Your Goals for 2007: Official Results Thread

[iacas]

The original thread is here: Your Goals for 2007 .

In this thread, please link to your thread in that post and state whether you achieved your goals or not along with any other commentary. Please, let's not litter this thread with off-topic comments about what driver someone is using, how exactly they eliminated their big slice, etc. Let's just keep it clean.

[trutrojan8]

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthr...6082#post56082

Yep, going about 20 or 30 rounds this summer, on a par 32 course I shot a 39 with one birdy, and no doubles. I know it probably doesnt count to some of you, but I'm still happy :)

[kfowler]

I don't have a post to link to but I'll tell you what me goals were and how they turned out. After hacking at the ball for 25+ years I finally got serious and started taking regular lessons in June. My goal was to make more consistent contact and actually learn how to the play the game. I probably averaged 100-105 strokes at the start of the summer. After my initial several lessons, my scores jumped to 110+ for June and early July. This was pretty frustrating even though I was told this may happen. Some corrections make other problems worse. Since that time my stokes have dropped to where I'm shooting in the low 90's and even shot an 88.

Major items I've learned:
- How to maintain angle
- How to stay on plane
- How to release
- How to hit a driver without a banana slice

Winter goals:
- Putting, putting and more putting
- Chipping

All and all a great summer.

[iacas]

My goals for 2007 were :

Practice More - I actually practiced less. I've always preferred to play rather than practice, but this year a few things made it difficult for me to practice more. For one, I joined a course with absolutely no range and an unusable (at the time) practice (putting) green. So, when I would drive to Lake View 30 minutes, I'd often not want to practice for an hour just to drive back home. I'd usually rather play 9 or 18, then drive home. Much easier to justify the 30-minute drive. This will remain a goal for me in 2008, however, though I hope Whispering Woods opens their driving range relatively early because Lake View just tore up 75% of theirs! Fail.

Reduce Handicap Index to 2.9 or Lower - I got down to 2.6 at one point this year, and I have a good idea what I need to do next year. I would have been able to go much lower if I had a short game practice area or the ability to practice my short game. Pass.

Mentally Commit to Every Shot - I improved in this category, but 100% commitment isn't a realistic goal. I believe I placed an adequate amount of focus this year, but I had two sloppy stretches where my pre-shot routine was out of whack. If I keep trending at the same pace towards doing this more and more, I should be able to drop half a shot per round next year based just on this. Pass.

Eliminate the "Bad Shot." - My swing is much simpler now. I no longer worry about moving off the ball - I stay pretty much on top of it and hit the ball with rotation rather than shifting (sliding) weight. This has largely eliminated the bad shot. I still hit a few - everyone does, including Tiger - but nowhere near one or two per round like I would before. Pass.

Work on the Short Game - Nope. Lake View had promised such an area but ran out of money, and Whispering Woods has promised one, too, but has not yet built anything of the sort. So, after early April, I find it hard to find opportunities to practice shots from 100 yards and in. I putted when I could, but that's only a part of the short game. Fail.

Improve My Lag - I believe that my technique is a little better, and it turns out I didn't quite need to improve my lag as much as I believed I did. Regardless, I did "improve" my lag, and my distances are a bit longer than last year, so I'll call this a win. Pass.

One Round in the 60s - Nope. I had a lot of rounds near par, but just never rode the horse to a sub-par round. The fact that I played a lot more at Whispering Woods this year than Lake View has a lot to do with it too - WW can nab you in a hurry and is, at the very least, a new course. I shot a front-nine 33 with four birdies at one course, though, so I know that I have the capability to go low. Still, since it's such a hard and fast goal, I didn't meet it. Fail.

Some Stats
Score: 76. I averaged just under 76 at Lake View, but just over 77 for the year, primarily because Whispering Woods is several shots harder than Lake View. So, since I was planning on a full year at Lake View, I call this a Pass.
FWY: 60%. I only hit 50% this year, despite Whispering Woods' wider fairways. 60% at Lake View is practically a pipe dream, but I like setting my goals high. Fail.
GIR: 60%. I got to 45% for the year, which isn't too bad. I don't include hitting the fringe, after all, and I'd probably be close to 60% if those shots were included. Still, another high goal I didn't meet. Fail.
Total Putts: 30. Currently 29.62, so Pass.
PPGIR: 1.8. Apparently that's a pretty hard goal! I got to 1.87 for the year, which isn't bad. But it's not 1.8. Fail.
PPMGIR: 1.4. I averaged 1.46, which means I only get up and down about half the time. Still, next year I want to get to 1.35 perhaps. Fail.
Overall "stats" grade: Fail.

Overall, then, I was 4/8. Not bad, not great. My handicap was a full shot or two lower than last year's, though, and at this level that's tough. So, on the whole, I had a pretty good year.

[i-Guy]

My goal for 2007 was to become a better ball striker as follows:

1) Make consistent contact with the ball (center of face)
2) Proper divot
3) Proper trajectory (no ballooning)
4) All for more consistency in hitting the ball where I want to

PASS - I know ball striking to this extent is something you will always be working on and tweaking, but I say "pass" because I finally found a coach, made a commitment and have been working with her (LPGA Teaching Pro) for about a month now and feel like I am heading in the right direction (goals above).

[Rynofskie]

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?p=80332#220

My 2007 Results:

1) Consistently score in the 80s: I'm going to have to say I didn't complete this one. I played a lot of golf, but mostly only 9 holes at a time. I did shoot a low score of 87 this season which I count as a victory. (Technically, I still have time to improve this, thanks to milder climates in the South.) Although I failed to score in the 80s consistently, my game was teetering on the edge with a lot of scores in the 90s and 91s this year.

2) Breaking my personal best of 82 by springtime: Since springtime is technically next year, I won't count this goal at all. I will however re-list it as a goal in the 2008 Goals thread when it opens.

3) Cure my slice: I'm still working on this one. I have tamed in down quite a bit from the high, rocketing banana it once was. But it's not cured. I failed here. Mostly in part to my own discipline. I didn't hit the range often enough.

Overall, I'd say I didn't do very well in meeting my goals. Although, I am coming off a 6 year break from golf, and I didn't start playing until June this year, so my goals may have been a little too aggressive.

Bonus) I did manage to improve my short game immensely from 2001, which was the worst aspect of my game previsouly. My putting, short irons, and wedges are much better than before.

[lamebums]

My goals are stretched out over several posts and changed as the year went on, mainly because I'd fixed most of them quickly and moved onto something else. Went from a total hack to about a 12-15 (depending on how good I'm playing that week) and been consistently in the mid to high 80's (slope 137 and 143). So I'm going to try and condense them all into one place

Early in the year (March-May):
Learn how to use a wedge properly. Went from two to four wedges, found out that bounce is a disaster for me, and spent a lot of time practicing chipping. Finally got on the ball the last month or so and got everything together. I can do just about anything around the green now with a 7 iron on down to the lob wedge. Sand play is excellent (lack of sand saves is a putting problem more than anything else). Still chili-dip the 60 every so often when trying to pull off a really high lob shot, but all in all I'd say I passed.

Eliminate the gopher burner. I had a lot of problems with hitting my irons thin, and the 3 wood would sometimes be a low screamer that never comes more than four feet off the ground. Fixed it by shortening my swing, especially with irons. Passed.

Stop losing balls. Did this a few times - played 36 holes with one ball at one point. Occasionally I'll play 18 without losing one. No consistency, though. Either I scuff it up (in which case I don't mind retiring it) or I put it a mile into the woods. Failed.

Hit 300 yard drives. At least I'm in the shape that I can get enough club speed to get one out there. If I murder a ball, yeah, I can get it 300. Lately I'm trading distance for keeping the ball in play, though. So I guess it's a pass, but it's not really as relevant anymore.


Middle of the year (June - August):
Practice more. When it was $7.50 for a cart fee for nine holes (free if walking) as a member and $9 for a large bucket of balls, well, doesn't take a genius to say I'd rather be on the course. So that's a fail I guess, but I end up practicing on the course with real shots. Sometimes I get a free small bucket at the course since I know the guys there pretty well by now.

Stop three and four putting. Remarkably simple solution - lengthen the putter by two inches (37''). Still a couple three putts per round but no four putts (and no five putts like in my club championship). Passed.

Stop hitting everything off the toe. Don't know what happened but from the first of June or so I started hitting everything off the toe on a full shot, and I lost ~30 percent of my distance no matter what I did. Didn't figure this one out until a few weeks ago when I experimented with the No-Backswing Swing (which really just stopped me at parallel, instead of going way past). Passed. Stopped those thins, as well. Went from a picker to a slight digger.

Stop blowup holes. If I've got a big number it's because either I've got a lot of duck-hooks off the tee and penalty strokes adding up, or a big blowup hole (sometimes the duck-hooks and blowup hole are related). I got a nice 21 on a hole, as well as a 15 and two 14's. Utter fail.

Late year (August-present): With the weather winding down (there is probably one nice weekend left until winter starts setting in) I'm declaring either victory or loss on my goals by now.

Under 10 handicap. Pretty hard to keep track of when you don't have an official handicap, but some number crunching led me to believe I'm in the 12-15 range. I'd have to shoot a few rounds around 84 and consistently in order to get to a 10. I've got the game to shoot par or better but I just can't execute. Or I can't hold it together for 18 holes. Failed.

Shoot under 80. 81. Failed.

Improve driving accuracy. Definitely did that. I went from hitting 3-5 fairways to 7-9 and when I miss it usually just means I trickled off into the rough. Passed.



As far as my initial goals this year, I'd say I passed with flying colors. I went far and above what I'd expected - I would have been happy to shoot 95 this year, but instead I was staring 79 in the face. I kept setting new goals so invariably I'd fail somewhere, but overall it's been a good year.

Preliminary goals for 2008 are to get official stats, handicap, etc. so this stuff is easier. I'm also looking at not losing so many balls, avoiding big numbers and figuring out how to work the ball better. And I'd like to be a 5 by the end of 2008. (Assuming the worst-case scenario of my being a 15 handicap, I'd drop ten shots. It's a long shot but possible - I could probably drop 8 from bad putts and at least 4 or 5 from lost balls/blowup holes).

[golf_junkie27]

My goals for 2007 are somewhat different but I managed to keep most of them.

1) Practice correctly-I have developed a routine, not sure how many others do the same, where I take five or six different course layouts with me to the range. I then practice as though I am actually playing a round. Additionally, I stick to alignment routine on all shots, especially putts. If you don't practice like you play, then you're wasting your time. At least, that's the motto that I follow.

2) Always walk-The only time I veer from this is when the course demands that you take a cart. There are two or three courses that will not let you walk. (For safety reasons) This practice has actually helped my game. Most of the guys I play with ride, so there is no one that will talk to me and say "That was a nice shot" when, in actuality, it was a dog. I also get any anger or frustration out during that walk and can calm myself down. This time also allows to me to focus on my next shot, on what I want to do, how to execute. In short, walking has calmed me down and made it easier to relax.

3) Don't play with "mulligans"-I've played with people that say "I'm just going to hit another one." My thought process is always the same "Why?" If you're not going to count that shot, why take it? It only delays the round and is both rude and an inconvenience to the groups behind you and your playing partners.

4) Play smart golf-In other words, play to score. Part of my initial problem was trying to emulate what I saw on TV. BIG MISTAKE. I had no concept about equipment, balls, swing speed and most importantly, alignment. A four hour fitting helped me understand this and drastically improved my game. In turn, I learned to stay within myself, not to try stupid things, (at least not on the course) This eliminated unnecessary strokes from my game and built my confidence. It also forced me to stay within myself and actually slowed my tempo. (Which was a good thing)

5) Thank the people that helped me in 2007-Christmas is coming. There will be boxes of balls, some gloves, wraps and maybe a club or two going out this holiday season.

[NM Golf]

My original post here

I think I recapped already but my stats were off a little due to my own poor statkeeping abilities. Erik, hurry up with that windows version of your scorecard program. My Excel sheet I use sucks! I think I have them pretty accurate now so here goes:

Scoring average below 75
Well with 59 rounds (I missed a couple here and there) on the books my scoring average for the year came in at 73.78. It surprised me it was that low but I finished the summer with a streak of low scores including 5 of 6 tournament scores at par or below. PASS

Win the Club Championship
I won the club championship by 7 shots this year. I was the only person underpar for the tournament. PASS

In Contention at other courses
Better in this category. I placed for the first time at an out of town tournament that draws all the best players from around the state. I generally shot scores around my stroke average no matter where I played. I still have work to do in this department though as I need to push myself outside my comfort zone and play more big tournaments away from my home course as opposed to club events predominantly. PASS

Driver in control
Maybe my most improved part of my game. I have seen my driver finally turn from a weakness in my game to a strength. This has been helped as of late by the addition of my new Taylormade driver. Still there is always work to do. PASS

Continue with my work ethic but practice smarter
I had times where I practiced smarter but on the whole I still had the tendency to want to beat balls and hit driver rather than practice the short game. If I had done this I would have played even better this year. FAIL

[WhiteSoxFan]

I never posted in the original thread. I have played off and on for the past ~19 years, and this is the first year I've really gotten serious. I retired from playing competitive soccer, joined my company golf league, and I'm playing as much as possible.

I wanted to finish in the top half of the league. We finished 6th out of 16 teams, so I was pretty happy with that.

I lowered my handicap from a 25.4 to a 19.7. I obviously want to continue lowering this, but I'm pretty happy with the progress.

Before this year I was happy to shoot below 100. I have fairly consistently been in the low to mid 90's the past couple of months, and I shot my alltime best 88 on a fairly difficult course about a month ago.

I have established a fairly consistent practice routine (mostly on my lunch hour), and it has shown results in all areas, especially putting.

The year isn't over for me yet, but I'm already looking fwd. to next season.

[Jeepthrills]

Overall I had one of my best years on the course. I played more than in previous seasons and was more consistent. However, my goals were a mixed bag.

League Goals:
Defend our title: My wife and I both had very good years scoring wise, but it didn't equate to wins. Giving too many strokes each week.

Low men's average: I beat my next closest by 2.8 strokes.

Season average below 40: This sounds tougher than it is. We play a short course in this league. The par is 31. Even with a blow up round on the last day I ended up at 39.2. Prior to that I was at 38.6

Overall Goals
Handicap Below 15.0: Got down to 16.9 but stalled there.

Break 40 on back 9 at White Lake Oaks: Add 3 more 40's now for a total of 8.

Practice: This will be the major influence on all of the above goals. Once again this year I got virtually none. I know this is my biggest obstacle.

Play golf with my kids more: We got out a few times, but not enough.

Play in my first tournament: I can't commit to this until I can figure out the work thing. Right now my schedule is too overbearing. Unless the job status changes it will likely be more of the same in 2008.

[allin]

1. Work hard on flexibility. Fail, back miseries.
2. Focus on shot not swing mechanics on course. Fail
3. Spend more of practice time ingraining feel. Pass
4. Average 32 putts. Avg. 33.2 Pass I think 32 was a little to ambitious.
5. 50% fairways Pass, 54%
6. 4 GIR Pass averaged 5.2 I made par on 96% of my GIR, my best stat.

Next year I would like to improve these areas plus work more on rythym, and get a little stronger, #2 is the hardest. I hope focusing on rythym and feel in my pre shot routine instead of trying to not be mechanical will work better.

[Shindig]

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showpos...8&postcount;=47

My original post:

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.

Kept playing when I could, yes. Improved putting? Went from high 30s to mid 30s.

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).

Gym and golf exercises happening, yes.

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.

New goal for 2008: be more specific in my goal listing for the year.

I later added:

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

I hit about one par-3 GIR every round. Also, all my regulation-course birdies so far have come on par-3s.

[Norm66]

I thought I'd posted to the original thread, but couldn't find it so I'll have to rely on memory.

1) Break 90 at least semi-regularly. Pass, my best score was an 84 (this past Monday) and I've had 87, and numerous 89s. This was a goal I set to allow myself to buy some new irons. Time to start shopping!

2) Decrease the amount of "wasted shots". When I set this goal, any shot that didn't go more or less down-range even if it was short, thin or whatever was counted as wasted. The better I get though, the tougher I am about considering shots wasted. Still, by my original definition, my number of wasted shots is way down. Pass.

3) Putt better, try to get my average below 36. I'm better, but my average is still 36.07. Jury's still out, if I putt well on a couple rounds I may still get to my goal.

That's all I can remember. I'll be thinking about my goals for next year, maybe a handicap goal...

[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.

1. I need to track my putting better. I think I did this, but I'm not positive.

2. Did this several times. 3. Did this a few times. 4. I'm so damn close, about a half stroke short. I made good progress this year - managed a few rounds in the 80s after not breaking 90 last year. Slowly but surely... hopefully I can make good use of my time this winter and come out next spring ready to tackle a new set of goals.

[FortAsel]

I did not post on the original topic, but I had some goals for this 2007 season:

1. Putting of 29 or better : pass (actually got to make 28 putts in 4 of each 5 rounds I've played)

2. Winning at least 10 tournaments : BIG fail (only won 3 tournaments and got in 2nd place 6 times, losing with an average of 2.89 strokes)

3. Qualify for the last torunament organized by the FPF (Portugese Federation): BIG pass (actually won my league)

4. Beat my best score stableford and stroke play: BIG pass (actually I've beatten my best score in stroke play twice, scoring first 81 (Par72) and then 78 (Par72))

5. Get my handicap to at least 12: Pass (currently at 11.8)

Well, the season only end in Portugal in mid December, but, I think I've achieved most of what I wanted, so far...

[Guest]

My goal was to get to a single digit handicap. I am currently a 10.8 hdcp. I have thought about getting a custom fit set of clubs. I have never been fit before and have been told that it might take off a few strokes. I have always bought my stuff off the rack, just whatever felt best to me at the time. I live in Orlando and have seen a commercial on the Golf Channel about the TaylorMade Performance Lab. Anyone ever had a fitting done there? The commercial looked pretty cool and I checked out the website. Pretty interesting stuff with all the sensors on your body. Just not sure if it would benefit a mid handicap golfer like myself or if it benefits the pro caliber player more. Any suggestions?

[flash]

my goal is to travel to pensilvainya and take the amatur trophy home.anythings' possible