What is the Average 9 Hole Golf Score?
The average 9 hole golf score ranges from 40 to 70, but it’s usually only the pros who can get a score of 40 or below. A score that breaks 60 is considered to be average when playing 9 holes of golf.
Regular, non-professional golfers should make it a goal and aim for a score below 50.
What’s a Good Golf Score for 9 Holes?
A golf score of 45 is considered to be good for a game of 9 holes. This is a realistic score for most golfers to aim for. Any score below 40 is considered excellent.
A golf score that breaks 50 in a game of 9 holes is actually also considered to be better than average and is considered to be an important milestone that beginner golfers need to strive for and reach.
The PGA TOUR’s record for a 9 hole game is an astounding 26. This record score of 26 strokes (that averages out at fewer than three strokes for each hole) is held by Corey Pavin. He was 46 when he set this record in 2006.
What’s a Good 9 Hole Golf Score for a Beginner?
Beginners usually start off at around 60 or higher when playing 9 hole golf. Some beginners struggle when playing a 9 hole game of golf and can get a score of 70 or higher.
Being able to break 60 is a good golf score for a beginner. Breaking 60 isn’t great for 9 holes but it’s a good goal to have as a beginner when playing 9 holes. A beginner should be able to break 60 fairly quickly with enough discipline and practice.
That said if you want to go from beginner level to intermediate, you need to be aiming to break 50. Breaking 50 for 9 holes is considered an important hurdle to get over for beginners to reach intermediate level in golfing.
What’s a Bad Golf Score for 9 holes?
Any score higher than 60 is considered below average for a game of 9 holes. So a score of 61 or more is considered bad for 9 holes of golf.
Getting a score of 70 or higher isn’t exactly uncommon but it’s certainly not a good score.
Is Breaking 40 Good for 9 Holes?
Yes, having a score that breaks 40 is considered great for a 9 hole game of golf. Even pro golfers find it challenging to break 40 for 9 holes. If you’re an amateur golfer and can break 40 for 9 holes, then that’s an impressive score.
Breaking 40 for 9 holes is a difficult hurdle to overcome and will need a lot of deliberate and consistent practice to achieve. It’s certainly possible though; many pros break 40 regularly and some can break 30 consistently enough.
Is Breaking 50 Good for 9 Holes?
Yes, breaking 50 in a game of 9 holes is is a good score. A score of 50 is considered to be a major milestone for golfers who are making the shift going from beginner to intermediate levels of golfing.
Reaching this goal is considered to be one of the first steps a golfer takes towards becoming a competent golfer.
Breaking 50 is good for a 9 hole game of golf and this is especially true if you’re a non-pro golfer or a beginner. Any score that breaks 50 is considered above average for a 9 hole game of golf.
How Do You Break 50 for 9 Holes?
Breaking 50 for a 9 hole game of golf means that you need to get 1.5 strokes over par average. You need to almost completely eliminate unnecessary shots and avoid making minor mistakes that lead to extra strokes to reach this average.
Tips for breaking 50 in 9 holes of golf
Here are some tips on how you to make progress towards breaking 50 in 9 holes of golf:
- Use new golf clubs
- Spend more time on your short game
- Memorize your golf club distances
- Play high percentage shots
- Be lazy and swing easy
- Love and trust your putter
- Develop a routine for all your shots
- Play from a closer tee box to the hole
- Use new golf clubs.
Simply put, newer golf clubs will help improve your game. Improved club technology comes out pretty much yearly and clubs are helping golfers improve their accuracy as well as increase their distance now more than ever. The important question to ask yourself is “which club should you choose?”
This is simple enough to narrow down as every golf company makes different club models that are suited for various golfers of varying skills.
Player’s clubs are made for advanced golfers so that they have more feel when they’re controlling their golf ball flight. This is because distance usually isn’t an issue for advanced golfers. Player’s clubs are usually made in cavity back and muscle back styles.
Meanwhile, player improvement clubs are golf clubs for golfers who need more consistency and distance. Usually, these clubs have bigger club heads as well as thicker bounce at the bottom of the club. This is to help have better contact.
- Spend more time on your short game.
In 9 hole games, usually more than half of your golf round is going to be around the green which means that strokes are going to be lost when you’re putting or chipping.
Chipping is one of the most difficult things to learn in golfing because each shot is unique and needs a sense of feel as well as touch in order to be consistent.
To quickly improve your chipping, here’s what you need to do:
- Put your weight on your front leg when you’re chipping.
- Don’t use your wrists to make the swing and instead use your shoulders.
- If you’re in the rough, use a high lofted club such as a sand wedge to pop your golf ball out.
- If you’re just off the green, use a 9 iron or a pitching wedge and treat this chip like a putt.
- Learn distance control using a calm tempo to accelerate through your shot.
- Accelerate your learning progress by practicing your chipping before your round as well as after your driving range practice.
Short putts are crucial when you’re trying to cut down the number of strokes during your round.
To quickly improve your putting, do this:
- Use a steady tempo for your backswing as well as follow through and avoid jerky motions.
- Check both sides of your putt in order to understand the break. This means behind the hole and behind the ball.
- Make the putting stroke using your upper body.
- Get a strong base by widening your feet.
- After you make contact with the ball, keep your head down for about 3 seconds.
- Put more emphasis on the perfect speed rather than the ideal line of the putt.
- Memorize your club distances.
Most golfers won’t be able tell how far they hit each club in their bag. This is bad because that information is important to know when you’re on the course. This is because two different clubs can have a difference of 10 to 15 yards between them.
To memorize your club distances, go on the driving range and keep an eye out for flags that have recorded distances. After that, you can hit shots at different flags and take note of the distance you hit your golf ball with each of your clubs.
You can also use a golf simulator to check and memorize your distances. You only need a bit of time with a golf simulator to check and learn your club distances.
- Play high percentage shots.
What’s a high percentage shot? It’s a golf shot that you can repeat consistently and without any error. Most golfers take shots they “should be” hitting. You should take shots that have a high percentage of success.
In other words, don’t force yourself to make shots you’re bad at and play what you’re most comfortable with.
If you think you should be using a driver but are bad at it then don’t! Use a shot you’re better with and have a higher chance of succeeding with.
- Be lazy and swing easy.
The best way to get a natural golf swing is to be lazy and swing easy. This helps you avoid missing your golf ball as well as avoid hitting nasty slices.
Think of it like this; your arms will fall at your golf ball on the downswing not with the power of your muscles but just by the power of gravity. Just relax yourself and let your swing flow nice and smooth. Then you’ll start to see your shots go much better than they have before.
- Love and trust your putter.
Your putter should be your trusted friend and if you’re not happy with your putter then you need to keep looking for one that suits you.
This tip ties back to the one before but it bears repeating; half your round is going to be around the green where you’re going to be putting. Shouldn’t you be comfortable and good at doing that?
Get a putter that you’re happy and comfortable with. Then get very used to putting around the green.
- Develop a routine for all your shots.
The greatest golfers ever have habits for each shot that they hit. It helps get them in the zone; their muscle memory takes over to hit the perfect shot.
Similar to free throw routines in basketball, golfers need to have a routine they follow before they hit their golf balls.
The routine might include practice swing, visualizing the shot from behind the golf ball, waggling the club, breathing a certain way or maybe even repeating affirmations to themselves.
You need a routine before your shot to get your brain into the correct state to help get rid of excess stress as well as call on your muscle memory to get better and more consistent shots.
- Play from a closer tee box to the hole.
You should probably be playing from a closer tee box to the hole if you want to break 50 when playing a 9 hole game; it’s one of the quickest and easiest ways to improve your golf score.
You should be playing from the right tees that suit your current golfing skill level. Beginners should play from the closest set of tees possible and pros should play from the furthest set of tees available.