The Confidence Hack Every 100s & 90s Golfer Needs to Know

Happy Monday,

Thanks to all of you who rated and left a comment on last week’s newsletter. I read every single one.

This Week

Why You’re Not Breaking 100 / 90 (It’s Not Your Swing): Ian Taylor is a master at helping golfers break 100 and 90 for the 1st time – he joins me to share his tips.

Weekly Skills Game: We have a great (and testing) chipping drill for you.

Tip of the Week: A quick, actionable advice to apply to your game.

Quick Video: Why golfers mess up under pressure.

Enjoy.

Why You’re Not Breaking 100 / 90 (It’s Not Your Swing)

Ian Taylor came on our podcast to discuss why most golfers struggling to break 100 and 90 are focused on the wrong things—and what they should be doing instead.

If you’re stuck at a scoring barrier, this one’s for you.

📢 Listen to the Full Episode:
🎧 YouTube: Watch here
🎧 Apple Podcasts: Listen here
🎧 Spotify: Listen here

🏌️‍♂️ Rapid-Fire Takeaways:

✅ It’s not about birdies—it’s about avoiding blow-ups. The difference between a 100 shooter and a 90 shooter isn’t more pars or birdies; it’s cutting down on doubles and triples.

✅ Golfers who track their stats improve faster. Understanding where you lose shots (par 5s? three-putts? tee shots?) is the first step to fixing your game.

✅ Most golfers are playing par 5s completely wrong. For high handicappers, the goal isn’t hitting the green in regulation—it’s greens in regulation +1 (i.e., reaching the green in three on a par 4, or four on a par 5).

✅ Strategy matters more than technique. Instead of trying to change your swing, focus on shot selection, club choice, and avoiding big misses—this has a bigger impact on scoring.

✅ Confidence builds from playing more. Many golfers avoid playing because they lack confidence, but confidence comes from playing. Get out there!

✅ Formats matter—medal golf is brutal. If you want to enjoy golf more and build confidence, play different formats: Stableford, match play, scrambles, or even setting your own scoring challenges.

⛳️ A Challenge for Your Next Round

Struggling to break 100? → Count how many double bogeys or worse you make. Your goal is to eliminate just one or two per round by making better strategic decisions.

Trying to break 90? → Track how many Greens in Regulation +1 you hit. If you improve this, your scores will drop.

Break X Golf – Weekly Skills Game

This chipping drill is one of my recent favourites for handing out to golfers.

It helps you explore different options, it helps you better understand how the ball reacts when it lands and it builds your ability to control your speed and strike.

For personalised practice plans and over 140 skills games, check out Break X Golf.

Break X Golf is a sister project to Golf Insider and was co-founded by Will Shaw.

You can check it out here.

Why Golfers Mess Up Under Pressure

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Happy golfing – The Golf Insider Team

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