A common question that gets asked by new golfers a lot is: what is a good golf score? You may have heard of people breaking 100, 90, 80, and others mention they have a golf handicap of 30 and many more terms. But what does it all really mean?
At some point, you just want to know what a good golf score straight up. The answer is that there are many ways to look at what makes a good golf score, considering the experience of the player and the actual golf course difficulty.
Knowing what a good score is can help you continuously improve your golf as you strive to become better. Whether you are a beginner golfer or at a scratch golfer skill level, knowing the score helps you aim for a getting lower score.
In this article, you will learn more about what a golf score is and how you can improve your game to get better and better scores as you play.
Good Golf Score by Experience
The most common way to classify what makes a good golf score is by looking at the skill and experience of the golfers. Beginner, Average, and Professional golfers all look at what’s considered a good golf game score differently, since they are all hitting different averages regularly.
For example, scoring around 100 can be good for a beginner, but for a professional it’s considered bad as they aim to get as close to Par as possible.
- Beginner Golfers – these would typically aim to score anything below 100 – 120 as they are just starting out and learning how to approach golf.
- Average Golfers – with a bit of more experience, these would aim to score below 100
- Professional Golfers – the most skilled and experienced players would aim to get as close to par as possible, or below 80.
Good Scores By Number of Holes
The typical good score for a round of golf varies on each golf course, how many holes it is (9 or 18), and what the Par is on the course. For a shorter 3 par only course such as the Bukit Pandawa Golf & Country Club in Bali (Par 54), a good golf score will be lower than that of a typical 72 par hole.
What Is the Average Score for 18 Holes?
On an 18 hole golf course, amateur golfers can expect to score between 90 and 100. This equates to roughly 18- 28 above Par assuming a standard Par of 72.
A good golfer would score a total of ~80-90 strokes, while professional golfers typically score between 60 and ~75
What Is the Average Score for 9 Holes?
On a 9 hole golf course, amateur golfers can expect to score between 45 and 51. This equates to roughly 9-15 above Par assuming a standard Par of 36.
A good golfer would score a total of ~40-45 strokes, while professional golfers typically score between 30 and ~40.
What is the Lowest Golf Score Ever?
Now that you know what some good golf scores are, you may wonder what the best golf scores ever recorded on PGA Tours are. The lowest score as of writing this, is 58 and was scored by 2 different people in 2016.
Jim Furyk hit a 58 at the TPC River Highlands during the final round of the Travelers Championship on August 7, 2016.
Stephan Jaeger also hit a 58 at the TPC Stonebrae during the final round of the Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic on July 28, 2016.
These instances are extremely rare and only the best golfers can achieve these scores. Breaking 60 is considered a truly remarkable achievement, one which all of us should celebrate if we witness!
How To Improve Your Golf Score?
Improving your golf score is something that naturally happens over time as you play more golf and learn to approach it better. These are some things you can do to improve your game faster:
- Professional coaching: seek help from professional PGA coaches to help you understand what you are doing wrong in your golf swing and course management.
- Driver distance: learn to hit your driver longer to get closer to the green.
- Short game: improve your short game to get the ball into the hole with lower putts.
- Learn from mistakes: analyze what you did wrong in rounds and work to improve that at the driving range, so you come more prepared for the next round of golf.
- Equipment: make sure you are using the right golf equipment to help you hit longer and more accurately.
Final Thoughts
A good golf score for an average golfer varies depending on the experience and difficulty of the golf course. For an 18 hole course, a score below 90 is good, while for a 9 hole course a good golf score can be below 45. Beginners aim to break 100, while professionals aim to be below the average Par of 72.
To learn more about how you can improve your golfing game, and find recommendation for products to help you get better scores, check out our other articles in this blog. We’ve got plenty of resources you can refer to whenever you need extra insights to improve your game.
