Golf goals for 2021
Time to wrap up 2020 and look forward to 2021.
Original Goals
From the original post on breaking 80 we set the following target scores by dates:
| Year | Month | Target low score |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | August | Below 90 |
| 2021 | January | Below 88 |
| 2021 | July | Below 86 |
| 2022 | January | Below 84 |
| 2022 | July | Below 82 |
| 2022 | October | Below 80 |
For 2020, that meant shooting 89 by September 1st, and 87 by January 1st 2021.
2020 Accomplishments
We missed the original August 1st deadline, but then broke both our 2020 goals on October 24th and November 8th by shooting 87 and 86.
Swing mechanics improved dramatically, most notably with:
- Tempo
- Ball striking
- Consistency
2021 Goals
Focusing “to par”
Our original goals set could be rephrased to be a little more clear. Instead of looking at actual scores, we ought to look at scores relative to par and set goals from there. My last two scores of 87 and 86 would have been assessed as +15 and +14 to par.
Taking this approach, our table from above is transformed to:
| Year | Month | Score to par |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | August | +17 |
| 2021 | January | +15 |
| 2021 | July | +13 |
| 2022 | January | +11 |
| 2022 | July | +9 |
| 2022 | October | +7 |
Regardless of whether the course is par 70, 71, or 72, we need to be:
- +13 by July 1st 2021
- +11 by January 1st 2022
Swing mechanics improvements
My ball flight has improved dramatically since improving my tempo a month ago. I used to have a bad pull/push-slice, but now it is a more marginal pull/push-fade.
The biggest improvements to my swing mechanics need to be from the top of my backswing through impact. I come over the top which creates that error. I can’t draw the ball if my life depended on it. Hopefully 2021 is the year that I can finally figure out this downswing and begin drawing the ball as needed.
By the end of the year I would love to be able to hit a draw or fade depending on the shot. Currently, I can attempt a larger fade, but don’t have as much control as I would like. This is particularly trying off the tee where a dogleg left really fights against my flight pattern.