Our Golfing New Year Resolutions for 2018

That special time of year is upon us once again. The time where we cast aside the past 12 months and look, full of hope, towards the year in front of us.

The topic of golfing resolutions has been echoing the halls of Hole19 HQ, so we thought we'd share some of the things we'll be focussing on in 2018 to improve our game:

1) Play More (and be specific)!

We had high hopes last year when we made the same resolution, but a few of us fell short of the number that we were hoping to hit. One of the reasons for this seems to have been in the wording of the resolution itself..."more" is pretty vague.

So, with that in mind, we are going to aim to play at least twice a month and play on a minumum of 6 new courses this year.

2) Don't just practice more, practice smarter

We've written about the importance of 'good' practice a number of times, but it begs repeating - Simply getting to the driving range and blasting balls into the distance does little to improve your game. No matter how therapeutic it might be.

We've challenged ourselves to come up with, and stick to, a practice schedule; a schedule that will push us to practice at least 5 times a month and focus on different elements each time. Here's an example of what it could look like...

Session 1: Putting and Wedges (within 50 yards/metres) including bunkershots
Session 2: Approach Play 50 > 150 yards/metres
Session 3: Par 3 'Challenge'
Session 4: Iron play 150 yards+
Session 5: Woods and Long irons
Session 6: EVALUATION - 3 to 9 Hole practice round incorporating all elements (tracked every month)

These don't need to be set in stone, but setting out an agenda for your practice will help ensure each element gets the attention it needs.

3) Set a handicap oriented goal

One from Anthony (aka 'the boss-man'), in 2018 he's aiming to get his handicap down from the low 20's to 15.

A bold resolution and one that's success is easy to measure. If you've got a handicap, don't just aim to 'lower' it; stick a number in there and aim to hit it. Without a number it's hard to track your progress and see just how close you are getting - imagine a driving range with no distances and no way to benchmark your shots...kind of pointless right?

4) Stay injury-free

This one may not seem all that exciting, but when we looked back we were pretty alarmed at just how much golf we had collectively missed through injury.

Worse still was that a lot of these injuries occurred whilst playing golf, and could have been avoided if we had simply taken the time to warm up a little better.

We could all stand to learn from the great Miguel Ángel Jiménez:

5) Stop the slice/ hook/...whatever

Every single golfer here at Hole19 HQ, without exception, had one 'bogey' shot - a shot that followed them around like a bad smell during a round. Lurking. Threatening to appear at any moment and spoil a good hole.

We'll be seeking some professional help (not to mention some of the advice from our own blogs on how to stop slicing and hooking the ball) to rid ourselves of our hoodoo shots once and for all.

6) Create a 'wedge chart'

A few of us have committed to creating detailed distance charts for our wedge.

You can use a wedge chart to measure and record the distance of the different shot types you play with your wedges - this makes if much easier to call on the right shot when you need it.

Here's a useful article to help get you started: http://golf-info-guide.com/golf-tips/playing-conditions/golf-ultimate-distance-control-from-100-yards-and-in/

This is something the Hole19 App can really help out with, especially the club-by-club stats and Distance Tracking features in Hole19 Premium.