Alternative Targets

[Region3]

Every year we have a thread asking for targets for the coming season. Does anyone have targets for each round?

Aimed at a different level I know, but Hank Haney has often said the way to lower scores is no penalty shots, no 3 putts and no 2 chips.

Mine are....

1. No 3 putts
2. No double bogeys
3. At least 1 birdie
4. Accept the bad shots

I've had a couple of little streaks of #1. I've only had a handful of rounds this year with no doubles. Birdies are more often present than not. Number 4 only happens when the other 3 do - definitely must try harder.

No doubles is definitely the hardest for me, in my head as well as physically. My game plan is always to make sure I make no worse than bogey if I get into trouble, but when it happens the idiot in me takes over.
You can't help the occasional one, like 3 putting after having to chip out from trees, but the stupid ones kill me!

So.... anyone else, and how are you doing with them?

 

[FairwayDodger]

No doubles is the big one for me as well. You just can't afford them off our handicaps so when I get out of position I try and weigh up how to make par versus making sure to do no worse than bogey. I still make some (and worse), you can't really avoid them entirely but much fewer nowadays.

I'm also always disappointed to walk off a course without making at least one birdie. I know that I make more bogeys than I can afford off my handicap so I need birdies to balance them out.

 

[backwoodsman]

As a higher handicapper, mine are somewhat of a different nature.
1. Finish with the ball I started with.
2. No blobs
3. A couple of gross pars on each half of the card.

1 and 3 I'm doing ok with at present but 2 is the fly in the ointment. Even in good rounds, one will sneak in from nowhere to give me a kick in the delicates.

 

[Slab]

Its all relative I guess:

No lost balls
No 3-putts
Don't come bottom in the sweep!

edit: yeah & no blobs

 

[Hobbit]

Nothing worse than a 5, and it doesn't matter what the par of the hole is. Even a 5 on a par 3 is accepted, grudgingly. Nothing worse than a 5 will give you no more than a round of 90.

Its an idea I stole from a junior many years ago. There's no pressure to it, and its easy to beat, which guarantees a good score even if it isn't a winning score. Am I fooling my mind into being happy with my golf, which in turn makes it easier to score better?

 

[ManinBlack]

Dont drop any shots through faulty thinking. I can accept bad shots but what annoys me intensely is hitting a shot, seeing it go into trouble & thinking "why did I do that". It happens almost every round, not so much now as it used to but I always look back after a round and try to see what I should have done differently. Common mistakes are automatically reaching for the driver, taking a risk with little reward & not trusting my short game to save a shot.

We have a par 5 on our course with thick rough left & right. I get more pars & birdies when the wind is against and it is a three shotter than I do when the green is within reach for the second shot. The next hole is a short par 4 with bunkers left & right at driver distance. The number of times I've driven into these bunkers when there was no chance of reaching the green.......

I'm getting more sensible in my old age but the lapses still occur if I don't think, think, think while I'm on the course.

 

[ScienceBoy]

1. Remember the brick wall
2. Stick to the game plan (manage risk)
3. Enjoy myself

 

[Jimaroid]

Lately I've tried breaking my rounds down into 3 sets of 6 holes and aiming to keep to less than 26 shots in each set. It hasn't helped and a succession of 0.1's has been the result. I think I'm going to go back to my old method of ignoring my score until I walk off the 18th.

To be fair though, I've not been playing nearly enough in the last couple of months. Less than 1 round a week is never going to be enough to see any improvement.

 

[Imurg]

I like your targets Gary, I'm the same.
Although its the first 2 I concentrate on more, after all I wouldn't be unhappy with 18 pars....!
Keeping 3 putts to a minimum is a must - in the last 2 months I think I've had 3!
As is reducing doubles - only had a handful in the same timeframe.
Birdies look after themselves....if I'm not making doubles, one or 2 a round is nice.

 

[JustOne]

I haven't played enough this year to consider being good/consistent enough to have targets however the one thing always on my mind is not to leave putts short.... and can I remember that as I leave yet another putt short of the hole??!!!

 

[thesheriff]

My targets at the moment are based around a few personal records I'm always trying to break. E.g. my record number of pars for a round is 5, my record gross score 9 holes is 43 and my record round total is 93.

As a beginner, I find this is a good way to take something positive from each round. I'm oviously trying to set as many new records as possible and even if i shoot a high score, if I've managed a few pars or a good front nine, I can be happy that something good's come out of the round.

 

[Spear-Chucker]

Ditched multiple targets a while ago and have one now by just aiming to get 4 birdies or more each round. Reason I ditched them is that it's easy to get down when you've failed or spending too much time thinking about them and not the shot. Nowadays I try to reach my target through a reliable quick and simple pre-shot routine and then accepting whatever happens. Repeat until done.

 

[TheCaddie]

Good thread...

1. Aim for no more than a 5 (unfortunately this doesn't always happen)
2. No more than two putts (Pretty good with this)
3. Hit the fairway off the tee (Horrendous slice at the moment, killing me)
4. Break 100. (Shot 97 the other week, but still at the 100,101,102 mark mostly)

Getting a lesson tonight.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Not actual specific targets but I'm happy if I manage any of the following:

Hit some fairways
Keep 6 off the card
3 birdies
No doubles
Hit all the par 3's
No 3 putts

 

[Spear-Chucker]

Not actual specific targets but I'm happy if I manage any of the following:

Hit some fairways
Keep 6 off the card
3 birdies
No doubles
Hit all the par 3's
No 3 putts

This is key I always think.. Something from the day to be happy with. I record fairways hit, GIR, putts etc. etc. as something will always be good - scrambling if you miss a green for example

 

[Region3]

Good thread...

1. Aim for no more than a 5 (unfortunately this doesn't always happen)
2. No more than two putts (Pretty good with this)
3. Hit the fairway off the tee (Horrendous slice at the moment, killing me)
4. Break 100. (Shot 97 the other week, but still at the 100,101,102 mark mostly)

Getting a lesson tonight.

I think given number 4, your first 3 might be a little ambitious.

It's good to set targets, but if they're not achievable a decent amount of the time it could work against you as far as confidence goes.

 

[Imurg]

It's OK to keep a fairways hit stat but in reality its not the end of the world if you end up in the first cut. We have some holes where running through the fairway a little gives a better line into the green than staying on the fairway.
And let's face it, you count a missed fairway if you miss it by12 inches or 35 yards....
Think of it as keeping the ball in play.
Hitting greens in regulation is more important for scoring

 

[Deleted member 1147]

I treat it as targets hit.
fairway or first cut giving a decent shot at the green = target hit. Conversely, If I'm on the fairway but blocked out, I don't treat it as a target hit.
The green or fringe, as long as it's a puttable position I'm happy, taget hit.

 

[TheCaddie]

I think given number 4, your first 3 might be a little ambitious.

It's good to set targets, but if they're not achievable a decent amount of the time it could work against you as far as confidence goes.

Fair point. However, what I tend to find at the moment is if I have a great day off the tee, my second iron shot or my chipping will let me down. If I am terrible off the tee I tend to have a good day in other areas. Also, I am typically having one or two 'horror holes' a round, so annoyingly I will probably be 16 or 17 holes to around 90-95 standard and then hit an 11, or something like that. My point is, the targets are still by and large obtainable, and I am not coming away furious if I don't hit them. I get more angry with the horror holes. Or my poor tee shot at the moment.... especially when earlier in the year it was so good.

I just haven't been playing long enough to know what I am doing wrong necessarily, so I am unable to adjust on my way round. Even if I think I am, I am not!

 

[ScienceBoy]

Having read this thread I feel mixed about setting targets similar to most.

For me, personally any of these targets are not in line with my game plan or mental approach. Its possible to put a negative spin on a positive round if these targets are not met. To me that would be a bad thing.

If they work for you great, not my place to tell you but I would not keep them in mind while playing. Just focus on the current shot and where you want to play the next one from! A double bogey three holes ago when you aimed to make no more than 2 a round should not affect the shot you play next.

I always look to make the lowest score possible, if I hit into trouble my mind shifts from "how to make par" to "how to make bogey at worst"