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Brian Bowman

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Re: Remember the first time you broke __?
« Reply #25 on: June 30, 2016, 10:28:22 PM »
Golf is a funny game, first time I broke 70 was about 4 years ago when i was in my second year of college.  I was at my home track at the time, Nevel Meade golf course in Louisville, Ky.  Went out for my first round, shot 80 playing alone, then asked an assistant if he wanted to go play with me for my second 18 of the day.  Went out with a new swing thought to "pull my left arm through contact", a swing thought that doesn't make much sense to me now, and one that I couldn't accomplish again, and fired 67 (now a PGA Professional, and still my lowest round to date)

Tim Gallant

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Re: Remember the first time you broke __?
« Reply #26 on: July 01, 2016, 03:18:15 AM »
I can't recall the first time I broke 90 or 80, but last summer I finally broke 80 at North Berwick. It had been a bit of a monkey on the back as there were a few chances I had and would inevitably shoot 3 or 4 over on the last couple of holes. Then one evening, I went out with a good buddy of mine for an evening round after work with a half set. I shot 4 over on the front and then didn't miss a putt after that. -3 on the back with 4 birdies to one bogey for a 72. It is still, by a mile, my best score on that course.

Matthew Petersen

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Re: Remember the first time you broke __?
« Reply #27 on: July 02, 2016, 01:33:32 AM »
First time I broke 90 was summer 1994, my last day of 8th grade. We had a half day of school and I went to the course that afternoon with friends. I'd been playing pretty well that spring, but that day things really clicked and I eliminated a lot of the big numbers and shot 82, which is a hell of a first sub-90 score. A week later I had surgery and didn't play most of the summer, but it didn't take long to get back.


First time I broke 80 was a year and change later. I had been edging close but never quite able to do it, especially because I had a weird habit at that time of starting terribly and then playing well on the back nine--but I generally had dug myself too big a hole to be able to make it work. Shortly before golf team tryouts that year (entering my sophomore year - in CO, fall is boys golf season) I played a course in Loveland called Mariana Butte and, in typical fashion, shot a brutal 43 (+7) going out, which would mean I would have to play the back even to break 80. And in true fashion, I did get my game together on the back and made pars from 10-16 ... and then doubled the 17th. 81. Oh well.


The next day we played a course called Legacy Ridge. I was even worse on the front side that day (+8), including a double on the ninth that had me steaming. But again, I got it together on the back and played even through 14. Then I made a sloppy bogey at 15 and figured that was it. I have never made a lot of birdies and certainly didn't back then--plus the closing holes at Legacy Ridge were marketed as long and tough (really 18 isn't so long, but 16 and 17 are). Maybe it was that the pressure was suddenly off and I wasn't thinking about trying to shoot 79 anymore, but I hit a really nice long iron on 16 and drained the birdie putt. Then on 17 I hit a great drive and another good long iron and made the putt again (this was also my first time making consecutive birdies). Suddenly I needed a par at the 18th (a  par 5) for 79. I hit two good shots and then hit a horrible wedge into the left bunker. But I got it up and down for my first sub-80 round.


And, as several others have mentioned, I then rolled into tryouts later that week talking up how I'd shot 79 ... and suddenly looked like I couldn't break 90 to save my life. Golf, man.




Finally, I've broken 70 a few times. The first was summer 2002. I was playing a Tucson muni called El Rio, which is a par 70. I cam to 18 needing a birdie for 69. 18 is a short par 5, but a severe dogleg right around the driving range and a huge net prevents you from trying to cut the corner, so it doesn't play as short. I hit a good drive that worked around the dogleg a bit so I actually was able to get my second shot right up in front of the green and left a pretty simple little chip. Needing to get it down in two, I holed the chip for eagle and 68. Pretty great feeling.




The goal I really have now (because breaking 60 is not happening) is a bogey-free round. I've had a couple rounds with just one--including one round where I didn't make a bogey until 18, which would have been worse except I shot 68 (4 under) and that cures a lot of bad feelings.

Jon Cavalier

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Re: Remember the first time you broke __?
« Reply #28 on: July 02, 2016, 10:15:33 PM »
The first time I broke 100 I barely remember - happened pretty shortly after I started playing (which was late in college after my baseball career petered out when I could no longer catch up to the pitching).

The first time I broke 90 was about a year and a half after I started at a course called Pilgrim's Oak, which is where I basically learned to play golf. Still remember shooting 41 on the front nine with four pars and five bogies, which to that point was by far my best 9 hole score. Limped home with a 47 for an 88 and an ecstatic ride home.

Took me forever to go from breaking 90 (which I started doing pretty consistently after doing it once) to break 80 for the first time - had to be 6 or 7 years. The first time was at Tattersall (now Broad Run), where I shot 79 on a round of 11 pars and 7 bogeys, in which I parred the last 5 holes. Played as a twoball with my dad, which made it pretty special - still have the card and the ball.

The first time I broke par was at Blackwolf Run's River course - I birdied the first hole and followed up with 17 straight pars.

The first time I broke 70 was at Glen Mills - after a terrible bogey on the par-5 15th, I finished with three straight birdies to cap off the round and win a pretty cutthroat match.

The first time I broke 70
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Matthew Rose

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Re: Remember the first time you broke __?
« Reply #29 on: July 04, 2016, 03:23:05 PM »
100 or 90, I honestly can't remember. I think they happened fairly close together around 13 or 14 when I picked up 50 yards off the tee just from puberty.

70 hasn't happened yet but I've been agonizingly close twice, both times needing to birdie the final hole (which was a par 5) and failing to do so.

80 is the one that I will always remember because I did it playing in competition for Janesville (WI) Parker High in a dual meet against Middleton, and it was aided by a hole-in-one on the 13th hole. I needed a 6 on the last hole and managed to make one, albeit it was pretty ugly.
« Last Edit: July 04, 2016, 03:31:02 PM by Matthew Rose »
American-Australian. Trackman Course Guy. Fatalistic sports fan. Drummer. Bass player. Father. Cat lover.

David Davis

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Re: Remember the first time you broke __?
« Reply #30 on: July 04, 2016, 04:49:52 PM »
Remember the first time I broke my heart...it was a sort of trifecta.


I was 2 under on the 18th hole of Sand Hills with a couple GCA witnesses. Par was for the glory of my first ever round under par, my first ever round under 70. Fail, heart broken, ended with 71 and choked out a double on the last.


Never been that close since but I'm hopeful it will come when life all falls into place and there is balance on all planes (especially the swing plane ;-)


Breaking 70 is the dream, no doubt about it. If all else fails I'm going to find some easier courses to play on or just start playing 9 hole rounds only and consider it a moral victory.



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Matthew Petersen

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Re: Remember the first time you broke __?
« Reply #31 on: July 04, 2016, 11:30:10 PM »
I had a new first this weekend.


Playing Troon North's Monument course, no easy track. Tripled the first hole ... and then very suddenly righted the ship and played the rest of the way with 5 birdies and just one bogey for a 1-under 71. To the best of my memory, it's only the second time I've had five birdies in a round.

James Brown

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Re: Remember the first time you broke __?
« Reply #32 on: July 06, 2016, 09:24:41 PM »
Tis a long time ago, but broke 80 for the first time in March 1995 at the University of New Mexico South Course after many near misses.  Broke par for the first time with a 69 at the Penn State Blue Course.  Will remember both until my dying day.   My next frontier is breaking par on a real links course.  Best so far is 4-over.

Doug Siebert

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Re: Remember the first time you broke __?
« Reply #33 on: July 07, 2016, 04:58:09 PM »
I remember setting goals to break 100, 90, and 80 but don't recall actually breaking them. I'm sure I still have the scorecards somewhere, if I spent an hour digging I could probably find them.

I've never broken 70 on what I consider a "real" golf course - I've done it on a par 70 6000 yard course but it is basically a big cow pasture with several drivable par 4s and little penalty for being wild so it kind of plays to my strengths :) I've come close, shooting a 71 on a real 7000+ yard course, and once shooting a 77 with 10 penalty strokes. If I could have just eliminated three wild drives (resulting in two OBs and one lost ball) and one chunked iron resulting a wet ball on a par 3 I might have done it - but to be honest probably would have choked on the 18th as it is about a 250 yard carry over water with the line I play and wouldn't take much of a flinch in the swing to mess that up!

I do recall the first time I had a real chance of breaking 80 on my home course - I needed a birdie for a 79 on a 450 yard dogleg left par 4. It had started raining HARD while we were putting out on 17 and normally I would have ran for the clubhouse but because it was a chance for a career round I decided to try it. I think I managed an 8 :)
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