and the goal of breaking 90 keeps slipping through your fingers.

You know the holes that cost you. If those putts had dropped, those drives had found the fairway and those doubles had been bogeys, you'd have done it.

When you keep coming close, it can start to feel like it might never happen. Like you've hit a wall in your scoring you just can't break through.

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So you assess your game and decide the answer is to work on a bit of everything. But then you're left with the overwhelming feeling that brings and the question that follows: "Where do I even begin?"

That's the trap. Because when the answer isn’t clear, your practice quietly becomes what you already know. What you've always done. Rather than what will actually move your scores.

Here's the rule I've built my game around: find your biggest leak and plug it, then move onto the next.

Don't Fix Everything

When you're sitting with the disappointment of coming up short, it's easy to think you need to work on everything. But when you're honest with yourself and dig into the holes that cost you the most, patterns will emerge.

Those patterns point to your biggest leak – the part of your game costing you consistently. It might not shout out at you, like that drive that came out of nowhere or the chip that barely moved. But identifying it is the key to moving your game forward, rather than repeating the same results.

So after a round, I ask myself: if I could only work on one thing, what would have saved me the most shots?

Maybe it's those pesky three-putts, my drives that required a recovery shot to get back in play or those 50-yarders that didn't quite get close enough to capitalise.

When I've identified my biggest leak, I'll get specific. How long was the first putt that left me getting down in three? Was it the lag putt that cost me or the knee-knocker that skimmed the hole?

I've found "I need to get better at putting" is too broad, whereas "I need to make more five-footers" gives me a target to tailor my practice around.

When you know your biggest leak, you're no longer stuck on "where do I begin?" You've got your answer.

Dig Into The Big Numbers

When you reflect on the rounds where you just missed your score goal, I'm going to bet there were a few holes that tipped you over. Maybe it was a blow-up hole that unravelled quickly or a double too many. Either way, these are holes we can learn from to break the big-number pattern.

One thing that's helped my game and scores is letting go of the idea that I need to play perfect golf to hit my goal. Instead, the real quest is keeping the big numbers at bay.

That's why I'll pay particular attention to these "leaky holes" after my round. I'll look for two things: the root cause and the compound factor.

The root cause is the first shot in the double-bogey chain – the shot that left me on the back foot. The compound factor is the shot that turned the hole into a double rather than a bogey at worst.

The interesting thing is it's not always a strike issue. Just as often, it's a strategy issue, like taking on the hero shot you quickly regret.

The thing that wrecks your card and confidence isn't the bogeys – it's the blow-ups. That's why I'll look for the pattern behind them, so I can catch that chain in action and choose a different path next time.

Challenge Your Autopilot

When it comes to saving shots, course strategy is wildly underrated. And getting better in this area doesn't require any time on the range.

How often do you hit a good shot to the wrong target and find yourself short-sided? Or reach for driver off the tee because "that's what you always do" and then find yourself in the usual trouble?

At your home course, it's easy to be on autopilot – choosing the same club, the same line and seeing the same miss, round after round. Or to make choices based on what you think you should do, rather than what you could do to set yourself up for a better score.

There are a couple of holes like this at my home course, West Surrey. The holes might leave me feeling like I should take driver to get as far down there as possible but the risk is too great.

On one hole, for example, my regular landing spot is in a grassy bunker with unpredictable lies – think ball below feet, bird’s nest or even a bare lie.

Sometimes I'll get away with a good enough lie that it's worth it. But the truth is, all I need to do is play a club less and I take that hit-or-miss risk out of play, giving myself a much better next shot into the green.

I've played that hole and seen the same result enough times now to know that driver isn't the 80% play. It's not the shot that I feel 80% (or more) confident will give me a solid next shot. So why am I taking it?

Hold The Goal Lightly

A score goal is brilliant for giving your game direction. It gives purpose to your practice and a benchmark to measure your performance against.

But holding that number – that goal – too tightly when you're on the course can end up working against you.

When your score is going well, you tense up, awaiting the slip-up, the moment that good run comes to an end. When it's not going well, it's easy to check out, to write this round off or start chasing those hero shots to get it back.

Either way, focusing on the number and how you're tracking towards it is a distraction. It takes your mind away from the present moment and the shot you have at hand.

That's why it's important to preserve that score goal for your planning and post-round review. But keep your focus during the round on one shot at a time, until the last putt drops.

One thing I'll do to help me stay focused is to set mini quests – round goals like committing to every shot or staying composed when I'm in trouble.

Keep Going Deep

When you break your score goal, the fear is that it's a fluke. A one-off that won't repeat itself. But this is where going deep dispels that myth – because depth is what makes progress stick and confidence grow.

As you identify your leaks, go deep on improving them one at a time. Make meaningful progress that you can trust on the course, rather than doubt when you're out there. It's the plugging of each leak that raises the floor of your performance.

It's not about playing perfect golf or getting out of bunkers like a pro golfer would. It's knowing that part of your game no longer costs you when you're on the course.

It's playing with the proof that you've put in the work – that you've seen those shots come to life in practice – and backing yourself to bring them out on the course.

That's not a fluke. That's a golfer who's done the work and the scores will follow.

Want to find your own biggest leak? Take Jess' free quiz to pinpoint it.

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