Hi Guys,

Has anybody set themselves goals for this year?

If so how are you going to achieve them?

Mine is to be a bogey golfer at the end of this season - have .2 to go.......but then need to maintain it and/or keep it falling.

Considering I only swung a club for the first time last October, I'm quite happy......plus I'm 31 year old battered ex rugby player so I'm not expecting miracles.

• Hit my Driver (Done) So now get more refined/consistant with my driver
• Have a Gentlemans Hcap
• To feel confident when turning up to a golf course and not feeling like I shouldnt be there.

The get all of these sorted I'm taking lessons, practising relly hard and learning from books, web, other players. I've even looked at your webite steve...

Blimey Steve, bit slow off the mark aren't you?  Already got over 20 rounds in this year (and that probably seems low compared to some).  Having said that my goals have already changed this year.

Hit a sub 80 round for the first time* - best so far is 85 so just need that little extra (*on a proper course).

Get the handicap to a stage where I don't have shots on par 3's.

Finish the year with a better handicap than the Perryranger! 

by the end of the year I want to see my CLUB handicap drop by 4 shots or more, and my golfshake one even more.

Apart from that, I want to see more consistency and the knowledge of walking up to a ball and instantly knowing what club to hit and how to hit it.

I set myself the target of 12 by the end of the year but seeing as I have had such a blinding start of the year, I am going to be greedy and want to get down to single figures....

Maybe thats for next year tho

Hey Tim, I don't class the season starting until after the Masters especially with the weather being so poor.

SO most of you want hcap cuts, but it's one thing saying it and another doing it. Apart from the newbies how many of you say the same thing each year and never reach your goal.

You must have a structured plan, use the stats on Golfshake. Once you have singled out a real weakness make a concerted effort to practice that one area for a month. Take a lesson, read about how you are going to improve and set yourself a structured practice regime, even if its 30 mins per week.

When you feel that area is where you want it move on to the next, but still maintain the practice on the other area so as not to slip back into bad habits.

I recommend starting with putting or the mental game as these are areas where little practice is required for maximum results.

Sorry to nag but I want everyone I help to achieve what they set out to do. Never give in

I'd like to just see a continued improvement and would be good to see handicap sub 20.  On a high at the moment and playing well and fairly often.  Even starting to practice shaping shots rather than trying to keep them straight.

My goals for this year were set out at the end of last year and are: -

• Playing handicap to 14 (effectively no shots on par 3's and I've just found out how weird that feels!)
• Break 80 (must be on a course with a par of 70 or greater)
• Play a round with a net par or better on every hole (set this for last year too and narrowly missed it a couple of times)
• Improve my consistency - no blobs on 4 cards out of 5

And new for this year: -

• Finish the year with a better handicap than Hawkins.  You started it Tim (but I'm back in the lead!)

In answer to your question Steve, my targets for 2009 were: -

• Playing handicap to 18 - achieved (just, got to 17.9)
  
• Break 85 - achieved (just, with an 84)
• Play a round with a net par or better on every hole - Failed.  Missed by just one hole on a couple of rounds

I looked at my stats and found I was missing a lot of greens.  Whilst it meant my short game improved a lot, I felt that this was due to my iron play.  So I had a few lessons and found that there were a couple of minor tweaks that could be made to really improve my consistency.  I really feel I'm starting to see the benefit of these now.  The next stops for me will be my new Dr Bob book and plenty of putting practice.

Youre not nagging Steve, its what needs to be done to get those scores down. Cant expect to play better with no effort at all!

Only a gentle rib Steve, because I enjoy the various challenges that the winter throws at me.  I've played rounds that started with frozen greens but have become really receptive as the sun warmed everything up, played in fog, rain, wind and bitter cold.  This is helping me understand courses and the way they play in different conditions, and mainly to concentrate on accuracy rather than distance and subsequently my handicap has dropped from 19.7 to 17.8 since October (and I've played some decent courses, many for the first time).

So my goal for this season is to put that into practice in the more predictable conditions.  My driving accuracy has always been pretty poor so I simply stopped using the big dog and hit 5 woods straight which has highlighted weaknesses in my mid-iron game which I can now address because I'm more confident with my swing.

My putting should be better but it's never a part of the game that has worried me - possibly misguidedly - becasue I have this ability to completely forget the last one especially if it's bad.

 

I'm trying to forget your last one too !

For the 2010 season I'm trying to get off the point 1 ladder 

My Goals for this year are:

To cut out a lot of the wasted, dopey, couldn't make in a month of Sundays shots that blight virtually every round.

To improve my putting through lessons and practicing more.

To improve my consistancy through lessons and practicing more.

To become a member of a club.

To continue to enjoy my golf.

My goals for 2010 were

• reduce my handicap to around the 11-12 mark.
• Improve my short game so I make more up & downs.
• Win a least 1 monthly medal

I said were because at the moment my game ranges from shooting a gross 79 one day to shooting a 97 the next. This is due to me fighting the shanks which I never know if there going to make an appearance or not.

So I made a decision to really work & practice hard this year by;

• having a lesson per month to iradicate any problems creeping back into my game.
• I have purchased a golf net for the back garden (sorry kids the play house is going!) so I can pop out & hit a few balls to improve my swing plane.
• I have purchased some training aids, alignment poles, weighted sleeve to go over my clubs to build muscle memory.
• Downloaded Steve's assessment form to identify my weakness areas.
• Reading the 30-second swing book (not finished with it yet Wayne!)

So I am hoping that the above will go hand in hand to a better season this year