Lots of really good replies. I'll give you my experience. My first round was 128 back in March/April. My last 2 rounds have been 108 and 106 and what I've done differently is better course management. Well, and also hitting the ball a bit better.

I've tried to let my pride go and hit my 3w off the tee when I was spraying my driver. If there is a bunker in front of the pin, I hit to the safe spot on the green. Sure, I may be able to make it over the bunker, but if I end up in the bunker, that could be disastrous.

Sometimes laying up in front of a water hazard even if you think you "may" be able to clear it. When in the trees, just punching it back into the fairway instead of trying to hit that awesome shot between 2 trees that are maybe 10-15 feet apart.

On a par 4, if I make it there in 3-4, that's awesome!!! I usually don't 3 put. Maybe one or two a round and that's where I may have a 40+ foot first putt and just miss the distance.

Don't worry so much about the score or your previous bad shots, just sorry about the shot in front of you.

Here is a really good book that I recommend. A lot of what I mentioned here is in this book. It may be common sense for those that have played the game for a long time, but for a new player, it's pretty good reading.

How Short Hitting, Bad Golfers Break 90 All the Time

http://www.amazon.com/Short-Hitting-...=golf+books+90

I have started to play every hole as +1 to it's actual par and unless it's a par 5 (and 1x Par 4 on my course which suits my shape with the driver) I leave the big dog in the bag. This also lead to me to the discovery that I frequently hit my M2 Mashie 20-30 yards further than my driver and much straighter. As a consequence my scores are now nearly always sub 100 and hope to be breaking 90 by end of the season

I'm currently shooting around 100, and my goal is bogey golf (90). Each hole, my aim is to get near the green in regulation, then chip on and two putt for a bogey. Like others have said, if I get par, that's like a birdie to me. I'm also working on my chipping distance control -- if that improves, I can leave the ball close enough that a one-putt is possible, and there's "my" birdie (on in reg+1 and one putt).

A big help has been to take my medicine on shots that go off target. I used to try to advance the ball as far as possible, sometimes at great risk (between/through trees). Now, I sacrifice distance so my NEXT shot is an easy shot.

When I was first trying to break 90 I used my own "personal par" of 5 on each hole. If I got my "par" on each hole that I would end up at 90. It made me feel good during the round because if I scored a birdie or and actual par early in the round I would be counting as if I were 1 or 2 under par and for some reason mentally this seemed to work for me.

If your gaol is to play double bogey golf-then you will. I would focus less on the score and the outcome and more on the process.

That alone has probably knocked 4 shots off my score, good advice

I skimmed a bit so excuse me if this has been said.

I feel that no matter what your goals are, you should be hitting one shot at a time, making that shot to the best of your ability. That means on each shot, think about risk vs. reward, where the safer side to miss is, etc. Do that, and then add them up at the end.

I've been trying to break 80 and I usually end up on the last 4 or 5 holes thinking something along the lines of "man, if I can go +2 over the next 4 holes, i'll get 79", and it's messed me up because it puts the pressure of making or breaking an entire round on each individual shot from that point forward.

There has been some terrific advice here, thanks to everyone. Last year my average score was 103-108, and this year my scores have been mid to high 90s, and I've now broken 90 twice in the last month or so, practicing weekly and playing about twice per month.

Your question on "going for par, or going for a different goal" is very complex and I've thought about it a lot. For me, it really depended on patterns in my game and where I was doing well, and where I was needing to improve.

One thing I did that helped was to try and analyze where and how my blow-up holes occurred. Were my blowups on Par 5s? Well, yes they were and it was from trying to swing for the fences off the tee. Once I calmed down, choked down on the driver a bit, and did more controlled swings, I hit the fairways much more frequently on Par 5s. I made it a rule to not score more than a 7 on a Par 5, which was an improvement from the 10s I was scoring. Now my personal par on the Par 5s is back to the natural par. Then I noticed that my blowups were starting to occur on Par 3s? Why? I wasn't making solid contact with my higher lofted clubs from the tee box. A bit of impact tape helped discover and solve that issue. I didn't really know where on the clubface I was hitting the ball, so the impact tape has been eye opening and has led me to MUCH better contact with all my clubs.

As far as managing your round and considering your "Personal Par" for each hole, I think it depends on how consistent your scores are. For me, I could fairly regularly get pars and bogeys. But I had about 4-6 holes each round that were triples or worse. So for ME, I still consider the natural par for each hole to be MY par also, and I worked to understand and limit where I was making my big mistakes.

One golf rule that can be your friend is the "Unplayable Lie" rule. Take a look if you don't know it. I can't tell you how many times I've taken a swat at a ball in a bush, or hit opposite handed with an upside down club because the ball was next to a tree trunk. Then one hopelessly impossible shot led to another and another. You can determine if a lie is unplayable for you, take a one shot penalty, move backwards on a line from the pin, or within two club lengths, and improve your chances of making good contact on your next shot.

For me, the key to better scores was/is:

Practice. Proper practice is key. Do not repeat bad setups, take aways and swings.

Get lessons.

Play your own personal practice rounds. Do not take the score to seriously. When you hit a bad shot, correct it in your mind, drop a ball and hit a second shot.

Practice all phases of your games. Driving, mid irons, wedges, chipping, sand and putting. PRACTICE YOUR "TAKE MY MEDICINE SHOTS" ANd take your medicine when you must.

Get GolfLogix and start tracking your strokes, driving distance, putts, sand saves, scores. This has helped me figure out what to practice more.

I golf 1 or 2 times a week. Practice 2 - 3 times a week. Average score over the past 4 years, 102 rounds, is 91. Shot 75 twice, broke 80 17 times, broke 90 43 times.

Golfed in an outing at very challenging Private Country Club yesterday. First 6 holes drove the ball poorly and still had 2 pars, 1 bird and 1 double. STanding on the 7th tee I relaxed, played the driving lessons in my head and smashed a ball 285 yards down the middle, Next hole 330 down the middle. Finished with a 93 and was happy with my play. Playing well and scoring well are 2 different things. You can enjoy playing well even if you do not score as well as you would like. Enjoying the game is the most important element for me to lower my scores.

I should get back to this as it helps to free your mind from overworking. Pick areas to hit your shots to. Don't try to knock the cover off every drive but pick a shorter landing area and swing through to that location. On par four holes pick another location that you can easily reach and swing through the ball towards that area. Don't attempt to hit every green until you learn how to strike the ball well and hit your location, Shoot for positions away from hazards in front of the green and away from trouble. On par fives swing easy to a location in the fairway then layup to a location that gives you a good look at your approach shot. Don't try to hit every shot on the green until your ball striking is good and your confidence is up. Play target golf . Work on no more than two puts per hole. Work on your chipping as most of us hackers miss more greens than we hit. Good luck and don't get down on yourself.