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Setting Goals to Break 70


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Right now I'm really trying to set goals for this season. The last couple I really haven't had any. My senior year of high school (two years ago) was to make it to state. I made it to regionals where I played well but didn't even come close to making it even though I did play well (I shot 73 and needed to shoot a 69). I then passed my PAT the very next day on my first try. I played in one more tournament that summer where I shot my best tournament round of even par 72 on a moderately difficult course I had never played before. This was all by about June 14th 2010.

After that I don't know why but I really kind of lost interest in going to the golf course and playing in tournaments. I spent a lot of my time at the shooting range (not driving range), the beach, and hung out with friends and just enjoyed my summer before college. Once I got to college I played a little golf but not a whole lot. Last year I worked at a golf course for the summer. Working 42-48 hours a week really made me not want to go to the course very much and I didn't really have anyone to play with so I barely played and didn't really care a whole lot about how well I played.

Now I want to get back to playing like I was before and break 70 this summer. So far this year I've found that if I play well I shoot around 75-76. If I play poorly I'm around 79-80. I'm trying to set goals for myself this summer as I have found that setting goals is what helps get me to the golf course and work hard on my game.

My #1 goal for the summer is to break 70. I know I'll have to work hard to do it but I believe that it's an obtainable goal. The place I'm working at this summer has 36 holes and an instructional school with full driving range and short game area as well as Trackman and and V1 software. I also probably won't work any more than 40 hours a week unlike the 42-48 I was working. Having all this stuff at my disposal I feel that with hard work I can break 70 this summer. My #2 goal is to shoot par or better on both 18 hole courses.  What smaller goals would you guys set? Also does anyone have any tips for really breaking through and shooting in the 60s? I've broken par before just not in tournament rounds.

Thanks

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Well lets say you play a standard course, 72, to break 70 your looking at 3 under par... First, keep the ball in play off the tee. Penalties and Lost balls will make your job alot harder. The real key is hitting GIR's and putting. You can get away with a really good short game, but the easiest way is to hit greens and make putts. The more GIR's you got the more chance you have at making birdie. I would say keep stats, Pro's hit about 12-13 GIR per round... I've hit 8 out of 9 in 9 holes, and shot 1 over par, i couldn't buy a putt. So, really its putting that matters the most to me. Even poor ball striker's on tour can get away with it if they have the short game and putting. Look at Stan Utley and David Stockon.. But thats a complementary strength to there weekness. But to me, you still got to make putts.. So i would spend most of your time on putting, and your ball striking..

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A general tip that helps the good and the beginner is to always work on your weaknesses. Many people invest most time on the area of their game they are already good at, just because they feel confident and good about it. For improvement you always have to look for your weakest link and start there. So take a look at your biggest weakness and start to grind your way through there. Also find people who excel in exactly this area and surpass your level of play and pick their brains.

good luck mate

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Originally Posted by goodatgolf

A general tip that helps the good and the beginner is to always work on your weaknesses. Many people invest most time on the area of their game they are already good at, just because they feel confident and good about it. For improvement you always have to look for your weakest link and start there. So take a look at your biggest weakness and start to grind your way through there. Also find people who excel in exactly this area and surpass your level of play and pick their brains.

good luck mate


Great advice. I agree with goodatgolf.

To me, it would be practicing from 120 yds in and putting.

To play the way it seems you do, you'll face this shots in most of the par 4's and in longer par 5's. Mastering this pieces should lead you to more birdies.

Let us know how you're doing from now on!

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You mentioned your best tournament round as 72, but what is your best round ever? Clearly, you have the ability to break 70, but would be difficult to achieve in 6 months after the described "lay off". Keep in mind that the 72 you posted in high school was the result of years focusing on golf. working on your weaknesses is good advice (charting your rounds). To break 70, you basically have to hit 70% GIR with no three putts. If your goal is to simply shoot a number, playing easy courses with no wind when trying to break 70 wouldn't hurt either.

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Thanks for all the tips guys. I do think I can get back to where I was and even better because it's not like I played no golf at all I just didn't play as much as I had before. I think for me it's going to be hitting more greens. I have a good short game, I'm a fairly good putter, and those are things I'm always working on. I'm looking at dialing in everything inside 150 so I can have good looks at birdie. One thing I think will hurt me is my distance. A solid drive for me flies about 230-235 and my 8i flies about 145 but I'm fairly accurate and if I miss a fairway it's typically not by much.

 913 D2 8.5* with V2 66g stiff shaft

 910F 14.25 with Diamana stiff shaft

 i20 17, 20, and 23 hybrid 

 AP2 712 5-PW with Dynamic Gold S300 shaft

 54 and 60

 D66

 Tournament Edition 1600

 

 

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I'm in a similar situation to you. I have a low handicap, have shot par a number of times, and this season would really like to shoot a few shots lower.

My distance is in the same ballpark as you as well. Accuracy off the tee is really good (70-80%), short irons and short game is there as well. Where I run into issues is accuracy with long irons (struggle with approach shots that are 160-200), and being able to stick it closer with the short irons.

I think I'll be practicing mostly the short game to sink some more putts, and make sure the chips are close as to not sweat over par putts. And of course, practice the long irons to help eliminate the reasons I bogey.

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Originally Posted by DenisO

I'm in a similar situation to you. I have a low handicap, have shot par a number of times, and this season would really like to shoot a few shots lower.

My distance is in the same ballpark as you as well. Accuracy off the tee is really good (70-80%), short irons and short game is there as well. Where I run into issues is accuracy with long irons (struggle with approach shots that are 160-200), and being able to stick it closer with the short irons.

I think I'll be practicing mostly the short game to sink some more putts, and make sure the chips are close as to not sweat over par putts. And of course, practice the long irons to help eliminate the reasons I bogey.

Keep me updated on how you're coming along. Let's see which one of us breaks 70 first this year.

 913 D2 8.5* with V2 66g stiff shaft

 910F 14.25 with Diamana stiff shaft

 i20 17, 20, and 23 hybrid 

 AP2 712 5-PW with Dynamic Gold S300 shaft

 54 and 60

 D66

 Tournament Edition 1600

 

 

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I'd suggest you have as one of your key goals: make sure you have fun every time you play and every time you practice .         As you already found when you were working at the golf course too much, you didn't find it fun or enticing to be around golf.    If you keep grinding away with largely only numerical goals in mind, you face reaching a burnout point or be frustrated, and either will seriously inhibit your ability to achieve what you're trying to achieve.

This doesn't mean you have to be laughing and joking your way around the golf course, or to not taking scoring seriously.    But you can find ways each round to make sure you're smiling and enjoying your time.   Find little games to play with yourself on the range or practicing your short game.   Learn some trick shots.    Do something to keep the many hours of range time from becoming "work".

On the course if you're scoring well you'll probably be enjoying yourself and having fun, and I'm sure that day you break 70 will be a lot of fun.    But also figure out how to keep a smile when you're grinding to break 80.      If it just isn't a great scoring day, mix up the round with some fun shots.     If you've already blown a good score, try playing 18 with only one club, like a 9 iron.    See if you can skip one across the lake onto the green.

If you can keep your quest from becoming work and instead really enjoy it, you'll find you're far more willing to put in the time and your game will become much more solid as a result.

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  • 2 years later...

I'd suggest you have as one of your key goals: make sure you have fun every time you play and every time you practice.         As you already found when you were working at the golf course too much, you didn't find it fun or enticing to be around golf.    If you keep grinding away with largely only numerical goals in mind, you face reaching a burnout point or be frustrated, and either will seriously inhibit your ability to achieve what you're trying to achieve.

This doesn't mean you have to be laughing and joking your way around the golf course, or to not taking scoring seriously.    But you can find ways each round to make sure you're smiling and enjoying your time.   Find little games to play with yourself on the range or practicing your short game.   Learn some trick shots.    Do something to keep the many hours of range time from becoming "work".

On the course if you're scoring well you'll probably be enjoying yourself and having fun, and I'm sure that day you break 70 will be a lot of fun.    But also figure out how to keep a smile when you're grinding to break 80.      If it just isn't a great scoring day, mix up the round with some fun shots.     If you've already blown a good score, try playing 18 with only one club, like a 9 iron.    See if you can skip one across the lake onto the green.

If you can keep your quest from becoming work and instead really enjoy it, you'll find you're far more willing to put in the time and your game will become much more solid as a result.

Awesome! I definitely need to remember this.

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