The Little Book of Breaking 80 - How to Shoot in the 70s (Almost) Every Time You Play Golf

by Shane Jones

In the Little Book of Breaking 80, the author, a struggling amateur golfer who finally discovered the true keys to breaking 80 after more than 30 years of trial and error, blows the cover off of the hopelessly doomed conventional approach to golf improvement that keeps most golfers stuck on the endless merry-go-round of frustration and failure, and provides a realistic blueprint for breaking 80 that any golfer of any level can easily apply and quickly see real and lasting scoring improvement. This is not a book of swing techniques. There are plenty of other resources that teach you how to swing, chip and putt. What this book does provide is a true framework for breaking 80 based on sound principles that will work for any golfer of any level. Provided you faithfully follow and apply these principles, you will begin to improve surely and steadily, to the point where you will eventually gain the ability to break 80, not just as a one-time fluke, but over and over again as a reflection of your true new-found ability. Whether you're struggling to break 100, 90, 80 or even a complete beginner, the Little Book of Breaking 80 will help take your game to the next level!

Genres: Sports

184 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2013

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Reviews

[Eric Lee]

Could have been written in 3 pages

Short game, short game, short game followed by chipping and pitching with a tiny bit of course management thrown in for good measure. Abandon everything else. Rinse and repeated this theory five times over in the same book.

[Zack Calvert]

I will save you the time: short game, short game, short game.

[Norm Katzman]

An essential golf book for most amateur golfers

I recommend this book to many of my golfing buddies to help them improve their game. I am an over 70 golfer who regularly breaks 80. I have read and reread this book many times. The information in this book helps me to hone my golf game to improve my scoring. The book teaches strategy of navigating each holes. T
He book explains the best way to practice and what to concentrate on during each round.

[Gerald Brown]

I never could figure out why I was getting worse at golf when I was practicing more since I retired.
I would hit buckets of balls, use my own launch monitor and camera set up at home and after three years I was playing poorly. Why?
I did realize a few times that this is not working hitting balls 1 hour or so a day and playing 3 times a week. But what to do?
The book starts off with the author's journey to learn the game. I was transfixed because I followed a similar course of instruction, full swing practice, frustration and poor play. Before I started the work hard at my full swing I was a good 6 handicap. Now after three years of full swing practice I am playing like a 12 handicaper.
I started his book and thankfully our range at my course is closed for renovations.
The first round I played after starting the book I went from golf swing playing to target golf. My first drive was long and straight. The ball striking was a little better than when I was playing golf swing.
I followed his advice trying to improve my short game. There was a book I saw and read called Wedges that was simple and easy to follow. I had started this Wedge book before Mr. Jones book so I had a head start.
I am a believer in what he went thru in this book.
I had a putting lesson on Maui by Claude Brousse that gave me a good foundation for the art of putting.
I now realize that its the short game that must be worked on to lower my scores and handicap.
There is no doubt that this is great information and its up to you.

[bythecshore]

The message conveyed in the book is spot on. However, it struck me as one of those books that could have easily been condensed into a long magazine article and was "expanded" to fill a book.

The core message emphasizes the importance of focusing on one's short game to achieve a sub-80 score. It highlights that around 50% of the strokes taken occur within 20 yards. The book offers valuable statistics and useful tips of that nature. As a result, I have dedicated more practice time to my short game, and I anticipate seeing a noticeable improvement (which I believe will indeed happen).

Considering the content, I would rate it 4.5 stars, but I must deduct 1 star due to its excessive length. Perhaps the repetition of the same message throughout the book contributed to my heightened attention to its content?

[Randall Williams]

Solid advice

Got a little bored with the detail on all the fallacies and bad instruction advise. Having said that…I’m sure there are those who need to hear the countess bad remedies for scoring in golf. The best instructor I have ever had said to me at the first lesson, “Teach yourself to get up and down in 2 shots from within 50 yards and you’ll be a better than average golfer”. This book details an excellent plan for accomplishing that very goal.

[Kim]

I loved the anecdotal introduction leading to the well structured explanation of the plan. It's definitely better than most golf reads. Stellar. I will be re-reading and referencing this. Can't wait to implement the strategies mentioned. As with fitness, it is a lifestyle change. I love it.
Saw some reviews just saying short game. Well, yes, but how to implement it is key. This book explained that very well.

[willow williams]

Fun informative read

Changed my thinking about how I play and what I want to practice. I now look to improve number of times I hit my target for each situation. Putting Shane’s principles into action I actually feel like I could improve my game and break 100 this year. Thanks for giving me a wake up call.

[Rob Baker]

An entire book on golf improvement that doesn’t discuss swing mechanics. By focusing on the “shot” the author explains the “function” of each of the basic types of shots. This is very useful for your pre-shot routine and builds commitment. I expect that every single digit handicap golfer has learned the lessons in this book—the hard way.

[Karen]

Short game is where it’s at

I really like this book even though it doesn’t teach you how to hit a golf shot. It helps you understand the importance of spending most of your time. Improving your short game about thinking how to play a particular hole and the mental part of the golf game.

[Caleb and Danyelle Heder]

Good but could be trimmed down.

First half reads like a prolonged sales pitch. The last half is useful. Provides good statistics to temper your performance goals. Basic principles of where you should focus your efforts are sound but could use a few more actionable items, drills, practices, etc.

[Tom Pleiman]

Easy to follow with clear easy to under instructions.

One of the better instruction books I have read. Does not complicate the game. Easy to follow and implement. Looking forward to changing my practices.

[victor ortiz]

Good read...

The book provides some tips to improve your chances of breaking 80, however, I think the author could have left out the first half of the book and still get his point across.

[Charles Sarka]

Data back reasoning which will force you to rethink the way you play the game. Redundant at times but the main points are well made and reinforced with pro based data. If you want to break 80, this is the book that will help.

[Kathleen A.]

Great golf strategy book!

Full of practical tips and insights, this book combines sound advice on the short game, and practice plan ideas for improving your golf game. While a little repetitious, it’s easily digestible and a quick read.

[Jayme Phibbs]

Has some good and helpful points but is extremely repetitive.

[Brian]

The idea of this book is (1) remember that golf is a target game (2) learn good course management and (3) master the short game. The concepts make good sense, though the book is a tad repetitive.

[Benjamin tirlia]

Great read

Got me thinking with a scoring mind! Looking forward to implementing what I learned. I really liked this book a lot

[Wayne W. Grigsby Jr.]

Excellent. Lots of great details and religion proving great points. Well done

[Jared Katzman]

this worked, I can now break 80

Take the red pill and start on the path to breaking 80 by reading this little book. So many great strategies here for lowering scores.

[theinroad]

Don’t waste your time. Could have been a 500 word article. Plus some of his thinking is silly and not thorough with sweeping assumptions.

[Andrew Dunkley]

It makes sense

I always knew that this was the way to improve but I think I needed someone to put it in a book! Thank you. I suspect you have read several books on better learning for golf, maybe you read my book about golf anger too haha. Well done and thanks again. I now have a plan.

[Jordan Spaulding]

Good book. Good for golfers that shoot around 100 or brand new. If you listen to what he says you’ll definitely improve. Liked to hear the authors side of the story.

[Trenton Sullivan]

Not at all helpful

[Patrick]

repetitive

This book could have been an email. The information is good, but it’s also stated multiple times, maybe to pad the size of the document.

[Richard Koppy]

Very poor book on Golf... the author discusses golf in a very general way... he offers nothing in terms of substance.... the only part of his dialogue that is meaningful is his strong recommendation that you should forsake the learning of the full swing in favor of spending your time on the short game... i.e. chipping and putting... he backs this up with good dialogue and examples, but he offers nothing beyond this... no suggestions on style or methodology... this is really an example of someone writing to explain to people what he has learned from his years of playing golf without explaining anything related to a method... I give it two stars because of the interesting position he discusses, otherwise it is a total waste of a read...

[Grant Williams]

Wow

Great solution for all struggling Golfers and those committed to personal improvements this book has revolutionized my approach to the game thanks