This past weekend at Saluda Valley Country Club in Williamston, SC, I finally crossed a milestone I’ve been chasing for years: breaking 80. After shooting 79, it feels good to look back at the journey, the round itself, and the lessons that might help other golfers chasing the same goal.

Unlike many golfers, I didn’t grow up with a club in my hand. I was a basketball guy, and I didn’t start playing golf until about five years ago. The first two-and-a-half years, during COVID, I played a ton. My dad got us a family membership at a local course, and since carts were included, my brother and I would just run out there and play all the time.

The last two years, though, I haven’t been nearly as consistent. Life got busy, and without that membership, my rounds dropped off. My swing has always been a work in progress — for a long time I fought a big over-the-top move that led to a right miss. I’ve tried everything from dropping my right foot back to really exaggerating a shallower path.

The tradeoff? While I learned to hit driver pretty well, I could never get the ball in the air with mid and long irons. My wedges and short irons were fine, but once I pulled a 6-iron or 5-iron, the ball would come out low and run through greens.

A few weeks ago, while playing with William, he noticed I was leaning too much on my back foot. That small observation changed everything. I started focusing on evening out my weight and getting my hands a little higher. Heading into Labor Day weekend, that was the adjustment on my mind.

Friday afternoon, I teed it up at Saluda Valley Country Club with my dad and two of his friends. We played from the middle tees. The course isn’t long or full of water hazards, but it’s demanding in its own way. The rough is thick — easily four inches off the fairway — and you pay for every miss.

I got off to a shaky start: four straight bogeys. My driver was working, but the putts just weren’t falling. I steadied myself and finished the front nine with a 41, thanks to a few pars.

The back nine was a different story. After a bogey on 10, I strung together pars on 11 through 13. A birdie on 14 got me back to even on the side, and I kept it rolling. I bogeyed 16, doubled 17 (a par 3 I completely mishit off the tee), and came to 18 knowing I needed a birdie to break 80.

Eighteen is a par five with a dogleg right. I striped a driver, hit a solid second shot near the green, chipped up, and left myself about 15 feet. I didn’t tell anyone in my group what was on the line — I didn’t want the pressure. I rolled it in. Seventy-nine. Finally.

Here’s what stood out to me:

Amateur golfers (myself included) often think a low round requires everything to be perfect — long irons, wedges, putting, all in sync. This round showed me that’s not the case. If you can get the ball in play off the tee and rely on your short game, you can score.

If you’re trying to break 80, here are two things I’d pass along:

This article is a little different from our usual course reviews, but we want to start mixing in more personal stories, lessons learned, and perspectives from our own golf journeys. With the Ryder Cup coming up, look out for a piece on its history and why it matters.

In the meantime, follow us on social media, share the newsletter with a golf buddy, and let us know what content you’d like to see next.

Thanks for reading,
Grayson Reames