I see it on the lesson tee every single day. A golfer comes to me with one goal: "Francis, I just want to break 90." I tell them the same thing every time: that's the wrong goal. Focusing on a score is like trying to lose weight by staring at the scale—it only creates pressure and highlights failure. The score is a symptom. It’s the result of your habits, your technique, and your mindset. If you want to change the score for good, you have to stop chasing it. You have to build a process that makes sub-90, sub-80, and even sub-70 rounds an inevitable outcome of your skill. It’s about getting 1% better every time you practice, and it starts by understanding what phase of development you’re truly in.
The Three Pillars and The Pathway
At Beyond Golf Performance, my entire coaching philosophy is built on a system we call The Pathway. It’s a structured, phase-by-phase roadmap to mastering your game, and it’s the same one we use for our PGA Tour players and our high-handicap clients. It works because it doesn’t just focus on your swing. It integrates the Three Pillars of elite performance: Mind, Body, and Technique.
* Technique: The “how-to” of the golf swing. We use video analysis and Foresight launch monitors to get objective data on what the club and ball are actually doing. No guesswork.
Body: Your physical capabilities and limitations. A TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) screen tells us why* you move the way you do, so we can build a swing that works for your body, not against it.
* Mind: Course management, mental processing, and emotional control. This is the glue that holds your game together under pressure.
Trying to improve your technique without addressing your physical limitations or your mental strategy is a recipe for frustration. You have to build all three pillars simultaneously. The Pathway is designed to do exactly that, guiding you through each stage of scoring improvement.
Phase 1: How to Break 90 – The Elimination Game
If you're trying to break 90, your one and only mission is to eliminate penalty strokes and double bogeys. That’s it. You don’t need to make more birdies; you need to make fewer “others.” This is not a game of perfection; it’s a game of mitigation.
Technique
Your focus is singular: solid contact. You must advance the ball with every swing. We are eliminating topped shots, chunks that go nowhere, and shanks.
* The Goal: Center-face contact. Forget about power. A 180-yard drive in the fairway is infinitely better than a 240-yard drive in the woods.
* The Drill: Work on a simple, repeatable setup. Feet, hips, shoulders aligned. Ball position consistent. From there, your only thought is making a smooth, balanced swing and finishing with your chest facing the target.
* The Reality: My team—Austin Lim, Steven Zavala, Sam Schmidt, and I—spend countless hours with 90s-shooters simply getting them to hit the middle of the clubface. It’s not glamorous, but it’s the non-negotiable foundation.
Mind
This is where you’ll see the fastest results. We need to erase the hero shot from your vocabulary.
* The Goal: Bogey is your new par. If you make a bogey on every hole, you shoot 90. A few pars in the mix and you’re in the 80s. Stop getting mad at bogeys.
* The Strategy: Aim for the largest part of the fairway. Always aim for the center of the green, regardless of where the pin is. If you have 220 yards over water, lay up to your favorite wedge distance. Play boring, predictable golf. The scorecard will thank you.
Body
You don't need to be a gym rat, but you need to be able to move. A simple 10-minute dynamic warmup focusing on hip and thoracic spine rotation can dramatically improve your consistency from the first tee to the 18th.
Phase 2: How to Break 80 – The Scoring Zone
To consistently break 80, you have to turn those bogeys from the previous phase into pars. This means your misses are smaller, and you have the short-game skills to clean up your mistakes. This entire phase is won or lost from 125 yards and in.
Technique
You have a functional swing, but now we need precision and touch. Our Smart analysis with Foresight launch monitors becomes critical here.
* The Goal: Master your wedge distances. You need to have a stock yardage for a full swing, a three-quarter swing, and a half-swing with every wedge in your bag. This isn’t feel; it’s a system.
* The Short Game: Stop trying to chip everything close. Your primary goal is to get your first putt inside three feet. Practice lag putting from 40, 50, and 60 feet. Master the basic bump-and-run—it’s the highest percentage shot around the greens for most amateurs.
* The Driver: Breaking 80 requires finding fairways. Hitting 3-wood is a fine strategy, but a better one is to develop a reliable “fairway finder” shot shape with your driver—a predictable fade is often the easiest to learn.
Mind
You’re moving from damage control to strategic execution.
* The Goal: A bogey is no longer a win, but it’s not a disaster. The key is to avoid stringing them together. Your mental goal is to follow every bogey with a par.
* The Strategy: Start thinking one shot ahead. Where is the best place to miss on your approach shot? Which side of the fairway gives you the best angle to the pin? You’re not just hitting it; you’re positioning it.
Body
This is where a TPI screen really pays dividends. We can identify the physical limitations (like poor hip mobility or weak glutes) that are causing your inconsistent ball striking. A targeted fitness plan can unlock a new level of consistency and power you didn't know you had.
Phase 3: How to Break 70 – The Precision Player
Breaking 70 is about moving from a good player to an elite one. The margins are razor-thin. It requires a complete command of your ball, your mind, and your body. The difference between shooting 73 and 69 is not talent; it’s precision and mental execution.
Technique
At this level, "good" shots aren't good enough. We need command.
* The Goal: Full ball-flight control. You need the ability to curve the ball both ways on command, and to control your trajectory—hitting it low into the wind or high to a soft green.
* The Scoring Clubs: Your wedge game moves from distance control to spin control. You’re learning to hit the low-spinning checker and the high-releasing shot. Your putting focus shifts from lag putting to converting everything inside 10 feet. The data from our launch monitors helps us dial in launch and spin to a professional standard.
* The Go-To Shot: You must have one shot—a specific club and shot shape—that you can execute under the most intense pressure with 99% confidence.
Mind
This is the final frontier. The technical differences between a scratch player and a Tour pro are smaller than you think. The mental gap is a chasm.
* The Goal: Total acceptance and a clinical pre-shot routine. Bad breaks happen. A perfect drive can end up in a divot. A great putt can lip out. The player who breaks 70 accepts this, resets, and executes their routine on the next shot with full commitment. There is no emotional baggage.
* The Strategy: You are now playing the course like a chess master. You’re identifying specific landing zones based on hole location, wind, and firmness. You have a plan A, B, and C for every hole before you even step on the tee.
Body
You are a performance athlete. Your body is your engine. A year-round, golf-specific strength and conditioning program is no longer optional. It’s a requirement for maintaining the speed, stability, and endurance needed to play at this level without injury. Nutrition and hydration become tools for performance.
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The journey from shooting in the 90s to breaking 70 is not a mystery. It’s a structured process of building skills in phases, always focusing on the Three Pillars of Mind, Body, and Technique. Stop chasing a number and start building a foundation. Focus on getting 1% better every day, and the scores will take care of themselves. If you're ready to stop guessing and start following a proven roadmap, your journey starts today. You can join golfers from around the world in our Virtual Academy for just $59/month to access The Pathway, or if you're in the Austin area, book a comprehensive in-person assessment with my team.
You can reach us at Beyond Golf Performance at Balcones Country Club by calling (737) 537-2117 or visiting us at 8600 Balcones Club Dr, Austin, TX. It’s time to own your game.
