New Year Golf Aims/Resolutions.

Well, thank goodness Christmas is over. It's now time to start thinking about next years golf and what you want to get out of it.

So what are you hoping for in 2013?

I am aiming to play more competitions and push for the handicap holy grail.

What about you lot?

Hi super realist, hope you had a nice christmas. In 2013 I will be aiming to re-join a club once more and try to improve on my previous handicap of 10.

Another big aim for me is to meet and chat to Tiger Woods, a mate of mine should have media privileges at the British Open, I asked him to see what he can do so looking forward to see what happens on that front.

Will your questions to him have to be vetted and given to him in advance so that the retarded one can come up with an answer for you?

Hopefully not, best I can hope for is an informal chat for a minute or 2. Highly unlikely but worth a try.

On a golfing note I am really looking forward to competitive golf again, its been too long!

I know what you mean, I didn't play much competitive golf last year, perhaps a dozen or so rounds, played a lot of bounce games which were by and large much more enjoyable. Probably my most consistent year and I wonder if less competitive golf actually helped me play better, be interesting to see how having a card in my hand more often in 2013 affects both enjoyment and scoring.

Right, think I'll head out for a promenade over Trump's masterpiece and get some inspiration for next year.

I would like to get into a more meaningful practice routine. It's too easy for me to simply slap away at balls for 30 - 45 minutes, from a perfectly flat lie. Sure, I build some muscle memory and confidence, but I would be far better served working on my short game and more varied lies.

Was a single digit handicap a few years back, would love to get there once again.

Having played some lovely consistent golf all last winter, shooting anywhere between level par gross and 5 over, I totally lost my way when the season started and all through the summer. Only decided to go and see my pro at end of the season, he noticed my right hand had got into a slightly weak position, meaning I was not releasing the club face properly. Big mistake on my part leaving it so long. Playing solid again now and really looking forward to hopefully knocking off the two shots I gained last year and getting solidly into cat 1 territory. Weather here in Deepest West Cornwall now so wet they have finally closed the course. First time I can ever recollect the course being closed due to extreme wetness. Can count on one hand the times Mullion has been closed in 13 years of playing. Itching to get out for a knock at the moment as we have a big Xmas bounce up normally at this time

First of all just want to get back on the golf course. Haven't played since early July through injury but hopefully not too far away!
Want to get down from 5 and that means short game/putting practice. Have a Butch Harmon comment running through my head for practice - "if you don't have a target, you'll always hit it!"

My aim for 2013 is simply to try and enjoy the game again.

I've fallen out with golf over the last few months mainly because of slow rounds; more often than not it has taken 5 hours to get round. Problem is there is not much I can do about other people taking so long!!

What I can do about is my own golf game and my other half took my (massive) hints and has sorted out 3 lessons with my pro over the next 3 months!!

currently off 5 so hoping to knock a bit off that. my main areas for improment are wedge play from 80 yards in, short putting and long irons (3/4/ 5).
my driving and iron play from 120- 170 yds was very strong this year.
alot of my strong rounds were in bounce games so i think i need to learn how to cope with the mid round nevers in competitive play a bit better.
in practise and bounce games ill chip brilliantly but then when I go into competitive rounds ill thin the first one thru the green.

i think that playing thru the winter more than usual should help me keep sharp and hopefully hit the ground running in april/May

HumpyD what time do you usually play at?
I think i let slow play annoy and effect me more than most. as a result ive played alot of compeitive rounds this year at 7-730am.
there seems to be an unwritten rule, in my club at least, that you have to play fast at this time if you are playing.
its tough to get out of the bed alright and Im often stiff for the first hole or two, but once i get thru this phase without a disaster i tend to play quite well, in what is often the best conditions of the day (less wind, raked bunkers, no spike marks etc.)

Hend, our group tees off from about 10am on a Sunday. Consequently we are stuck behind all the other groups who go off earlier!!

Can't blame them completely though as a few of our lot are slow too!!

It's a busy course and it's got to the stage where I've considered going to another club to get those golfing juices running again!!

hend085 wrote:its tough to get out of the bed alright and Im often stiff for the first hole or two

get the missus to look after you before you leave the house!

gave my daughtet golf lesson vouchers for Christmas so really hoping I can gently introduce her to the great game -get to spend some 'quality' time together. Best wishes to all

Simple for me , actually play some golf, barely touched a club in 2012. Had a few lessons lately which are going OK so hopefully use that as an incentive to kick on.

Simple for me too...Enjoy my golf and stop being obsessed by trying to get lower (I believe trying too hard is what is stopping me getting to where I believe I can get to).

Also hoping to tick off a few more top 100 courses.

break 74 in a medal at home club. Then do it again a few times..
Last year i set a loose handicap target of 5 point something. This year i'd like to get over th 5.0 hurdle and settle in the 4 point somethings. Not much time to practice so i will have to rely on pure talent and natural ability

Humpyd wrote:Hend, our group tees off from about 10am on a Sunday. Consequently we are stuck behind all the other groups who go off earlier!!

Can't blame them completely though as a few of our lot are slow too!!

It's a busy course and it's got to the stage where I've considered going to another club to get those golfing juices running again!!

Where do you play, Humpyd?

As always, play as many new courses as possible. I have already got a little trip planned for the coming weeks.

McLaren wrote:As always, play as many new courses as possible. I have already got a little trip planned for the coming weeks.

Where are you off to Mac?

My little East Lothian trip is now a mere 11 weeks away.

Smithers, I play at Three Rivers.

You're at Crondon aren't you?

Humpyd wrote:Smithers, I play at Three Rivers.

You're at Crondon aren't you?

Blimey, I've been a member at both of those places before moving to Burnham on Crouch and then eventually to the US.

1GrumpyGolfer wrote:

Humpyd wrote:Smithers, I play at Three Rivers.

You're at Crondon aren't you?

Blimey, I've been a member at both of those places before moving to Burnham on Crouch and then eventually to the US.

Yes, that's right H. I think I've asked before, haven't I, sorry.

Not sure why but I really dislike the course at Burnham, 1GG. Played there last year and had a good win in a pairs match, but didn't like the course any better than when I first played it in a club comp. I probably lost and blamed the course!

I get what you mean, whenever you play poorly at a new course it means its a crap course. I was only there for about 4 months as I left the Rivers in March and moved abroad at the end of August.

I think Burnham is one of those places that you think you can overpower and then it bites you in the arse. When the wind blows it can be a nightmare as there's nothing to block it.

I never managed to at the first at Crondon, I probably had a chance the last time I played it in a knockout comp but my opponent conceded the hole before we got up to the green.

Jas

St Andrews, sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Resolutions, resolutions....

Got to be to solve my driving. Last year or so my putting has come on quite a bit as has my short game. Irons have always been my strongest suit so can't complain about them. Driving, however, is scheiss for where my game is at - if I can improve, even a bit, on accuracy (ball strike is generally OK), I feel like I could make a low 2 or even a 1 handicap next year.

Just recently given up on the modern balloon-on-a-stick drivers and gone back full time to some old sub-400cc drivers - pretty sure I'm having issues squaring the clubface of the big drivers due to their inertia and can't be bothered to remodel my swing - might have to (shock! horror!) get a fitting specifically on the driver next year. Tried a Titleist 975d last couple of rounds and much, much better soft draws instead of the crappy block-cuts I tend to get with any 460cc driver you care to name. Not a high enough CoR in the 975d so trying the Titleist 975J and 983K next - here's hoping....

Careful with the 975J, nbs, I had a non-conforming one.

Yeah, I'm avoiding any with "HCr" stamped on the base. Same with 983k.

I actually just put a regular shaft in my driver Navy, same one as I've got in my three wood. So don't automatically exclude them just because you're a low handicapper. My experience with half a dozen fitters is that they find out you are low and automatically pick stiff shafts for you to try.
Played last three days with it in and not only is it straighter than my previous shaft but I was pumping it past my peers who used to comfortably outdrive me.
Distance isn't everything of course, and the three wood is my preferred weapon but its nice to have a reliable big dog in the bag again.
Really looking forward to the medal season beginning, happy with everything in my bag from putter through to driver.

Thought about looking into regular shafts again, particularly on the driver. I'm more of a 'swinger' than a 'hitter' so I don't think I load the shaft that hard when I start down so a regular would probably be fine. It's always been said that a shaft that's too stiff tends to cause a bit of a push-fade....which is my problem.

Exactly Navy, A shaft that is too stiff will mean your hands getting to the ball ahead of the club head so it's still open at impact.

A while ago I posted a link from Golfspy about an experiment regarding shaft stiffness and it was pretty amazing how it doesn't seem related to handicap at all. A stiff could just as easily fit a high handicapper as a low one and vice versa. There doesn't seem to be any hard and fast rules. I think many club fitters just can't be arsed going through both stiff and regular in the hour they have with you.

My aims are not to be able to identify my ball immediately after I hit it off the tee, to see what a double-digit score looks like on my score card and to accept the fact that I am krap at this game and never get angry about it.