Realistic Goal - And journey to that goal.

[unccross]

I've been reading these threads on the journeys of breaking 80 and such.  It got me to thinking about what a realistic goal for my year should be. I'm not really sure, I'm pretty sure breaking 80 isn't it! Let me tell you a little about my game and see what you all think.

I Just started back playing gold in late fall/ early winter after  12 or so years of not picking up a club.  Before that I play sporadically and usually shot in the 90's, I shot mid 80's a few times many years ago.  Since starting back I've shot anywhere from 92-102.  I've joined a course and trying to play weekly.  I seem to have strings of 2 or 3 pars in a round and then 2 or 3 holes where I have trouble even making solid contact with the ball.  I have a 20 handicap right now,  got my handicap card for the first time ever this year also.

What kind of goal should I set for myself 15 handicap? Not sure that breaking 80 is realistic right now but maybe something to work toward?

 

 

Edited April 9 by unccross

[GolfSpy_APH]

This is just my opinion but put less focus on the number itself and look at little things like - no penalties off the tee, a no 3 putt round, hit 8 greens in regulation and those sorts of things. 

You'll find removing some of the big mistakes and those in round goals lead to more pars, more Birdie chances, fewer big numbers (doubles plus) and in the end the scores follow!

And breaking 80 is always possible! @GolfSpy SAM didn't due it till last year and crushed it with a 75!

[Shapotomous]

Like @GolfSpy_APH said break it down into smaller chunks and dont think about a final score.  In addition to what he said take the round 3 holes at a time and try to get a 14 on each of the three hole groups.  You get a fresh start every 3 holes so if you miss the target score on one set it doesnt seem so bad for the whole round.  It takes your focus off a total score for the round.  It is a small mental thing but seems to work for a lot of people.

Edited March 29 by Shapotomous

[GolfSpy SAM]

3 hours ago, unccross said:

I've been reading these threads on the journeys of breaking 80 and such.  It got me to thinking about what a realistic goal for my year should be. I'm not really sure, I'm pretty sure breaking 80 isn't it! Let me tell you a little about my game and see what you all think.

I Just started back playing gold in late fall/ early winter after  12 or so years of not picking up a club.  Before that I play sporadically and usually shot in the 90's, I shot mid 80's a few times many years ago.  Since starting back I've shot anywhere from 92-102.  I've joined a course and trying to play weekly.  I seem to have strings of 2 or 3 pars in a round and then 2 or 3 holes where I have trouble even making solid contact with the ball.  I have a 20 handicap right now,  got my handicap card for the first time ever this year also.

What kind of goal should I set for myself 15 handicap? Not sure that breaking 80 is realistic right now but maybe something to work toward?

 

 

Some great advice already. My improvement came at what felt like a snail's pace - but now looking back at it, it was pretty fast. Two years ago I had never broken 90, and I put that on a list of goals I had for the year. Every Friday (my day off and golfing day (along with any/all other chores/shopping I have to do)), I would make sure I was either playing or practicing, sometimes both. I took a series of lessons that REALLY helped. I started looking at my stats analytically and tried to find areas I could take one or two strokes off every round. For me, consistent iron play and getting better around the green were the two huge ones. I spent a LONG time putting, chipping, pitching, etc. My goal was, when chipping/pitching, to get down in two. It's hard. You don't do it often. But I started getting incrementally more confident in my chipping. And then in my putting. 

So that was my plan of attack. I shot an 88 about 8 months into 2022. Once that dam was broken, I kept doing it. Not EVERY time, but often. 

2023 (late 2023, mind you), I shot a 78, and the next week shot 75. 

I haven't broken 80 since. Lol, but now I know(!) I can. 

So much of this game is confidence. 

Look at your game and pick an area you think you could be better at. Then practice the hell out of that. I found that it often leads to improvements elsewhere. 

And then come back here and let us know what you're working on - there are SO many smart people on here who LOVE to help!

Just my (slightly more than) $0.02 

-Matt

[Cfhandyman]

Lots of great advice here, but it all starts with a plan. What are your strengths and weaknesses as it applies to your golf game?  Driving, approach shots, short game, putting?  Once you now that, you can then develop a plan of action.  So here’s my 3 cents worth as Matt, aka the wonderfully and Witty @GolfSpy SAM has already claimed the 2 cents worth marker. 

1.  Dedicated Practice (have a plan) and practice some more. Don’t play all the time. Build regular practice into your schedule. Concentrate on shots from 100 yards and in as that accounts for 65-70% of your shots. You can save yourself a bucket load of strokes by deploying a good short game by hitting the ball to within 5 to 6’ from the hole and then making 1 putt. Develop a wedge matrix where you know how far a half swing, 3/4 and full swing go. Practice your putting and develop a feel how far a 10’ goes vs a 20 or 30 footer. 

2.  Course management. Work from the green back and calculate which distances you are more comfortable hitting as an approach shot. E.g 75 or 100, 125 yard full swing club vs a 42 yard shot. If you don’t hit the fairway with your drive, Don’t go for the hero shot, rather hit the shot you can repeat 8 times out of ten. I.e. Play for the bogey and avoid the double, triple or worse. 

3.  Invest in Arccos or Shotscope - the data provided is invaluable as you will reliably know how far you hit each of your clubs and where you are losing strokes. An alternative is to spend an hour of time indoors using Trackman or GCQuad and hit 10 shots with each club and email the report to yourself. Eliminate the outliers and you will have a good idea of your carry and total distances for each club. 

4.  Then there’s the boring stuff.  Find a good golf coach/teacher that you can relate to. Be open to suggestions and practice those changes between lessons. Take putting and short game lessons. Make sure your fundamentals (grip, setup, alignment and stance) are solid. Start slow with slow half speed swings. 

5.  Go to a reputable fitter and invest in fitted equipment. Don’t forget to get fitted for your wedges (scoring clubs) as well as putter (35-40% of your strokes). You don’t have to buy everything at once.  
 

The other option.  Don’t take lessons, learn from your buddies, buy what’s on sale, don’t practice and then be surprised your game hasn’t improved (in 30 or so years of playing). I know I was one of these guys for many years. I got back into golf 5 years ago as a 25ish handicap, but determined to do it right the second time around, starting with lessons and fitted equipment. Game improved rapidly where I was routinely shooting in the eighties, then low 80’s, then 70’s. So it does work and most importantly have fun in the journey. 

[Shrek74]

Lots of great advice already. But I'll comment anyway.

You need to do a deep dive into your game for starters. As @Cfhandyman gave a few good questions, I'll just add on. You show your SG stats above, so dig into those 4 areas (Tee, Approaches, Short Game, Putting) a bit deeper. Where are you losing those strokes, and why? Then try and determine what you can do to reverse the numbers. Is it lessons around the irons? Is it putting practice at your local courses putting green? Is it grabbing some chalk spray and making target circles in your yard and chipping wedges into those circles? There are a ton of things that can help, but the best way to figure out what to use is to figure out what exactly is causing the negative SG and then putting a plan together to fix it.

There's a great goal thread started by @GolfSpy_KFT. Have a read through that to get some inspiration.

I'll share my goals as a 21 handicap going into 2024, in case any of it's helpful. I may be altering them a little here and there before the season officially starts, but this is where I've landed so far. Notice not all of them are score related, because just focusing on scoring isn't the best way to approach improvement. It happens from all areas.

1. Handicap down to 17 or better.
2. Average bogey golf or better by year's end (+18 per round or better).
3. Play 1 round per week and practice 1x per week.
4. Break 90 more than I don't.
5. Be active (walking, lifting, stretching/yoga/pilates) 3x or more per week.
6. Break 85 at least once.
7. Enter weekly into the Weekly Virtual Championship Tour on MGS Forum, regardless of score.
8. Create a pre-shot routine.
    - Visualization, Know my game and the miss
9. Learn and know my distances for each club.
    - Check throughout the year as I improve my swing.

As I mentioned above, lessons with a reputable instructor (PGA Pro) who you gel with might be a great addition to your goals. I'm already working with one myself, and we're focusing on irons only at this point as it's the worst part of my game (-4.6 SG Approach to similar handicap) and I know I have a few swing tweaks that are required. That's also where the practice 1x per week comes in, especially after a lesson.

Another "penciled" goal that might help you too is:

Really "get to know" my game, good and bad.
    - Tendencies
    - Misses
    - Mental issues/blocks
    - What I do throughout a round, good and bad and wtf

One of the reasons I put this in myself is that I want to see how I play throughout a round, where I miss, how much negative self-talk do I use, how are my energy levels throughout a round, etc. as they do truly affect your score even if it's indirectly. I know I have a negative self-talk issue (had it my whole life) as well as an energy level issue I need to work on, but I want to better understand it this year so I can experiment with how best to solve them.

But ultimately, you need to determine what's best for your and your situation. Do you have the time and finances to truly invest in your game and getting better? Are you willing to put in the time and investment, if you have it? If you do, that's step 1. Now, dig into your game, make some plans, and go for it!

[unccross]

13 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

This is just my opinion but put less focus on the number itself and look at little things like - no penalties off the tee, a no 3 putt round, hit 8 greens in regulation and those sorts of things. 

You'll find removing some of the big mistakes and those in round goals lead to more pars, more Birdie chances, fewer big numbers (doubles plus) and in the end the scores follow!

And breaking 80 is always possible! @GolfSpy SAM didn't due it till last year and crushed it with a 75!

Thank you, I could really focus on all of those things.  The 20 yard chunks, where I hit 6 inches behind the ball are the shots that adding to my score way too often.  3 putts galore also.

[GolfSpy_APH]

1 minute ago, unccross said:

Thank you, I could really focus on all of those things.  The 20 yard chunks, where I hit 6 inches behind the ball are the shots that adding to my score way too often.  3 putts galore also.

It's amazing when you simplify the game how scores can drop.

We saw it last year during the 4 club Challenge, myself and several others had season lows during that because it broke things down and meant just hit fairways, avoid big mistakes and play simple.

[unccross]

12 hours ago, Shapotomous said:

Like @GolfSpy_APH said break it down into smaller chunks and dont think about a final score.  In addition to what he said take the round 3 holes at a time and try to get a 14 on each of the three hole groups.  You get a fresh start every 3 holes so if you miss the target score on one set it doesnt seem so bad for the whole round.  It takes your focus off a total score for the round.  It is a small mental thing but seems to work for a lot of people.

I like the idea of breaking it down into small rounds.  I'm struggling with the mental side and focus right now.

[unccross]

13 hours ago, GolfSpy SAM said:

Some great advice already. My improvement came at what felt like a snail's pace - but now looking back at it, it was pretty fast. Two years ago I had never broken 90, and I put that on a list of goals I had for the year. Every Friday (my day off and golfing day (along with any/all other chores/shopping I have to do)), I would make sure I was either playing or practicing, sometimes both. I took a series of lessons that REALLY helped. I started looking at my stats analytically and tried to find areas I could take one or two strokes off every round. For me, consistent iron play and getting better around the green were the two huge ones. I spent a LONG time putting, chipping, pitching, etc. My goal was, when chipping/pitching, to get down in two. It's hard. You don't do it often. But I started getting incrementally more confident in my chipping. And then in my putting. 

So that was my plan of attack. I shot an 88 about 8 months into 2022. Once that dam was broken, I kept doing it. Not EVERY time, but often. 

2023 (late 2023, mind you), I shot a 78, and the next week shot 75. 

I haven't broken 80 since. Lol, but now I know(!) I can. 

So much of this game is confidence. 

Look at your game and pick an area you think you could be better at. Then practice the hell out of that. I found that it often leads to improvements elsewhere. 

And then come back here and let us know what you're working on - there are SO many smart people on here who LOVE to help!

Just my (slightly more than) $0.02 

-Matt

Thank you, Friday is also my (administrative day) where I get a chance to play. I don’t get to practice a lot. Probably should more. I feel like my rounds have more ups and downs than a roller coaster. Today’s was the worst I’ve ever had.  Lessons would probably be a wise investment for my game in the near future. It’s frustrating when I feel like I never have the same swing from hole to hole or round to round.  

[unccross]

23 hours ago, Cfhandyman said:

Lots of great advice here, but it all starts with a plan. What are your strengths and weaknesses as it applies to your golf game?  Driving, approach shots, short game, putting?  Once you now that, you can then develop a plan of action.  So here’s my 3 cents worth as Matt, aka the wonderfully and Witty @GolfSpy SAM has already claimed the 2 cents worth marker. 

1.  Dedicated Practice (have a plan) and practice some more. Don’t play all the time. Build regular practice into your schedule. Concentrate on shots from 100 yards and in as that accounts for 65-70% of your shots. You can save yourself a bucket load of strokes by deploying a good short game by hitting the ball to within 5 to 6’ from the hole and then making 1 putt. Develop a wedge matrix where you know how far a half swing, 3/4 and full swing go. Practice your putting and develop a feel how far a 10’ goes vs a 20 or 30 footer. 

2.  Course management. Work from the green back and calculate which distances you are more comfortable hitting as an approach shot. E.g 75 or 100, 125 yard full swing club vs a 42 yard shot. If you don’t hit the fairway with your drive, Don’t go for the hero shot, rather hit the shot you can repeat 8 times out of ten. I.e. Play for the bogey and avoid the double, triple or worse. 

3.  Invest in Arccos or Shotscope - the data provided is invaluable as you will reliably know how far you hit each of your clubs and where you are losing strokes. An alternative is to spend an hour of time indoors using Trackman or GCQuad and hit 10 shots with each club and email the report to yourself. Eliminate the outliers and you will have a good idea of your carry and total distances for each club. 

4.  Then there’s the boring stuff.  Find a good golf coach/teacher that you can relate to. Be open to suggestions and practice those changes between lessons. Take putting and short game lessons. Make sure your fundamentals (grip, setup, alignment and stance) are solid. Start slow with slow half speed swings. 

5.  Go to a reputable fitter and invest in fitted equipment. Don’t forget to get fitted for your wedges (scoring clubs) as well as putter (35-40% of your strokes). You don’t have to buy everything at once.  
 

The other option.  Don’t take lessons, learn from your buddies, buy what’s on sale, don’t practice and then be surprised your game hasn’t improved (in 30 or so years of playing). I know I was one of these guys for many years. I got back into golf 5 years ago as a 25ish handicap, but determined to do it right the second time around, starting with lessons and fitted equipment. Game improved rapidly where I was routinely shooting in the eighties, then low 80’s, then 70’s. So it does work and most importantly have fun in the journey. 

Thank you, more great suggestions. I have invested in Shotscope, plan on trying to get some lessons in. Practice is something I need to try find some time for.  Free time is something that I haven’t had a whole lot of the last few months with family and work has been nuts with a merger in January. I play on Friday mornings as much to be out in the quiet to clear my brain as I do for enjoyment. I did buy a well putt mat and need to start training on it more often 

[unccross]

I played yesterday and had the worst round of my life. I’d like to blame it on the 30-40 mph winds, but it was all ball striking.  I just sat down and counted all of the chunk’s which most were and the few tops on Shotscope and quit when I got to 20 somewhere on the back. I’m not sure what I was doing, and never seemed to get it fix throughout the round. Whatever I was doing, hurt my back. It was not my normal swing.  I have an ingrown toenail that is miserable and can’t put weight on. I’m hoping it was some compensation from that. 
 

It was really the first round that I didn’t enjoy since starting back. A lot of the issues were concentration and focus. The course was pretty crowded and we got behind a group of high schoolers who were not going to let anyone play through and they were very slow. No one in sight in front of them.  No exaggeration I counted 28 practice swings one time, hit the ball 10 feet and did 24 more practice swings before hitting again. I hit several 10 feet also, so not making fun.  It was miserable 15-20 wait every shot at least. 

[Cfhandyman]

3 hours ago, unccross said:

I played yesterday and had the worst round of my life. I’d like to blame it on the 30-40 mph winds, but it was all ball striking.  I just sat down and counted all of the chunk’s which most were and the few tops on Shotscope and quit when I got to 20 somewhere on the back. I’m not sure what I was doing, and never seemed to get it fix throughout the round. Whatever I was doing, hurt my back. It was not my normal swing.  I have an ingrown toenail that is miserable and can’t put weight on. I’m hoping it was some compensation from that. 
 

It was really the first round that I didn’t enjoy since starting back. A lot of the issues were concentration and focus. The course was pretty crowded and we got behind a group of high schoolers who were not going to let anyone play through and they were very slow. No one in sight in front of them.  No exaggeration I counted 28 practice swings one time, hit the ball 10 feet and did 24 more practice swings before hitting again. I hit several 10 feet also, so not making fun.  It was miserable 15-20 wait every shot at least. 

@unccross don’t beat yourself up. We all have days where we can’t hit the proverbial broad side of the barn even if it was right in front of us. Have fun and enjoy yourself by either playing best ball, play a second ball, or not keeping score. It’s amazing how much better we play when we’re relaxed I.e. without 10 swing thoughts going through your head or trying to hit the perfect shot.  You’ll get there. 
BTW, I really enjoyed playing the Pete Dye River course you have in Radford. It’s a real gem of a course. 

[unccross]

47 minutes ago, Cfhandyman said:

@unccross don’t beat yourself up. We all have days where we can’t hit the proverbial broad side of the barn even if it was right in front of us. Have fun and enjoy yourself by either playing best ball, play a second ball, or not keeping score. It’s amazing how much better we play when we’re relaxed I.e. without 10 swing thoughts going through your head or trying to hit the perfect shot.  You’ll get there. 
BTW, I really enjoyed playing the Pete Dye River course you have in Radford. It’s a real gem of a course. 

Thanks, I haven’t played the river course yet, but I’ve lived in the community here at the course for a few years but just recently started playing golf again, but planning on playing it soon. 

[unccross]

@Cfhandyman have you played any other courses in this area?

[Cfhandyman]

Unfortunately no. I was on the way to Charleston, SC when I came across the Pete Dye River course. Made a slight detour to play it. It was well worth it. Loved the area, so next time, I need to play a few more courses.  

[unccross]

I’ve decided to use this thread to track my journey and progress throughout the year. Hopefully it will show some improvements by the end of the year. 
 

Last week I received some of the Bridgestone  Tour Bx mindset balls, and the first thing I did was test them on the Wellputt mat I received for Christmas.  Since putting is by far the worst part of my game I could get some much needed practice and get some first thoughts on the mindset concept. 
 

I actually putted really well on the mat using the mindset approach every putt. Hopefully it will carry over onto the course. 
 

Unfortunately it did not carry over to the course on Friday, Had another bad putting day. I’m going to keep working on it, it’s the one thing I can work on at home anytime that I have a break. 

[cnosil]

3 minutes ago, unccross said:

Unfortunately it did not carry over to the course on Friday, Had another bad putting day. I’m going to keep working on it, it’s the one thing I can work on at home anytime that I have a break. 

Why are you losing strokes on the green?   Are you missing short putts, do you have speed issues, do you not aim and start the ball where aimed, contact issues, or do you have green reading issues?   Having a putting mat is great, but what are you doing to maintain/improve aim, touch, stroke, and read skills?  

[unccross]

22 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Why are you losing strokes on the green?   Are you missing short putts, do you have speed issues, do you not aim and start the ball where aimed, contact issues, or do you have green reading issues?   Having a putting mat is great, but what are you doing to maintain/improve aim, touch, stroke, and read skills?  

Last week I left everything very short. But didn’t have a ton of 3 puts. I have no confidence right now at all. My short misses seem to be concentration. Pushing out to the right. 
 

I am pretty new to Shotscope also, but not sure why I would lose fractions of shots 2 putting from 19-20 feet. Compared to 15 handicap. 

[cnosil]

8 minutes ago, unccross said:

Last week I left everything very short. But didn’t have a ton of 3 puts. I have no confidence right now at all. My short misses seem to be concentration. Pushing out to the right. 
 

I am pretty new to Shotscope also, but not sure why I would lose fractions of shots 2 putting from 19-20 feet. Compared to 15 handicap. 

Touch and maybe aim or stroke issues.  Touch is hard to do indoors some we don’t typically have 20 to 30 foot spaces to practice.  The biggest issue tends to be consistent rhythm for all putts.  Maybe you speed up or accelerate during the stroke as putts get longer this leads to inconsistently.   Practice same rhythm no matter the stroke length.   Even count it out by saying something like one potato two.   One potato is backstroke and two is end of stroke.    Assuming you are aiming down the startline,  you just need to practice getting the face back where you aimed.  Working in rhythm might help that also.   
 

Their SG formula starts at the tee and factors in distance remaining so it isn’t just looking at putting as a separate entity.   If you were just look at putting, you would be gaining a little as a 15 from 20 feet.