2015 Golf Year in Review

I skipped this review last year so I am two years behind.  There wasn’t much to say about 2014.  I did play Nationals, but also had some injury issues.

This year I decided to make a change.  I started the year early thanks to a mild winter.  Unfortunately my instructor didn’t seem to have any time. The previous year I had a lot of trouble scheduling lessons.  After trying again to schedule a lesson and finding it would be a month, I looked for a new instructor.  I tried a couple before I found a good one who fit my learning style.  It took a while for the changes to show in the results.  I started the tournament season slowly. By June my confidence in my swing was improving. While my scores weren’t as low as I wanted, they were good enough to win my flight four times from June to August. Part of this is due to the competition.  If you look at the indexes in my flight, no one was really playing to their potential. My winning scores were low 90s and one 88. In past years mid 80s were necessary to win my flight.

The biggest improvement to my swing was the iron play.  I have always struggled getting GIR.  For the year I averaged 4.2, but for the second half of the season I improved to 5.5. And in the first three tournaments of the 2016 season I averaged 5.7. Another improvement was my wedge play. I sued to avoid anything under 75 yards as it was a partial swing. My pitch shots are vastly better, to the point where I don’t worry about the approach shot distance.  If I miss the green, I should have an easy chip. I saw an increase in my distances too. Every club went up 10 yards. When this started it was tough for me to judge as it wasn’t consistent. And there were times when the distance was completely unexpected. I had an approach shot at Blackwolf Run that was into the wind and 125 yards to the middle of the green. I hit my PW and cleared the green. The GameGolf said I hit it 148 yards.

Goals from 2015

1. Win my flight: I came in second but it was close.
2. 32 putts/round: I came back on this one, up to 35. It was getting better during the second half where it was 34.
3. 9 GIR/round: I improved a lot here in the 2nd half when I was up to 5.5/
4. 10 Fairways/round: I am getting closer to matching this, up to 8 in the 2nd half
5. < 2 penalties/round: This one was a struggle. Even in good rounds I had trouble avoiding penalties.  I was at 2.1 for the year.
6. Tour Index of 16: This was a fail as my index went up to 20.
7. Tour scoring average below 90: I got close with 90.4 in the second half.
8. Hole in one: Still waiting
9. Golf Travel: I played in KS, MO, IA, WI, AR, and NM this year.

Favorite Courses

1. Whistling Straits
2. Black Mesa
3. Shoal Creek

New Courses to Me

Whistling Straits, Black Mesa, Turkey Creek, Belle Vista-Highlands, Ole Hawthorne

Best Round

Tournament at Shoal Creek.

Best Shot

This was tough to pick. I had more birdies this year than in the previous 5 season combined.  None of them really stick out.

Most Disappointing Round

Blackwolf Run was a disappointment. Swing never felt good, ended up DFL.

Goals for 2016

1. Perform better in majors: I’ve played only 4 majors so far and it is time to play to my potential. I will play 2 or 3 this year to give me more opportunity.
2. 9 GIR/Round: This is attainable
3. Break 80 in a tournament: There are several courses in 2016 that will provide good opportunities for this: Prairie Highlands, Falcon Lakes and Falcon Ridge.
4. Get Tour Index to 16: I have a long way to go, but I can do this if the season starts well.
5. Hole in one: Still hoping.
6. Keep focus: I had some trouble keeping my focus especially when I had a difficult playing partner. One in particular talked constantly through the round making it impossible to focus.