My golf goals for 2012 (Jaim)

Wind back the clock six months to the beginning of 2012, and there I was, trying to figure out what I wanted to experience and accomplish with my golf game this year. Steam poured from my poor little ears as I tried to conjure a few measly goals that were both aggressive and attainable. It was tough! I was in a rough patch, people.

That previous fall I felt like I was on my way to being in the 80s regularly and a sub-20 handicap. My iron play was locked in, short game was its usual self, and I'd found a workable (if not happy) medium with my driver, where it wouldn't bite me so hard if I didn't let it out of the cage too often. Then it all started to go downhill. Lost the feel & timing and - to be quite honest - I feel like I've just started to get it back this summer.

So... what to do when your game is essentially off the rails? I didn't even feel like I really knew where I was at, so how was I supposed to figure out where to go? Well... I decided to start with changing up the environment a little bit, and focus on some aspects of my game that should be easier to improve at. 

So here they are... the goals I set for myself this year:

1. Get some experience playing competitively >> This was the environment changer... I just felt like it was too easy for me to get into the same old groove and lose focus on improving during our regular "fun" weekend rounds. I also felt like I could learn a lot from playing around/near a variety of players in a tournament atmosphere. To do this, I joined the Golf Channel Am Tour.
2. Get to a 15 handicap by end of year. That's 5 strokes to shave. To do that, I came up with the following two goals that should get me there (assuming other areas of my game don't take a huge step backward in the process):
• Improve your putting >> Goal: Average 30 putts/round by end of year. (I currently average 34)
• Get in the fairway >> Goal: Average 8 fairways hit per round by end of year. (I currently average 5). So... how to do this? 2 things:
• Re-incorporate woods back into your game - I all but gave up on them, but realize they're important not only for being a back up to the driver off the tee, but also for making up distances when I do make mistakes off the tee.
• Dial the driver swing back to 80% - Just take a little off. Don't have to King Kong it! I'd rather be 230 and in the fairway than 280 and hitting from the trees.
3. Start taking lessons regularly (monthly, at least) >> I tend to overdo adjustments, so getting a trio of lessons once per year isn't frequent enough to keep me from veering all over the place. 

You'll notice there's nothing in here about hitting it longer or learning any "new" shots (as tempting as that is for me... I like learning new shots). That's because the process of trying to hit longer usually is counterproductive to hitting it straighter (for me, at least). I also already have pretty good distances with all my clubs, so I don't feel like distance is a real problem. I also don't feel like I should be trying/learning new shots (i.e. - a cut) until I've got a good handle on my normal shots (usually a small draw).

So... if I can manage to accomplish these by end of 2012, I'll be a pretty happy golfer, and feel like I'll be setting myself up to make a big step forward next year. I'll try to keep you all posted on my progress. ;)

'till next time...  

[Jaim]