How to Break 80: Lessons From a Real Round at Lake Park Golf Course

Breaking 80 is the milestone that separates the weekend hacker from the serious golfer. And if you’ve been stuck in the low-to-mid 80s for a while, here’s some good news: it’s probably not a swing problem. It’s a strategy problem.

I shot a 77 at Lake Park Golf Course in Lewisville, Texas — my best round ever (at the time) and my first time breaking 80 there. Lake Park is a par 70 that plays about 5,700 yards from the whites with a slope of 67 and a course rating of 105. It’s forgiving, it’s fun, and it’s the kind of course every golfer needs in their back pocket. But the lessons from this round aren’t specific to Lake Park. They’ll apply wherever you play.

Here’s what made the difference.

Have a Plan Before You Tee Off

Before we get into the specifics, let me point you to a framework that helped shape how I think about scoring: Golf Sidekick’s 666 strategy.

The idea is simple — aim for 6 greens in regulation, 6 up-and-downs when you miss those greens, and give yourself 6 free holes where a bogey or even a double won’t derail your round. Do that and breaking 80 on a par 70 is very much in play.

It’s a liberating way to think about a round. You’re not trying to par every hole. You have a budget. Some holes you spend more, some holes you save. The tips below are basically how that played out in real life for me.

Know Where You Can Miss

This was the biggest thing I did differently on the day. Before every approach shot, I wasn’t just thinking about where I wanted the ball to go. I was thinking about where I could afford to miss.

At Lake Park, the fairways are so open that your best approach on some holes actually comes from the adjacent fairway. (I may or may not have tested that theory a few times.) On one hole, going long and left would have been bad news, so I played a little fade and took just enough club. Stayed short of trouble. Easy chip, easy par.

Do you know where you can miss on the holes you play most?

Make Your Up-and-Downs

I made five up-and-downs on the day. That’s the round right there.

Five times I missed a green and still walked away with par. Take those away and a 77 turns into something a lot uglier. You don’t need to be chipping it stone dead every time. You just need a reliable technique and the nerve to knock in a 5-7 footer when it matters.

If you’re serious about breaking 80, practice your short game more than anything else. I’m not saying anything you haven’t heard before. But it’s true.

Shake It Off

My front nine was not pretty. I three-putted a par 5 I hit in regulation. I missed an up-and-down on the par 3 at hole three (site of my hole-in-one earlier this year, which made it sting a little more). I was struggling with accuracy off the tee for a stretch.

Bogey golf is not what I came out there for. But here’s the thing — a bogey is just a bogey. It might even be one of your six free holes. A bogey that turns into a double because you’re steaming on the next tee? That’s where rounds go to die.

Shake it off. Move on. The round isn’t over.

Let the Back Nine Be Your Round

I started the back nine with a birdie on 10 and felt everything shift. Lake Park has what I call a bogey-birdie set on the back — a stretch of fours and fives laid out in a simple back-and-forth pattern where on windy days every other hole is tricky. Getting through that stretch at even felt huge.

I stuck my approach inside six feet on 15. Made the putt. At that point I could see a 76 staring at me if I just parred out. I didn’t quite close it (bogey on 18, because of course), but 77 was good enough for a new personal best and my first time in the 70s at Lake Park.

The Lesson That Stuck

After the round I realized something. I wasn’t waiting to break 80 someday. I was capable of doing it right now.

Maybe that sounds obvious. But there’s a real mental difference between thinking something is coming eventually and knowing you can do it today. That shift matters.

Breaking 80 doesn’t require a perfect ball-striking day. It requires staying out of your own way, knowing your course, converting your scrambles, and keeping the free holes free. That’s it.

Now go find your Lake Park.