Your Goals for 2007

[iacas]

Please post your goals for 2007 in this thread.

Let's keep the side-chatter to a minimum here as this thread should be the place where we can all list our goals and check on our progress. Updates as to our progress should be in their own thread. Let's just LIST our goals here, please.

Addendum: I would encourage a few of you to edit your posts to be far more specific. List actual goals. "Improve my putting" may be fine, but by what amount? How will you know if you reached your goal? And why list just ONE goal when you can have several? Go ahead and edit your posts if you'd like - I encourage it. If you're serious about improving, you have to be SERIOUS about your list of goals.

[iacas]

I'm borrowing heavily from my 2006 list, but when you get to this point as a low handicap, improvements are small.

• Practice more. I'm replacing "play as much as possible" with this weakly worded goal. I should find a range I like closer to my home, because even though my country club is very nice, the range is very sandy (wears out clubs quickly, scratches them, isn't much like hitting off actual fairways). We also have no short game area, though supposedly one is being built.
• Reduce handicap index to 2.9 or lower. I was close last year but I think that some of the changes I made last year are beginning to cement themselves. Some of my previous "fallback flaws" are no longer fallback flaws, so I think I'm ready to move forward.
• Mentally commit to every shot prior to hitting it. Shots inside of 1 foot excluded, of course. I didn't even come close to meeting this goal in 2006, but I got better. As I said then, this will be the toughest goal, bar none, to meet because it's too easy to just step up and hit a shot right after joking around with the guys and not pay much attention.
• Eliminate the "bad shot." Once per round I'll hit just a horrid bad shot - a topped 3W that goes ten feet, whatever. I don't know many single digit handicappers that do this and it just about wastes an entire shot on every hole. So, eliminating this shot - whatever the cause - will save a stroke per round all by itself. I think the fix might actually be the goal above it.
• Work on the short game. Stop using the lack of a short game practice area as an excuse. Make the time to practice the short game on the course.
• Improved my lag. I'm leaving some distance on the table. I make good contact but could improve my lag a bit to get a little more distance. 155-yard 7-irons may be "okay," but they're not where someone of my caliber should be. Any course of 7000 yards is quite long for me.
• One round in the 60s. Last year I shot my first ever sub-par round. I was using an old Bullseye-type putter to try to fix a flaw and mis-hit two really long putts, resulting in three-putts that I would have two-putted had I been using a modern putter with higher MOI. So that right there is a 69 I left on the table. This year I want to actually achieve it.
• Some stats: Score (avg): 76, FWY: 60%, GIR 60%, Total Putts: 30, PPGIR: 1.8, PPMGIR: 1.4.

As last year, I want to continue to progress.

[Lbob]

Great idea for a thread! My goals:

Break 80 three more times, including once on a course that in my bete noire.

Shoot 9 holes in par.

Get my putting improved. Curreently at 36.6 putts per 18 holes. I need to get that down to about 30-32.

Improve my up-and-down's. Only averageing 1.2 want to get that over 3.

I don't need a resolution to practice more. I love to practice. But I think I need to practice smarter and structure the practice sessions more especially with the short game. Not sure how.

[Naruto]

OHHH...i dont know...maybe i will learn how to PUTT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD....

phew.. i feel better....

dear santa clause...please bring me a decent putting stroke...thanks

[aquacooled]

Really spend the time and work on my iron play. Unlike erik we have a good short game area, but a driving range with just mats.. I hate those mats..

[Naruto]

THAT'S really my only goal...putt well...or at least better...play some collegiate golf at CofC if I'm lucky....maybe get butch harmon to teach me to hit the ball better than tiger....then take 20 majors over the next 10 years....

so i'd better putt very well over 2007

[tonethebone]

there are some hard core golfers out there.. be that as it may, i have a simple goal for 2007...

enjoy the rounds i play with my friends, without getting too nuts, because unless i really want to be a scratch golfer again( oh what a pipedream) we should all have a goal to have more fun, work less, throw your cellphones in a pond, and play in some crazy formats, to spice up the year.

seriously... it would be nice to have a short game that resembles my other skills, 'cause if i could get chip or pitch better, my handicap would be around a 6 or 7....

the only solid part of my game day in and out is putting. everything else needs work, but with 2 kids and a business to run, i'll settle for good friends, some laughs, a poker game in the grill room, and peace and quiet from my job.

i hope all of you stay healthy and have a wonderful christmas with your families

[CusePhil]

there are some hard core golfers out there.. be that as it may, i have a simple goal for 2007...

I like that goal, and mine is very similar. I want to have fun. I play to have fun, and I want to keep it that way. I'd rather be a weekend duffer having a blast, than one of those guys that has to shoot well or win money to enjoy himself. I can take a couple extra strokes on the scorecard as long as I am having a good time.

[NCGolfer]

Here they are:

Become a good putter - I did not putt well this year. All of my putting stats dropped this year. Some of it is mental, but some are bad habits. I'm working hard on grooving a more "Utley" style of putting and it has felt good. Part of this goal is to spend more of my practice time on the green.

Keep the swing simple - Later in the year I threw a lot of stuff out the window with my swing and just simplified things. I think (again) it was more a mental issue than a physical one. I don't care...it seems to work. I think If I spend less time on the range it may actually help because I tend to overthink and go into paralysis by analysis.

Win Club Championship - I won it two years ago and there are a bunch of players coming to the club that are very, very good so it will be even harder this time around.

Play more - I had an addition to the family mid-year which didn't help the golf game much. I didn't spend enough time on the course...it was mostly practicing. I have to commit to playing at least once a week during the spring and summer.

Play and do well in US Am Qualifier - I'm not delusional. I know it would take my best round to qualify, but there is a local qualifier for the US Am that I've played in before that I'm probably going to get in again. I'd like to have my game peaking at this time...and not embarass myself.

[flap]

My first goal is to get into better shape.As i get older i am realizing that phisical shape is no longer automatic and must be worked on.

I have to work on my 150 and in shots as I miss too many greens from that distance and stop hooking those shots.

Decide on one ball brand and one set of clubs and stick with them.

Get back to walking instead of riding as it helps with #1 on list.

Last but not least is play more as a single because I tend to consentrate more when not with people I know.

[underparnv]

Well, here is my list:

• Get Over My Mental State When Putting - Each and every putt I am standing over the last couple of months have felt like I was a beginner again. I don't feel as though I belong over the ball the way I am. I would like to take a lesson (full game, not just putting) to try to get more comfortable and let my mind get over it.

• Win Club Championship - I came in second last year (by eight strokes...), but I was in the final pairing on Sunday. I really feel if I can control my mental thoughts on my putting, I should be able to accomplish this goal.

• Go Undefeated in the Kelly Cup - The Kelly Cup is a Ryder Cup type event held between my club and a rival club the next city over. I went 2-1 this year winning my alternate shot match and my singles match while losing my better ball match, where I had won a tournament with my partner in that format the week before. Next year I would like to go 3-0.

• Get Invited to the Newport Cup 2007 - This may only happen if everyone decides to play on the west coast (or somewhere in between...), but you never know!

• Try Out a Hybrid - While playing with my club pro last weekend, he noticed I had a two iron, four wedges and no three wood or utility club. He suggested I at least try out a hybrid to see if it would work out for me. (I can really hit my 2 iron well...even out of the rough...)

• Attend the PGA Championship - Ok, so this isn't so much a goal as a bit of gloating! I will be attending the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma this year. I am looking forward to seeing the top golfers in the world compete, and will attempt to pick up a thing or two from just watching them.

• Learn to Chip with more than one club - Right now my chipping is limited to my lob wedge (hard to believe, I know...) and occasionally my nine iron. I would like to get more creative around the greens by utilizing all four of my wedges...and maybe a few more clubs...

• Keep Better Stats - This year I kind of half-assed the stats. I want to really keep my stats next year so I can see on paper where I need to improve.

I think that about does it. I may come back to add more...

[BritBoy]

Improve Putting - Its been a goal for a long time now, but this time I need to make it happen, I think I'm at the point that this is the only way I can lower my handicap. The problem I have with getting this done is that practicing putting is just sooooooooo boring!!!

O or + handicap - hand in hand with the above goal.

Add some silver to the mantle - It's been 2 years since I took a trophey.... it's time. I am playing in lower flights now so it will be a real challenge. But I can do it IF I CAN SINK PUTTS

Faiwaiys - Hit as many fairways as I do GIR's. I regularly hit 10 -12 GIR's but I'm pretty wild off the tee. When I go to the range (I'm one of the lucky ones in that I love to practice almost as much as playing - well except putting) I hit irons all day long. I hardly ever hit driver or 3 wood on the range. This year I am going to start hitting tee shots on the range also.

New shot in the bag - I want to add the one bounce and bite from 25 - 50 yards shot to my bag. I have been working on it and am getting there but it hasnt been reliable enough to count on it. I changed wedges at the end of the season and I think if I put some time into it I will be able to take that shot out to the course and rely on it when I short side myself.

If I can get through the year and accomplish these goals I can chase the big goals in '08

[renefjr]

Great thread!

Here are my goals. BTW, I just started playing again after 10 years of playing 3-4 rounds a season and now getting very serious about playing consistently.

Break 90
Eliminate 3 putts
Drive 225+ yards
Learn to hit my 3-4 iron

[NM Golf]

Goals for 2006

Scoring Average :
I want my scoring average below 75. I averaged around 76 this year but too many back side letdowns hurt.

Win the Club Championship
I was 3rd this year but had the low round of the day on the day they toughened the course. (one day the course plays normal the second day they tuck all the pens and move all the tees two club lengths from the back.)

In contention at away courses
I have had a really tough time with blowing up occasionally on courses other than my home course. I want to play my game regardless of where I am playing.

Driver in control
I came a long way in this department this year, and it is completely the reason I played so much better this year. In the past the driver was long and crooked a lot. This year I hit more fairways and it lowered the scores. I still have work to do. My driver determines my score, I have never hit a putt out of bounds.

Continue with my work ethic but practice smarter
I hit balls at least 4 times a week and that must continue, but I need to divy up my time better and include more putting and shortgame practice than I have previously.

[gogolfing]

I rejoined the club I grew up on two years back. Before that I had played very little the previous ten years, and am loving being back in it. Last year my goal was to break 80, and I was able to do it twice.

This year, my goal is to break 80 consistantly; to do this I need to get more consistant off the tee and improve my play from 50 yards in. Putting has never been a problem, but getting it close to give me chance to save par has been. I hit balls frequently, but I know perhaps I need to hit only a small bucket, and then move it over to the short game area for more minutes.
To accomplish both of these, I know I need to improve mentally; my wife 'got me' (I know because I ordered it from Amazon ) Bob Rotella's CD collection for Christmas. I plan on putting them in the car and listening on my way to work etc... I also read Dr. Gio Valiente's Fearless Golf which helped me too. I'm hoping the repitition of listening to the CD's will help with my new goals.

I like the thread; it is interesting to see other's goals, particularly the better players, and gives good ideas for all of us.

[Smallfry]

Goals for 2007

- Play some of the great courses within a reasonable drive from me
There are some incredible courses within an hour or two drive of me, I would like to play at least a few of them this year.

- Shoot in the 80's consistantly by the end of the season
This is something I REALLY want to do! and I believe I am capable.

- Improve my ball striking
Its all over the place right now, I would love to have faith in my swing.

- Improve my bunker play considerably
By far the weakest aspect of my game, I have no confidence of getting up and down. If I could even just consistantly get the ball out and somewhere on the green, It would be a huge improvement for me.

[Golfer7945]

Goal: Break 80
Avg minimum of 10 Fairways Hit
Avg minimum of 9 GIR (when in doubt take more club)
Improve up and down percentage (throw pitches to the hole)
Commit to each and every putt (putt like a kid) keep putts to a max of 32 per round

maintain pre-shot routines for each shot
expect success
Make a plan for each golf course and stick to it
Join a golf club and play in member events

Happy golfing all!

Dale

[NCGolfer]

Forgot one (thanks Flap):

Get in better golf shape - I need to get back into decent shape. A few years back I was running and lifting three times a week and felt better than I ever had. Well, that seems like a long time ago. Now, my TPI is free so I'm going to sign up there and see how it goes.