Your 2010 Golf Goals Official Thread

[ERC7.5]

Randomly...

• Improve my position at the top of my swing and at impact
• Create lag rather than casting (See swing check here)
• Consistent ball striking and distance
• Practice putting more and develop consistent stroke
• Study Stack & Tilt and apply it to my game
• Walk more (get in better shape)
• Visit the practice range more

[allin]

1. Initiate 2yr plan to reach single digits.
2. Focus on rythym and feel while playing
3. Visualize shots more consistently, ( tend to get lazy about this on tee shots)
4. No quitting on even one shot even when playing my worst

[Golfaway]

1- Drop my handicap from 28 to 22.
2- More driving accuracy and length.
3- More GIRs.
4- More Pars per round.
5- Shoot a round in the high 70's or low 80's.

[Fatphil]

hold a proper wrist cock from 12" prior to transition, thru transition and as far as possible into the forward swing.

[mdl]

My main goal for the year:

1) Round in the 70s : I've hit 81 a bunch of times. I really really worked my full swing this year. I'm still only in the 30%s for GIR, but I feel like I'm at a point where I've gotten consistency and know my own swing and am rarely far off the green on the GIR stroke. One of those 81s was with 38 putts! Which leads to my second goal...

2) Switch practice focus to short game : I've broken 30 putts I don't know how many times, but I can count 'em on one hand. A good putting day for me is 3-putting few enough times that the couple times I get up and down, so 1-putt, cancels the 3s, and I get under 36 putts. I have pretty good feel from 30-40 yards in, but my practice time last year was 80-90% full swing. I know everyone says the fastest way to reduce the handicap is to practice short game, but I knew I'd never be satisfied with a full shot game I wasn't at all confident in or ever proud of, even if I got my wedge play and putting dialed in enough to score well. Now it's time to put the energy in the short game. My short game goals:

2a) Consistent speed on the greens : Half of my problems on the green come from a lack of consistent speed control. I end up 4-5+ feet away from the whole way too often for my second putt.
2b) Lock in the <5 footers : I have a home putting green that goes to 10'. I lose a couple strokes on many round from missing 4-6 footers without that much break. On a green without huge break around the green, I want to have my good putting days be days where I'm so confident that the putt is going where I want it in the first 8 feet that I aim within the cup somewhere, hit the putt a bit strong through the break, and know it's going to drop and not go 3-4 feet past.
2c) Know my own wedge yardages : I like the suggestion I've seen here to practice 1/2 and 3/4 shots with all your wedges (only PW and SW for me right now), as well as the full shots. I could save a shot or two many rounds if I knew exactly how far the 1/2 or 3/4 swing went with my wedges. 40-80 yard shots is a big weakness for me.
2d) Spend 25% of my practice time on the <30 yard pitches and chips . I do these all right by feel, and some days am never further than 10 feet on these shots, but I don't have nearly enough consistency on these, from a lack of enough practice time.

[Nickynoodles]

1. Up my Fairways hit by 2-3%
2. Up my GIR percentage 2-3%
3. Hit more Eagle Putts ( I leave alot of Eagle Putts out on the Course and get Birdies and sometimes miss both and get a Par that feels like a Bogey)
4. Focus more on Ball striking and shot shaping
5. Practice Fairway Bunker shots
6. Try to see my S&T; instructor more this year
7. Get a hole in one
8. Last but not least as always break 70

[Shindig]

Playing Goals:

* Play. I went for a two month period - sadly, right after I posted in October about my 2009 goal successes/failures - where I played twice. When I got back, I found that my mechanics didn't fall too badly, but my score did. I need to play weekly, at the very least, to maintain some level of scoring touch, and I need to figure out a way to play more than once per week.

* Play better. I didn't improve much in 2009; I started as a 16.x and will be a 15.1 on January 1. I'd like to lose 6 strokes on the handicap in 2010. I realize the loss of strokes doesn't really fall linearly, but I'd like to be at most 14 by Mar 1, 13 by May 1, and so forth, ending the year with a handicap at most 9.

* Play longer. I've gained some distance this year, and I'd like to pick up more. There are holes that used to be out of reach for me (driver + 3 Wood) that I've now hit GIR driver + hybrid, without a significant helping wind. I'd love to enter the summer needing to re-shaft to S-flex. A 140-yard 7-iron is nice, but isn't quite what I imagine I can do.

* Working out. I stopped the gym the last month and a half, and boy did it cost me body-wise. I just didn't have the energy towards the end of the round, even if my distances didn't drop significantly. But I tried a friend's Wii fit a few days ago and failed out on the _breathing_ exercises! So I need to get back to working out.

* Eat better on the course. For all that I cook, I don't do much for interesting food on the course. I recently began bringing hard-boiled eggs to the course with me, to go with the bananas and Clif bars. I'd love to figure out more food to bring to the course that works for me.

* Play socially. I play as a single very often, matched into threesomes or other singles. I've played with some people I really enjoy playing with (including two from this forum), and I want to play with other folks I know more often. This is a vague goal.

[DefLord]

2010 Goals -

- Start getting back to playing more (Went from playing about 25-36 rounds in 2008 to about 6 in 2009)
- Start working my game back and improving my game - take the game a bit more seriously
- Drop my handicap down *its probably in the 25's now since lack of practice/playing time* to about the 10's to 15's
- Practice at the driving range at least once a week

[jbbets]

get a new set of clubs and get rid of my crappy top flights
learn how to cure my slice
get better
break 100 consistently!!

[ks8829]

Goals for 2010

1) shoot under par
2) have four consecutive rounds within 5 strokes of the lowest round played
3) improve my up and down percentage
4) practice putting, chipping, pitching and include distance of 100 and 150 yards
5) teach my 9 year old daughter and 15 year old son the short game......... gently and with positive coaching
6) improve my putting statistic
7) improve my short game distance control
8) improve my consistency and ultimately lower my handicap
9) Play more golf with my two kids
10) Have fun, stay healthy, enjoy the family and work hard!

[sean_miller]

1.) Get an official RCGA hdcp - haven't had one in over 10 years
1a.) Track my stats on line to see where I really need to improve
2.) Get more fit, stay healthy, and not get any worse at this game than I am now.
3.) Stop trying so hard on the putting greens - just let a good stroke happen - convert more birdie and eagle putts (stupid 3 putt pars and bogeys).
4.) Reduce penalty strokes by playing more long irons on tight par 5s - especially number 15 at Alberta Springs - 2-iron, 6-iron, wedge, and 2 putts equals 5.

[BonoVox]

Just getting back into the game after basically a 10 year break. I guess my handicap is around a 28 to 32 (just signed up for my SCGA card) after a couple of sloppy rounds. (got as low as a 12 or so back 11 years in the past before starting a new company slowed down my play to once or twice a year)

Anyway I bought new clubs, been hitting the range 2 to 3 days a week and hope to play once a week. Maybe a bit more. (plus a lot of short game practice crammed in)

My goal is to get to a 15 index by year end. I can tell just by my recent practice and recent grooving of my swing I should be into low 20s in no time. Then grind out the rest of the year to I hope a 15.

[Philip9210]

Break 100.

Its gonna be tough, I'm going to need to drop about 15 strokes to do it, but I can do it as long as I practice and continue playing!

[hokiebound]

1. shoot in the 90s consistently
2. break 90
3. hit at least half of fairways off the tee.

[Clambake]

Last year my goals were to get my wild tee and longer iron game under better control, get my temper and attitude about bad shots under control, become a solid mid-single digit player, and then play Pebble Beach for the first time. All accomplished, with a pretty consistent tee shot now, a 6.0 index that doesn't have a lot of variability in my rounds, and a fantastic 4 days in Monterey culminating by breaking 80 at Pebble on a gorgeous sunny day. For 2010, my goals are:

1) Recover from back surgery a few weeks ago. This will be the tough one, but things are coming along pretty well so far, and as soon as the surgery is better healed I'll start physical therapy and a fitness program that will not only recover from the surgery but hopefully build better core strength to gain more flexibility and guard against further injury

2) Once I can swing a club a bit, I'm going to spend the first 3 months of practice with nothing but the short game - it has been my weakness and I want to feel like there isn't a short game shot that I haven't accomplished in practice

3) Learn to enjoy every round, and look at the bad breaks in golf as a fun challenge to overcome. I still fight the temper a little (but not nearly as bad) and sometimes feel the bad breaks are out to get me ("I hit a perfect tee shot - it is so unfair it landed in a divot! #$*&%!!!") My goal here is to look forward to each shot as I walk up to the ball, and never dread or fear any shot.

4) Become much better with my rules understanding. While I feel I generally know the major basic rules, I'd like to really know them well so I know all the little esoteric parts - maybe I'll even take one of the USGA programs.

5) Resolve to become the best playing partner anyone plays with. I tend to play as a single a lot, and I really want the people I play with to leave the course thinking "Wow, he was a really nice guy with a great attitude about the game - I'd love to play with him again". I started this as a goal last year as well, and I thought it payed off by making me play better golf - by focusing on controling temper (everyone hates a hothead who throws clubs) and by keeping a positive attitude (people don't like to play with others that whine and complain), it made MY mental approach better and made a measurable improvement in my game. And in the process, I've collected a bunch of business cards and contact info from locals and visitors from around the country with standing offers to join them if I'm in their area. It really feels good to walk to your car feeling you just made a new friend.

As you can see, my goals don't tend to be numbers oriented or specific events anymore, but are really focused on making myself a "golfer" who enjoys the game. I feel if I accomplish these goals, the numbers will follow and I'll get my handicap down a few more points and enjoy a lot of rounds of golf with new and old friends. Isn't that what the game should be all about?

[madcityscott]

Same as it was in 2006, 2007 and 2008: Break 100.

[Matt M]

Playing Goals:
Play with more focus, every shot has to be as important as it is in the club championship.
Practice
Work more with instructor and focus on short game and putting. 40 % of practice goes to putting and short game, 30% wedge distance control, and the last 30% on full swing.
Handicap
Get index down to 2-3, at 5.2 currently.
Course to Play
Oakmont, PA, East Lake Ga.

[Hyper X Crusher]

2010 Goals:

1. Get some lessons from a local PGA pro.
2. Work on GIR.
3. Driving accuracy
4. Recover from that hole where the "Wheels fell off"
5. Work on getting handicap index to 15 or lower
6. Play more golf!!!