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What is your ulitmate goal?

Howzat

Howzat

I'd Rather Be At The Hideaway
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
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Not that everyone needs one and most will be able to enjoy the game without one. Personally, I have worked harder on my health and anything else I can think of over the winter to improve my game. Being captain of a Morgan Cup team has given me more drive and focus than ever to become a better golfer. It has also opened my eyes to goals I thought were likely not attainable before now. Last year was the first time I reached every goal I laid out for myself in a season. This year as I started thinking of goals for 2014, I began to question what the endgame is. What goal would be enough? As I work though it myself, I thought I would see what others ultimate goal is.

Do you have an index number that you are shooting for? It it a certain score on your home course? Is the long term goal to shoot your age? What accomplishment would allow you to walk away from the game with the biggest smile on your face?
 
To break 70 and to never lose to my brother.

After that, just stay in the single digits would be fine.
 
Good enough to qualify for the Morgan Cup. Hoping that's a goal I can accomplish for 2015.
 
Get good enough to where I can step on the first tee on any day and feel like I have a chance at breaking 80. Right now, I'd say 85 is that number, I want to improve while still getting to spend enough time with my family away from the golf course and work. I see that getting harder as the years go along, but it's my goal.
 
I'd like to shoot a round of par golf before I kick the bucket. I believe I can hone the skills to do it at least one time. Heck I got real close once when I shot 73 on a par 72 course. One of these days I will get in the supreme zone again and kick some courses arse and take it to the woodshed.:deadhorse:
 
Ultimate goal is to get to a low enough handicap so I can try out for the U.S. Open here local. I think you have to have a 1 handicap or something like that.
 
The two goals that I would be thrilled with would be to break 80 once (and maybe on occasion thereafter) and to normally shoot in the 80s compared to the low 90s where I am now.
 
I'd like to play 5 rounds without a snowman on the card. When I can do that, I'll buy myself a new club and then I'll try to get to 10 rounds, then 15...

I realize it sounds fairly unimpressive, but every few rounds I'll have a hole or two where everything goes wrong and I end up giving away a few strokes because I'm not focused enough to get my stuff back together.

Hopefully, a goal like this will help me recover & focus even when I make the bad shots that are inevitable for a high-handicapper like myself.
 
To win the US Open. Everyone laughs at me when I tell them this. But that's the response I give when people ask why I am so obsessed with golf.

In a more immediate sense, I just want to do more things golf. I have a really good career, but I am just about ready to put it on the back burner and enter the mini tour world.
 
Redowl said:
I realize it sounds fairly unimpressive, but every few rounds I'll have a hole or two where everything goes wrong and I end up giving away a few strokes because I'm not focused enough to get my stuff back together.
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I feel your pain. Still there myself!
 
Good question Erik.

I do have a couple golf related goals and one concerning fitness for 2014, but as time goes on I'm thinking I may adust at least one of the golf goals to better fit what will benefit me most in the end.

Fitness goal is partly related to golf and partly related to personal reasons.

In reality, saying "I'll be a 8 hcp" just doesn't mean all that much to me, because I could find ways to get that number without really getting my game where I want it. I could join my old club, play the blue tees since it's got a pretty high slope, improve slightly in my tee-to-green game, scramble myself to an 82-84 and there you go - single digits. Or I could play the same easy course every round and home course myself there. Same with "I want to hit 75% FIR". So what? That doesn't indicate at all how well those drives contributed to my score. I could pop up 5 balls and still hit the fairway.

So, my ultimate golf goal(s) is to reduce or eliminate the biggest faults/issues in my swing that contribute to the poor shots that may or may not hurt my score. In other words, I want to become the best ball striker I can be and the rest will hopefully fall into place after that - scores, FIR, GIR, and distance. My short game and putting save me now, so ideally they'll be what helps me score more often (rather than scramble).

Super vague there, but like you this has literally been on my mind non-stop for me and over time I see less and less value in picking a number just to say I have achieved it, especially with how meaningless many traditional golf stats really are.
 
adwillingham said:
The two goals that I would be thrilled with would be to break 80 once (and maybe on occasion thereafter) and to normally shoot in the 80s compared to the low 90s where I am now.
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took the words out of my mouth. However as satisfying it would be to shoot continuous 80"s rounds. We will after so much time doing that probably have a new goal.
 
First goal is to become a single digit handicapper. My couple of years goal is to be able to consistently (1/2 the time or so) be able to break 80 on most courses. Then my ultimate goal (probably a ways off) play to a low single digit or scratch handicap. I think the first two are very attainable, but we'll see as time goes on if I have what it takes to play to near scratch.
 
Hawk said:
Good question Erik.

I do have a couple golf related goals and one concerning fitness for 2014, but as time goes on I'm thinking I may adust at least one of the golf goals to better fit what will benefit me most in the end.

Fitness goal is partly related to golf and partly related to personal reasons.

In reality, saying "I'll be a 8 hcp" just doesn't mean all that much to me, because I could find ways to get that number without really getting my game where I want it. I could join my old club, play the blue tees since it's got a pretty high slope, improve slightly in my tee-to-green game, scramble myself to an 82-84 and there you go - single digits. Or I could play the same easy course every round and home course myself there. Same with "I want to hit 75% FIR". So what? That doesn't indicate at all how well those drives contributed to my score. I could pop up 5 balls and still hit the fairway.

So, my ultimate golf goal(s) is to reduce or eliminate the biggest faults/issues in my swing that contribute to the poor shots that may or may not hurt my score. In other words, I want to become the best ball striker I can be and the rest will hopefully fall into place after that - scores, FIR, GIR, and distance. My short game and putting save me now, so ideally they'll be what helps me score more often (rather than scramble).

Super vague there, but like you this has literally been on my mind non-stop for me and over time I see less and less value in picking a number just to say I have achieved it, especially with how meaningless many traditional golf stats really are.
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I completely understand where you are coming from. I have spent two months trying to come up with some solid goals, but I am having a tough time being specific. Long term is even worse.
 
Howzat said:
I completely understand where you are coming from. I have spent two months trying to come up with some solid goals, but I am having a tough time being specific. Long term is even worse.
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I think you almost have to go with traditional conventions at some point, but with that brings in a need to be really honest with yourself about how you achieve them. Otherwise they are just numbers and contribute little to your growth.
 
To stay on track to retire at age 55 so I have the time to play 75 or more rounds each year while I am relatively young. Maintaing my health and fitness is a huge priority as well. Ironically my index has not suffered the last 20 years even though I practice and play much less. My mental approach and course management has improved even though I don't get up and down as often as I used to.
 
Sub 10 index that travels with me
 
Hawk said:
Good question Erik.

I do have a couple golf related goals and one concerning fitness for 2014, but as time goes on I'm thinking I may adust at least one of the golf goals to better fit what will benefit me most in the end.

Fitness goal is partly related to golf and partly related to personal reasons.

In reality, saying "I'll be a 8 hcp" just doesn't mean all that much to me, because I could find ways to get that number without really getting my game where I want it. I could join my old club, play the blue tees since it's got a pretty high slope, improve slightly in my tee-to-green game, scramble myself to an 82-84 and there you go - single digits. Or I could play the same easy course every round and home course myself there. Same with "I want to hit 75% FIR". So what? That doesn't indicate at all how well those drives contributed to my score. I could pop up 5 balls and still hit the fairway.

So, my ultimate golf goal(s) is to reduce or eliminate the biggest faults/issues in my swing that contribute to the poor shots that may or may not hurt my score. In other words, I want to become the best ball striker I can be and the rest will hopefully fall into place after that - scores, FIR, GIR, and distance. My short game and putting save me now, so ideally they'll be what helps me score more often (rather than scramble).

Super vague there, but like you this has literally been on my mind non-stop for me and over time I see less and less value in picking a number just to say I have achieved it, especially with how meaningless many traditional golf stats really are.
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Captain: do I need to re-do my goals?
 
Hawk said:
I think you almost have to go with traditional conventions at some point, but with that brings in a need to be really honest with yourself about how you achieve them. Otherwise they are just numbers and contribute little to your growth.
Click to expand...

You make some great points. I am not sure my index is an accurate reflection because I play so many rounds at the same place. I will need to look at some of my other stats and see if I can find something I think is more accurate and not something that can be "gamed".
 
Break 80, keep a sub-10 handicap, go several whole rounds only hitting from grass.
 
I think for me I have several goals. First, I want to play consistent golf through ball striking and course management. Secondly, I would like to drop my index back down to in the range of 5.
 
rollin said:
took the words out of my mouth. However as satisfying it would be to shoot continuous 80"s rounds. We will after so much time doing that probably have a new goal.
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In a realistic sense, I know that's about as good as I can be given the time it would take to drop further.
 
#Cookie said:
Captain: do I need to re-do my goals?
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LOL I don't think so. We all get motivated different ways. I just decided to look at things a lot differently this year than I have the past two, mainly because I don't think I accomplished nearly as much as I was capable of. First step was sort of looking at myself at critically as I could, which was not easy to do.

Howzat said:
You make some great points. I am not sure my index is an accurate reflection because I play so many rounds at the same place. I will need to look at some of my other stats and see if I can find something I think is more accurate and not something that can be "gamed".
Click to expand...

The book that I'm reading right now "Every Shot Counts" appears to offer some very revealing ways to evaluate your game. How I am able to translate that into my own goals remains to be seen, but I'm going to try to use it. Rather than the 100% meaningless stat of Putts per Round, it's the guy that designed strokes gained putting. He then did the same thing for the tee-to-green game and it's pretty eye opening.
 
I change my motivation at times. I set a challenge for myself to be able to COMPETE with a certain thp'er by the time the mc comes around. Dont think ill have the game to beat him but if I can keep it within a few strokes then im good. He encouraged the challenge...a bit too quickly I might add :what:
 
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