Want to break 90 in 2025? Avoid costly blowups. Here’s how

Hoping to revamp your game for 2025 and *finally* break 90? We’re here to help. Over the course of five days, we’ll roll out five handy tips to get you there.

Part 1: 4 keys for crushing your practice sessions
Part 2: Pro-approved swing thoughts in 4 key areas

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At GOLF’s recent Top 100 Teacher Summit at Cabot Citrus Farms, I had the opportunity to ask some of the game’s best instruction minds about what it takes for a 90s-shooter to finally post a score in the 80s. There was one common deficiency that the teachers agreed these players share: A propensity for derailing their potentially good rounds with blowup holes.

Breaking 100, 90 and even 80 often comes down to simply minimizing your mistakes: avoiding a four-putt, limiting a wayward OB shot to one instead of two, bailing out of a bad situation instead of trying to hit the hero shot, and so on.

These situations tend to be mentally challenging — and developing the kind of maturity to rise above the adversity you face on the course is a key ingredient in breaking 90. So what’s the best way to develop that skill?

According to Top 100 Teacher Krista Dunton, there are several things you can do to prevent a hole — or a round — from slipping away. The first is to employ a go-to shot — one that you can use to comfortably use to make forward progress on a consistent basis.

“Just make a little small swing, or hit a little half punch shot,” Dunton suggested. “You want to just keep making good solid contact. You’re often just one swing away from getting it back.”

Another option is to give yourself space for a mental and physical reset.

“Back away from the ball, swing continuously for three or four times,” Dunton said. “Get your rhythm, get your tempo, get the tension out, because it’s tension that kind of kills people, right? And overthinking. You want to get over the ball, quiet the brain down, and go.”

Instruction

According to Dunton, players in a funk tend to start thinking about every possible swing affliction and start trying to force a fix. Instead of panicking, Dunton suggested focusing on the positive, like the weather, the opportunity to be outside, or good things going on in your family. Writing these things down can also be helpful, so you can reference them when you sense a slide coming on.

“Think about: When you’re playing well, what’s it like for you?” Dunton said. “Are you singing a song? Are you working on a swing key, like making a good turn, or finishing on your left side? If you don’t identify when it’s going well, you can’t draw back on it.”

The same logic works both ways. Recognizing your own negative cues is important too — that makes it easier to turn things around when necessary.

“You might say, when I go south, I realize that my grip pressure increases too much, or my back swing gets too short, or I get too long, whatever it might be,” Dunton said. “If you have enough of an understanding of your swing, and you’re curving the ball right to left too much, well, try to curve it left to right. Just try to do the opposite.

“If your stance gets too narrow, get it wide,” she continued. “You’re moving too much off the ball? Stay more centered. Not shifting your weight well? Shift your weight more. You’re too tight? Get too loose. Slicing it too much? Try to hook it. It’s such a game of extremes and I think sometimes the amateurs are afraid. They try to be so controlling, and you have to get out of your comfort zone.”

If you’re looking to break through a scoring barrier this upcoming golf season, give Dunton’s advice a try, and say goodbye to those blow-ups for good.