May/June 2025

May/June 2025: Breaking 70

Ted Odorico July 7, 2025

Golf Milestones

Breaking 70

Gapping Your Clubs for Overlapping Distances

There’ll be times during a round of golf when hitting a shot to a yardage with your stock club might be impossible, if not inappropriate. This could be due to environmental factors, the lie, or you’re just not feeling it today. But breaking 70 is still a possibility. Being able to understand how set up variations can alter trajectories, spin, and distance, can lead to yardages that overlap from club to club. Making these skills valuable when the possibility is there to 70.

Start with opening your stance first when it comes to varying your set up positions. Doing short naturally shortens your swing relative to your target. Which in turn should shorten any shot with any club.
Understand how far a ball travels when you shorten your swing by 25% or 50%. These shorter swings could come in handy when faced with a yardage that requires using a different club because of something between you and your intended target.
Learn what your “max” distance is for every club. You must feel like your swing remains in balance as you do so. Making it repeatable on the course when faced with adversity.

Tip provided by: John Hughes, PGA Master Professional & Golf Tips Top 25 Instructor

Contact: john@johnhughesgolf.com

May/June 2025: Breaking 80

Ted Odorico June 30, 2025

Golf Milestones

Breaking 80

Is Your Short Game Functional?

Breaking 80 consistently requires more than basic skills when it comes to your short game. You’re placing yourself in more awkward positions around the green due to your increased length. Awkard as in uneven lies, short siding yourself, and being faced with obstacles between you and the hole that you have not been able to conquer. This season, breaking 80 can be obtained more often when you:

Practice your basic setup routines for chipping and pitching the golf ball. And then vary just one set up position as you practice finding out how that one variable affects how your ball flies, spins, and releases, from various lies around the green.
Ensure you are practicing short game from various lies, not just good lies. Conquering uneven, deep rough, and hardpan lies around the green will build experience with how you alter set up and swing to accommodate these lies on the course.
Learn to hit your stock short game shots higher and lower than normal, using various clubs. This will assist you when faced with obstacles that you normally do not encounter.

Tip provided by: John Hughes, PGA Master Professional & Golf Tips Top 25 Instructor

Contact: john@johnhughesgolf.com

May/June 2025: Breaking 90

Ted Odorico June 23, 2025

Golf Milestones

Breaking 90

Difference Between Dumb and Stupid

I’ve been telling my son since he was 3 years old there’s a difference between dumb and stupid; stupid knows better. Think about the mistakes you make that prohibit you from breaking through the 90-scoring barrier. Are those mistakes because you did not know what to do? Or you knew what to do but decided to do something else? Let’s make sure you make great decisions going forward so you can’t pin the label of making a stupid mistake on yourself any longer.

When on a par 5 and there’s no way to hit the green in 2, LAY UP! Laying up may feel dumb but prevents you from labeling yourself stupid when you have no chance to make par from where your second shot ends up.
When the pin on any hole is tucked in a corner of the green that your average shot will curve away from and off the green, AIM FOR THE MIDDLE of the GREEN! Aiming at the middle is dumb but effective. Aiming at the pin is stupid if you can’t keep the ball on the green.
When faced with an in between yardage, TAKE MORE CLUB! You may feel like you look dumb to others doing so. But you prevent yourself from calling yourself stupid when the shot you hit with the lesser club comes up short.

Tip provided by: John Hughes, PGA Master Professional & Golf Tips Top 25 Instructor

Contact: john@johnhughesgolf.com

May/June 2025: Breaking 100

Ted Odorico June 16, 2025

Golf Milestones

Breaking 100

Play Different Tees

Chances are you’ll never break 100 because you’re playing the wrong set of tees, giving you no chance of hitting greens in regulation due to your lack of distance and accuracy. Both being sacrificed from the tee box with a not so consistent driver always keeping you in trouble. If this is you, consider:

How far your 7 iron carries in the air. If your 7 iron carries less than 140 yards on average, and most of the par 3 tees you play from are 155 or longer, you’re playing the wrong tee.
How far does your driver travel when you’re accurate? If you average 225 or less and you must use more than a 7 iron into a green on a par 4 hole, you’re playing the wrong tee.

Consider moving forward to a tee that allows your average length drive to provide an opportunity to hit 7 iron or less into a green and you’ll have a better than average chance of breaking 100 this season.

Tip provided by: John Hughes, PGA Master Professional & Golf Tips Top 25 Instructor

Contact: john@johnhughesgolf.com