2010 Golf Goals - Recap Your Year

[iacas]

With the year coming to a close, it's time for the assessment thread.

Here's how this will work.

Quote your post in the 2010 Goals thread . Add some text below to share how you did.

Please do not reply to the posts of other people. This thread, like "What'd You Shoot Today," is not intended to be a discussion, but merely a list of people's goals and how they fared.

Again, here's the goals thread . I'll start it off first (next post).

[iacas]

• Practice more than I play. I finally have a driving range that's both nearby and in good shape! And no, I don't plan to play less this year - just to practice that much more.
• Reduce and then maintain handicap index below 1.0. Will enter the year at less than 2.0.
• Mentally commit to every shot. Goes without saying. Always a goal.
• Re-Affirm My Swing Fundamentals Weekly. Last year my goal was to work with an instructor. Now I'll be doing that and should keep things fairly consistently in line.
• Round in the 60s. Number yet to be determined.

Well, I turned pro earlier in the year so my goals kind of shifted. I finished the year at a 0.2 handicap despite posting only thee scores to GHIN this year and only

seven total . I definitely practiced more than I played. I reduced my handicap to below 1.0, I failed horribly at mentally committing to every shot because, playing so little, I got out of the habit of having a really good pre-shot routine - mostly on the short shots and putts. I had a few rounds in the 60s and re-affirmed my swing fundamentals weekly, yes, as I taught people weekly.

[jamo]

Make the Golf team at whatever college I go to-

I ended up going to a school where making the team would have been very hard to do and likely wouldn't have fit into my schedule. They recruit and give out scholarships and well, I've never played well enough to warrant any of that. My top two schools would have allowed me to play on the team, but money got in the way. Anyway, I ended up playing on the club team, which was fine. Next semester I might even decide to play in some of the team tournaments.

Yes

Win a tournament-

I didn't play any tournaments, so no. But that's okay. I decided not to play in any tournament, so I'm fine with not winning.

No

Lower handicap, record all rounds in SCORECARD-

Handicap is definitely lower. It got as low as 1.5 at one point, and it's at 1.8 currently. All my rounds are in Scorecard, too.

Yes

Lose some weight-

Well, yes and no. It's gone in cycles, but the net is probably a few pounds off. I'll say it's a no though, because it's not what I was looking for.

No

Get a membership at a golf course-

I never made enough money to afford a membership, no I didn't make this goal either.

No

Get fitted for a driver-

No again, though I did take a bunch of swings on launch monitors.

No

Gain some putting confidence-

My putting wasn't terrible, and though I have no data to back me up, probably a little better than last year.

Yes

Hit more greens

Hitting greens has been my strong point. While my driving stats went down as the year went on, and my putting stats still suck, my GIR stats are pretty darn good.

Yes

Have fun!

Yeah, I had fun. Partially because I didn't play in any tournaments.

Yes So that's 5 of 9. Not bad. Some stats from this year: Average Score: 73.67 GIR: 59.26% Fairways: 66.55% Left Rough/Right Rough: 16.38%/16.38% (That's actually pretty funny, they are the exact same.) Putts Per Round: 31.33 GIR Proximity to Hole: 23.5 feet Scrambling: 48.18%

[Dad-2-3]

I have two goals. Practice more, and drop my cap by 5 down to a 15.

I failed miserably at the first goal of practicing more. I dislike hitting the range because I feel I get in a boring rut after awhile. I could spend all day around the practice green though, and did a fair amount of short game practice this year.

I did manage to drop my index by 5 by doing some self study on the S&T; principles and attempting to put them to use. Currently at 14.6 index which is still very much a high handicap, but I think it will continue to come down with more work.

[Alex B]

OK, Let's review.

Twelve goals for 2010:

No. I shot 161 to finish (I think) 14th. Had 6 birdies over the 36 holes but also 5 doubles and a triple -- kinda the opposite of my usual game. I did win $75 in a Skins competition we held based on our hole-by-hole scores, however, so it wasn't all bad.

2. Get longer off the tee. Right now I average about 200 yards with the driver, though I got it briefly up to 220 last summer. If I'm going to significantly improve, or be able to play respectably on courses over 6600 yards, I need to turn dink into dink+.

1/2. I got much longer off the tee during the summer (up to 240 with the driver, and much longer with the irons, too) but regressed this fall during the college golf season.

3. Sub 160 in a college event. Playing my first college golf tournaments this fall, I set this as my goal. Never got it done -- in the last tourney of the season, I doubled 18 (a straight par 4 of 320 yards!) for 161.

Yes. Shot 157 and 159 in the first two tournaments I played this fall.

4. Lower handicap beneath 4. Three summers ago, I was a 10; two summers ago, a 7; last summer, I got down to 4.2 (before sliding back up to 5.4). I doubt the pattern will continue down to 1, but I'd at least like to crack into the 3s.

Yes. I got down to a 3.8 this summer.

5. Practice what I'm bad it. This means working on long irons; this means figuring out (not just fooling around with) lag putting and different kinds of bunker shots. This also means learning about my golf swing and altering it, tasks I've neglected in the past.

No. My practice habits weren't great this year, and I still don't know jack about my golf swing.

6. Break par for 18 holes. Shot +1 from the tips at my home course last year and E from the white tees. Want to fire one round in the red.

Yes! I shot 71 (-1) at my home course on August 17th.

7. Conquer those 385-420 yard par 4s. This range is where I lose my strokes to other players. I want to learn to hit greens with fairway woods; now, I hit them pretty solid but have little distance control. Mentally, my goal is to lay up when it gives me the best chance for par, even if I feel stupid doing it.

1/2. I was better on the 385-420 yard par 4s over the summer because I was able to reach them with long/mid-irons. I also performed a "lay up" strategy over the summer by which I avoided shots from 30-90 yards (because I had the shanks!) -- since I could reach pretty much all par 4s over the summer, I used this strategy mostly on par 5s, so it doesn't really apply to this question. This fall, as I got much shorter off the tee again, I again performed poorly on long par 4s and failed to use a proper lay up strategy, instead leaving myself many awkward 50-yard pitches. (Fortunately the shanks went away in late August -- unfortunately, my game went with them. It's odd that I played my past golf of the year (July/early August) with significant shanking problems.)

8. Keep making birdies! This was a central goal for 2009, and I was fairly successful until college golf in the fall. When I'm 15-25 feet away in regulation, I want to go for the birdie rather than bunting the ball close for a tap-in par.

1/2. In what seems a common theme, I had this goal achieved over the summer, but lost it somewhat in the college golf season this fall.

9. Hit a par 5 in two. I got to the fringe once last year; my eagle putt lipped out. I've never had an official putt for eagle, however. My course has some inviting short par 5s...

1/2. This one irks me. I hit three par 5s in two this year from the member tees, which isn't legit enough to leave me completely satisfied. I hit over a par 5 in two from the tips in mid-summer when the course was extremely firm. And the final day before I left for college in early September, I would have had a par 5 hit in two from the tips save for a spongy patch of fairway that was under construction -- the ball landed there and all but plugged, eight feet short of the green. So I'm still searching ...

10. Win my fantasy golf league. There's always the same three of us in the league, and we always finish in the same order, with me in second. I always start terribly and can't get over the hump. Not this year.

Victory. Destroyed the second of the three sessions -- actually won the Sand Trap league by more than 100 points that session. The other two sessions weren't great, but that second session carried me through.

11. Get huge. I don't mean ripped or anything, just strong enough to improve my driving distance a little. Gotta choose the gym over the library a few times.

Uh, no. My little sisters can beat me up. I have the strength of a library nerd, which I am.

12. Putt 'em all. Too often I obey the rules until I start playing lousy, at which point I start skimping by taking putts and the like. At a good friend of mine said, "Every count strokes."

Yes. Sometimes I went out expressly for the purpose of goofing around and didn't follow the rules, but I don't recall quitting on a legitimate round halfway through.

Meta-goal: achieve seven (or more) of these twelve goals. Let's do this.

Yup. (5)(1) + (4)(1/2) = 7, so I made the meta-goal. In addition to shooting under par, I made a hole-in-one in March and won my town's mini-golf course's championship in August, so it was a special year for me golf-wise. As I grow older I expect to spend less time around the game, so 2010 may go down as my best year in golf.

[soloredd]

1. Established a firm 20 handicap, now to shoot for 15 2. Break 85 3. Take 2-3 lessons 4. Really concentrate on course management 5. Keep detailed statistics of every round this year (already started) 6. Win our 3-day buddy golf trip, coming up April 5th 7. Swing analysis and custom fitted clubs All of these will not be possible without practice. That is #0.

1. Wasn't able to get to 15 but got to 18. I was hoping to get in another 2 rounds or so but weather didn't allow it. I'm confident I can make 15 next year.

2. Shot 84 to break 85 but haven't got close since (shot a few 89s). So my goal next year will be to break 85 again, I'd like to do it more than once in a season. 3. I did not take lessons but I have committed to some for 2011. I went through some swing changes on my own in 2010. 4. My course management improved. I laid up more, used driver less off the tee. Now that I'm hitting my 3 wood and hybrids solid again, I'll continue to focus on using less driver. 5. I have all my statistics on my iPhone using Golfshot. I plan on making a database this winter so I can track for different years - Golfshot doesn't have a way to do this yet. 6. I got crushed in the buddy trip but did win one event. Add this to my 2011 goals again! 7. Got new irons and fitted. Was going to get new driver but I started hitting my current one really well at the end of the year so I'm going to go with it again to start next year. All in all, I'm happy with my year. I do plan on going to the range a lot this winter and might try to sneak in a round or two here and there but my focus now is on fitness, snowboarding, and indoor rock climbing.

[Jell0b0y]

My goal this year was to break 90. I got really close a couple times but failed to do it. Shot a 91 with a triple bogey on the 18th hole (drove one OOB). So that will continue to be my 2011 goal.

I did drop 3 handicap points this year with more consistency from my irons from 23.4 to 20.1

[CassinoNorth]

Hadn't played since I got lyme disease in August of '09 so I honestly had no goals going into this year (didn't play my first round until October, played about 15 rounds since) but since then I've actually got clubs that fit me, broke 85, improved my putting stroke and overall got back into the game.

Can't wait for next year.

[Quinn07]

1. Get handicap index to 6.5

This should explain how well my goals went this year!! I have found a teacher that I like and will be getting some lessons in the off season and will continue into next season.

[Cas57]

I really didn't have any goals in 2010 and to be honest, I didn't have any plans to even play golf. As it turns out, I was invited to play in a 4 man scramble so I dusted off the clubs and bag (literally) and played. I can't complain the way I hit the ball or the way I putted, sunk 3 for birdie and we finished 11 under.
A week ago Sunday, I went and played my first full round since May 2001 and shot 85 so I can't complain about that either. What's funny is the people I hooked up with thought I was teeing off with a 3 wood when it's just a 12 year old driver
What came about from that is I now have the itch to play again but I hope it doesn't get the best of me to where I start practicing every day and playing 3 times a week again.

[Uncle Peter]

1) Break 85 this year. My closest this year was a 90.

Goal #1:

No, 85 was an unrealistic goal, That's why this year my new goal this year is to break 90. Goal #2: Yes and No, I haven't fully corrected my slice, but it has been getting better. Goal #3: Yes! I've actually broke it on several occasions this year. The furthest I've hit to date is 280 yards. My new goal now it to consistantly hit over 200. Hmmm, 50% isn't that bad.

[Chas]

My goal of breaking 80 was not achieved, yet again. OTOH I didn't play many rounds so that failure isn't surprising and indeed is somewhat excusable.

Low point: shooting a 7 on the dog-leg left par 4 3rd at Pebble after a decent tee shot and slightly pulled approach.
High point: besting bogie golf on the back 9 at Spyglass the day before.

Biggest technical advance: bigger hip bump improved performance with driver - but better implementation needed in 2011.

[bananas]

Get fitted for new irons. Break 100 Break 90 Have Fun!!! Less time at the range more time playing. Continue taking lessons.

#1 yes got Nike VR Full Cavity #2 yes #3 yes (87 is my personal best) #4 yes #5 yes I improved the most when I quit going to the range and just started playing lots of golf #6 yes, and I still have 3 lessons left.

[TheGeekGolfer]

I didn't post in the '2010 Goals' thread, but I did write down a few 'goals' and keep them in my pocket for the entire year. I had one golf-related goal, shoot 75 or better. This was fairly ambitious, considering my low score and only time breaking 80 until this year was a 78. Although I had several 36, 37, & 38s for 9 holes...which was bringing my handicap down, but never could get it carried through the entire round.

It took almost the entire year...shot 73 (+1) in October, in what was the last round we could play up here in the NW before going to winter rules / rain / etc. I also shot several 77s, 78s and lots of 'low 80s', bringing my handicap down to where it is now. I'll put a post up in the '2011 Goals' thread and see how that goes. Thanks to this forum and it's members for keeping me 'focused'!

[DaSportsGuy]

1) Get Handicap down to 15.0 2) Play all public courses within 30 minutes from my house. 3) Hit 50% of fairways 4) Hit 25% of GIR 5) Add 10 yards to every club

1) Yes.

2) Not even close. Played 15/25. I'm hoping to play the other 10 (along with many others) this upcoming season. 3) No. Hit right around 30%. 4) No. Only hit about 10% in regulation. 5) Yes. Worked out really hard last offseason and it really paid off. I'm not a long hitter to begin with so that 10+ yards really helped on those long Par 4's and 5's.

[joepro23]

2010 goals:

"- repeat as club champion"

No. This was a close one though. I lost in the finals this year. They made the club championship match play and I pretty much cruised into the finals like a lot of people expected. I was a little off my game in the 36-hole championship match and my opponent took advantage and started dropping birdies on me like crazy. Good battle though. I just wish I put a little more pressure on him in the middle there, because his putter can get pretty shaky. Instead, he got comfortable when I hit some errant shots and capitalized. Overall, match play runner-up and stroke play winner (medalist in the 2-round qualifier) is not a bad year though.

"- hit more fairways (45% in 2009)"

Yes. I hit 50.4% this year. Stopped tracking stats in August because of vacation and playing new courses, but I think I was at that average. Working on a little fade with the driver really helped me hit more fairways and I think my fairway numbers would be even higher if I kept my fall stats.

"- improve scrambling - making par or better after missed GIR (37% in 2009)"

Don't know. My free stat tracking site stopped keeping scrambling. Too bad. That is a good stat.

"- at least maintain greens in regulation (57% in 2009)"

56.2%. Maybe I should have set a higher goal.

"- learn a new shot (3-wood stinger, chip with hybrid, etc.)"

Didn't learn either of those two I listed. I did work on my knock down shot and I am trying to bring in the fade more often. BONUS: I did have a double eagle, so I guess that counts as a "new shot".

[shakogolfer78]

alright now that's out of the way let's get down to the details. Here are my main goals for this season.
-get down to a scratch golfer
-tryout for the college team this fall (I've got some work to do)
-play in at least five tournaments this summer
-play and learn from my buddy on the SJU team, he is the state champ and plays to a +2 so I am really hoping to learn from him this year
-take weekly lessons from my local club
-shoot a round of even par
-figure out my tee ball and average 10/14 DIFs a round
-average 9+ GIR
-work out, gain strength and flexibility
-stay positive, have fun
-play/ practice daily

Those were my goals for the year, and many of them changed throughout the year. First of all, I didn't try out for the college team this season because my handicap wasn't as low as I wanted it over the summer. In addition to not trying out for the team, I was a few fractions away from having my handicap low enough to play in MGA events so the tournaments didn't work out either; however, I did post more rounds in the seventies this season than the last three years combined. I had my two best rounds ever of a 73 and a 75! I never could shoot par or better on 18 holes, but I did manage my best nine (35) -1 on the back at my home course this summer. I think this was my best year of golf ever and I can attribute this to a new mental mindset that I was in on the course. I took everything with a grain of salt and only focused on the next shot, and the results showed as I had my best scoring year ever. I was worried about my tee ball coming into the year, and I left feeling that my driver was my favorite club in the bag. I still need to improve my ball striking and GIRs, but this year was a step in the right direction. I feel that I completed a good amount of my goals, and most importantly I had the most fun I have ever had on a golf course! 2010 was a success even though I didn't break par, tryout for the team, or play in any tournaments.

[M2R]

Originally Posted by M2R

Before the active season started, I chose 70 as a target score to post.

At the time I didn't consider that the course could be par 70, 71, or 72. Regardless 70 is still the number.

Didn't make it, posted 71 from the forward (Red) tees and 74 from the back (Blue) tees, both scores on a par 70 course.

Previous best score was also +1 (73 on a par 72) but it was a fluke round four years ago.  This season I had over a half dozen rounds in the 70s where in previous seasons I would typically have one lucky scoring round in the 70s (maybe two).

The result was a non goal accomplished by accident: dropped HCI from high of 12.0 (April) to a low of 8.6 (October).

However to put this in perspective I have to quote my golf buddy Don:

"I'm still a better golfer than you, you just happen to have a lower handicap."