My 2010 Golf Goal

[interlooper]

Every golf season I make certain goals for myself that I believe are difficult but attainable. The last two seasons I have accomplished all my goals but one: to achieve and maintain a single-digit handicap. There is nothing magical about a single-digit. In reality, it is just like any other arbitrary number. But I see it more as an accurate reflection of where my golf game is currently. I want to know that I am getting better at this great – and sometimes maddening – game. Achieving this goal will be an indication that I am making progress.

When I first charted this goal two season ago, it was too lofty of a goal at the time. Last season it was likely attainable, but a mixture of bad habits and a minor injury hampered my progress. I fluctuated between 11 and 15 last season.

During the winter I worked hard on some minor changes to my swing. I was noticing that my swing was great when I was "on." On my "off" days, however, I simply was not accurate enough. I began to realize that my inconsistency was due mainly to the fact that my swing relied heavily on timing. During my off-season sessions, I further realized that by flattening my swing slightly and maintaining a slightly more-closed face in the backswing, I was more consistent during the "off" days. In other words, when my timing is slightly off, I will still have misses, but they will be a better miss. I believe this is going to minimize my "disaster holes."

Golf season in Chicago officially starts on April 1. I will be playing my first full round of the year this afternoon. It will not count into the handicap, but it will be a great start to what I hope is a wonderful season.

If you have any advice or have anything that helped you over a difficulty hurdle in your game, please feel free to let me know. And if anyone is interested about my progress throughout this season, stay tuned.

 

[TC]

i look forward to checking in on this thread. good luck today. i think assessing your game, the strengths and weaknesses therein, is crucial. if you can minimize your misses and damage on the course then your goal should be attainable.

 

[Golf Chick]

Good luck to you and I will stay updated with your progress. I probably need to set some of these goals for myself, but for now, I'll just enjoy the fun of the game, LOL

 

[Hanks]

Good luck! Keep us posted

 

[Hawk]

No advise that I can offer except to play confident and have fun! Oh, and congrats on getting out finally! It's been a long, long winter for us Illinoisans.

 

[Esox]

It's been a long, long winter for us Illinoisans.

It was longer for Cheeseheads.

Getting below 10 feels good. I suspect from the tone of your post you'll see it soon. Think about when you were sitting at 11, you were just a shot or three away. A good putt here, a fairway there, a good chip or two here and there, and you're there.

Keep us posted.

Kevin

 

[interlooper]

Thanks for the well wishes and the encouragement.

I played my first full round of the year this afternoon. The course condition was fine and the weather was cool but sunny (around 48 at the course). I shot an 87, which I feel is respectable for my first round. However, it is only 6,250 yards from my tees, so I was a bit dissapointed.

The Good:

* Drove the ball well. Used the driver on 11 holes and hit the fairway on 9 of those. Was about 15-20 yards shorter than middle of season last year, but I think this is due to early season stiffness and cooler weather.

* Made 3 putts that were about 15-20 feet each.

* Had some good up and downs from challenging locations.

* Played the round with only 2 balls (I played the Pentas and may state my thoughts on the appropriate thread).

The Bad:

* I cold shanked 3 shots on the front 9. On one of those shanks, I lost the first penta in the water adjacent to where I was aiming.

* I had difficutly choosing the correct club for distances between 130-175. I was both long and short.

*I three putted twice. Neither of the three-putts would I have considered difficult putts.

* One disaster hole.

All in all, I was encouraged by the round. My game was much better in the back nine, which leads me to believe that I just need to get my golf feet underneath me. I really need to work on the chipping. It wasn't terrible, but I wasn't comfortable at all. I wasn't making the putting easier with my chips. I shouldn't be leaving myself long putts after easy chips.

Hoping to get 2 more rounds of work in this week while my work load is light. Official golf season starts in a week, so these "practice rounds" are great.

 

[Diane]

Interlooper - It sounds like you're off to a good start. I am looking forward to hearing about your next round.

 

[dynarider]

It was longer for Cheeseheads.

Kevin, I thought winter was pretty damn short this year. Played my last rd the day after Thanksgiving at Rivermoor in Waterford, played my 1st rd last march 15th this year. Not even 4 months between rds, beats the pants off what we had 2 years when it snowed for 6 straight months.

 

[Esox]

Kevin, I thought winter was pretty damn short this year. Played my last rd the day after Thanksgiving at Rivermoor in Waterford, played my 1st rd last march 15th this year. Not even 4 months between rds, beats the pants off what we had 2 years when it snowed for 6 straight months.

I was just teasing the Flatlander. I really hated the cold for the first time this year.

Kevin

 

[dynarider]

I was just teasing the Flatlander. I really hated the cold for the first time this year.

Kevin

That I will agree with, the cold hasn't bothered me in the past but for some reason this year I didn't like the little bit we did get. Never even wanted to go skiing because of the cold. I am chalking it up to my surgery possibly causing some sort of weird change.

 

[interlooper]

Kevin, I thought winter was pretty damn short this year. Played my last rd the day after Thanksgiving at Rivermoor in Waterford, played my 1st rd last march 15th this year. Not even 4 months between rds, beats the pants off what we had 2 years when it snowed for 6 straight months.

Yeah, we were pretty lucky being able to play in good weather late in the year last year. I even played in Wisconsin in November last season.

 

[Esox]

Yeah, we were pretty lucky being able to play in good weather late in the year last year. I even played in Wisconsin in November last season.

Let us know if you want to come up and knock it around.

Kevin

 

[interlooper]

Let us know if you want to come up and knock it around.

Kevin

I might have to take you up on that offer. I am a big fan of WI golf.

 

[Sean]

Nice first round Interlooper!

 

[interlooper]

Second round of the season today. Played Cog Hill. A little chilly (low 40s, but sunny). Shot an 86. On the front 9 I shot a 40. Had a couple blow-up holes on the back 9. I was driving the ball well and found those 10-15 yards that I was missing the last round. Was working the ball well with my irons, but had difficuly gauging distances with my mid to long irons again.

I need to rid myself of these blow-up holes if I am going to reach my goal. Today they were due to trying something that had little chance of working. It didn't work. I should have just taken my medicine and dropped an extra shot, rather than 3 shots.

I am playing again tomorrow, and am looking forward to it. Going to try to play within myself tomorrow, instead of trying an extraordinary shot that has low chances of working.

 

[Sean]

Good advice to take. I work just as hard on my course management and club selection as I do on my swing and short game.

Have fun tomorrow.

 

[thedue]

Sounds like some good headway interlooper. Once the weather warms you will be breaking barriers.

 

[interlooper]

My current driver died this weekend. He was quite old, but a trusty friend to the end. Rest in peace as you rest in pieces.

Will be hitting up the monitor this week to test out some new drivers. While I am disappointed that I need a new driver, it could end up being good for my game. Technology has come a long way since I last purchased a driver.

 

[interlooper]

Sounds like some good headway interlooper. Once the weather warms you will be breaking barriers.

I hope so, duey. The weather is supposed to get in the 70s this week in Chicago. Great golfing weather. It corresponds to when the golf season officially starts in Chicago too (Thursday). Hopefully I can get a few rounds in while the weather is holding up.

 

[Hawk]

Sorry to hear your driver bit the dust, but shopping sure is fun :act-up:

My current driver died this weekend. He was quite old, but a trusty friend to the end. Rest in peace as you rest in pieces.

Will be hitting up the monitor this week to test out some new drivers. While I am disappointed that I need a new driver, it could end up being good for my game. Technology has come a long way since I last purchased a driver.

 

[Diane]

I need to rid myself of these blow-up holes if I am going to reach my goal. Today they were due to trying something that had little chance of working. It didn't work. I should have just taken my medicine and dropped an extra shot, rather than 3 shots.

I am playing again tomorrow, and am looking forward to it. Going to try to play within myself tomorrow, instead of trying an extraordinary shot that has low chances of working.

I don't think it was a bad idea to get them out of your system before handicap season opened. You tried it, it didn't work, but really didn't impact you.

 

[interlooper]

Sorry to hear your driver bit the dust, but shopping sure is fun :act-up:

Hit the launch monitor today and tested several drivers. Tried the Ping G15, TM Super Fast, TM Super Tri, Adams Speedline, Callaway Diablo Edge, Nike Victory Red and TM R9.

Although I was open, I went in with the thought and hope that the Ping G15 would be my new club. I have a few pals that play the club and they love it, and I have seen the improvement in their game. So, I was hoping that my specs on the monitor would show that this club was for me as well. I couldn't have been more wrong. Apparently, things have changed with my swing since I last got on the monitor with a driver. I used to have a higher spin rate. Now, I was only at about 1900-2100. The Ping G15 and several other the drivers just are not the club for that spin rate. To my suprise, the TaylorMade R9 Super Tri returned the best numbers. It increased my spin rate and that allowed for more carry and better trajectory.

If I hit this like I hit it on the monitor and on the range today, I should add a considerable amount of distance with the same amount of accuracy. Hope I am right.

 

[interlooper]

I don't think it was a bad idea to get them out of your system before handicap season opened. You tried it, it didn't work, but really didn't impact you.

Good thinking, Diane. I am going to try to do a quick 18 before sundown this evening. Since this one will be my last round before the season officially opens, I hope to work out the some of the kinks in my course management. It will also be my first round with the new driver.

 

[thedue]

1900 - 2100, wow that's pretty low. Like you, I really wanted the G15 to work out, but the R9 was simply better for me. So did you pull the trigger on the Super Tri?