Your 2012 Golf Goals - Official Thread

[Andrew24]

After just starting this July I have a few.

1. Play everyday in the summer Monday-Friday 18 holes, Saturday 9 holes and a bucket, sunday a lesson and 9.

2. Get my handicap from ~20-10.  I'd love to improve as fast as possible and I'll do whatever to do so.

3. Break 40 in a 9 hole round.

[joepro23]

2012 goals:

1) Post more on TST during the golf season. -  I have a bad habit of forgetting about this site while I am actually golfing in the summer. I always turn here in the late fall/winter, but I shouldn't wait until the season is over.

2) Get back into competitive golf . - Been 3+ years since a college tourney and/or serious amateur event. I am looking to play in 1 or 2 amateur tourneys next summer. Some competition might spark interest in working on my game.

3) Break 70. - Came close again in 2011, shooting 70 on the nose, but the sub-70 round has been elusive since I last did so back in '04. My tricky home course doesn't help, but I know it is very doable because I have all the tools.

4) Regain consistency in my scoring. - Back in college I once played an entire spring season (14 rounds) with scores between 74 and 78. I always showed up. If the putts fell, I shot 74...if they didn't, worst was a 77 or 78. Now, I can shoot 72 or 85. It doesn't help that I play less now and have less reps, but I know I can control those bad rounds and keep them at least in the high 70s with some discipline and focus.

5) Practice short game. I have more demands on my time now, but I always make room for golf. When I do go to the course, I should spend some more time on my short game. My inconsistency in 2011 was almost always due to short game shots. Some days I made every putt I looked at, others I had a few 3-putts and couldn't touch the hole on a 4-footer. Chipping was the same story.

[DarkPrince]

1: Get my consistency back

2: Get into better shape

3: Get to below a 5 HCI/as close to scratch as possible.

4: Play other courses more often to test whether its home course knowledge or my game improving.

5: Hit at least half my fairways and at least 1/3 of my GIR

6: Work on my putting stroke to make it a consistent smooth stroke.

I guess I have more, but I think it's probably not good to have too many goals to distract myself lol.

[etomford]

I have several goals for 2012:

1) Break 100, I have come close this year and after shooting 100 and 101 in the middle of the summer I though for sure rounds in the 90s would be possible this fall. Well I was wrong. So breaking 100 is my first and most important goal.

2) I played a lot of courses this year, and I think that is why I didnt break 100, its hard to post a best score on a course you've never played before. So I am going to pick a home course as well. I still want to play some new courses but I need a home course.

3) In lue of goal two, I also want to take at least one golf trip with my buddies. Maybe Cog Hill in Chicago or a Northern Michigan trip. Who knows but I am getting married in March, I hope I can still find time for my golf buddies.

4) Practice this winter and practice hard. I dont want to forget all the progress I have made this year and also I am golfing in Key West for my honeymoon in March, and I dont want to be rusty for that!

5) To get mentally tough. If I had a bad hole I would beat myself up over it and this would effect the next hole. I have to find a way to stop doing that.

6) Quit beating myself up over scores. I was so set and focused on breaking 100 that for a while I lost track of the progress I have made. When i first started golfing this year I was shooting 120s and now I am usually under 110. So droping 10 or more strokes in a summer is pretty good.

7) This is probably my most important goal. To stay out of the golf store. This year I redid my whole bag. Driver, irons, wedges, putter, woods and hybrids. Hell I even got a new bag. And I have discovered that I am an equiptment *****, I LOVE golf equiptment. This year I need to leave my bag alone and just play golf! Wish me luck on that one guys!

[GJBenn85]

1) Break 80, but this is assuming I achieve my 2011 goal of breaking 90.

2) Improve consistency.  Golf pros/teachers that watch me at the range say I have a good swing, think my biggest problem is thinking too much.

3) Learn to better control the mental aspect of the game.  One blowup hole will ruin my round.

4) Learn how to actually hit my driver and 3w consistently and accurately with distance.  Not a problem playing a 2h off the tee, I can generally hit it further than the typical amateur with a driver or 3w but I hate having clubs I cannot use.

5) Play more often but this will be difficult since I'm still in school.

6) Meet more people to play with...need some variety, playing with the same person every round becomes boring.

7) Take a golf trip or two.

8) Stop being an equipment junkie.

[Teamanglerx]

1) Get into better shape.  Last Nov. I weighed 292lbs and now I weigh 262lbs.  I want to get down under 240.  The weight loss will help with my conditioning for golf.

2) Break 100.  This year I started in the 140's.  The last round I played was a 113 so I am getting there.

3) Work on my mental game, be more relaxed on the course.  The mental game was what was causing me problems (lack of focus, getting frustrated to easy, rushing shots).

4) Get better with the driver.  I want to average 240 yards.

[SVTGolfer]

A second Club Championship would be nice!

[DaSportsGuy]

1) Get Handicap down to 9.0 or better

2) Play all public courses within 30 minutes from my house
3) Hit 45% of fairways
4) Hit 25% of GIR
5) Win a tournament

6) Have a 9 hole scoring average of 42 or better
7) Have an 18 hole scoring average of 83 or better

8) Break 80 for the first time

9) Shoot par for 9 holes for the first time

10) I need to find consistency. I'm sick of being so inconsistent off the tee and not being able to repeat my swing.

[sportsnut]

Just started golf in July at 61 years old so I'll keep my goals basic and few:

1- Break 100, came close and was forced to stop in my low 100's

2- Focus more on proper swing mechanics and consistency instead of trying to kill the ball with a mighty swing (really hate that this one still plagues me)

3- Play once a week, practice once a week and be better at taking my lessons and practice to the course.

[FowlPlay]

My goal next year is to:

a) Get my swing to where I know what my shot is gonna look like (not necessarily down to the exact yardage and target).

b) Score a birdie.

c) Get into the 90s.

[deasy55]

2012 Main Goal:

Stop the recent trend of getting worse year on year

[saevel25]

Full Swing

1 - Work on keeping the head stiller, my head keeps dropping a bit down and back in the downswing, just a bit

2 - Work on ball position, i keep loosing it back in my stance, though i think its more towards center or forward of center.

3 - Work on maintaining wrist angle in the downswing longer, i am still casting slightly

4 - Work on getting the clubhead a bit more outside of the hands. I can get it stuck especially with the driver

Other than that, the rotation is good, the hip slide is excellent, and contact is solid, the swing is very close

Short Game

1 - develop touch, i have a hard time with 70 yards an in. I have a very aggressive move into the ball and its hard to hit finesse shots. I think this is due also that i overswang the club for the past 10+ years, so my 3/4 is a full swing, so if i wanted to hit a half swing i need to think 1/4, and that is tough to do

Thats about it, i am planning on getting and staying into single digits next year, im pretty excited about it.

[MbolicGolf]

Break 80

Don't piss off the wife.

[Yukari]

*  Shooting at least 1/2 the rounds played in 70's.

*  No more than one worse than a bogey per 9.

*  Lowering HC to 5 or better.

*  Concentrating on each and every shot during a round.

[Higgins1991]

• Break 100 more often. Managed to break 100 three times during the summer and was pretty happy about it. The lowest I shot was 94, extremely happy about that given I started the game properly in the autumn of 2010.
• Become better at course management. Too many times I've gone into a shot knowing in the back of my mind I should be playing a different club/different type of shot.
• Get more Birdies. Only managed a few this year, hopefully that's the start of many more to come :)
• Practice more often, both short and long game.
• Be in better shape, not only fitter but hopefully gain some muscle to hit the damn thing longer!

[lugonza_2001]

1. Shoot in the mid 80s regularly (This ayer avg. 92, lowest 84).

2. Get a technically better swing

3. Get some more swingspeed (with my 3 wood i only get 95-97 mph).

[Hacker Hob]

Only began playing in Sep 2011, so alot of scope for improvement, narrowed down to these primary objectives.

1. Shoot under 100

2. Play a round without a drop

3. 36 putts or better in a round.

[chenwood]

Practice at the range, practice putting/chipping once a week.  Video review my swing from the range.

Play twice a week.

Shoot low 80s

I've gotten a ton of help from this site this year and turned my game around very fast after many years of bad habits.  Thanks to everyone here.