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Together We Change - 2016 Golf Goals

Just stick with my teacher and listen to what he says.Teeing off from the red tees or the fairway this year to learn the game.Keep on working on the swing,and play as well as I can.I want to be a 75 or lower shooter in 3 years now.Hitting the ball well is so addicting
 
I am behind so far this year, due to some work issues and a healthy dumping of snow. Working on chipping and putting in the basement. Hoping these warm days we're having here will mean I can get to the range this weekend.
 
My goal for 2016 is to get my game back to where it was in 2013, at that point I was a 12.4 but trending down and my tee game was in really good shape.
 
Schanker said:
Golf related goals Goals for 2016.

1. See that index dip below 10, just for a month would be fine. Currently at 12.1
2. Get back down to 190-195 lb range. The holidays have me up to almost 210 (We'll maybe it was more than the holidays).
3. Take my 2.5 year old son to the course once a month, range or for 9 holes.
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1. Index trended down over the month of January started at 12.3 now a 12.0
2. Almost half way to my weight goal was 203 yesterday.
3. Didn't make it out to the course with my son in January. Need to work on that.
 
2016 golf goals:
1. Find consistency with the driver, hard to quantify, but I'll know if it happens.
2. Shoot even par or better at my home course, not a really tough track and PB is at +4 currently.
3. Finish in the money in at least one Topgolf league season.
 
Glad I found this thread. I have been thinking about goals for this year. I am going to keep it simple with 2 goals:

1. Focus lessons and practice on my short game: pitching, chipping, and putting. I want to make this the strength of my game. The funny thing is that I have a lot of confidence, but my variable short game results don't match that confidence. I have to be more realistic here. I also need to avoid the trap that new gear is the answer. New gear probably won't hurt, but this is about my skills and technique, or specifically lack thereof.

2. Play as many different courses as possible. Let's say 15 new courses this year. Last year I played 4 new courses. As a kid I lived in a rural area and played one course. After that I didn't play for decades. As a consquence I have limited experience with different courses. An interesting sideline here is that this goal is going to encourage me to finally get a new vehicle. We use my wife's turbo Subi Outback XT for trips, but my '96 4Runner isn't up the task of driving around Montana and the western US for golf outings. She won't give up her car for my golf interests, and I can't blame her. There is a message in this for myself. I hate (this might not be a strong enough word) spending money on vehicles -- a huge investment for a rapidly depreciating asset. My golf motivation is strong.
 
mtcowdog said:
Glad I found this thread. I have been thinking about goals for this year. I am going to keep it simple with 2 goals:

1. Focus lessons and practice on my short game: pitching, chipping, and putting. I want to make this the strength of my game. The funny thing is that I have a lot of confidence, but my variable short game results don't match that confidence. I have to be more realistic here. I also need to avoid the trap that new gear is the answer. New gear probably won't hurt, but this is about my skills and technique, or specifically lack thereof.

2. Play as many different courses as possible. Let's say 15 new courses this year. Last year I played 4 new courses. As a kid I lived in a rural area and played one course. After that I didn't play for decades. As a consquence I have limited experience with different courses. An interesting sideline here is that this goal is going to encourage me to finally get a new vehicle. We use my wife's turbo Subi Outback XT for trips, but my '96 4Runner isn't up the task of driving around Montana and the western US for golf outings. She won't give up her car for my golf interests, and I can't blame her. There is a message in this for myself. I hate (this might not be a strong enough word) spending money on vehicles -- a huge investment for a rapidly depreciating asset. My golf motivation is strong.
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There are a lot of fun courses up in the Kalispell/Whitefish area to play if you make it up that way this year.
 
mtcowdog said:
Glad I found this thread. I have been thinking about goals for this year. I am going to keep it simple with 2 goals:

1. Focus lessons and practice on my short game: pitching, chipping, and putting. I want to make this the strength of my game. The funny thing is that I have a lot of confidence, but my variable short game results don't match that confidence. I have to be more realistic here. I also need to avoid the trap that new gear is the answer. New gear probably won't hurt, but this is about my skills and technique, or specifically lack thereof.

2. Play as many different courses as possible. Let's say 15 new courses this year. Last year I played 4 new courses. As a kid I lived in a rural area and played one course. After that I didn't play for decades. As a consquence I have limited experience with different courses. An interesting sideline here is that this goal is going to encourage me to finally get a new vehicle. We use my wife's turbo Subi Outback XT for trips, but my '96 4Runner isn't up the task of driving around Montana and the western US for golf outings. She won't give up her car for my golf interests, and I can't blame her. There is a message in this for myself. I hate (this might not be a strong enough word) spending money on vehicles -- a huge investment for a rapidly depreciating asset. My golf motivation is strong.
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rent cars for your long trips?
 
To quote Hank Haney.
#1 Eliminate penalty shots
#2 Eliminate 3 putts
#3 Eliminate 2 chips.
I reflected back on some of my rounds for 2015 and I was adding at least 5 strokes a round because of this. Working on course management should go a long way to help eliminate these problem areas.
 
Become a better putter and knock 1.5 strokes of my index.
 
amsmith61 said:
My 2016 goals are pretty simple at this point:

1. Continue to work on getting back into shape and losing weight. Off to good start over the last couple of months, but a long ways to go.

2. Work on the final swings changes that my instructor and I have discussed. Seeing signs of those changes being integrated, but the more I get into shape - I think they will become easier to implement.

3. Get my first HOF tag

4. Continue to play with THPers and play in THP events.

5. Continue to work and improve on short game.
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Quoting myself as this past weekend the #THPKickoffClassic was the first opportunity to really test the work I have been putting in since last October. I really liked what I saw and was generally pleased all the way around. Physically I felt as strong/good on the 18th tee box as I did the night before leaving for the event and that is a huge improvement for me.

Having trust with my body physically helped me trust my swing and I was able to execute a couple of shots when our matches were on the line this weekend.

I told myself that this was a year long process and I still believe it. Not even halfway there, but this weekend really reaffirmed that I picked the right fitness program for me. Can't wait to get going on finishing the swing changes.
 
I am not doing enough physically to better my game. That changes now.

Rory's video is pretty inspirational. He started as a kid who was great at golf, and is now improving physically and bettering himself (and probably his golf game) in the process. It has me really fired up to focus on building back the core strength I had when I was playing a ton of hockey and smashing my irons with relative ease. No more relying on things other than strength to hit the long ball.

I'm watching this every day this month. And I'm already sore hahaha

 
I'm going to start consistently shooting 80-85 each round. I saw some very positive things over the weekend from my game. I know where i need to focus the rest of my lessons before golf season official starts.
 
#Cookie said:
I'll likely edit this if I decide to add another goal but I want to keep it simple for now.

1) Get back into single digits. Specifically be able to travel at a 8 handicap or better. Need to get more consistent all around as well as improve course management.
2) Lose 25 pounds and get back to 160. Need to start working out again (mainly cardio). Already on a diet (back to vegan a few days ago) and doing no alcohol January.
3) Win 2 more THP HOF tags.
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Update:

Goal 1 is achievable and trending in right direction
Goal 2 is not looking great
Goal 3 is 50% completed
 
mr.hicksta said:
1. Maintain a consistent practice schedule (2/3 short game, 1/3 full shot)
2. 10 handicap
3. Beat my current personal best score of 83
4. Play some rounds with THP'ers and make a THP Event!

And of course I'm going to focus on having fun, because golf is a real PITA if you take it too seriously!
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1. Going well. I've managed to maintain the desired practice ratio weekly.
2. Trending down, but this will take the longest.
3. Trending down as well, and I think this will be accomplished sooner rather than later.
4. Played with Mark_UK last week, and we'll be playing weekly as long as schedules allow and I'm heading to The Gauntlet in May.

Hooray progress!
 
I thought I had posted in here long ago but I didn't.

1. Fix my swing through lessons and proper practice

2. Play consistent golf through better course management

3. Cut my HC from 18 to single digits

4. Get in golf shape and better overall physical shape

5. Dial in my short game


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
My goal this year is to go from 10 to 8. Obviously lessons and practice are key. The #1 focus this year is going to be all about approach shots with short irons and wedges. I think more consistency in that area will do more than any other to help my game.
 
Smallville said:
My #ChangeTheGame golf goals for 2016:

Unfortunately, my schedule makes me choose between practice and playing, so when I have time to "practice" I would rather be on the course playing. I do however, hope to spend time in the practice bunker more often. My course doesn't have a range, so range time is out. What I would like to see me do this year is as follows:


  • Play more. I will be in the Wednesday Mens League again, so that's 20, nine hole rounds. They need players in the Monday morning Senior League, and they dropped the age to 50 for that, so I could get about 25 rounds in there, but I couldn't guarantee them I would play every week. I have a regular job that while I can make my own hours, sometimes I gotta be certain places at certain times during the mornings. A "date night" with Jacqui every week should get me another 20-30 rounds, and my buddy who works a couple of days a week behind the counter will play after he gets off at least one of those days, so that's at least another 20-30. Playing with other course patrons on a once in a while basis could net me another 20-30 rounds a year. So counting 20 Mens League rounds as 10, 18 hole rounds, I want to get in 70 to 100 rounds in 2016. That would be about 2-1/2 to 3 times a week during the times where the weather is decent enough to play.
  • Walk more. We each got a Bag Boy Quad Plus push cart last year but didn't get any use out of them. About the time we got them, the temps got too hot to feel like walking, and the cold and weather came quicker than we wanted. At our course I wouldn't mind walking every round, temps permitting. The couple of times we used our old push carts last year, my back felt great the whole round, because I kept moving most of the time. I think by keeping my back loose by walking, I'll be able to put better swings on, which should help my next goal.
  • Score better. Not spending a lot of time practicing kind of hurts in this goal. But I would like to shoot in the 70s and 80s 2:1 over rounds in the 90s from the whites and blues. I failed to achieve this goal in 2015 and plan on succeeding in 2016.
  • I didn't break 80 from the whites or blues this year, so my PB from those tees is stuck at 79. I'd like to shoot better than that from both of those tees this year. From the Golds, I shot a 74 on a date night with Jacqui, and depending on how often I play from there in 2016, I think a 70 (even par) could be possible. Anything better than a 74 would be nice.
  • I haven't kept my bag the same the whole season in years. Once the season starts (say, April 1), I want to have my bag set for the rest of the year. I should have my XR irons by then. As far as equipment goes, I want to keep the long shaft in the Big Bertha driver and benefit from the extra distance. Early returns since making the switch are good so far, with improved distances and negligible difference in accuracy. I also want to get my new clubs from CPO fit to me by Golf MD, the fitter who fit my Adams testing set to me in 2011.
  • Make a THP event in 2016. This will be easier if there is another KC event, but as long as it is day trip distance, it could hopefully be doable.

I'll probably update this post as I think about it more, but for now, it's good.
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Thought I'd bump this to see how everyone is doing early in the year on their #ChangeTheGame goals.

Even with the mild winter, I haven't played much yet so I have a way to go. So far I am on pace for 12 rounds! I know there will be a lot more than that, but I figured I would be in double digits by now since we have had almost no snow. Scoring has not been great yet (a 98 in England and two 89s here).
 
Smallville said:
Thought I'd bump this to see how everyone is doing early in the year on their #ChangeTheGame goals.
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My three goals were:
1. Break 90
2. Handicap under 20
3. Have fun!

So far it's been a success with #3 and I think I'm a much more even-keeled golfer now. #1 could have happened, I'm pretty sure, if I had had more daylight last week. Shot a 40 for the front nine, and the way I was striking the ball I think a sub-50 would have definitely been possible as I always seem to play better on the back of my CC. Alas, a sub-90 round will have to wait, but I'm pretty sure it'll happen sooner rather than later. Have a lesson in a week, and I'm hoping he can iron out my swing flaws and get me on the road to lower scores consistently.
 
1. Improve FIR % to 50+%. Was at 35% in 2014, 46% in 2015. I am confident I can get this done.
2. Improve Par 3 GIR% to 25+%. I was at 10% in 2014, 17% in 2015. This one will require focus and solid play, but again I can do it.
3. Break 40 over 9 holes. I have been very close several times (41, 42's etc). Haven't gotten over the hump yet but this is coming.
4. Practice once a week. Stick to it. Find time. Make it fun.
 
Goal 1: Improve handicap to under 5
Goal 2: Get my tournament performances to match what I do when I play casual rounds
Goal 3: Teach someone new the great game of golf
 
Sooo... Goals are about setting targets and trying to hit them, and they should be re-visited, periodically, to evaluate where you are with the goal, and if/how you're getting there. Season hasn't even started in northern IL, but I've already done an eval of what the original goals were, and where I stand against those where something may have been done, so far.

Due to "life", I have not done near enough to improve my overall fitness/health. I have done a bit, but have only hit a weekly target 2 times, and that's just not good enough based on where I really want to be, long term. Additionally, I've been evaluating my swing, and the reality is that early season scores, even after a winter of dome time, may not be where I want them to be, so modifying my "sub-9" index goal to something more realistic, initially, to be in single digits for at least half of the season. On a positive (and admittedly, a surprising) note, I'm really close to actually divesting some of my extra clubs.

New goal - I hadn't included this one before, because my daughter has only been sporadically interested in golf. But, she has been pretty vocal about doing more, has been very active in a few golf-dome visits, and thus has a new set of Cobra irons that she loves, and hits a lot better than her prior set. I'm definitely loving her increased interest, and while I will not at all force things, I do want to make some golf time for she and I as available as she wants it to be. In addition, she has asked about taking a few lessons, so I will oblige that as well.

Rambler said:
I had only pondered possible goals for 2016, but some more concrete thoughts, yesterday, so time to get them "on paper". I expect to update/edit/add as the year progresses, and will probably post a separate thread for a specific goal I'm working towards.

  • Always have fun, even if the golf gods are having fun at my expense on any given day
  • Make golf as available to my daughter as she wants it to be, whether that's time on the range, playing a round on the weekends, and having a set of lessons for her (at her request).

THP specific

  • Play in 2 (or more) THP events (I understand I don't have a lot of control over this, but hopefully I'll have those opportunities.)
  • Play a good bit with "local" THPers.
  • Play multiple rounds with THPers from the region and other parts of the country
  • Try to post a bit more on THP; need to venture out into non-equipment discussions more often

Grow my game - Improvement
  • Improve my overall fitness/health. Don't expect to do a lot of golf specific routines/exercises, but I know losing a bit of weight, adding some muscle, improving my stamina, and improving my flexibility will absolutely be beneficial to my overall game.
  • Improve index: Work to keep index in single digits for at least half the 2016 season.
  • Continue with approach to tee game and iron game. I made such a huge improvement from the end of 2014 to what I was able to do, especially off the tee, in 2015, that I want to keep that going, hopefully with a little improvment, but no drop-off.
  • Improve my short game (100 yards and in) as much going into 2016, as I did my long game in 2015. This is where my opportunities for lower scores will come from, both from improving my proximity to the pin for a possible 1 putt, but even more important, to avoid losing 5+ strokes per round to stupid wedge shots (skulls, chunks, flubs, etc.)
  • Become a bit more aggressive with putting. I made more birdies in 2015 than I have had in the prior 5+ years, combined (probably more than that, actually). Even with that, it was usually only 1 per round, with an occasional 2 birdie round.

Grow my game - Competition (non-THP)
  • After playing the GCAT for 3 seasons (2012-2014), this will be my 2nd consecutive season not competing in the tour. But, I want to get some stroke play competition in, so I plan on playing in an IL Open qualifying tournament, and let the cards fall where they may. This is a straight stroke play, non-flighted event, so I don't expect to run neck-and-neck with the guys shooting close to par or better. Based on prior years' results in qualifiers, shooting sub-80 gives a chance at qualifying for the IL Open. I'm confident I have that kind of score in me, just need to have it at the right time.
  • To prep for the qualifier, I'm planning on entering a couple of stroke play events in the lead-up, though they will likely be flighted events. Really, I just want to make sure I get some course time in, where the pressure of each stroke means something.

Simplify my game - Cut down on equipment
  • Bwaaahahahahaha! Yeah, right! No, seriously, this might actually happen.
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Smallville said:
Thought I'd bump this to see how everyone is doing early in the year on their #ChangeTheGame goals.

Even with the mild winter, I haven't played much yet so I have a way to go. So far I am on pace for 12 rounds! I know there will be a lot more than that, but I figured I would be in double digits by now since we have had almost no snow. Scoring has not been great yet (a 98 in England and two 89s here).
Click to expand...

Im sure you will get to get out more. As far as walking anytime you want to walk a round let me know! Also I think you will be in the 70's a few times this year. Your driving has improved 10 fold since last season. Once you get the short game touch back you'll be good to go.
 
I haven't set any goals but becoming more consistent and breaking 80 are always on my mind.
 
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