So we are now officially half way through the year, so I thought it would be a great time to look back on the goals I set at the start of the season, and see how I am getting on against those goals.
For those that haven’t seen the original post- you can find that here.
So let’s see how I’m getting on…
How many courses this year?
So I am working my way through the list of courses slowly but surely… (Check out the course map here to see how I am getting on!). If you are a member / employee at any of the courses I haven’t played- get in touch, and lets sort something out!
- Rounds played: Target 40+ : Current 22
- Courses played: Target 25+ : Current 21
Most definitely on track with this one!
Handicap
So I had hoped that I would be able to try and hold my handicap below 10 come the end of the season.
- Handicap: Target 9.9 : Current 10.7
Slightly missing this goal at this stage, Although I have been as low as 9.4 (Playing 9) back in February, I am now at 10.7 (Playing 11) at the halfway stage in the year. I have been happy with my scoring in general, and happy that all of my rounds so far have been sub 90, with three rounds in the 70s.
Fairways and Greens
I thought the goals I set were a little optimistic, but there are slight improvements shown from 2018… so at least we are moving in the right direction!
- GIR %: Target 40% : Current 34.85%
- FIR %: Target 40% : Current 35.08%
Scoring Averages
I was aiming for minor improvements across the board here, and despite my handicap going up, I have delivered on the scoring average front, and feel much of this is down to my game being more consistent.
- Scoring Average Par 3: Target 3.5 : Current 3.56
- Scoring Average Par 4: Target 4.85 : Current 4.77
- Scoring Average Par 5: Target 5.7 : Current 5.61
- Scoring Average: 86.8 ⇒ 84.7 Target 84.7 : Current 83.27
22 Rounds in and my Par 3 scoring average is the same as 2018, Par 4 scoring average has come down by 0.22 and Par 5 scoring average down by 0.21. Multiply all of these numbers out against the assumption that the course has 4 Par 3s, 10 Par 4s and 4 par 5s, you would expect a 3.02 reduction in my scoring average. My actual reduction of just over 3.5 would suggest that courses I have been playing have had a par of less than 70.
Short Game
Putting was one area I targeted for improvement in 2019, but if anything, things seem to have moved slightly in the opposite direction! Whilst I know that not all of these are specifically related to the flat stick (i.e lots of it is to do with approach proximity to the hole!), I don’t feel as confident in the 6-10ft range as I used to. Something to work on!
- Putts per Round: Target <30 : Current 31.91
- Putts per GIR: Target <1.95 : Current 2.02
- Putts per Missed GIR: Target 1.6 : Current 1.64
- 3 Putt %: Target 5.55% : Current 9.6%
Whilst I haven’t managed to hit my goals in any of the 4 categories, I have managed to at least improve on my Putts per Missed GIR, which would suggest slight improvements in my chipping. I definitely feel more confident just around the greens, and hope that for the rest of the season, these numbers will continue to drop and hopefully I will hit a couple of my targets before the year is up!
Miscellaneous
- Consecutive rounds below handicap
- Consecutive rounds in the 70s
- Treat myself to a round somewhere special for my 30th birthday!
No luck here! With just the one cut to the handicap (back in February), and 3 rounds in the 70s spaced out (one every 2 months), I have not managed to hit either of the first two. I’m still very keen to treat myself to somewhere special for my 30th, which is coming up in the second half of the year… watch this space!
The Sussex Golfer 