A goal for myself. Is it realistic?

[cornish]

Hi all. I currently play off 13 and have been stuck there for a few years (not had chance to play in competitions to reduce handicap) I want to set myself a goal for 2012 of getting down to a 4 handicap or less. Does this seem realistic? Or is it a far off goal to work towards. I have been playing golf since I was 13 and showed a lot of promise in the junior game but found beer and women which led to me giving up for years. I have played a few rounds to 4 over and 6 over. Any advice guys or do you think I'm being a dreamer?

[jshots]

I imagine that you could probably do it speaking from personal experience, depending on how much you can play. This summer I went from a 13 down to 9 (actually 8.6 but who is counting ) but my ultimate goal was to shoot 5 over or better which I achieved. I too was stuck at a 13 through all of high school and in the 3 years since. I only got to play this summer A LOT between early July and mid August when I went back to school. I always get the bug to start playing in April (though I have it now in december :\) and I imagine if I had been able to play as much as I did later on in the summer in April/May/June I would've made huge strides in my game this summer. Around the time I had to stop playing I had just found something awesome with my Iron play, and was hitting 9-14 GIR in most of my rounds and felt as though I was headed even lower than a 9 with ease.

The point is I have no doubt that I could've gotten down to a 6 or even lower if I had just had another few weeks or months to really play A LOT. I got very consistent with my Irons and it is a great feeling, but I put in a ton of work. I was on here every day reading (which is very helpful btw), getting feedback on my swing, and trying new things and I was out on the course 5 days a week playing or practicing for a solid month and a half.

AND I enjoyed every minute of it... which is certainly not to be underestimated

[TourSpoon]

Your first goal needs to be to get down to single digit with your long term goal as a four. With a little work single digit is within grasp.  Once you get there you should reevaluate what you need to go farther. Is it realistic? Yes, but you need a game plan and some serious practice to get there and probably a little more time than a year. Good luck!

[johnclayton1982]

It totally depends on your game.  If you are hitting 12 greens but putting 42 times a round, then you probably can and pretty easily.  If you don't have one facet of your game that is much worse than everything else, then probably not.

[The_Pharaoh]

It won't be easy, but it is possible.

Let us know your 2011 stats (GIR, FIR, Putts per Round etc.), your current practice regime and how often you are going to play in 2012. Once we know that we'll be able to let you know if you are on the right track or need to make some changes in order to reach your goal.