how to break 90 in golf - a complete framework

Let's talk about BLOWUP HOLES.

I'm going to take a WILD guess here...

For your "superpower", did you choose to eliminate blowup holes?

If you did... GREAT CHOICE.

If you didn't... Buckle up, we've got a LOT to talk about.

Years ago, I was a beginner at this game. I remember being TERRIFIED to hit my 3-wood because every swing felt like I would either chunk or top it.

And the driver? Not much better. I sliced the living daylights out of that thing for years.

The irons felt okay until... I caught a case of the shanks at my District qualifying tournament in high-school and fired a whopping 103.

That round left some serious mental scars. And if you're anything like I was, you can relate to this feeling.

It's the feeling of walking on the first tee hoping to have a "breakthrough", but secretly knowing that the blowup holes are just around the corner, and by hole 8, you'll be 15 over par with an army of destructive swing thoughts and ZERO strategies to make things better.

While I can't wave a magic wand and change your game overnight, I have good news.

With a few mindset shifts and some data-backed improvements to YOUR unique swing, you can turn this ship around.

I know this because I've been there and done it.

Remember that 103 I shot at my district qualifier?

One year later, at the SAME qualifier, and on the same course, I shot 79.

Here were the first 3 holes of that round:

1. Quadruple bogey
2. Bogey
3. Double bogey

You read that right. I was 7 over par through 3 holes.

And then... I made 15-straight pars to shoot a 79.

This round taught me a very important lesson.

Blow up holes are OKAY if we don't let them ruin our round.

There is a good reason why Justin Thomas was so impressed with Steve Stricker's streak of double-bogey avoidance:

I know, I know...

We can't compare ourselves to the pros.

But I highlight this to illustrate the fact that even the pros have blowup holes on a frequent basis and deal with this painful part of golf.

Let me drop two truth-bombs on you now:

• Blowup holes are EXPECTED
• Perfect "bogey golf" is a MYTH.

What a sub-90 scorecard looks like

We've all heard this NONSENSE:

All you need to break 90 on a regulation, par 72 golf course is 17 bogeys and 1 par.

Simple for an armchair golf coach to say, but as players, we know this is NOT reality.

There will be double-bogeys.

There probably will be triple-bogeys.

There could be quadruple bogeys or worse.

Perfect bogey golf is RARE. Heck, I don't think I've ever seen a scorecard with 17 bogeys and 1 par.

Instead of playing perfect "bogey golf", you should be focusing on:

1. Damage control - bogeys are WAYYY better than doubles, doubles are WAYYY better than triples, and triples are WAYYYYYY WAYYYY WAYYYY better than giving up (usually from embarrassment) and posting a 9 or 10 on the scorecard.
2. A few good holes - you just need to make 3-6 pars, which usually come from those par 5s and par 3s! If you can throw a birdie in the mix, that's a BONUS!

Your PERSONALIZED roadmap to breaking 90

Everything I just said sounds simple, but I'm not going to sugarcoat things.

Golf is hard.

And when you're searching the internet for golf instruction, it gets even harder because most videos and courses teach a "cookie cutter", "one size fits all" golf swing.

But having worked with hundreds of golfers just like you, I've come to a humbling conclusion:

Every golfer is different, which means every LEARNING PATH is also different.

You may have a physical limitation or mobility issues.

You may have a "unique" swing (like Matthew Wolff, Jim Furyk, Bubba Watson, or Dustin Johnson) that you don't have any interest in changing.

You may prefer playing rather than practicing.

You may NOT have great practice facilities available to you.

You may prefer a "structured" lesson series OR... A "buffett style" collection of lessons.

I get it. And that's why at The DIY Golfer, my goal is to give you the tools and knowledge to "do it yourself".

My goal is to give you the convenience of online instruction while offering the personalization of in-person lessons.

Meet your instructor

Here’s me years ago playing in my home college tournament at Firestone Country Club (not a bad home course if you ask me!!)

Over the last 5 years, I’ve helped hundreds of golfers just like YOU break 90 for the first time.

But before I get into the details, I want to share something that I have noticed after reading thousands of emails from golfers like you, trying to break 90 and build more CONSISTENT golf games.

No matter how smart, dedicated, or talented these golfers are, almost EVERY SINGLE email starts with something like this:

If I could just hit my driver a bit better, stop missing the green 100 yards out from the middle of the fairway, and eliminate a few of those double and triple bogeys, I KNOW I could break 90 every single round. My game feels close, but I can’t seem to put a round together.

After reading thousands of these emails, I’ve noticed a pattern.

Here’s the cycle I see golfers go through time and time again that holds them back...

Let's be honest... This golfer is YOU.

I went through this cycle myself a couple times. Heck, I did take up tennis at one point!

Most golfers won’t admit it, but the first step to breaking 90 consistently is to be honest with yourself and identify what parts of your game... STINK.

Luckily, you’re NOT going to fall in that majority because by finding this page, you’re already ahead of those golfers.

The Secret to Breaking 90 EVERY Round

In just a few months, your future self is going to be laughing at your current self, wondering how on earth it once felt so difficult to break 90?

But seriously... Here's what one of my former students had to say after working with me:

I’ve had countless golfers share similar stories, and as a golfer myself who has gone through the struggle of breaking 100, 90, 80, and even 70, these messages get me fired up every time! I love seeing golfers break those scoring barriers!

But each scoring barrier comes with different challenges.

As someone who has broken all of them (except 60!), here are my observations of WHAT IT TAKES to break through each barrier:

• Breaking 100 - at this point, you’re in full-on learning mode, trying to survive out there.
Breaking 90 - YOU ARE HERE. And to break through, you must keep learning, but also start playing smarter golf shots, managing expectations, finding the right equipment, and most importantly, learning how YOUR swing works and what to do when it breaks.
• Breaking 80 - very few golfers will break 80, but to join this group, you will need to combine course strategy with shotmaking and a bit more practice time.
• Breaking 70 - you have to practice. A LOT.

Breaking 90 for the first time is a great accomplishment. But you’re looking to do it EVERY ROUND. Here are the things you need to make that happen:

1. CONFIDENCE off the tee - you don’t need to be perfect, but you need a “go-to” shot that will put your golf ball in play consistently
2. CONSISTENCY on approach shots - no pin-seeking required here, we just need to eliminate big misses and capitalize on those 80-140 yard approach shots from the middle of the fairway.
3. GOOD ENOUGH short game - you don’t need to be Phil Mickelson here. You just need an arsenal of BASIC short game shots you can rely on to minimize damage.

The golf industry HATES practical golfers

The golf industry THRIVES on golfers who think money buys better golf scores.

I'm a strong advocate for finding great equipment and getting instruction, but you don't need to:

• Buy the latest driver model with "ultimate forgiveness and power"
• Play all the "new iron technology" (that hasn't actually changed in 20 years)
• Carry 10 training aids in your bag
• Go to a $3,000 golf school
• Analyze all your Trackman numbers until your eyes bleed and you start dreaming about launch angles and spin rates

The key to great golf is CHEAP and SIMPLE, and with all the new technology out there, this can be hard to remember.

Not only that, but with the proliferation of social media, you’ve probably heard hundreds of conflicting quick tips that don't make your game better, but instead, overwhelm you.

Forget all that—go back to basics.

You’ve probably spent too much time trying to add 30 yards to your drives when you really needed to learn how to get your driver in play.

After speaking with HUNDREDS of golfers like you, I’ve noticed a handful of common mistakes that you are probably making that holds you back from consistently breaking 90.

I reached a point where my email inbox grew TOO BIG to respond to all the emails, so I decided instead of drowning in emails, I’d package up all these lessons into an easily digestable online video course.

You’ll get LIFETIME ACCESS to the course content and can revisit it whenever you need.

All of this is available online, from anywhere in both video and written format.

This is an active course where I’ll give you practical things to work on each for each module.

And it’s all yours forever. You’ll have LIFETIME ACCESS to the video and written content and are welcome to revisit any part of the course on your schedule.

Be the "boring golfer"

Have you ever played with a golfer that doesn’t seem to do anything particularly well, but at the end of the round, you add up the scores, and...

They beat you by 12 strokes?!

How could that be possible? You felt like you were hitting similar shots to them all day, yet... You shot 94 and they shot... 82.

Break 90 in 90 Days is an inside look into what "boring golfers" think about, what shots they play, and how they shoot great scores even on bad days. This includes topics like:

• How to get off the tee — let’s be honest, “putt for dough” only applies when you can give yourself a putt... For dough. Getting off the tee is one of the most important factors in breaking 90 consistently.

• Feel is NOT REAL. — Every golfer has a different swing and will feel things differently. The key is finding YOUR feel that translates to a GREAT swing.

• The 4 critical skills of golf — If you can do these 4 things right, you’ll be ahead of 99% of golfers.

• Find your go-to training aids — You don’t need tons of training aids or drills. Just a handful of GREAT ones.

• Practice less — You don't need to practice a ton to break 90. You just need to practice the right things.

• Tiger’s killer approach shot strategy - Learn how Tiger out-smarts his compeitition and how YOU can adopt this strategy into your game.

• Mental MADNESS! — Most golfers are absolute headcases. I'll give you a few simple strategies for taming your mind on the course.

• Self-diagnose your swing faults FAST — Learn how to get out of slumps 10x faster than before.

And that’s just a small sample of what’s packed into this course.

Break 90 in 90 Days is for you if...

• You’re ready to break out of the never-ending cycle of “quick fixes”, the mountains of conflicting advice, and rounds that seem to get away from you.

• You’re focused on the long-term and know the only way to get better at this game is to keep learning, have fun, and practice more effectively.

• You’ve tried the “conventional” route of in-person lessons, yet you can't seem to find someone that connects with your learning style.

• You’ve gotten a long way on your own, but you’re ready for that “extra push” to get you to the next level.

• You’re ready to invest in quality and you want to know that you’re learning from someone who has played golf at a competitive level and is speaking from not only hundreds of hours of study, but also THOUSANDS of hours of experience.

• You’ve got a bit of curiosity—you want actionable ways to improve your game NOW, but you also want to know the WHY behind the instruction.

If you’re ready, you're only one step away from you breaking 90 every time you play.

And... It will cost less than one in-person lesson.

A tiny investment for a lifetime of better golf.