Season Goals and what you are doing to get there

[gnorris74]

I'm just wondering what everyones season goals are as another season gets underway and what you are doing to get to that goal? As for me my plan is to break 100 for the first time and I am putting in 2-3 days a week at the range and playing every opportunity I get. so what are you guy's doing?

[MS256]

My goal is to finally join the rest of the golfing world and come up with one swing (instead of the hundred different swings I use now) that more closely resembles an actual golf swing...And to somehow pull it off without my scores going up any.

Ain't going to be easy!!!

[LuciusWooding]

My goal my last 2 seasons was to explore the game a bit and try to evaluate my potential and get better than some of my playing partners who were essentially beginners as well. This season I'm much more committed and I've decided to try and play and practice a lot more. Being able to play or practice several days a week has given me a chance to develop my swing a million times better than playing a couple times a month on and off, and take a lot less time to groove it on a given day. Even over the course of about 6 weeks, I've noticed a huge difference. It's almost as if I don't need to rebuild the metaphorical sandcastle that is my swing every time I roll onto the course.

So obviously no matter what I do, playing more has got to be a part of it, since it's necessary for improvement. I have a pretty good idea of the level of play I want to reach; a handicap number or scoring benchmark is not meaningful to me as long as I have the shots and the feeling of aptitude and comfort on the course. If I had to pick a number, I'd say nothing short of about a 6 handicap would satisfy me, and getting to +2 wouldn't surprise me. Certainly I should have at least one fluke round in the 60s by year's end. How do I go about this, you ask?

I plan on investing 300$ next week in a range membership at the local grass range. Unlimited balls from now until December, with the grass section closing in October or so. Plus the course is pretty nice and not too expensive, and I get a discount on rounds and pro shop purchases. I want to try and make them go broke off this deal; such will be the extent of my practicing. I can go over any day after work and hit 200 balls or more off grass without having to pay, and I get 330 yards to play with. I also get an electronic key to the ball machine, which saves me having to hassle the guys for tokens, and I have the course pro within arm's reach as well. Any time of the day or night. If I want to hit, say, 600 balls one day, I don't have to pay 70 bucks and make them empty out the machine to get enough tokens. And if I feel like playing a quick round, it's right there. If I want to hit half wedge shots I don't feel like I wasted money not working on my long game, either. Convenient, unlimited, and really quality practice. The course is over a 130 slope from the back tees, 6600+ yards, and par 70, with a couple really tough holes to test my game.

So I'll try to hit around 10-15,000 balls by the end of the season. We'll see how far that gets me in terms of improvement. This is practice I can't wait to begin, since I never get to practice hitting real golf shots much. That's both a goal and a means of reaching my eventual larger goals. I expect to achieve the following vague goals as a result of all the practice:

-Rock solid ballstriking. Eliminate the mishit shot down to less than one per round, particularly off the tee. Be considered a great irons player and able to get great position on any hole.

-Good trajectory and spin control, knowing how to vary both off a grass lie. Be able to really finesse my approach shots.

-I want my setup and fundamentals to be carved into the inside of my skull, or, failing that, really well memorized.

[gnorris74]

That sounds like true dedication there.