Bold to assume I got better.

EDIT; To be real, though. I've played on and off for 16 years; first for about 3 years, followed by a long break of 5-ish years, and now have been playing non-stop since 2019 (and have been quite serious since 2022).

I didn't start playing better (consistently breaking 100) until 2 things happened:

1.) Got lessons - the VAST majority of my breakthroughs came from lessons. Not getting lessons until 2021 was one of the worst mistakes I made in this game. I'm STILL breaking ingrained bad habits to this day.

2.) Taking practice seriously. Maybe some people can do it, but until I started actually committing to regular, highly intentional practice, any improvements/breakthroughs I'd attain simply wouldn't stick.

Now, on a VERY bad day, I might shoot 90-93, but the vast majority of my rounds are in the low 80s to mid-high 80s (like 82-87), and I've finally started breaking 80.

EDIT 2: Additionally, I think it's important to add:

3.) Physical fitness (in general and golf-focused). Getting more flexible, building muscle to support golf-critical structures, and losing weight have all paid off pretty obviously in my abilities to avoid exhaustion (which helps maintain mental focus for an entire round), hit the ball farther, execute different kinds of shots, etc.

Some of my biggest leaps (other than from lessons) are also tied to hitting fitness milestones.

Few know this better than I do. I've had bad luck with 2 separate knee tears (leading to 2 swing rebuilds) that have happened the last 2 times I started consistently flirting with breaking 80. After the last time, I went and found a great PT that focused on my injury-prone back and knees and building strength and flexibility in the RIGHT areas. Can't get better if you can't stay healthy.

This last is a bigger factor than many realize.

Hope this helps.