Every golfer wants to improve. It doesn’t matter if you are playing just for fun at your local golf course or a professional at the top of the game, every player wants to improve their golf. A big part of this process, if the setting of goals. It’s no good simply saying you want to improve your game, there has to be a goal in place, to aim at, for this to happen.
There are a number of things goals need to be, in order for them to work. Firstly, they need to be easy to measure and specific in their nature. It would be no good saying you want to improve your concentration when on the green. This is fine in general but how do you measure it come the end of a round or more importantly, the season? An example of a better goal, would be to lower your handicap, which is easily measurable.
The goal also has to be time sensitive, such that you have a specific amount of time to accomplish the goal. Going back to the example above, you could aim to lower your handicap by the end of the season. Therefore, you have a specific and measurable goal, with a time frame attached.
If the goal you have set is not challenging enough, you will be wasting your time because you will know how easy it is to complete. This is not the aim of a goal, the goal is there to push you to your limit and improve as a result. On the other hand, you should not set a goal which is unrealistic. If you are a 40-year-old amateur, who has never played in a local tournament before and you set a goal to win the Open Championship, well it’s never going to happen. Push yourself but at the same time, be realistic.
Finally, make sure the goal is something you are excited about. If you are not excited and looking forward to practicing, then chances are, you will not reach your goal within the desired time frame. The motivation will simply not be there to practice and this will mean you will never reach the goal you have set.
There is no problem with setting long-term goals but in order to accomplish them, it’s wise to split them up in to smaller goals. That way, you will see the progress you are making and this will encourage you to keep going.
