How to set Goals

Do you set goals for your golf game? Or, do you just hope for the best each year?If you’re like most golfers, you likely skip this step each season. While you might set goals for your weight, body fat, income, or something else in life, it’s easy to skip out on golf. But after reading this article, I’m sure you’ll change that quickly

Why? Because setting goals can help you shoot lower scores than you ever thought possible.Goals are so important because they give you a clear picture of what you want to achieve. As personal development author Earl Nightingale said, “People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.” Whether you’re a PGA Tour player or a golfer who shoots in the 100s, setting goals can help you lower your handicap. Not all goals are created equally though. Keep reading to learn more about goal setting in golf now so you can play the golf of your dreams. 

How to Set Golf Goals 

Most golfers don’t set goals and then wonder why they don’t improve each year. Goals are great because they give you something to shoot for and can help you stay motivated. Plus, if the best players in the world make them, maybe you should too.

Justin Thomas is a great example of why you need to set goals in golf. After winning the FedEx Cup a few years ago, he showed the world his golf goals on his iPhone in the post round press conference. 

JT had a clear set of goals heading into the 2016-2017 season. He had goals like: 

• Win a major
• Win at least once
• Tour Championship
• Top 30 in scrambling 
• Top 10 in half of his starts 
• Under 70 scoring average 
• Be in final two groups of a major on Sunday

Lofty goals for sure. Unsurprisingly, he made a lot of those goals a reality in that season. While he didn’t achieve all of them, he advanced his PGA career significantly that year. JT not only made it to the Tour Championship, he won the thing (nice little 10M payout). Plus, he won a major, made the President’s Cup team, and averaged less than 70 each round. Justin Thomas sets goals every year and isn’t afraid of sharing them with the world either. Hopefully, seeing this potential will help you start setting goals too. Here are some things to consider when sitting down to map out your goals. 

Process Goals

As I mentioned, not all goals are created equal. That’s why I like to divide them into two different categories; process and outcome goals.The first type of goals are known as process goals. Meaning, there is a process to make them happen, these goals are not correlated to outcome or results.Some good process goals might include:

• Get one lesson a month. 
• Travel to one bucket list course. 
• Use speed training sticks 3x per week. 
• Play at least three new courses this year. 
• Play 18 holes at least four times per month. 
• Work on my short game three days a week. 
• Hire a trainer to work out at least three times a week. 
• Hit a large bucket with just wedges one day per week. 

The key with process goals is to make them specific and measurable. When you have numbers with them, it’s easy to tell if you achieved them or not. 

Outcome Goals 

The other type of goals are known as outcome goals, which will hopefully be achieved by your process goals. Here are some good examples of golf outcome goals:

• Win a tournament. 
• Break 75 for the first time. 
• Finish top 10 five times in men’s club. 
• Improve swing speed by 5mph or more. 
• Average less than 30 putts in competitive rounds. 

Outcome goals give you a clear vision or long-term goal for the year. But there is one thing I learned from a mental coach that’s stuck with me in terms of setting outcome goals. He said, “Never make it a goal to win a specific tournament or advance in a specific qualifier.” I was instantly confused because it seemed like it went against everything I knew about goals. He clarified, saying that when you set goals for a specific tournament (ex. Club championship), you put too much pressure on that one event. This extra pressure usually makes it harder to score well as you’re pressing the issue. While it’s okay to have goals like “Win a tournament”, just don’t put too much pressure on one event. In fact, if you look at JT’s goals, you notice that he says “Win a major” instead of “Win the Masters or US Open.” 

Ideas for Golf Goals

To make it easier to set your own goals, I suggest dividing them into practice and playing goals. 

Practice Goals 

Here are some good ways to make the most of your practice sessions. 

• Make 100 3 footers every week.
• Read three mental game books this year.
• Work on short game 2x as much as long game. 
• Get a bunker lesson to build confidence from the sand.
• Go through a full pre-shot routine with every ball in a small bucket, one day per week. 

On Course Goals

Meanwhile, here are some good goals to help you on the course too. 

• Don’t throw any clubs. 
• Eliminate negative self-talk. 
• Always go through a pre-shot routine. 
• Take three big, deep breaths after a blow up hole. 
• Warm up for at least 30 minutes before each round. 
• Track stats after each round using an app to analyze performance. 

Then, make sure to set outcome goals too. Don’t be afraid to dream big and challenge yourself either. These can be for this year and long term ones as well. 

Goals to Avoid 

While hopefully you have a clear picture of what you want to achieve, there are some goals I encourage you to not set.Here are some examples:

• Drive it longer. Bryson had made us all want to hit bombs, but a better goal would be “Average 275 off the tee.” Then, with a golf watch or stat tracking app, you can measure the results. 
• Play more consistently. Sure, we all want this but what is consistent? Instead, get specific about average score, number of fairways hit, total putts, etc. 
• Hit my long irons better. What is “better?” This is another vague goal that is hard to measure. A better goal would be “Hit 50% of greens with my 4-6 irons.” 

The more specific and measurable your goals are, the better.

Bonus Goals: Eliminate Double Bogeys & Three Putts 

I recently watched Tiger Woods on a Golf Digest special and what he said was fascinating. When he gets in trouble on the course, he said it’s his biggest goal to avoid double bogey at all costs. This is crazy to me because I feel like I’ve never seen him have a double or triple. Which means his strategy is clearly working. He knows that doubles kill momentum and they take several birdies to make up for it. Meanwhile, a bogey can be evened out with a single birdie. When most golfers miss the fairway and end up in trouble, a lot of us try to hit the miracle shot. In reality, the smart play is chipping out or laying up to save par. If it doesn’t go in, at least you make a bogey and can make it up pretty easily. Tiger said a good goal to have for every round is no doubles and no three putts. If you can avoid these two things, your game will improve dramatically. 

Best Strategies to Achieve Your Goals

Once your goals are set, here are some easy ways to increase your chances of making them happen. 

• Write them down. Don’t just think about your goals, write them down or type them in your phone to get clear on what you want. 
• Review your goals regularly. The more often you keep them top of mind, the more often you’ll remind yourself of what you want to achieve.
• Schedule time for your goals. What doesn’t get scheduled, usually doesn’t happen in our lives. So if you have specific practice goals, make sure to schedule them each week. 
• Get accountability. Find a goal buddy so that you can hold yourself accountable to reaching them.
• Never attach your worth to the goal. While it’s important to strive for greatness, don’t let not hitting a goal get you down and frustrate you. 
• Reward yourself when you hit the goal. Don’t forget to celebrate either! 

Final Thoughts on Goal Setting in Golf 

When golf season ends, don’t just completely forgot about your game. Remember, most golfers don’t set goals and then wonder why their handicap is the same every single year. To improve in anything, you need to have clear goals to help you get out of your comfort zone and create a vision for yourself. With golf, you want to have both process and outcome goals. Remember, process goals are something that you control and can measure easily. Outcome goals are bigger, long-term goals that aren’t in your control but hopefully, become reality from your process goals.Once you set goals, make sure to:

• Review your goals regularly. 
• Assess your progress and update as needed. 
• Schedule time in your calendar for process goals. 
• Get an accountability buddy and always celebrate when you achieve your goals. 

Finally, make sure you don’t attach your worth to goals. Sometimes, you’ll do all that you can, but the golf Gods might not let it happen. Stay positive and keep grinding, sooner or later, you can make them happen.