What Are Your 2015 Golf Goals? Official Thread

[RolfeDawg88]

I wasn't able to play that much at all last year and my game suffered horribly as you could imagine. This year my goals are quite simple...

1. Play/practice atleast one time a week

2. Get my feel around the green back

3. Shoot in the 70s consistently again

Since I started playing again I have been playing/practicing once a week and my feel is "improving slightly". I have a feeling number 3 might take a bit but I'm hell-bent on achieving it!

[joekelly]

Same as last year.  Move from HI 20  to 15.

Decades of poor habits to eliminate, new techniques to acquire, practice correctly for many hours to gain skill, fork out the money to practice and play, play 2/3 times per week, keep up overall body fitness without the soreness and stiffness which trot along with fitness but wreck the golf, find time for girl friend, eliminate poor consumption habits (bad food and alcohol, rarely a few joints), ...and most importantly, keep in mind that's golf is only a game to be enjoyed.

I've got  better clubs now, new irons very nice and the  driver  is treating me well.  Expectations high for 2015, and results are in the bag, if stock market does not crash and my dividend income does not dry up. And of course, body holds up.  Gotta keep working the glutes,  ya' know.

[treebound]

2015 goals: 1. Further upgrading/upgrading club selection now that my bag is basically conforming (one plan I had in 2014 was to update my clubs) 2. Figure out my actual distances for each club (I’d like to get a laser rangefinder this year, which will help with this goal) 3. play more golf than I did in 2014 4. improve my consistency via focused practice instead of just “hitting a bucket of balls at the range”. 5. improve my swing and hitting distances. I feel that this needs to come after and also along with #4. 6. establish my official handicap.  Even though I have a USGA handicap now, it is based on one round of golf so I don’t really consider it as “established”.

5a. Get my current 5 iron consistently to at least 180 yards as lo g as it is under control. I was watching someone today at a Ping demo day at a local store and his easy swinging 5 iron was going 210+ on the monitor and he said it usually goes 200 on the course, so I'm standing there thinking if that is a 200 yard swing then 180 has to be within my reach, so that is my measurable amended goal for 2015.

[BuckeyeNut]

So far a total failure. I just paid my dues for league last week and everyone 9.9 or lower required to play championship flight so I need to get the lead out.

Wow...that's high for being the "A"player.   That translates to a course HC of 12 on most courses.

[sjduffers]

My goals for 2015 are:

1) Get the index under 8.0 and stay at least below 9.0 for at least a couple of months.

2) Shoot 10 rounds in the 70s

3) Shoot a personal best (currently 77) on a par 70 or higher course, meaning 76 or better.

4) Get the GIR to 45%

5) Get the putts to 30 putts per round on average with less than 5.6% of 3-putt (i.e. less than one per 18 holes on average)

6) Have a personal best putting round at 25 putts or less (probably scrambling quite a bit).  My current best is 27 which I reached several times last year and already once this year.

So, the goals are set, the first steps are already under way.  The key is goal #4. If it is met, the rest, except the putting goals, will probably take care of themselves.  Also, I will re-read and apply the principles in LSW more (work on the higher SV skills, be more precise with the game management concepts).

I thought I'd give an update on the goals above.

1) The index is about to go in the single digits at 9.8

2) I already have 3 rounds in the 70s so far this year.  10 by the end of the year is still doable.

3) I did shoot the personal best, with a 75 (par 72), just today

4) The GIR% is at just under 30% right now, but on today's PB score, it was 11 greens or 61%, also a PB, and generally trending up.

5) The putting average had been just over 31, but has crept back up a bit, at just over 32. I did have the 3-putt percentage at 5.6% (1 3-putt per 18 holes) for a couple of weeks, but it has crept back up to 6.9% lately

6) I did reach a personal best putting round, but it was 26 putts, not 25... yet.

I am finishing my series of lessons at GolfTEC next week and it has really helped me, in particular with the irons, so I feel confident that I am on the right track to meet the rest of this year's goals.

[TreyWingbat]

Break 75.

Well, I shot 76 on my last 18 holes today.  I played 27, all 3 different 9's, and shot 41-40-36... does that count as getting close to breaking 75?  I think it should.  My one buddy made the point that you need to warm up and the pros get to do so at the range, while most of us don't before playing.

But the last 9 was nice... 3 birdies, including a little chip in on the 27th hole!

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

I'm determined to break 80 this year.

[krupa]

As this is the start of my 3rd season, my goals are very simple:

1.  Improve my swing

2.  Learn to use all the clubs in my bag.  By the end of last season, I was doing all right with my 5I - LW.  I couldn't hit hybrids, 3 wood or driver without horrible results.

3.  Get to the point where I'm willing to keep score.  By the end of last season I saw some encouraging improvement.  I made a couple solid bogeys on par 4's by using 5I - 5I - wedge, putt, putt.

So, how to get there:

1.  Take some lessons.  I wasn't thrilled with the instructors I tried last season.  There are only a few around here so I'm not sure what else to do, short of driving over to Erie (something I haven't ruled out.)

2.  I just ordered the 5SK dvds and will work with that

3.  Spend more time at the practice range than on the course.

I have already been working on slowing down my practice time at the range and focusing on small parts of the swing.  Yesterday some guys in front of me bought bigger buckets than I did but they were long gone when I still had 10-20 balls left.

I have been working on my swing at the range and home.  Played a 9-hole round a couple weeks ago and 18 this weekend.  I didn't keep score playing 9 holes but was encouraged to keep score going forward.  Played 18 with my friend and carded 111.  Not great, but in 27 holes, I haven't lost a ball which is a record unto itself.

Now I'm wondering if I could break 100 this year...

[onkey]

1. Get my handicap to single digits, even if it's only fleeting.

2. Avoid my yearly slump where I completely forget how to play the game.

3. Beat my brother in the majority of our matches (30 years of getting it handed to me is enough)

I plan on reaching these goals by becoming a better student of the game.  I'm going to spend more time learning my own abilities and limitations to cut down on the number of stupid things I do on the course.  I also intend to gain a better understanding of the physics of golf so I can develop potential improvements.

Getting there...

#1: my handicap is currently at 9.7

#3: I (handily) won the first match against my brother this year

[Lugnut]

goals for the year

since i just broke the 80's  with my first 89 round

I am setting my Goal High

I plan to be in the low 80's avg

my long term goal is to play professional golf

[PingDB]

1. Get back in to playing golf

2. Practice regularly

3. shoot in the 80's

4. Play the ball consistently

5. Get in 2-3 rounds a month would be a good start.....

[Lihu]

[QUOTE name="Lihu" url="/t/78146/what-are-your-2015-golf-goals-official-thread/54#post_1092909"]   [QUOTE name="Lihu" url="/t/78146/what-are-your-2015-golf-goals-official-thread#post_1075168"]   1) Getting key 2 with a full swing, sans injury. 2) Hope to get to 2 keys this year. 3) Start working on "ball striking". 4) Practice my short game 35% of the time I plan to practice. 5) Spend a lot more time actually playing golf. [/QUOTE] Amending this. Get past the first three chapters in LSW. I no longer have the haphazard wrist loading phenomenon, so it makes sense to plan my rounds at this point. Previously, I might have one week or month where I hit one distance and another would be yet another distance. At this point, it seems like I am swinging pretty much as fast as I can, and my wrists are loading the shafts as nearly the same way as I can every time. Get both of the first two keys to an acceptable level, and start working on key 3 then work from item 3 and on. My short game is pretty terrible at this point. I have no "feel" as to how far I need to hit. The pitches, bunker shots and putts are much smoother and easier, but I need to spend at least a month of playing to get a feel for their distances. I don't mishit any of the short game shots, but have no idea how much to put behind any shot. Ball striking is my bane. I hit too thin at this point. I think I need to aim down into the ground more after the ball. I get no spin to speak of either, probably because I am sweeping the ball more than striking down. I hope to be playing some decent golf before the end of the year. [/QUOTE] Another amendment: Get used to my new swing to be able to start working on my priorities again, get the club head behind my hands at A3. The only thing I am actively working on is the " slow and syrupy " back swing and the start of the downswing. This seems to help with the other items anyway, but this is the only " active " feeling.

I don't really have a goal. Maybe get my average score lower by 2 strokes? That may be too hard? Enjoy playing more, but I've met that one. Improve my game some more?

[Big Lex]

Get handicap index below 7.  Currently at 8.8.

What I really want is to break 80 more often.  Instead of once or twice a season, to do it every second or third time I play.

All the pieces seem to be there, I just haven't been able to get them all together often enough.

[32quattro]

-Don't get stupid injuries due to lack of warm up prior a round

-win the Cup at my club

-improve my wife swing

[bm85]

1. Stop 3 putting.

2. Score more birdies.

3. Beat anyone and everyone I play with.

4. Not care too much if I don't do any of these things.

5. Stay healthy to enjoy this wonderful game.

[VOX]

My dream has always been to be able to play golf like Tiger Woods. And now I do...

[David L Yskes]

Well i hit one of my goals yesterday.........

Played a full 18 holes and didnt lose a ball !! first time i've ever done that    came close on two shots but found them lol.

And on top of it i was playing a new ball too  ( maxfli soft )   which for the $$ is pretty damn good

[Patch]

My goal is to develop a left handed game. Been at for a few weeks. So far so good. I see some improvement every week.  I still play most of my rounds right handed, but I try to play left handed at least once a week.