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Together We Change - 2016 Golf Goals

I'm going to start simple and add to the goals as the year progresses. I have a lot I want to accomplish golf wise in 2016 and not just score related. 2015 was a year in which I came back from major surgeries (two knee replacements) so I spent the better part of the year rebuilding strength and stamina, and struggling with a swing that was a bit faster than pre-surgery.

2016 Goals:
  • No. 1 Goal, make the DC/MD/VA Regional Rivalry Team
  • EVERY DAY do something for at least 20 minutes that helps my golf game (that could be anything from exercise, to putting, to full swing work, short game practice, to reading productive material about improving), just something to keep my goal in front of me.

  • Play at least 30 rounds hopefully closer to 50, doesn't sound like a lot but considering last year was 10, and the year before about 6, it'll be a good start
  • Take lessons, if not a formal series, work with our pro at the course on what part of my game/swing needs work the most
  • Regain some length off the tee, I know this might be subjective, but I'll get some Launch Monitor numbers, I'm sure at the PGA Show and use that as a baseline.
  • And because I feel every goal has to be measurable, I'll start with breaking 90 by June 1st.

I look forward to following everyone else's progress and updating mine here and in the practice threads.
 
Although the winter is now finally starting to hit in the Chicago land area, me and a buddy of mine are starting to build our practice schedule for this summer. As of right now my game stands at a 3.5 handicap and I am ready to really up the practice schedule to get it lower. As far as written goals go, mine might be a little different from some of the other ones posted so far given that I am a junior and I am regularly playing on local junior golf tours and attempting to qualify for some larger events. My goals this season are to contest and play the best I can at each event I attend and to lower my handicap to a +2. This will be a pretty lofty goal for one summer but I feel like I will have to time to dedicate to it this upcoming season. The only way such an improvement can come is I will have to work day and night on my short game ( I conceder short game to be anything from 115 yard to putting). The next thing for me to work on after short game will be shot shaping, as I feel this is a requirement to be able adapt and play the multitude of courses that I will be playing this summer. The same will go for my tee ball; I will be training to increase distance and accuracy of the tee to increase the amount of scoring clubs I have into greens. All of this will be accomplished this summer by following the practice routine that I have posted bellow that my friend and I made. As for right now I am having weekly lessons with my pro and working on getting the mechanics of my swing worked out. As of right now that’s all I got as far as my goals, I will keep updated with my progress.

2016 Practice Plan.jpg
 
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

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 to sub-9: Each of the last 2 seasons, I have had 5 rounds in the 70s, each, while "thowing away" a lot of chances to be in the 70s
  • 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! :alien:
 
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My goals
#1
Lower my handicap and make sure it travels. As far as practice plans, I plan on hitting the range and chipping, putting green 2-3 times a week and playing different courses throughout the year. I played the same course so much last year that I didn't have to think about each shot as much because I knew I always hit a 9 iron here or 7 iron over there.

#2
Make 2-3 THP events this year and become more active on THP.
 
After posting in the DMV/Carolinas RR thread it was suggested we post some of our goals here. Here are my golf goals for 2016:

1. Break 70. This has been a goal of mine for several years now. Best round is 70 with about a dozen 71/72's. I have taken low scores late into the round only to let the mental game get in the way or I can have a good 9 and a bad 9 type of round.

2. Iron play - Need to work on shot dispersion to hit more greens. I average about 9 greens a round and can generally 2 putt when I hit the green.

3. Short game - See number 2. When I miss greens, bogeys and worse come into play. Missed greens put a lot of pressure on your short game to be able to get up and down. The area of the short game I am referring is within 20 yard of the hole.

4. Lag putting - I am referring to really long putts and the ability to get them within 5 feet.

5. Get handicap to scratch. This is my push goal since it will require all aspects of my game to be firing all the time. Short game issues has elevated my handicap from the 4 to 7 range.

Approach:

Goal 1. This should come with improvement on goals 2 and 3. Will most likely happen on my home course simply due to familiarity.
Goal 2. Have had my swing reviewed a couple of times and biggest flaw is not staying behind the ball in the downswing. Working on this aspect of my swing as well as tempo to avoid getting too fast.
Goal 3. While I need to practice this more, I need to figure out how to take the practice success to the course.
Goal 4. practice this aspect of putting by putting to the fringe from the middle of the putting green or ladder drill
Goal 5. Need to play more and accomplish goals 2-4. Played the last couple of weeks of my companies golf league last summer and will be playing the whole season this year.
 
emart2173 said:
quick thought on where im headed goal wise

1. increase % of up/down
2. #own125andin
3. increase GIR% from 150 and in
4. strive for 2 hours of practice a week with 60/40 split of shortgame/swing
5. lower cap by 2 strokes should be achievable based on 1-4
Click to expand...

Mental game work again this year. I want to take what I was doing last year up a level. Start a written journal to document good shots. Stay in the process more and not focus on the result of the shot but to prepare to execute the next shot.

after yesterday's range session re-focus on my swing length and tempo.
 
CAA_Beat said:
I'm going to start simple and add to the goals as the year progresses. I have a lot I want to accomplish golf wise in 2016 and not just score related. 2015 was a year in which I came back from major surgeries (two knee replacements) so I spent the better part of the year rebuilding strength and stamina, and struggling with a swing that was a bit faster than pre-surgery.

2016 Goals:
  • No. 1 Goal, make the DC/MD/VA Regional Rivalry Team
  • EVERY DAY do something for at least 20 minutes that helps my golf game (that could be anything from exercise, to putting, to full swing work, short game practice, to reading productive material about improving), just something to keep my goal in front of me.

  • Play at least 30 rounds hopefully closer to 50, doesn't sound like a lot but considering last year was 10, and the year before about 6, it'll be a good start
  • Take lessons, if not a formal series, work with our pro at the course on what part of my game/swing needs work the most
  • Regain some length off the tee, I know this might be subjective, but I'll get some Launch Monitor numbers, I'm sure at the PGA Show and use that as a baseline.
  • And because I feel every goal has to be measurable, I'll start with breaking 90 by June 1st.

I look forward to following everyone else's progress and updating mine here and in the practice threads.
Click to expand...

It's been two weeks since I posted this. I feel goals need to be read often and remind yourself of what they are, and if you see you aren't making progress towards anything on the list, then it's no harm to revise it. Better to admit to yourself something isn't realistic or the right goal, than ignore it all together.

That said
Goal One, is not 100% in my control, but if I don't make it, it wont' be because i didn't give it 100% on and off the course.

Goal Two, is on track. Some days, it's been just grabbing a club in my office and making slow practice swings, focusing on the proper downswing, which is where I tend to go wrong.

Goal three: I've laid out a schedule work and personally wise where that shouldn't be a problem, i'll have round number one onthe books in just over a week. I'll be playing in at least one league on weekly basis and a second one as time permits on a weekday morning.

Goals four and five are still in front of me.

Finally goal six, is something that will be in the forefront of my mind at the beginning of every round. Not so much the score, but really trying to focus on each shot having purpose and plan, not just grab a 6 iron and hit. I feel by doing this I might save a few shots a round to start and more from there.
 
My simplistic goal since re-joining the game is to see if I can become a single digit handicapper once again (I've had some rounds where it would appear to be an attainable goal).

But my more important goal is to be a positive role model for my grandson (12) who has decided he wants to learn the game.

I wasn't always a good role model on the course when I was teaching my kids decades ago, and while I can't change that, I believe the older me can have a positive affect on my grandkids.
 
With it snowing outside right now, it's hard for me to define what my goals are. I know of one, which is to win my City Tourney this year, which would be my 3rd victory in 5 years. But setting a goal like that doesn't do much. It's kind of like last year when I was preparing for the Legacy. My goal was to lower my handicap. And that's great, but how was I going to get there. After the first couple of months of the season, I reviewed a lot of stats, figured out where I was losing strokes, and went to work on those areas. In the meantime, I worked on what I always work on, which is short game, including putting.

It will be different this year. My short game usually isn't a problem at my home course. I suspect I'm going to have to improve my long iron accuracy off the tee. So many there are 3 210+ yard par 3s on my 9 hole course. Getting par on those is gaining a stroke on the field. Combined with my ability to eagle the driveable par 4, and birdie opportunities on 2 other par 4s, it's a winning formula.

But I'll wait to see where my game is at following winter before deciding what aspects of my game to work on.

~Rock
 
kc720 said:
I'm well on my way lol. It's a VERY tough instinct to break. The golf ball and I must have been arch nemesis in a past life
Click to expand...

One of the hardest things I've done in the golf swing, physically I can put the club where I need to but I want to smash that dang ball into oblivion.

The ball will travel about the same distance and a heck of a lot straighter if I don't try and commit homicide on the ball.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Sox Fan said:
Love the quote in the article as it is so true. “Doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity”.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. I discovered last year that I had been doing the same putting motion for most of my life but it was an outside/in club path with an open face. It only took a couple putting lessons to fix it and while my putting has improved I know it's still a work in progress. Old habits die hard. I look forward to getting it dialed in 2016 and then I can move to the next thing!
 
To stick with the theme of "Together We Change", I wanted to give an update.
Already played more rounds in 2016 than I did in the first two months of 2015.
Handicap already down almost two full points from where it ended in 2015 (after just 1 update).
Practiced once a week on short game
Fairly injury free.
 
JB said:
To stick with the theme of "Together We Change", I wanted to give an update.
Already played more rounds in 2016 than I did in the first two months of 2015.
Handicap already down almost two full points from where it ended in 2015 (after just 1 update).
Practiced once a week on short game
Fairly injury free.
Click to expand...

there is a ton of good in that post brother!

Fairly injury free is huge, and it's awesome to see you out playing again! Not sure about the short game stuff, cause whom ever you play later on in the year will have to deal with all that wizardry.

Maybe this is the year I'll get to run the loop with you.
 
T2GRN18 said:
there is a ton of good in that post brother!

Fairly injury free is huge, and it's awesome to see you out playing again! Not sure about the short game stuff, cause whom ever you play later on in the year will have to deal with all that wizardry.

Maybe this is the year I'll get to run the loop with you.
Click to expand...

We will make that happen
That's a promise for 2016 as well.
 
JB said:
To stick with the theme of "Together We Change", I wanted to give an update.
Already played more rounds in 2016 than I did in the first two months of 2015.
Handicap already down almost two full points from where it ended in 2015 (after just 1 update).
Practiced once a week on short game
Fairly injury free.
Click to expand...
Great post and glad to hear you are staying injury free - that is key.

The older I am getting, I am finding myself judging my year of golf by how injury free I can keep myself.
 
amsmith61 said:
Great post and glad to hear you are staying injury free - that is key.

The older I am getting, I am finding myself judging my year of golf by how injury free I can keep myself.
Click to expand...

The real goal each year for me now is very simple.
Laugh on the course
Have fun on the course
Stay healthy

The rest falls into place.
 
JB said:
The real goal each year for me now is very simple.
Laugh on the course
Have fun on the course
Stay healthy

The rest falls into place.
Click to expand...
Completely agree with that. I think that approach goes with a lot activities outside of golf as well.
 
amsmith61 said:
Completely agree with that. I think that approach goes with a lot activities outside of golf as well.
Click to expand...

It became my outlook on life a while back brother. So far so good and its been a fun ride.
Get ready for 2016, because there are going to be a lot of smiles.
 
Bumping this one back, because I am finally stopping the talking, and starting the doing.

In absolutely no particular order...

1) Complete dedication to practicing with a purpose. Particularly the short game.

2) Return my putting to where it SHOULD be. I've gotten lazy. Eff that noise.

3) Invest in my game for today, and for the future. This means lessons, and this means stepping up to the plate and knowing sometimes you get what you pay for.

4) Endeavor to Persevere. Changes are hard. Breaking habits are hard. The reward at the end is worth it. This is a game for life after all.

5) Play in some kick ass THP events. By some, I mean a LOT.
 
Even par or bust this year. I've been close. I also need to work on my wedge game. I used to be very good with a wedge in my hand. Now, I'm worthless inside 130.
 
In the past I have tracked FW, GIR, Putts and Putts per GIR for my rounds. Decided to get a little more detailed and start doing a strokes gained (in my case lost) analysis of my game. Will be a few rounds before I start getting some trends but after my first round, the numbers seem to indicate that I am losing the most strokes on my second shot. Hoping to be able to do so round planning with this information so I know when to attack and when to lay back.
 
1 month in and I am getting really close to my 90 day goal. It's going to be a lot of work but I'm enjoying following along to keep me motivated.
 
Awkward silence said:
1) Practice 3 to 4x a week. (Started this about a month ago so more of a continuance of this)
2) Play 30 or more rounds (met my goal of over 20 this year most I have ever played in a year)
3) Get into Vegas Event (Should be #1)
4) Get to Single Digits (With the amount I am practicing and the progress I am seeing I know I can do this by year end

I am sure I have more.
Click to expand...

1 month Update


1. Held up my end on the practice side. avg of 4x a week so far through Jan.
2. only got out for 3 rounds so far, so falling behind here
3. I am updating this to any THP event and a work in progress still
4. So far all three rounds haven't dropped or raised my handicap, ball striking is better than ever and I know some low rounds are out there for me.
 
Good on you AS.
Keep it going.
 
I was finally able to start working on my game this week outside of the house. Played 9 holes yesterday and started working on my short game at my home courses chipping green today. As long as it's in the 40s and not raining I'll be practicing or playing!
 
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