Your Goals for 2007

[golfchief]

1. Stop overswinging my fairway woods. Can't get their any more so I need to hit good shots in the fairway for better shots to the green.

2. Make sure I read every putt from all angles. Some greens I just read the putt from behind the ball and miss seeing some breaks.

3. Work on hitting a constant draw on demand. I can hit the draw but my normal shot is a slight fade and I will hit a bad hook instead of a draw 30 % of the time, not finish the swing and leave it hanging right 40% , hit it streight/fade 20%, hit the draw 10%.

[trashpar]

1.Three-peat in the club championship.
2.Get my index into negative numbers.
3.Lose 20 pounds (which would probably help me do the first two things).

[satch_ip]

Break 90, first at the local dog track (Laughlin AFB) then at a real course.

Get rid of the Leftsies

[Javaman]

I have one goal, and if I achieve that, everything else will take care of itself:

Course Management (young players, say it with me now, COURSE MANAGEMENT!!!!)

I paly off 3, and until last year I had never shot level par. Then one day I did it by playing smart golf (COURSE MANAGEMENT!) In my last 6 rounds I have two under par and one was even par.

My game is steady, I do nothing exceptionally well, but I also have no major weakness (except my brain.) Now, instead of trying to make a birdie on every hole I play, I play the hole to ensure a par, and a birdie is a bonus. I know I will make 2-5 birdies a round, and by eliminating the trouble spots that lead to bogies and worse, I now have lower scores on a regular basis.

I HIGHLY encourage young players to think a bit before pulling the trigger with a 4 iron and firing at that back pin, behind the bunker, next to the water, with 6 inch rough lurking around. No birdies in that water, or that rough! When faced with a nasty shot, play to the safe side of the hole and take your chances with your putter. Par is almost assured, and birdies happen sometimes!

So, to try and get back to the topic, my goal is to manage my game efficiently by reducing the mental mistakes and making solid pars on hard holes, and attacking the pins when possible. In my 20's I fired at all flags, no matter what. Now, in my 30's, I fire at them when I know that if I miss, I can still make my par and move along.

It doesn't make you a wimp to play smart golf, but it will make your scores lower, and for me that is what I want.

[John Boy]

Want to break 68 at my home course

Want to drop handicap to 2

Want to play all the courses at Pinehurst


By the way, great comments on course management. I was just talking to a golf budy the other day about "trying to make birdies." It will, more times than not, lead to a bogie or worse. If you are above an 18 handicap, make sure to make short goals. Don't try to break 80, try to have 5 rounds in a row under 90. It works the same for the lower handicappers. for higher handicappers, take your bogies with smarters plays. Have a 400+ PAR 4, play it as a short par 5 and play for bogie. Hit a medium iron off the tee if need be. You will be surprised how much better you get if you play within your own game. I know I said it often...the key is short game. The other key that makes a pro a pro is shooting within their game. If a draw is not there strong point, then they knopw damn well what kind oif shot they dont want to have into the green .

[RyanR]

Break 82 for a round.

Break 40 for 9 holes.

Practice putting much more (two-putt more holes).
Get a putting lesson.

Become comfortable with my new grip and swing.

Punch out more instead of trying to be a hero.

Bring my handicap down to 14.

Good luck everyone,
Ryan

[neudi]

1) Begin to get in shape
2) Start a schedule practicing 3 hours a day
3) get to the 2nd round of the U.S. Open qualifier
4) Qualify for the public links match play
5) Qualify a few rounds in in the U.S. Amateur
6) Quit smoking.

[Indaruff]

I want to get my handicap under 10. And am really excited to do real well in my first season on my highschool team.

[gpeden]

- hcp down to 13 (from 17.5 at the end of last season, and 29.5 at the beginning of last season
- FIR 40% GIR 40%, Putts 30
- Tame the driver
- Win at least 1 AGA of Oregon tournament
- Play at least one 9 under 40 (anywhere)
- Break 85 at Pumpkin Ridge Ghost Creek
- Play one round without a penalty (OB, Hazard, Lost Ball)

[Soxx22]

Goals for 2007

1) Win the Acme Honda Invitational (a tournament with my buddies --going onto year 18 now)
2) I'm getting new irons this year (first time since the first Bush administration) - so I'm hoping to hit more greens and have better birdie chances. I'd much rather 10-foot birdie putts than 10-foot par putts. Those take a lot out of you
3) My score is usually in the upper 70s/low 80s - my hope is to have more in the 70s than the 80s. i don't think i've ever done that.
4) Play more! I got married last year and just didn't have much time to play with all of the prep we had for it.

[Shindig]

A bit of perspective: I first swung a golf club August 2005, and didn't again until I played 9 holes of par 3 in November 2005.

I first played 9 holes of regulation in August 2006, with a score of 79. I then went for a private lesson (first private lesson with a PGA Pro) and two weeks later shot a 58 for the same 9 holes. Since then, my best for 18 regulation holes is 103.

I haven't much of a chance to play during school quarters, but for 2007, I want to keep playing when I can. I want to improve my putting mostly.

I'm also hitting the gym more for various exercises I've seen described at TPI's freebies. The exercises help me feel good in general (and really, I need to be serious about working out, even absent golf).

I'm hoping the two combined lead to a score improvement, but my goals are to improve my putting (I 3-putt about 4 times per round... bad enough on its own, but I miss GIR most of the time, too) and maintain exercise.

[GolfnGriff]

Practice: I usually get to play only once a week but hardly ever practice. I would like to find time to practice at least once a week even if its only for an hour at lunch. I also need to practice the right way. If practice makes perfect and you practice bad then it stands to reason you will become perfectly bad.

Mental: I tend to get frustrated on the course. I just need to relax and concentrate on the next shot. I have so much more fun that way too... I don't know why it's so tough. Maybe its because I think I'm better than I really am?

Tee Shot: My worst area. I need to learn how to hit much better shots off the tee. I either swing too hard or not hard enough.

[Shindig]

Tee Shot:

I have a huge problem here too on par-3s. I don't know why, but I have some guesses. Probably because so many of the practice places for me are mats, so I'm just used to hitting off a mat with my irons, hybrids, and woods (I never practice driver on rubber tees, but hit that just fine).

But on par-3s, especially long ones, I have horrible problems. For 180-200 yard par-3s, I need to hit hybrid, 5W, or 3W, and I almost never hit GIR. Maybe I should try to get distance with irons, since I hit my traditional 4-Iron 155 yards or so. I hope you don't mind if I add Par-3 Tee Shots to my list of goals, inspired by your post.

[GolfnGriff]

I hope you don't mind if I add Par-3 Tee Shots to my list of goals, inspired by your post.

Not at all. I agree!

[niblick]

1. Play a round with no 3 putts.
2. Play 18 holes with the same ball.
3. Play a penalty stroke-free round.
4. Get my handicap in the teens.

[Shindig]

2. Play 18 holes with the same ball.

Why? I find every 12 holes or so, I've cut my ball to the point where I don't think it'll fly well anymore (the other reason it doesn't fly well is because it's me hitting it). I put it away and put it in the shag bag when I get back to the car. Maybe you play with balls stronger than mine (Strata)? Or am I being wasteful by putting it away?

[bayareamtnbiker]

2007 GOALS
1) Consistently break 80 (cut 2 to 3 strokes). Continue to apply skills coming from lots of practice to the game. Significantly sharper putting, chipping and pitching, drives, better shot selection/planning.
2) Sharpen weak or lagging skills: bunkers, tight lies, ball striking consistency.
3) Improve mental game, play consistent, calm and relaxed, better flow, focus, avoid distraction.
4) Hit only good shots, eliminate those occasional bad shots.
5) Increase fun factor. Play with fun people, no club throwers.

[Clubswinger21]

Interesting to read all of the different goals so far..

Im not a cocky person but as a recreational golfer after only 4 years at the game I feel I've accomplished more than i thought I would, like I've found the sport that im significantly better than average at. I feel like i've played enough and practiced enough where to get better i need to play and practise even more than I have in the past. However, with winter being such a factor i find it hard to excel the way i want to.

Id like to.. finally get a lesson, and take those swing critiques/changes and work on them.

Now that i have some equipment Im comfortable with, Id like to finally put some money and effort into getting fitted for lies and shafts.

I've just weakened my grip significantly to increase control which has change everything drastically. So i will continue working on that.

As mentioned above I would also like to change my mental aspect of the game. Rather than go out and try to shoot the lowest score. Id like to go out, have fun and play the best I can.

And finally Id like to test my swing under pressure more often to see how it holds up. ie. money games, tournaments etc.