What Are Your 2024 Golf Goals?

[iacas]

Like our 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 threads, here's the official thread for 2024!

The rules are the same as they've been:

1. Post your personal golf-related goals for 2024. Be specific and thorough.
2. Elaborate on how you'll go about achieving these goals. Details, people! 🙂
3. Post just once this year in this topic. So, make it a good post. (Though if you reach all of your goals, you should quote your post and revise them later in the year. Then you should set harder goals next year. 😄)
4. Keep the replies to a minimum. This thread is mostly for the posting of goals. If you want to encourage more discussion of your goals, post a copy of them in your Member Swing thread. If you want to discuss someone else's goals in more depth than a few replies, quote them in their Member Swing topic.

If you're looking to recap your 2023 goals, that topic can be found right here.

Let's hear 'em!

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Remember, please, that good goals should be SMART:

• S - Specific
• M - Measurable
• A - Attainable
• R - Relevant
• T - Time-based

We have the "T" because we're limiting these to goals for 2024. The rest, well… make good choices.

[StuM]

WOW, I get to be 1st.  🙂

S: Golf Goals: I will begin Evolver On-Line lessons and The Stack speed training.  I am not going to set any specific change in my golf game or specific HCP as a goal.  Instead my goal is to work on whatever the lessons tell me to do and work though The Stack's programs.  I do not want to set a specific speed goal since I do not even know my current speed. 

S: Personal Goals: I want to resume/continue my weight loss & exercise program with a goal of getting down to 225lbs, or lower AND Keep it off!

M: I either "Do It" or I "Do Not Do It".  The weight goal is a clear date of April 15th and target of 225 so very measurable.  For the golf goals I plan to begin posting in the 5-Minutes Daily Practice Thread to track that I actually "Do It".

A: The goal is attainable, the hard part is stick with it through the year and "Do what I am told"

R: The Weight Goal should help my golf game by allowing me to golf more and the lessons & speed training are 100% golf related.

T: My weight goal is targeting April 15th to initially hit 225 but also to be at or below 225 on Dec. 31, 2024.  The lessons & speed training are a little harder to specify a time since I need to rehab my foot before I can even swing a club.  I hope to being in February but will say March is the goal since I need the foot fully healed before I attempt too much golf and if it is not fully healed the lessons may be wasted.

[bkuehn1952]

I have been told putting one's goals to "paper" helps push one toward the goals. We shall see.

a. Begin to utilize my medicare advantage plan benefit of "Silver Sneakers." This allows me, at no cost, to use the "Anytime Fitness" gym up the road. I am going to get in a bit better shape and work on flexibility.

b. Practice for 30 minutes a week (I rarely practice anymore)

I am going to start small and hope I can report I accomplished my limited goals a year from now.

[saevel25]

Goal #1: Play in more tournaments. 
Goal #2: Continue to work on how much my right elbow bends in the backswing, backswing length, and the hand path and club head path in the downswing. 
Goal #3: Fix my putting. I believe this to be just a loss of feel for tempo/backswing length related to expected distance. My idea was to set up a system where I can make different length with a visual or physical aid. 

[Carl3]

Goals: break 70; get below a 5 index

How: play more rounds and practice more. Don’t be a couch potato this winter

 

[GolfLug]

Primary goal: 1. Get back to a sub 8 handicap. Requisites 1a, 1b And 1c.

1a. Hit 70% FIR and no OBs in the last five rounds leading to the end of September. I will be manually tracking FIRs on scorecards for this purpose.

1b. Post a swing video (and hopefully get feedback) at least once a month. Gotta fix the right elbow.

1c. Solidify a no flub chipping stroke. Bit aggressive but I want to get to within 30 feet 8/10 times from nGIR last five rounds leading to end of September. I will be tracking manually. 

2. Fun goal: Sub 83 round at Southern Pines. Will make a special trip at some point in the year. 

3. Stretch goal: Five no-sixes rounds.

[iacas]

My goals, in no particular order, strictly related to my own golf game:

• Post 25+ rounds to GHIN.
• Get to a +1.5 or better at some point this summer.
• Have 5+ bogey-free nines.
• Birdie all 18 holes at Whispering Woods.
• (Not "M") Continue to demoralize the likes of @DrizZzY and others with my putting. 😉 

I'd list "Play x PGA section events" but I'm not sure how those align with my calendar. I'm going to look into it more, this year, though.

[DrizZzY]

My goals this year:

1. Post at least 50% of the rounds I play to GHIN.  \I played a lot of "practice rounds" last year so I want to have a more accurate handicap.

2. During the actual golf season, have a practice day at least once a week.  \Played a lot of golf last year, but didn't actually work on stuff all that often. 

3. Be in contention to win my yearly tournaments.  \Winning would be nice, but I think having a chance to win will be big step forward.

4. Last one is life goal and golf goal in one. I need to continue my fitness regime, my nutrition plan, and The Stack program.  All three will help my golf game, but more importantly help my overall well being. 

 

[DeadMan]

I have 3 goals this year. The first one isn't measurable, but I think it's the most important goal for me:

1. Enjoy playing golf. I play a decent amount for someone with 2 kids under 10, but I don't play as much as I would like. I have too many rounds where I get annoyed because I'm not playing well. That needs to change. I need to worry about my score less and focus on having fun when I play instead. Golf is supposed to be fun, and it's supposed to be my way to relax. I need to act like it more.
2. Have 5 scores below +5. I had a decent year last year - I broke 80 12 times (out of 28 GHIN scores), and I generally played pretty well, averaging right around 80. I only had 3 rounds that were +5 or better, and I really should have had more. I want to get more comfortable getting into that range. This will mean eliminating sloppy doubles and being a little more sharp on and around the green.
3. Improve putting from 3-6 feet to 65% make. This is the lowest hanging fruit in my golf game. According to shot scope, I was 50% from that range in 2023. I need to be better there. This is mostly a bead thing, but also a read thing. I need to work on both. But I also just need to practice more in that range - my practice tends to be on lag putting, because that where I felt I struggled in the past.
4. Keep my daily practice streak until the end of May. I have been good about my daily practice streak the past year, and I want to continue that. I'm going on vacation at the end of May, and I won't keep my streak after that, but I want to get to that point. I should be able to without much problem. I think this will help a lot in achieving goals 2 and 3.

I will be happy, though, if I only achieve goal 1. I swear!

[Bo the Golfer]

My 2024 goals:

1. Get to a 15 handicap. 

2. Play more 18 hole rounds (usually just play 9). 

3. Hit the range at least 1x/weekly and continue with 5 minutes practice daily. 

4. Get to a 33 putts per round average. 

[snapfade]

The only real goal other than playing in more Golfweek Senior Amateur events is to work on my putting.

My average holes to 3 putts dropped to 8. Mainly because I don't care unless its a tournament. I had gotten to the point of just walking up and taking a few whacks and going to the next hole. Can't be doing that anymore. Plus I finished 2023 at 78% short.  I could be a meme. Buys 400 dollar putter, still 3 putts. 

Also I want to increase my SG against a 10HCP. I had the benchmark set at 15HCP and finished the year at 0.64 to the good with the bulk from a 2.14 off the tee. So this year I set it to 10 and will go from there. I have some fine tuning to do and take the game/ practice a little more serious. 

Lastly, try not to buy every new thing that gets mentioned here. LOL

[mdl]

On 1/2/2024 at 8:00 AM, DeadMan said:

Enjoy playing golf. I play a decent amount for someone with 2 kids under 10, but I don't play as much as I would like. I have too many rounds where I get annoyed because I'm not playing well. That needs to change. I need to worry about my score less and focus on having fun when I play instead. Golf is supposed to be fun, and it's supposed to be my way to relax. I need to act like it more.

I've been focusing on this a lot the past couple years. The big breakthrough for me was 8 holes I played with my daughter for the first time on a real course. We were out there during the holidays with family and she and her cousin were just teeing up from 100y out. The adults played the full holes.

I only cared about how much fun my daughter was having (obviously hoping/investing in the future ). I had a few crappy holes and cared not at all. Then ended up finishing birdie-birdie. And had *way* more fun than I'd had on the course in forever, holes I played well and not. Like you, it struck me how ridiculous that was given golf is supposed to be my fun time!

I'm not perfect but I've managed to significantly shift my attitude on the course and have way more fun out there now than I used to, even if I'm playing poorly overall. Good luck!

[Nyrangers1022]

My goals for 2024.  

 

- consistently break 90

  I can do that by

- fix erratic driver shots.  Summer 2023 into end of season developed a bad slice.  Obviously lost balls and shots, or many approach shots from rough or impossible shots to get on or around in regulation.  Driver used to be my best club, nice, straight or even a slight draw bias

- ball striking with irons and wedges.   Ironically improved in 2023, however driver went the wrong way so they offset eachother.   Luckily I have a net set up outside to hit balls here in New York.  Thankfully Haven't had much snow to keep me inside

- course management.   What also kills me, is getting later in rounds getting fed up with poor tee shots, ill try something stupid hero shot and puts me in worse position.  Also got to learn to just lay up when possible

 

 

 

 

[Mrd19abhs]

So ive been around an 18 for years because I never practice and just play a few rounds a year 5-10. Last year grew my golf buddies list and I'm now getting out 1-2 rounds a month. Through this I purchased Arrcos and started tracking stats and below are the things I would like to achieve this year.

 

•  Improve average Driving Distance to over 230 (Par 4s and 5s). I currently am averaging 192 due to not having confidence off tee and using either 5 iron (185-190) or my 2 Hybrid (225) off the tee. I typically only picked driver on a wide open par 5 if i thought i had chance to get to green in two if i hit it well. typically hit around 230 which is why I just hit hybrid, but if I put a good swing on it I get to 260ish. Swing speed is 104-105 but -0.7 AoA and 1.36 Smash so got to focus on driver a lot this year.    
• Reducing Handicap to 12 by year end. 
• Practice at least 5 hours a month. 

The third is obviously the most important as it will reduce mishits and improve confidence. Currently got fit for a new driver this year which has improved confidence and allowed me feel where the club head is much better than my previous driver which was 15 years old now. 

[DeadMan]

On 1/2/2024 at 9:00 AM, DeadMan said:

I have 3 goals this year. The first one isn't measurable, but I think it's the most important goal for me:

1. Enjoy playing golf. I play a decent amount for someone with 2 kids under 10, but I don't play as much as I would like. I have too many rounds where I get annoyed because I'm not playing well. That needs to change. I need to worry about my score less and focus on having fun when I play instead. Golf is supposed to be fun, and it's supposed to be my way to relax. I need to act like it more.
2. Have 5 scores below +5. I had a decent year last year - I broke 80 12 times (out of 28 GHIN scores), and I generally played pretty well, averaging right around 80. I only had 3 rounds that were +5 or better, and I really should have had more. I want to get more comfortable getting into that range. This will mean eliminating sloppy doubles and being a little more sharp on and around the green.
3. Improve putting from 3-6 feet to 65% make. This is the lowest hanging fruit in my golf game. According to shot scope, I was 50% from that range in 2023. I need to be better there. This is mostly a bead thing, but also a read thing. I need to work on both. But I also just need to practice more in that range - my practice tends to be on lag putting, because that where I felt I struggled in the past.
4. Keep my daily practice streak until the end of May. I have been good about my daily practice streak the past year, and I want to continue that. I'm going on vacation at the end of May, and I won't keep my streak after that, but I want to get to that point. I should be able to without much problem. I think this will help a lot in achieving goals 2 and 3.

I will be happy, though, if I only achieve goal 1. I swear!

Eff it. I'm adding a goal (going from 3 to 5 apparently ... my counting skills are not great). This might be my overarching goal in golf, and it really has been a goal for a while:

5. Break par for the first time (on a par 70+).

[gbogey]

On 1/2/2024 at 11:00 AM, DeadMan said:

1. Enjoy playing golf.

1. I have to steal #1. By my own admission I take my golf too seriously. Sometimes it makes you wonder why I like it so much. So I need to enjoy it more and appreciate that I'm a decent golfer.
2. Keep my index below 6.5. I moved last year and joined a club where the courses are much harder than I'm used to, so I need to adjust my game appropriately. To do this I will:
   1. Better course management - lower DBs/TBs to 1.5 or less per round (currently 2)
   2. Decrease unplayable drives to 1 per round (currently 1.7), probably by utilizing my 3w or 5w off the tee more often.
   3. Keep my weight below 185 - that's when I play my best
3. Play at least 6 new courses way from my club:
   1. 3 bucket list type courses - first was Ocean Club two weeks ago; next one is scheduled for April
   2. Play 3 local publics that I haven't played yet.

[Clemsonfan]

2024 Goals:

Finished last year with 21 rounds and my handicapped dropped from 7.5 to 7.3. 

Fairways hit of 69% last year and would like to maintain.

GIR of 45% and working on 50% target by playing more safely on approaches.

Putts per hole needs to drop by at least .1 down to 1.83. Will spend some time with in-depth putting instruction and stick with one grip.

Hope to play at least 25 rounds this year. Only played 1 so far…

[StKildaSenators]

Main goal:

- Drop my handicap index from 20 to 15 or lower.

I think I can achieve this through:

- Getting much better at chipping. I blade or chunk waaaay to many chips.

- Continuing improving my driver. I used to always hit a massive slice. Now I sometime do, but not always due to trying to keep my hands closed. But to get my hands closed I have been using a very strong grip. So when I don't slice I will hit somewhere from low baby fade to low baby draw. While definitely an improvement, there is still more room to go.

 

How I plan to achieve this:

- Take a couple lessons. I've done this the past 2 or 3 seasons and it has definitely improved my game.

- Actually practice more often. I rarely go to the range and even more rarely the chipping green. I will try and change that this year and hopefully go at least once a week.

-Try and golf more. I'm a mature student so I don't have tonnes of discretionary income at the moment. But last season I didn't golf as much as I did the season prior. Playing regularly makes such a huge difference so I want to make sure that I'm getting those swings in.