Breaking 80 is one of the most challenging barriers in golf. Getting over that final hurdle requires brains, skill, and hard work. To help you take that final step, we rounded up a handful of the lower handicaps around the GOLF Magazine offices to get their two cents.

1. Practice Your Short Game Dylan Dethier (+2.7 handicap): I would like to scream this from the mountains! I have a bunch of friends who shoot in the 80s and low 90s, and I think the thing that would help them the most is getting comfortable getting up-and-down. The good news? This is fun to work on. Find someone who’s good at putting and challenge them to a putt-off. Find someone who’s good at chipping and have them show you some shots on the chipping green. Put yourself in real game-type situations. Closest to the pin. Putting contests for a buck. Being comfortable around the green is massive in turning bogeys or worse into regular pars.

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2. Find Your Shot Shape Luke Kerr-Dineen (2.2 handicap): When I play with golfers who are right on the cusp of breaking 80, it’s almost always the same problem that holds them back: The two-way miss. It doesn’t particularly matter what your shot shape is — I’ve played with low-single digits who play a borderline slice every time — but as long as you groove a shot shape that is consistently traveling in one direction, you’ll be in good shape. If you’re missing shots left and right interchangeably, you’ll forever struggle to break that barrier. RELATED: Mastering this drill will give you control over your ball flight

4. Fairways & Greens Brendan Mohler (4 handicap): Don’t even pay attention to where the flagstick is. Aim for the middle of the green, at all times, no matter what. A two-putt par is always easier than getting up-and-down when you’re short-sided in deep rough. A fun game to play to help this part of your game: play a match with your favorite foursome, where you must hit the fairway (and then the green) to move on. For instance, if you miss the fairway, you’re out of the hole. If you hit the fairway, then miss the green, you’re out of the hole. No matter the skill levels among your foursome, you’ll be surprised by how few people are left standing once the group reaches the green.

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