Maybe breaking 80 isn’t as hard as we think

Golf Digest

To be a Golf Digest editor is to occasionally assume self-importance. I have written extensively about my golf misadventures because I believe they relate to more than me. And even when it comes to my colleagues’ work, there are times I arrogantly think, They clearly know I needed this.

This was my reaction to Luke Kerr-Dineen’s recent video breaking down the essential ingredients to breaking 80. Like a lot of golfers, this has been my pursuit for the better part of a decade, and as Luke rightly notes after crunching the numbers and consulting with a range of experts, the barriers are less the big-ticket items one might expect. Of course hitting longer drives and rolling in birdie putts would help, but most of the real progress can be done through smart strategies around the edges. The takeaway is both encouraging and depressing: I’m really not that far off. But if it’s just simple stuff, why haven’t I done it already?

13 data-backed strategies to break 80, according to the numbers

When it comes to breaking 80, there are some strategies you can use.

By Luke Kerr-Dineen

What You Need to Know

Joel Beall

Tom Kim’s pursuit for a military exemption is off to a good start. Kim starred in the Presidents Cup over the weekend in Chicago, but ended up leaving early after winning his Sunday singles match to fly to Japan to compete in the Asian Games, and for good reason: If the 24-year-old Kim wins either the gold medal or a team medal, he would be excused from mandatory military service in his native South Korea. All able-bodied men are expected to serve between 18 and 21 months and must begin their service by the age of 28. Kim turned in an opening 67 at Kasugai Country Club East Course, two back of the lead. Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim were able to secure a team gold in 2022, earning exemptions to continue their professional careers.

Christopher Powers

A longtime golf voice has weighed in on that testy Scottie Scheffler Presidents Cup interview. If you thought we were done talking about Scottie talking to Golf Channel's Cara Banks, you were wrong. Peter Kostis is the latest to weigh in on the situation—and he is full Team Scottie on this one. Interesting take from Kostis, but certainly one that needs to be considered given his expertise in this area. Anyway, we had plenty of our own thoughts on this as well on this week's episode of The Loop podcast.

Stephen Hennessey

The conditions at Yale Golf Course are in the news again. Back in August, our Alex Myers documented the shoddy conditions he saw during an August round at Yale Golf Course, which underwent a massive restoration by Gil Hanse and his team over the past couple of years. Now The Athletic's Gabby Herzig has dug deeper, finding out the university is acknowledging a problem and looking to rectify things for future seasons. Herzig's piece is a must-read for anybody fascinated by course design, but our biggest takeaway was Hanse's quote: “I do not believe that there is anyone who has been involved in this project who could be objectively happy with how the course is currently being maintained and presented.”

Hanse and his team are liaising on getting the course back to semi-decent conditions. It's been a tough summer in the Northeast, but no other course looks like Yale right now, and the university is charging $350. Give Gabby's piece a read. It'll be interesting to see how Yale fares in our Best Renovation survey, which will publish in January, considering how highly anticipated Hanse's work was, and considering that conditioning is only 1/8 of the formula we use for scoring courses.