The 1 shot you must avoid when trying to break 80, per top teacher

Welcome to Shaving Strokes, a GOLF.com series in which we’re sharing improvements, learnings and takeaways from amateur golfers just like you — including some of the speed bumps and challenges they faced along the way.

As I continue on my quest towards breaking 80 for the first time, I’m constantly dissecting my game and asking as many questions as possible, trying to understand the “why” for every shot.

But to be blunt, my journey has hit a wall, and my scores haven’t been all that great lately.

As a new dad, it’s been hard to get to the driving range or play 18, which causes me to play catch-up each time I pick up a club. So instead of implementing new techniques and swing adjustments, I’m falling back into the same bad habits I had years ago.

Driving

That doesn’t mean the grind stops, though, so I’m still slowly working my way towards breaking 80 and celebrating accordingly (probably with a six-pack of Natty tall boys when it happens, if I’m being honest).

The biggest area of concern for me lately? My driving, which has been so inconsistent that it’s actually led me to question, well, everything off the tee.

From my club selection (should I use 3-wood instead of driver?) to my grip and my setup, I feel so lost standing on the tee box — which isn’t a good place to be, so I needed some help in a big way!

That’s why I tapped in GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jason Birnbaum to get his tips — and to explain why a good tee shot is so important when trying to break 80.

Trying to break 80? Dial in your drives first

As the video above shows, Birnbaum and I headed to the driving range to try and figure out what the hell has been going on with my driver lately.

“I’m on a quest to break 80,” I tell him. “What’s one shot that every player has to master?”

Birnbaum actually responds by describing the shot a player can’t hit if you’re hoping to break 80 — which is a slice off the tee.

Instruction

“It’s sometimes more about the shot you can’t hit, which, in this case, is the slice,” he replies. “If you’re a slicer, it’s going to be really hard to break 80 because, most likely, you’re going to have a couple balls go out of bounds.”

The No. 1 culprit for slicing the ball with a driver? An over-the-top swing pattern, which causes the clubface to open up a bit as it impacts the golf ball.

“Most of the time, an over-the-top or out-to-in swing path is what causes the golf ball to cut too much,” Birnbaum says. “The more the golfer sees the ball go to the right, the more they try to fight that [swing path] by trying to swing more to the left.”

So what can a player who’s struggling off the tee like I am do? Birnbaum shares an easy-fix for more success with the driver.

“One drill that I’ve found really helpful is to draw a line on the golf ball — similar to what you’d do for a putt, basically,” he explains. “Instead of pointing this green line straight at the target like you would think, I’m actually going to point it a little out to the right. This is the path that I want you to swing on.”

The photo below shows how this should look.

Birnbaum then walks me through how this should feel as I come through impact.

“I want you to feel like you’re having your shoulders in line with that green line as you come into the ball,” he says. “That’s going to keep your upper body closed to the target and get you to swing a little bit more to the inside.”

Birnbaum then has me take a few slow backswings to get the sensation he described, all with the hope of putting a more natural draw on my tee shot.

After hitting my shot, he reminds me that, in order to break 80, it’s going to take hitting more fairways to give myself a better approach shot.

“If you get your tee shot in play, it makes life a little easier from there,” he says.

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Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor