Your SMARTER Goal for 2015

Dan2501

Dan2501

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Been watching some of Peter Finch's videos in his Quest for 350 series, and thought that his use of the SMARTER goal setting technique for his golf game was great, and would be of real use for amateurs looking to improve. The SMARTER goal setting technique is the idea of breaking a goal down into Specific, Measurable, Achieveable, Realistic, Time-focused, Exciting and Recorded. I've set my goal, and written a blog post about it, which you can see here, and thought it'd be cool for us to share our SMARTER goals, and use this thread as a way of tracking our progress. My goal is to shoot a round of 85 or less by the end of 2015, and I broke my goal down as follows:

S – Shoot a round of 85 or less by the end of 2015
M – Round measured using GAME Golf device, taking 85 shots or less in a round of 18
A – Having already shot 92 in 2014, I believe this is definitely achievable
R – and realistic
T – I want to achieve this goal by the end of 2015
E – Breaking 85 would show significant improvement, and that improvement is incredibly exciting for me
R – I will record my progress via my blog, and via my GAME Golf account – which you can see at: http://www.gamegolf.com/player/dan2501

Pete's video can be seen here if you've not seen it already:

[video=youtube;WV1-LuFclZ4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV1-LuFclZ4&index=1&list=PLuW6Y8xF1iniZwxF0kvWzpLjyAub-I2m9[/video]

So guys, what do you think? Are you going to be setting a SMARTER goal for your golf in 2015? #BetterNeverStops
 
Very best of luck... all that is left to do is everything! :D

Watched the video a few weeks back as Pete is such a dude.... Pretty sure he told you to keep it to yourself!! :smirk:

I shall not be doing it but I do have a goal... I am keeping to the rules though... Plus talk is cheap.
 
He said you could keep it to yourself; he says at the end of the video "if you want to share your goals, by all means do". The main reason for not sharing is that people are negative and will try and tell you you can't do it. I'm not bothered about that. If you don't think I can do it, that's fine, I'll just have to try and prove you wrong :) You're right though, talk is cheap, and it's easy to say you're going to do something. I need to make sure I do it now!
 
Dan2501 said:
He said you could keep it to yourself; he says at the end of the video "if you want to share your goals, by all means do". The main reason for not sharing is that people are negative and will try and tell you you can't do it. I'm not bothered about that. If you don't think I can do it, that's fine, I'll just have to try and prove you wrong :) You're right though, talk is cheap, and it's easy to say you're going to do something. I need to make sure I do it now!
Click to expand...


At a guess you will do it early in the season and have to revisit. Good luck!
 
Me and my staff agree smart goals on a regular basis. It really can work, but you have to follow throught, no point in setting a smart goal if you let them off the hook and don't follow up to check how they're going against them.
 
therod said:
That's not a smart goal though is it homie? Maybe you need to give yourself a timeframe to achieve it? If you can't, maybe take up bowls? :thup:
Click to expand...

May not be Smart, but its singular and achievable. I know in my own head what I need to do different from 2014 and taking steps to put those in place already. Got at least another 12 years (until 60) to get there before I think about bowls
 
HomerJSimpson said:
May not be Smart, but its singular and achievable. I know in my own head what I need to do different from 2014 and taking steps to put those in place already. Got at least another 12 years (until 60) to get there before I think about bowls
Click to expand...
It's definately achievable. My goal is to stay there. The way I'm leaking shots it may not be achievable :o
 
I'm really sorry but I cringed when I read that. Takes my back to my office middle managent days, filled with pseudo psychology and management speak *shudder*
 
Smart can work well in terms of goal setting and focus as well as a reminder if what you're doing

However I think 11months for a single goal like this is far too long a timescale and this needs to be incremental to show progress
 
OK, I'm just gonna be honest; What a load of old nonsense. Picking a word and turning into an acronym doesn't make it a powerful tool for improvement. It's just a load of words.
 
I'm not a fan of the cheesey management acronyms, but it's true that any goal set should be all of the things that form that acronym.

However, my goal is to shoot sub 80 before the end of the season. That's an objective that's consistent with the acronym, listing against the acronym adds nothing.
 
HawkeyeMS said:
OK, I'm just gonna be honest; What a load of old nonsense. Picking a word and turning into an acronym doesn't make it a powerful tool for improvement. It's just a load of words.
Click to expand...

+1 :thup:
 
Although I think golf is a simple game, and we often over think it, I think your use of SMART(ER) doesn't have much substance in terms of achieving your goals. Personally, whilst I like to beat a specific score, my focus is on hitting each shot in isolation. Ultimately, if you concentrate on each shot the final score will take care of itself. Having it timed, i.e. setting a timeframe that is unrealistically short actually has a negative effect on you achieving that goal because it exerts a distracting pressure.

Concentrate on each shot, with the added ingredient of good course management, and you will shoot a decent score. Forget all the distracting gobbledygook, and concentrate on the golf swing.
 
Horses for courses. OP should do whatever works FOR HIM, I don't see the need to berate his methodology.

Anyone that says they're going to "break 80 this year" or "take two shots off the handicap by the end of the season" is setting themselves a measurable (SMART) goal. But what I would suggest is that you also need to support your goals with a strategy to achieve it.

Break 80 this year
 - by practicing my short game, increasing my chances up & down off the green I can save on average 3 shots a round.
- being conservative in course management, laying up off the tee and avoiding trouble I can save on average 2 shots per round.
- practice my putting, especially my putts around 3 feet will save me 2 shots per round.
 
Jimaroid said:
Horses for courses. OP should do whatever works FOR HIM, I don't see the need to berate his methodology.

Anyone that says they're going to "break 80 this year" or "take two shots off the handicap by the end of the season" is setting themselves a measurable (SMART) goal. But what I would suggest is that you also need to support your goals with a strategy to achieve it.

Break 80 this year
 - by practicing my short game, increasing my chances up & down off the green I can save on average 3 shots a round.
- being conservative in course management, laying up off the tee and avoiding trouble I can save on average 2 shots per round.
- practice my putting, especially my putts around 3 feet will save me 2 shots per round.
Click to expand...

Jim Dear boy, I'm surprised you havn;t broken 80, its only a matter of time,


or you are protecting that handicap;)
 
patricks148 said:
Jim Dear boy, I'm surprised you havn;t broken 80, its only a matter of time,


or you are protecting that handicap;)
Click to expand...

Ha! I just put that as an example of how I broke 80. My best round was a 73 last year. ;)

But for the sake of it - I do believe in measurable goal setting as a way to improve performance - here is one of my goals for this year.

Get handicap below 9.5 before August (3 shot reduction)
- play conservatively, get the ball into good position off the tee, don't assume driver - saves 1 or 2 shots per round
- never play at more than 90%, when you try to power it, it goes wrong - saves 1 or 2 shots per round
- relax - especially that left hand, don't let it grip hard, you play better when it's not tense.
- know your distances, lessons + trackman distance check - saves ?? shots per round
 
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