Goals For 2023

[SurreyGolfer]

- Get handicap below 20
- Break 90* I've done this once but it was on a Par 67 (Oakland Park, NW London) so I'm not sure it really counts
- Be a bit more realistic and focus on 'running my own race'. I'd love to practice a bit more but with 3 young kids accept my time is pretty limited. I'm highly unlikely to be part of the 'I've knocked 15 shots off my handicap in 12 months' brigade as I just can't commit the time.

 

[Skytot]

I’m looking at one at the moment. My bad shot from the tee is a block rather than a slice, but it’s a consistent issue which I don’t have with other clubs in my bag. The ST-X seems to fit the bill.

How has is helped you? Some feedback would be useful before I splash the cash.

Mine was a slice . It’s so consistent and when I know I’ve hit it off the toe it still stays pretty straight, where as my old driver Taylormade R11 off the toe and it’s in the tress/ OB .
When I had my fitting my fitter had me in a Tensei 65 blue STIFF . This surprised me because my irons I’m in regular. ( KBS s taper lite REG . Get fitted and try it out . Let us know how you get on

 

[Billysboots]

Mine was a slice . It’s so consistent and when I know I’ve hit it off the toe it still stays pretty straight, where as my old driver Taylormade R11 off the toe and it’s in the tress/ OB .
When I had my fitting my fitter had me in a Tensei 65 blue STIFF . This surprised me because my irons I’m in regular. ( KBS s taper lite REG . Get fitted and try it out . Let us know how you get on

Thanks mate. Been fitted today. Gone for the Fujikura Atmos Blue shaft - need a stiff flex all day long. Really great price as well, only £285.

I don’t tend to slice, if anything I’m pretty straight with the occasional baby fade if it comes a bit out of the heel. The bad shot has always been a block. As such I tend to favour the right side of the course so the draw bias should help me, especially at our place where left of centre is the shot from the majority of tees.

I was due a new driver having not bought one for several years, and all the reviews of the ST-X 220 stack up really well. I’m not motivated by price, but I think I’ve got it at a steal. It’s £150 off the shelf price.

I’ll keep you posted!!

 

[sunshine]

- Get handicap below 20
- Break 90* I've done this once but it was on a Par 67 (Oakland Park, NW London) so I'm not sure it really counts
- Be a bit more realistic and focus on 'running my own race'. I'd love to practice a bit more but with 3 young kids accept my time is pretty limited. I'm highly unlikely to be part of the 'I've knocked 15 shots off my handicap in 12 months' brigade as I just can't commit the time.

I like goal number 3. It's very easy to talk about improving, but if you have a job and 3 kids (me too), accepting that you are going to struggle and just enjoying being out on a golf course is a great achievement. I get frustrated that I'm not nearly as good as I can be, but it's to be expected given the amount I play.

I'd not heard of Oakland Park so just looked it up. It's only 4800 yards so not sure you can give yourself too much credit for breaking 90 round there

 

[sunshine]

Try and get the club a bit laid off at the top of the backswing, and then reduce the amount I come over the top at the start of the downswing.
If I can achieve that regularly then the consistency of my ball striking will improve no end, leading to much more enjoyment on the golf course.

 

[Skytot]

Thanks mate. Been fitted today. Gone for the Fujikura Atmos Blue shaft - need a stiff flex all day long. Really great price as well, only £285.

I don’t tend to slice, if anything I’m pretty straight with the occasional baby fade if it comes a bit out of the heel. The bad shot has always been a block. As such I tend to favour the right side of the course so the draw bias should help me, especially at our place where left of centre is the shot from the majority of tees.

I was due a new driver having not bought one for several years, and all the reviews of the ST-X 220 stack up really well. I’m not motivated by price, but I think I’ve got it at a steal. It’s £150 off the shelf price.

I’ll keep you posted!!

Great stuff pal . Hope it works for you. Definitely keep me posted

 

[Golfnut1957]

One of my goals has changed already since post#1. Sat in the bar after today's round and our mad gambler set us a challenge of dropping 20% off our current HI, I now have to get down to 6.5, he has to get down to 7.6, another to 13, there may be others yet.
First one to achieve it gets a tenner off the others.

 

[tsped83]

Break 80, get my handicap under 10. I'll have to cut out the penalties off the tee.

You could be me! I could have written this verbatim

 

[Mel Smooth]

I've set the youth the challenge of getting under 20 this year, he turns 13 in Feb, and the course record holder - who is now 18, was around that h/cap at that age. If he tidies up his putting he'll drop 4 or more shots, and with a bit of growth he'll gain a little distance, which should help him out with his approach shots into the greens, at the moment, he's out of range or hitting hybrids into quite a few greens .
I'm also going to spend more time practicing on our shorter 18 hole course so we can just have some fun.
For me, I'd like to get down to 15 or less, current hcap index is 17.8.

 

[Barking_Mad]

You could be me! I could have written this verbatim

65 penalties in 36 rounds. 41 of them off the tee with driver. ?

 

[tsped83]

65 penalties in 36 rounds. 41 of them off the tee with driver. ?

The main reason I don’t carry a driver. If I can stay at 10 this year I’ll be reasonably content

 

[BiMGuy]

Playing more with the lad now he has more of an interest in playing. He needs one more round to get his first HI.
Get him to a point where he is confident and capable of going out on the course with other juniors and members.

Personally.
Spend the next 3 months working hard to ingrain some swing changes to improve approach play.

Have a whole round with a good mental scorecard. Picking good targets and making a committed swing.

Get all 8 counting scores in the 70s.

Shoot a level par or better round my home course.

Don’t really care too much about my HI. It will be what it will be. Although it would be nice to get below 5.5 as that was the lowest I was before I stopped playing.

 

[Captain_Black.]

1. Keep enjoying my golf
2. Be more consistent
3. Drop at least 1 preferably 2 full shots of my H/C

 

[Imurg]

A goal i have set for myself is to try to get my PP CVG to "manage his expectations "
His index is 17.7, he's pushing 70, doesn't hit it more than 200 yards and yet expects to par a 400 yard par 4...
When playing from 150 yards...if he's further than 5 yards from the pin he's complaining
Gets uptight about missing a 20 foot putt....
We've all played with someone like that ..or you may even be like that.
I'm going to get him to realise that hitting the green from 150 yards is a positive.....or it'll kill me

 

[Barking_Mad]

The main reason I don’t carry a driver. If I can stay at 10 this year I’ll be reasonably content

It's also a real weapon for me, but sometimes I just 'lose my swing' with it part way through a round and I can't feel where the clubface is, (something that doesn't happen with my irons) . A lesson is needed!

 

[HeftyHacker]

With another baby due in Feb it'll be just to play golf as and when I can!

Hopefully I've sorted my irons which was my biggest downfall in 2022, I thought the rest of my game improved but my irons left me missing greens all too often.

The handicap will be what it will be.

My missus asked me if I had any last rounds planned before the baby, I jokingly responded with "na I'm saving it all for a trip to st Andrews in September" and she didn't bat an eyelid. The seed has been planted.

 

[nickjdavis]

Just want to enjoy golf....havent done so for the last couple of years.

Want to put some proper focused practice in...might even have a couple of lessons.

Play more would be nice....used to play a lot in the evenings after work (nice diversion on the commute home) but now I pretty much work from home all the time it just seems too much of a hassle to tell the wife that I dont need dinner and disappear at about 4.30pm off to the club.

 

[Mike79]

Last year my objective was to play more (coming from almost no golf, that wasn't hard to achieve!) and to get a handicap. Joined a club and have played almost every week since Feb. Got a 22 handicap, and worked down to 17.2. Plan for this year is to get the handicap to 12... But rather than focus on the number, I am going to spend 1-2 evenings a week using the practice facilities at the club, with 1 of those focusing on purely on wedges and putting... If I can be more consistent in hitting greens from 100 yards in, remove a few 3-putts and the odd fat or thinned chip the scores will come down.

 

[Bdill93]

Last year my objective was to play more (coming from almost no golf, that wasn't hard to achieve!) and to get a handicap. Joined a club and have played almost every week since Feb. Got a 22 handicap, and worked down to 17.2. Plan for this year is to get the handicap to 12... But rather than focus on the number, I am going to spend 1-2 evenings a week using the practice facilities at the club, with 1 of those focusing on purely on wedges and putting... If I can be more consistent in hitting greens from 100 yards in, remove a few 3-putts and the odd fat or thinned chip the scores will come down.

Thats pretty much how I got down from 16.6 to 11.4 last year - just learning to score/ recover after a bad shot and making less double faults on holes.

 

[Whereditgo]

Probably an impossible one given the book I’m reading (four foundations of golf) but I’d love to achieve getting all 20 scoring rounds sub 90 on my eg. That would take a lot of improvement right now and whilst initial focus would be great, that first 90+ will be like a bullet to the brain!

I think I’m going to go for enjoying being out with mates more.

Also, I’m going to try and improve course strategies and accept some key concepts in the above book.

Have you listened to any of the podcasts the author does with Adam Young, The Sweet Spot? Lots of excellent episodes on there.

Hoping to practice a bit more this year, work has been a bit manic for a while so the practice has been completely curtailed.