It's time for a new episode of “Faith N Fairways” with the founder, Brad Thorberg, who after more than 16,000 lessons taught to over 2,000 golfers has discovered the most forgotten and overlooked part of your golf game that is keeping you from playing your most consistent and confident golf ever.
Now, here is your host, Brad Thorberg.
Brad Thorberg: Welcome, golfers from around the world. It is here, finally, today. We dive into the secret code consistently breaking 90—30, 30 and five.
Get used to that. That is the foundation. That is the code. That is what I have hacked over 16,000 lessons later and years in the industry. I've been playing since I was three and been teaching for the last 15 years, but that is the code that I've used to help so many golfers break that 90 barrier and start playing some more enjoyable, fun, confident golf.
So, today, we finally dive into meat and potatoes. So excited to get into this. Today, what we're going to do is just talk about,
What is this code? What does it stand for? How did I come across it? How does it work exactly? and start to give you just kind of a very big 10,000-foot view of what this is and how it's going to work for you to start playing some of your best golf.
That's what we're going to dive into today, and, then, next week we dive into the first part of the code, very specifically, how to utilize it to your advantage and so forth. So, today it’s the 10,000-foot view. After this, we dive into the specific components of the code to wrap up this first series.
So, super excited to be getting into the meat and potatoes today to help you understand just what this is. I know for so many of you through the first couple episodes, you're like, Alright, what is this code? And we’ll find out why you can't break 90 and find out where your game needs to be heading into this, and, today, we get the big overview of just what this secret code is and how you're going to utilize lies it, and then we dive into the tiny pieces of it to really unlock some things that even if you consistently break 90 now that I feel are still going to be very beneficial for you. So, that's what we're diving into today.
Even as we get into this code of breaking 90, you're going to want to stay tuned, because there's still three major mistakes that cause your round to just blow up before you even get to the first tee, guys. So, you're going to want to stay tuned to take advantage of my free download of “The Three Biggest Mistakes Sabotaging A Round,” because that is still holding you back even with the code. So, you're going to want to get that and start implementing some of the nuggets in there to help you start practicing and playing some better golf right away today. Get that regardless of knowing the code or not knowing the code. That alone is going to help you. So, you're going to want to make sure you stay tuned to be able to get that, but we're going to dive into it, guys.
So, what is this code? What does it stand for? What is “30, 30 and five”?
What that is, “30, 30 and five” is you need to be able [03:00] to hit your approach shot. So, what that is, your approach shot is, par-3, it’s your tee shot par four; par-4, it’s your second shot; par-5, it's your third shot. But your goal is to get that approach shot within 30 yards of the putting surface.
Imagine the green, and you take and you go 30 yards out, and you draw a big circle 30 yards around the green. Your goal is to simply get your approach shot within that zone. That's it. That's your goal. It’s to get it within that zone, which seems pretty possible when you factor that most greens are 30-by-30 yards wide and deep, so now you're talking you have a 90-by-90 yard window that you're trying to get your approach shot in. Should be doable. So, when you unlock that vision, you start to be able to see, Well, that didn't seem so hard. Yeah, because most of you are sitting there staring at the flagstick on a par-3 thinking you have to get it close like you're a tour player and you've never broken 90.
So, our goal in the first part of this code is to get within 30 yards of the putting surface. Left? Right? Long? Short? Just depends on where trouble is. We'll dive more into that next week.
So, the next part of the code is 30 feet within the pin, and that doesn't mean it has to be on the putting green. That can be on the fringe, 30 feet from the flag over the back of the green putting, but you just need to be within 30 feet of the cup. So, 30 yards of the green. Next, we want to pitch it within 30 feet of the cup; roll it inside five, which is the third part of the code, and knock it in, because—get this, get this—even the amateur golfer from five feet in will make 92 percent of their putts from five foot and in.
92 percent, five foot and in. Now, that's not 92 out of 100 from exactly five feet, because you're going to have a lot of putts that are three inches away or a foot away or six inches away, right?
So, you just need to know if I can start to roll the ball from 30 feet to inside five, I have a great chance. And five feet is five right, five left, five long and five short—so, technically you’ve got this 10-by-10-foot circle or box to get the ball in. How hard is that? This is where this code really starts to unlock the mind and picturing, Alright, these are actually big, doable targets, because what happens is we get so focused on “I’ve got to make this, don't miss it,” and you get so tense about the small stuff that then you blow it out of proportion and you're so far off.
So, the code is 30, 30 and five. Our goal is to get within 30 yards of the putting surface; pitch it within 30 feet; roll it inside five; knock it and move on with our bogey. And what's going to happen is you might have one or two times it doesn't work, but you're also going to start to have a few times where you're making a few pars as you start to learn how to position yourself correctly—which we’ll start to dive into more of the positioning and course management piece in the next episodes, but, today, again, 10,000-foot view of [06:00] “What is this code? 30, 30, 5”: 30 yards of the putting surface; 30 feet to the cup; roll it inside five; knock it and move on about our business.
Now, how did I come across this? Well, experience for one. 16,000 lessons later, I found that even with beautiful swings and making good contact, my clients could hit the ball solid and they still weren't scoring. So, even with these beautiful-looking swings, flushing golf shots, hitting nice little baby draws or controlled fades, just beautiful golf, and some of them better than I can hit the ball, but they're not able to break 90 and I can go shooting in the 70s.
Why is this? Because I have a short game. I can control it and I managed the golf course correctly, and they had no clue of how to do this. And now they're hitting great golf shots, but they still have no clue how to score, and this code allows you to start scoring and it simplifies how to do it.
And that is so, so crucial, because what I was finding, and so many golfers would hit a great shot and another one, and the next thing you know, they're going at the flagstick. They end up in the bunker and then it's a shot out of the bunker over the green and the rough, and then they hack it out of there. And they 3-putt and, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, they’ve just made double- or triple-bogey after a great tee shot. And it was largely because they didn't manage correctly from that tee shot moving forward, getting it within 30 yards of the green, and then they didn't manage correctly from there because they're not thinking of the big picture. They're just thinking of “flagstick, flagstick, flagstick” and it gets them into so much trouble.
I also realize many of them have worked so hard on their full swing that they've completely forgotten about short game, which we talked about last week, and, at the end of the day, it's 60–65 percent of your score, so now they're flushing all these shots and they're still shooting 90 or above. Well, now they're hitting the best shots they've ever hit in their life, but they still have a very poor short game. I have a full swing good enough to go shoot in the low-80s, high-70s in a short game that's keeping them closer to 100. So, we’ve got to start working on it.
So, that's how I came across this. The key here is start paying attention that when you're out there, Alright, how do I play with what I have? which we've talked about. So, now, to implement this code, it's really hitting solid shots, which we talked about, playing with what you have versus what you want to have—so focusing on, Alright, here's where it's starting. Here's where it's going to end, playing my slice, getting it out there and play—and now as you start to get closer to implementing this code, now my approach isn't about hitting the green or hitting really close to the pin. It’s, Alright, I need to get this within 30 yards of the putting surface, so if there's no trouble, then you can go at the green, but if there's some trouble to the left or the right, we’ve got to start managing away from it going, Hey, I just need to get this within 30 yards, because you're going to have holes that are easy and you're going to have holes that are very difficult, holes that are setting you up to make an eight or nine. You already know this.
For most of you who have played at a country club, you already know the holes that are easy [09:00] and the holes that you just struggle with. There are those four or five holes that you just make in doubles and triples all the time because they just don't set up for you.
Well, for a lot of you, you just don't play it any different. You keep trying to play the same game on the same hole that's giving you the same results, and then you say you're inconsistent. Well, no, you're not. You're very consistent, because you're doing the same thing. You haven't tried adjusting it. So, start looking at some of these holes from this perspective of “Alright, I just need to get a ball and play off the tee. I need to get one within 30 yards of the putting surface,” so now you start sitting there going, Well, shoot.
For a lot of you, you could probably go hybrid eight-iron and be 30 yards off the front., and now it's completely changed the game, because now if we position ourselves that way, away from trouble, it's just a simple pitch and one- or two-putt for a par or bogey versus trying to bomb a driver on this hole that just doesn't set up well and, all of a sudden, now you're in the trees. You're punching out of the trees and you punch out, but now you feel like you’ve got to make up a shot, so now you're out in the middle of the fairway 100 yards out thinking you have to hit it close, putting all this pressure on you, still angry about being in the trees and having to punch out, feeling like you have to hit it really close—you're adding all this pressure, which then makes you start thinking of how to do it—so now you're in your conscious mind trying to make this perfect-looking golf swing, and then you chunk it or you thin it, or you pull it left or you scoop under it. It ends up short of the green in a bunker because you went at the pin and there's a bunker right in front, and now you're having to hit a par out of this bunker, and the next thing you know, you're making a double-bogey.
Even though Brad has cracked the code to consistently breaking 90, there are still three major mistakes he's found from working with over 2,000 clients that will sabotage your round before you get to the first tee. Head to www.MyGolfCode.com now to receive your free guide where he outlines all three faults and provides you with some easy action steps to start playing more consistent golf today.
And it happens that fast, so [for] many of us it could have been a completely different story just by changing our approach from the tee, realizing, Hey, I only need to get this within 30 yards of the putting surface—and this was groundbreaking.
I took my client, Jack, through this. We went through the cheat sheet. I have this, my cheat sheet scorecard, which I’ll teach you how to warm up correctly to where you're getting the cheat sheet before you go to take the test. And I took them through this cheat sheet and we went.
We warmed up. We were hitting four or five shots with these different clubs, marking on the cheat sheet to get a plan in place, and then we went out and we played. As we played that round of golf, as we took that test, and we had the cheat sheet right there, we managed the course with what we had. And when we warmed up that day, he could not hit the driver. I mean, it was so far right. It was uncontrollably right.
We hit five hybrid off almost every tee but one, because there's one hole that was a dogleg right where you could have hit it for three [12:00] days to the right and never been in trouble. So, that one hole, I let him hit a driver and, sure enough, he went away right, but we weren't making a big number because there were no trees. There was no real trouble over there, just rough. So, we went over and he still parred the hole, but here was a guy who'd never broken 90. Never broken 90. And we went out and we shot 83 that day, his career round, shattered 90.
It wasn't even a question in the last four holes of the round, but the reason we did it was here was a guy who was constantly hitting a driver because he felt like he had to, but when we warmed up, he was hitting his five hybrid with this 20 yard fade averaging, like, 205 yards. So, we played that because that five-hybrid with a simple eight- or seven-iron and was consistently putting them out in front of the green. And, on the par-5s, he was able to hit a couple of greens. The par-3s that were shorter, we took advantage of.
So, we played with where the strength of his game was, and knowing “30, 30 and five,” we were able to manage the course correctly; plot ourselves around; make a few pars, and the next thing you know, when he looks up at the other round, he’s shot his career around and he was ecstatic, and he had no idea that he could do that. I was like, You're there. You're just making poor decisions.
So, when you start looking at the golf hole from the green backwards and you start thinking, Alright, I just need to get my approach shot within 30 yards of this putting surface. Then, I’ve just got to get within 30 feet, and then I’ve just got to roll to five feet. And if you're practicing your short game from 30 yards and in, working on pitches, lag putting and short putts, you guys will be breaking 90 consistently in no time.
But this is how it works: you have to start focusing on “How do I plot myself around the golf course to get within 30, 30 and five, to get within 30 of the edge of the green, 30 feet of the cup, five feet, and then on the next?” and it starts by looking from the whole backwards and coming up with a plan that's within what you're capable of doing versus what you want to do. That's the whole key to this.
So, when you're playing this week and you're sitting there, it's a hole you struggle with, start thinking, Alright, this is a tough hole, but I just need to get within 30 yards of the green. Maybe it's a long par-r. Maybe it's a 410 yard par-4. But if you sit there and you go, Well, the middle of the green to the front edge of the green is 15 yards, plus another 30. I just minused 45 yards off this hole. If we minus as 45 from 410, we’ll say—so, we'll use 410 as the par-4—and you minus 45 yards off of that, all of a sudden, you're sitting there at...what is that? 370? Yeah, 375, something like that.
So, you're sitting there—is that right? Trying to do math on the fly here for you guys. That'd be 365—sitting here with 365 as really the length you need to cover in two shots. Three hundred and sixty-five is the length that you cover in two shots. That could be literally, for most of you, a six-iron off the tee and a seven-iron [15:00] in front of the green. Then, you just...simple little pitching under the middle of the green and one or two par, and you made a bogey on a hole that you consistently double or triple, because you're pulling a driver and ending up off the reservation to over in someone's backyard or something.
So, you start to look at holes differently when you look at them backwards from the green to the first tee and you start doing the math and going, Alright, I just need to get within 30 yards on this tough hole. Maybe it's a par-3 over water and it ends up front, and you're thinking you have to hit this perfect shot. Well, first of all, most of you, if you're not breaking 90, you don't hit too many solid shots to begin with.
So, what you should be doing there is going, Alright, what's 30 yards over the green? Well, now instead of trying to hit the perfect seven-iron, you're teeing up a five-iron. Then you have plenty of club and you just make a smooth swing to hit it over the green, and if you miss it like you will seven out of 10 times, you're going to look like a genius and be on the middle of the putting surface.
And if you flush it, you're 20 yards over the back of the green with a pitch onto the middle a one- or two-putt, and that works. You're making a bogey versus trying to hit a perfect seven where seven to 10 times you're going to end up in the water making double or triple.
So, you start to see how you start looking at golf courses differently, holes differently, and you start to create a plan, and most of you have never looked and created a plan for the hole. You're just in this routine of grip and rip driver; see where it ends up and try to play in from there, and get as close to that pin as possible. For most of you, honestly, if we went and we took the flagstick out of every green, and you were simply just trying to get it up onto the middle of the putting surface with your birdie attempt, you'd already started playing some of the best golf you've ever played because you're getting rid of that tiny target at the flagstick and you're just focusing on getting it onto the putting surface. So, where would you look? You'd look for the fattest part of the putting green to get it on, so then you can two-par from there.
So, we’ve got to start changing how we picture the golf hole with “30, 30 and five.” You've got to start looking from the green backwards with a plan of “30, 30 and five,” so you can start picking better clubs off the tee. Just like we talked about in week-one, we’ve got to play with what we have, not with what we want to have. Pick the clubs that you're most successful with that allows you to get within 30 yards of the putting surface, so we can pitch on in our birdie attempt one- or two-putt and start making a lot of pars and bogeys, and you'll be surprised how easy it is to break 90 when you start doing this.
So, this is the code: 30, 30 and five. Get it within 30 yards of the putting surface, pitching it, chipping it within 30 feet of the cup, rolling that baby inside five, tapping it in and moving on, and just oozing confidence through your round—and it all starts by implementing this code, looking at the green, so the first tee instead of the first tee to the green. It's not about bombing it and getting as close to the green from the tee box. It's about having a plan and it allows you to have a chance of making par and tapping [18:00] in for bogey. That's how you need to start treating these golf holes.
One of the worst things they ever did to the amateur golfer was put par on a scorecard, because you all sit there looking at this par like that's what you need to do. Well, realistically, less than 1 percent of 1 percent of amateur golfers will ever shoot par and over 55 percent of you don't even break 100. Seventy-six percent of you just want to break 90. So, it's such an unrealistic thing, so you’ve got to start treating bogey as par. Bogey is a par. A par is a birdie to you. Start treating it that way. It'll be groundbreaking.
It reminds me of a story. I remember my senior high school, a number two golfer got in trouble, got a minor in possession literally two days before district golf, and the number six golfer, the number one golfer in the JV Squad, had to play his first ever. He's a senior. He's never played in a varsity tournament for the varsity team, and yet he is pretty much a bogey golfer. We had a decent team. I said, “All you've got to do is try to break 90 today and it’ll be a good enough score to help the team out.”
And we went out those couple days beforehand and I had them specifically play with me in the practice rounds, and I said, “Here's what I want you to do.” I took the scorecard and I scribbled out par and I changed them all to bogeys as this par going, “This is what you're shooting for and start playing to where you're just trying to give yourself a tap in for bogey consistently. This is your par. So, you don't have to hit driver. We just strategize and this guy is...I'm 18 years old. I don't know how I knew how to do this, but I just knew he needed to look at it differently instead of looking at par and putting pressure on yourself, look at it as bogey as your new par.
So, if you start doing that, you start picturing, How can I get within 30 yards of the putting surface? this is going to change everything for you guys. So, that's what the code is.
What we're going to dive into next week is basically how to find your safe place 30 yards away. So, we're going to dive into just how to get within 30 yards of the putting surface that makes it so easy to chip and pitch easily within 30 feet, if not closer to start giving yourself some good looks at par and easy bogey. So, we're going to talk a lot about the 30 yards and end game, how to get there, how to position yourself. Talk a little bit about the math, how to play the hole correctly.
And, really, the biggest thing next week is we're going to dive into how to avoid the big number, because for so many of you, you can already make some pars and bogeys, but then you also make some snowmen. You're out there throwing out some eights and sevens that just ruin your round, and the next thing you know you shoot 91 when you're on track to shoot 87. So, that's going to be probably the biggest thing for you. It’s how to avoid the big number by using the code, because if we can get rid of doubles, you guys will be shattering 90 in no time, so stay tuned for next week.
We're going to start talking about how to find your safe place 30 yards away and creating the game plan to do so to avoid the big numbers, and just make the short game so much easier, because you're in a such better spot and already [21:00] start pushing the boundary of the barrier of 90. You'll start being there soon as we start implementing what we start talking about next week.
So, hopefully, that helps you all. So excited to be getting into the meat and potatoes of this. This is what I love. I've seen so many clients just completely have the aha moments in their golf game when we walk the golf course and go through this because their game is already there. Your game is probably already there. The majority of you, it is. You just need to look at the course differently, implement the code and start playing some of the best golf you've ever played.
So, start taking this to heart start. Start implementing it out there. And we'll dive in to finding your safe place next week. Can't wait to get there. We'll talk to y'all soon.
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