Time to talk about 2021 golfing goals?

[tony@CIC]

In 2020 some things went well and others didn't. Given that I broke 90 about a doz and a half times with a low score of 84 and an ending index of 18.6, not too shabby for a 73 yr old coot who started playing after retirement. So I'm pretty happy with the result. What I'm less happy with was my approach to achieve my goals. It wasn't as disciplined as I would have liked and especially after reading Adam Young's book "The Practice Manual".

 

For 2021, my end goal is to consistently play in the low 80's and at least once break 80. I think I know what needs to get done, but wish I was able to capture cumulatively the shot by shot data from GHIN. I keep recommending to them that we need a way to capture the summary data by all the attributes. Can't be that difficult to log it into a spreadsheet format.

 

The things I know I need to work on but don't have the 'practice steps' laid out yet.

 

Swing speed - work to get to 90mph. SuperSpeed sticks will be an important part but so will a workout program that I'm a bit up and down on.

 

5 wood: the most inconsistent club in my bag. When I hit it well, look out. Unfortunately that doesn't happen as well as it should. Since we have a couple of long par 3's at our Clubs here in Ohio and Florida, that could take 1-2 strokes or more off my game. Lessons?

 

Putting: way too many 3 putts. If I could pull up the cumulative data, I'll bet that I was in the high 2's (2.8?) for avg. putts/hole. According to Peltz, 40% of the strokes are putts, but a club we practice the least. That's a true statement for me. My practice sessions are in order: SW, 7i, hybrid or wood and driver. Time to change that up. How? I haven't figured that out yet but I do know that if I lowered it into an avg of low 2's that would be a breakthrough.

 

So lots of thinking and work to due on a select number of clubs.

 

More to come

 

 

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[cnosil]

Working toward getting my handicap lower; back to below 5 would be ideal.  Told my instructor I wanted to average 75 for my rounds.   

Have had a long time goal of breaking 70; which I add to my list every year.  

That's it for now. 

[Kenny B]

Congratulations on meeting your 2020 goal.  Good job Tony.

It sound like you just laid out a plan to reach your 2021 goals.  Now all you have to do is implement it.  Like all of us retired coots, we have other things that get in the way of a practice regimen.  In your case, it's not having an off-season!!  When the weather is nice, we want to play golf.  Nothing wrong with that, but we have to set a schedule for our practice and stick with it.  That's the hard part.  

The trick is trying to make practice fun and something you look forward to doing.  Unfortunately, putting practice is hard to make fun when after only a few minutes of putting, the back starts hurting... at least mine does!  I would get one of your buddies, or your wife since she plays, and make a game out of the many putting drills available.  Both of you will get better!

My wife doesn't really care to practice much, but I actually enjoy it so doing it alone doesn't bother me.  I just try to focus on one thing only for each practice session.

Best of luck in the road to your 2021 goals!  Keep posting about your journey, as we are not very different in our games for a couple of 73-year olds.  I just had a head start, but have made many more mistakes.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

great goals and best of luck. Anything is possible with the right attitude. 
 

My goal is multi pronged

 

break 100 consistently

get my handicap at 20 or below

figure out the top of my bag (Driver consistency, maybe a 5w or SH, do I keep the 3H or go 3 UI all those may need to be addressed with a proper fitting)

fix my OTT swing and be a better ball striker

gain swing speed so I can play more mid and shorter clubs into greens  

Play in at least 2 AM events around here

play a round with some guys from MGS!

[Kenny B]

This time last year I had thoughts that I might be able to shoot my age this year (73).  I'd shot 73 a few years ago, but with all the stuff 2020 brought and not playing golf for 6 weeks during our lockdown, I didn't make it.  Although my swing has changed a little after my lessons, it's still not where I want it.  My index went up a little, not down.  

Which comes to my 2nd goal of this year... to become less like Eeyore, and just be happy about being able to play golf at my age.  I feel like my attitude on the course is better, not great, but better.  I remember laughing a lot at some of my worst shots... does that count?

Soooo, for 2021 my goal will still be to shoot my age... 74 starting in May.  I feel like it might be more doable next year. This year I shot even par on each of my course's nines, just not on the same day!! To get there I will need to be a little longer off the tee, have better ball striking on approach shots, and keep my short game sharp.  

1. Get fit for driver.
2. Strength and flexibility golf-specific exercises
3. Focus on more mid-iron and FW/Hybrids
4. Keep up short game practice regimen.

Like every year, I look forward to playing with MyGolfSpys.  We had a fairly large group interested in playing in Bend, Oregon this year but COVID stopped that meeting.  I did manage to play with @fixyurdivot and @Thin2win for a couple of days (2nd year in a row) and had a great time.  I'm hoping I can meet up with a few more Spys this next year.

[Slater]

Hit more fairways, hit more greens.  I'm typically a scrambler, so it would be cool to actually play the game somewhat correctly.  

 

[pozzit]

I want to work on short and long game get more fairways and a strong putting game. I'm not a good putter and miss way to many fairways. If I could reduce the penalty off the tee long grass or behind a tree and reduce putts I could easily drop 5+ strokes.

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[CarlH]

My goal for 2021 is to shoot my age (69).  It's a lofty goal, but my birthday is in September, so it will become one stroke easier then   

[Kenny B]

2 hours ago, CarlH said:

My goal for 2021 is to shoot my age (69).  It's a lofty goal, but my birthday is in September, so it will become one stroke easier then   

It's a race!!  You have to shoot lower than I do, but you have a lower index.  I've got older bones!!  

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I would like to maintain my handicap. Currently at 1.6. But this is pretty hard to do. You work so hard to get it down and with a few bad rounds seems like it takes off. I asked my club pro to look at my swing about four years ago. After I hit a few balls I asked him what he thought, and what could I do to get better. His answer was short a sweet. "There is nothing wrong, and all you need to do is play more"  I took his advice and went from a 10 to around a 3.  This year being selected to test the Sub 70 699 Pro's and now the Gamer Ball has really added more focus for me. So by adding focus in testing and playing more, I got to 1.2 during the summer but the fall rounds are not as sharp due to extra clothing. But still pretty good considering.

2021 will require continued dedicated focus and work on increasing distance. Increasing distance is hard when your in your 60's. 

[Mtbryant01]

One of my 2020 goals was to lower my handicap below 10. I’m currently sitting at a 5.5. Mission accomplished. I hit a funk in late 2019/early 2020 and had to get some lessons to fix my grip and steep swing at impact. Continual work in progress, but here are some goals for me for 2021.

1) Continue to work on my swing. I struggle to hit my 4i-6i consistently. Shallowing out and club position at impact is a focus. 

2) Consistently break 80. I have averaged a round in the 70s maybe 1 out of every 6 rounds right now.
 

3) Raise my GIR percentage. I’m a good scrambler and can get up and down, but I don’t like to rely on that. 
 

4) Stay in better shape/injury free. I finally was able to get a push cart after everything was sold out during the beginning part of Covid. Outside of a couple months with heat of the summer, I’ll be walking as much as possible.

Bonus: get rid of my hand me down Adams woods and get fit for a hybrid/wood combo.

 

[Kenny B]

15 minutes ago, Mtbryant01 said:

One of my 2020 goals was to lower my handicap below 10. I’m currently sitting at a 5.5. Mission accomplished. I hit a funk in late 2019/early 2020 and had to get some lessons to fix my grip and steep swing at impact. Continual work in progress, but here are some goals for me for 2021.

1) Continue to work on my swing. I struggle to hit my 4i-6i consistently. Shallowing out and club position at impact is a focus. Matt11 

2) Consistently break 80. I have averaged a round in the 70s maybe 1 out of every 6 rounds right now.
 

3) Raise my GIR percentage. I’m a good scrambler and can get up and down, but I don’t like to rely on that. 
 

4) Stay in better shape/injury free. I finally was able to get a push cart after everything was sold out during the beginning part of Covid. Outside of a couple months with heat of the summer, I’ll be walking as much as possible.

Bonus: get rid of my hand me down Adams woods and get fit for a hybrid/wood combo.

 

That's a huge jump from 10 to 5.5 in less than a year!!  Nice job!  You should bottle and sell that!!

[Shankster]

Take some lessons.  I need them.  That’s a goal.  But, I rarely meet my goals, so..

[Rickp]

Very simple, get my knee(s) replaced safe facility somewhere. Swing Speed back up closer to 90 and get into the 70’s again, not age score


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[GolfSpy_SHARK]

2020 was interesting one of my goals was to get below a 7 handicap. Didn’t happen but I did lower and played a hell of a lot more consistent.

this year I think I’m going to focus less on numbers. 1) like @Shanksteri want to get some lessons and 2) play even more than I did this year. I played the most I ever have and I want to top it again. On to 2021!

[sirchunksalot]

Arccos has me losing strokes on shots from 50-100 yards and in chip shots from 25-50. My focus on 2021 will be in these areas. I don't hit a lot of greens in regulation and I believe if I can get better with my irons and wedges, I should see an improvement in scoring. 

[toehold57]

2021 has already started for me.

Purchased a season membership at our local First Tee for use of the indoor facility.  The launch monitor set up isn’t the best by First Tee’s own admission but it beats what I have access to anywhere else.  This gives me a chance to whack at balls and get some feedback on what’s happening.  I’ve been visiting 2-3 times a week since the first of November.

Finally cleaned our basement out enough to allow me to chip into a cheesy net.  I pretty much work from home, even pre-COVID, and end up sitting on calls.  I’m just there to lend a hand of needed, not actually participating, so I head to the basement and chip.  Only 15 ft to work with but I’ve already started to see the payoff from this practice.  Played a couple of week ago and chipped one in from 60ft.  Chipping has been spot on the past few times I’ve played.

For the actual year?  I said this last year - play more.  I was ready to do this in 2020 but the virus brought everyone out, it was hard to get rounds in this year.  Play more, gotta find a way to get that done.

The top end of my bag is tough for me, I need to sort that out.  There is a pro available at First Tee, I’m thinking about giving her a chance to sort me out.

Score-wise I’d like to move from the mid to upper 80’s down to the lower 80’s.  It wouldn’t take much.  More consistency off the tee, better chips to take some pressure off the putter -  do these and I’d easily be moving down.

 

Here’s to 2021!  

[tony@CIC]

 
Putting: way too many 3 putts. If I could pull up the cumulative data, I'll bet that I was in the high 2's (2.8?) for avg. putts/hole. According to Peltz, 40% of the strokes are putts, but a club we practice the least. That's a true statement for me. My practice sessions are in order: SW, 7i, hybrid or wood and driver. Time to change that up. How? I haven't figured that out yet but I do know that if I lowered it into an avg of low 2's that would be a breakthrough.
 
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Even though it's been a long time since College, I still remember my Statistic's class Professor telling us; believe in God, everyone else bring data.

I lamented in my original post that I needed to make an significant improvement in putting and thought I was in the high 2's . Maybe 2.8, avg. well I figured out how to get the averages for 2020 in GHIN - the feature was put in place in 2020. Turns out I average 33 putts per 18 hole round that comes out to an average of 1.85/hole. This doesn't mean I shouldn't continue to practice putting, but more emphasis on my work with my wood/hybrid game along with my wedge game.



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[MattF]

My goals are probably along the lines of everyone else. Get my handicap down.

However, to do that, I need some lessons and I'll be talking to one of the best pros in the area in January. I need to focus on my driver and short game.

Also looking at replacing the driver and wedges. I know what I want, I just have to see if they fit and pull the trigger.

[tony@CIC]

48 minutes ago, MattF said:

My goals are probably along the lines of everyone else. Get my handicap down.

However, to do that, I need some lessons and I'll be talking to one of the best pros in the area in January. I need to focus on my driver and short game.

Also looking at replacing the driver and wedges. I know what I want, I just have to see if they fit and pull the trigger.

Care to share more info on your instructor. 

[Rickp]

Care to share more info on your instructor. 

And equipment


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[dlow206]

My goal is to get to a 15 handicap before the end of Dec 2021. Ambitious yes. 

[mpatrickriley]

My goals:

1. Continue to occupy one of the best seats in golf as I watch Kirke play.

2. Continue my off-season work that I've begun on fitness/strength.

3. Full swing improvement. Arccos tells me that my short game is at the level it needs to be (and my putting is better than it needs to be) for me to hit my long-sought goal of a single digit handicap. I'll keep doing what I'm doing there to maintain those. Where I'm lacking is off the tee (a lot) and approach play (a little). So I'm in the midst of a significant swing rebuild (the advantage of a six-month winter!). I've figured some things out by watching Kirke, and I'm learning much more how my swing sequence is supposed to work, how my hand path needs to be shaped, and how my weight shift is lacking (thanks, pressure insoles!). So I'm optimistic that when the snow melts in April or thereabouts, I'll be in my best position yet for getting down into single figures.

[MattF]

3 hours ago, tony@CIC said:

Care to share more info on your instructor. 

Either Trent or Randy at Windmill Training Center, but I'm leaning more towards Randy as I have played with one of his students and he gave me a rundown of how he teaches.

[MattF]

27 minutes ago, Rickp said:

And equipment


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A new Driver, looking very heavily at one of the TSi's but will entertain others. I'll be doing a fitting hopefully next month. The wedges, I'm going with the Sub70 286 forged with the same Project X Catalyst 80 shaft I have in my irons. 

[Kenny B]

29 minutes ago, dlow206 said:

My goal is to get to a 15 handicap before the end of Dec 2021. Ambitious yes. 

Doable with the swing you posted today... and a good short game.  

[Micah T]

2021 Goals:

1) Be realistic/Lower expectations: every year I set a goal to lower my handicap, and I do, and yet still get annoyed at myself for “hitting a plateau”. I spent most of the 2020 season lamenting that and at the end it ended up 3 strokes lower.

2) improve approach shots from 100-200 yards. This is my biggest weakness according to arccos, but see goal #1. How realistic is it to expect to hit a green from 190+ more than 5/10?

3) worry less about my score, and have more fun with my wife and friends when we’re golfing together. Save the seriousness for those solo rounds.


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[PMookie]

My main goal for next year is to go from a 4.5 hcp down to 3.5. A stroke might not sound like much, but when 5/6 last golf rounds have been in the 80s, it’s not going to be easy! I have to go from shooting 77 at the lowest to at least 76, and I have to have a VERY rare 80+. How do I do that? Well, keep going with my swing changes and my lessons, and use a soon-to-be lesson to work on my short game: chipping/pitching.

Next is improve my athletic condition via the TRX system, and stationary bike I just bought. Getting my legs and body in better overall shape will also help me to accomplish my above goal of dropping my handicap.

Last is to look at filling the gaps between my Driver and 4 iron more efficiently. I hit my 3w and hybrid too far. 4 wood and 22* or 23* hybrid are likely to replace the 15* TS3 fw, and the 20* X2 Hot Pro.

[dlow206]

6 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Doable with the swing you posted today... and a good short game.  

My chipping is trash, but I have also not focused on learning how to properly chip and also having a good strategy. That will be one of my focus areas for the upcoming year. I lose a lot of strokes with chipping. I currently consider a chip to be "good" if it goes onto the green, even if it is 30 feet away from the hole 

[Kenny B]

5 hours ago, MattF said:

Also looking at replacing the driver and wedges. I know what I want, I just have to see if they fit and pull the trigger.

"You can't always get what you want
 You can't always get what you want
 You can't always get what you want
 But if you try sometimes  well, you might find,
 You get what you need  
 Oh, yeah"

      - The Rolling Stones