Time to prepare Christmas has been fun and enjoyable, but it is now time to set some goals for your 2018 season. I think it is vital to set yourself a target, write down that target down, and put it in a safe place and bring it out this time next year to see if you have achieved it. Here are a few examples that I think could work for you for 2018: Beginner golfers - Play to your handicap in a competition - Represent the club in a friendly match - Reduce your handicap by 10%
Club golfers - Win a Sunday competition - Get your name in gold letters on the competition boards - Represent the club at club level in a county event - Improve your short game stats - Look to gain 15 yards on your tee shots
Category 1 golfers - Thornton Cup Team - Be in contention for the Club Championship - Improve your putting numbers - Win a Boarded Competition - Break 70 the Par of the course in a competition - Represent the club in events around the county and UK
Once these goals have been set, it’s now to look at how we are going to achieve these goals. If we look at Club golfers and how we can improve them this year, here are a few examples of what we steps we can take to achieve this:
The short game
This is one area that is neglected by too many amateur golfers. Golfers who are restricted on time, will want to go and play 9 holes or hit 150 balls rather than working on their scoring game. And this is even worse with golfers who have lots of time. If you want to get better, you need some instruction, advice, a good understanding of your options of shots, and a good practice regime to get you better. One bit of advice I would like all of you to take in, is learning a new type of shot that you have not previously used. This could be a chip and run with a 7 iron, or a low spinning shot with a lofted club.
To be a top short game player, you need to be able to play various shots at the right time, and choose the right shot for the right scenario. Practicing different shots is the key to this success. All golfers may not be physically strong enough to bang the ball 260 yards down the middle of every fairway, but there is no physical limitations to stop you being brilliant with your short game.
Dedicate 20 minutes every day, or try and give two hours a week to your short game and see if your scoring comes down. If we improve the short game, we will improve your scores. If you boom it down the fairway, find the greenside bunker, take two to get out, and then 3 putt, we make a very disappointing 7.
If you miss the fairway, chip out, thin the next shot short of the green, then pitch it up to two feet and make the putt, we make a 5. Do this 5 times a round and we shoot 78 rather than 88. Scoring is what golf is all about!
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