Goal Setting

Every year at this time, I get a new group of students with goals for the upcoming season. Goals are great as long as they are realistic and there are steps taken to achieve them.

Let’s talk first about realistic goals and the steps needed to achieve.

Ex. Player 1 wants to break 80. He currently shoots in the mid 90’s. He also tells me that he plays golf on Saturday and Sunday only and rarely practices, only if you count the 30 or balls he hits furiously before his game on weekends. That is warm-up, although not a good one. We can’t consider that practice. This player has un-realistic goals.

Player 2 wants to break 80. She currently shoots in the mid 80’s and would love to break 80 every 3rd or 4th round. She has 2 to 4 hrs. a week budgeted for practice and also plays 2 nine hole rounds and 2 eighteen hole rounds a week. This player has realistic goals.

Player 3 wants to break 90. He usually shoots in the mid 90’s and occasionally will post a score in the 100’s. Playing and practice are not an issue, as he does so frequently. This player has realistic goals.

Let’s then discuss ways to go about achieving some of our goals:

We first need to decide areas that need immediate help. For ex. in the case of player 1, if he is averaging in the area of 40 putts per round, we know he could at least get into the mid 80’s if he reduced the number of putts to the low 30’s. I’d advise this player to seek professional help on his putting before ever asking for help in hitting 300 yard drives.

The quickest way I’ve seen to break a 100 or 90, is to improve putting Player 2 averages 9 greens in regulation per round, but typically shoots 85.Sounds to me like she has some short game issues we need to address. Whether her putting or chipping/pitching she needs to improve. ( Remember, if you can improve your chipping, your putting should also improve..............It is easier to make a 5 footer for par than it is a 12 footer. This area is a numbers game really, odds and percentages.

Player 3 rarely breaks 90, but he has an adequate short game, long game, and putts somewhat decent. He also averages 6 to 8 penalty shots per round. He would benefit greatly from some on-course management from his coach. Knowing when and where to use the driver is important. It is much easier to score when the tee shot ends up in play vs. reteeing and hitting 3.

My advice to those of you looking to achieve goals would be to 1st set appropriate goals, 2nd, devise a plan of attack with which you can improve your trouble areas. And believe me, there is rarely a teacher who can sprinkle "Magical Pro Dust" on you to help you lower your scores. You need to take their advice and practice properly to aid in the attempt to continually strive to improve yourself as a golfer. Talk to your local PGA Professional, let them know your goals, devise a plan and work like crazy to get there.

Don’t keep your head down,

Mike Dynda

Note:
Mike Dynda is The Director of Instruction at the Blue Bell Country Club. He can be reached for comments, suggestions, or anything else at md42@pga.com.