About: Everything You Need to Know About Breaking Eighty

Hi, my name is Sean Ogle and I’m the Founder of Breaking Eighty.

 I started this site in the Summer of 2012 because at the time there simply weren’t very many good golf resources on the internet.

Fortunately for all of us, this has changed over the last decade.

And so has Breaking Eighty.

I originally started this site to document my journey to play the top 100 public courses in the US.

That quickly evolved to playing the top 100 in the world, where I’m currently just over halfway towards my goal.

I take photos and tell interesting stories about some of the best courses in the world.

But somewhere along the way, that evolved.

Now Breaking Eighty has also become one of the very best resources on the internet for unbiased golf product reviews.

Here you’ll find reviews of everything from rangefinders, to launch monitors, to shoes, bags, and more.

Whether you’re just starting out, trying to break eighty for the first time, or are a scratch golfer – my hope is our content here will make it easier to find the right products to enhance your scores and your enjoyment of the game.

If you want to know more about me or find something specific on the site, keep reading and you should find something that will point you in the right direction.

Frequently Asked Questions About Breaking Eighty

Is this your full-time job?

Yes, my full-time job is running Breaking Eighty and a couple other online sites. 

I quit my finance job on October 2009, moved to Thailand for a year, and have been a professional content creator ever since.

During that time I created Location Rebel where I teach people how to build small businesses online that you can run from anywhere. 14 years later, I still run that as well.

My “office” at the Shangri-La Maldives. It was home to the only golf course in the entire country.

I also have a cocktail website called Slightly Pretentious where I share interesting drink recipes and am documenting my quest to visit the top 100 bars in the world (59/100 currently. Yes, I have a weird thing for quests.

But these days with the success of Breaking Eighty, it’s where I spend most of my time.

How do you get on all the courses you play?

The reveal at the top of the hill…

I’ve had a golf blog for over 10 years. In that time I’ve been fortunate enough to meet so many wonderful and generous people, that have opened up a lot of doors when it comes to golfing around the world.

When I started Breaking Eighty, I’d never played a private course before.

If you’re hoping to play more notable course, I’d read this.

What’s your favorite [INSERT PRODUCT HERE]?

Having reviewed hundreds of golf products, there are so many out there that I love. Here’s a continually updated list of the stuff I’m currently personally using.

That said, what’s right for me, may not be right for you. 

I’ve done overview comparisons for many product categories, so I’d use that as a starting point depending on what you’re looking for.

Here are some popular ones:

• Best Golf Rangefinders
• Best Golf Launch Monitors
• Best Golf Shoes
• Best Golf Bags
• Best Golf Swing Analyzers
• Best Golf Push Carts
• Best Golf Balls
• Best Golf GPS Speakers
• Best Golf Gifts

Do you have a discount code for [INSERT PRODUCT NAME]?

If you’ve read some of my reviews you may have noticed that for certain products we have a coupon code that’s good for a discount.

Here is a list of all of our golf coupon codes.

How do you make money on the site?

Breaking Eighty makes money in a variety of ways. You may notice that we have display ads on the site. Every time you read one of our articles and see one of those unsightly ads you’re helping to support the work I do here.

You’ll also find affiliate links throughout the site. That means that at no extra cost to you, if you buy certain products, then I may get a small commission for it.

That said, we don’t accept sponsorships. While I have to make a living, and one way we do that is through affiliate commissions, I remain as unbiased as possible. So I don’t accept paid reviews.

I also make money through annual dues on our golf society The Eighty Club.

What is the Eighty Club?

The more I traveled and played interesting golf courses the more I realized there are a lot of people like me out there, who fit the following criteria:

1. You’re a member of an interesting private golf club and you enjoy showing it off to people who will appreciate it
2. You like to travel and see new golf courses 
3. You like to geek out about golf on the internet.

I’d built a network of people like this, so in late 2016 I started a golf society called The Eighty Club to help members meet other like-minded people and have more opportunities to play interesting golf courses.

Eighty Club crew at one of our events in Boston.

We currently have around 275 members from over 300 clubs in nearly a dozen countries.

We host a handful of events at some of the best courses in the world each year.

If you’re a member of a club and this sounds interesting, you can learn more and apply here.

What’s your favorite course you’ve played?

Every year I publish the list of my personal favorite 100 courses. Not the ones I think are the best necessarily, just the ones I like the most.

Pebble Beach, National Golf Links of America, and Merion Golf Club currently make up the top 3.

You can find the full list here.

What’s on your personal golf bucket list?

There are so many courses I’d like to play. 

And no, I have yet to play Augusta National, Cypress Point, or Pine Valley. So obviously, like every other golfer in the world, I hope to see those one day.

But a few other courses I’m really excited to see are:

• Wade Hampton Golf Club
• Shinnecock Hills
• Tara Iti
• Monterey Peninsula Country Club (Dunes/Shore)
• Sand Hills
• Hirono Golf Club
• Royal County Down
• Cabot Links/Cliffs
• Ohoopee Match Club
• The Tree Farm

I could go on, but those are courses that for various reasons I’m personally most excited for.

Would you like to come play at my club?

The best part about my job is getting to meet new people and experience new places. Feel free to reach out if you want to play when I’m in your hometown. Timing can be tricky as I have a toddler and I try and pack a lot of stuff in on every trip I take now, but if it works out I’d love to try and tee it up!

Shoot me a note at Sean (@) breakingeighty.com and introduce yourself.

Do you do video reviews?

I sure do! We officially launched the Breaking Eighty YouTube channel in 2022, and it’s been a fun addition to our content here.

You can find it and subscribe here.

How can I get updates to your content?

I send 1-2 emails a week with our latest product and course reviews. So if you want to get occasional updates about all of the stuff we’re working on, sign up for our newsletter here.

One More Thing…

If somehow you’ve made it this far, there’s just one thing left to say: thank you.

I pretty much have the best job in the world. I get to play with all the latest golf products, I get to travel around the world to see interesting places and meet interesting people, and I can do it all on my own schedule.

The only reason I’m able to do that is because of people like you.

It’s taken over a decade to build the trust in Breaking Eighty nad this brand. I recognize how quickly that can go away.

So I do my very best to be as honest and genuinely helpful, informative, and entertaining on this site as I can possibly be.

Running Breaking Eighty is a privilege not a right, and it’s something that I hope I’m able to continue doing for a long time to come.

If you have any questions, feedback, products you want me to review, or anything else – just shoot me an email, Sean (@) breakingeighty.com.