It is pretty simple: Play more golf! Family commitments have kept me pretty busy the past few years. Two growing boys who would rahter play Minecraft, baseball, and soccer and a partner in life my dear wife who has no interest in the game, mean I have focused my nono working time away from golf. I miss the game!

For all of you out there in TT land who have experienced this "priority pulling" and ideas and strategies? Don't get me worng, I love mt family and have a ton of fun with my boys and my wife. But I miss golf!

If you use Lou Riccio's formula of 58- (4/3 *GIR)+putts per round, my average score should be just under 78 since I average 9 GIR and 31.3 putts.  Poor driving has held me back this year as I average almost one more full penalty shot per round and my average score is 82.  Poor driving is costing me almost 3 GIR!  As a result, par 5 scoring, which was a strength last year, increased by .4 shots per hole, or almost 2 per round.

i have sought guidance from Titleist on shaft recommendations from my fitting last year to help eliminate a two- way miss versus my hook to pull hook miss with my previous driver in 2014.  Of course, it could be a bad driver swing, or too shallow overall which might not be improved with a shaft change.  But I have high hopes! Better driving and more play should get me on the right track!

My goals for the upcoming year will be:

1.) more flexability in my body

2.) longer off the tee.

With those being the most important to me right now I will need to get into the gym and get back tuned up. I have a lower back issue but with exersice I should be able to increase my flexability. As far as my club head speed. I play with men my age and older with short back turns but they hit the ball as far as I do. So I am a little concerned that I am not swinging thru the ball like I need to. With a lesson or two and pratice I should be able to increase that part of my game and get another 25 yards or so added to my game.

My most important goal is to just play more. Since most of my golf buddies have moved out of state I didn't play as much as I would have liked in the past year so I am joining a senior league in the spring. I great way to play more and make some new friends!

Hey that is a great way to meet other golfers that play the game the same way you do. Thats the best thing I did and we go to a lot of other places to play. You will find it very enjoyable. 

LAST YEAR I CAME WITHIN ONE STROKE OF SHOOTING MY AGE..........THAT'S MY GOAL FOR 2016, TO SHOOT MY AGE !

Get a GoPro and practice more.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! My gift wish to all is fairways and greens in the coming year. May all of our responses become our game state.

Great question Mitchk2, I would love to fill my bag with a new set of AP1s. I have the 915 D2 driver and 3 Wood. Maybe 5thru PW,

with a couple 816 hybrids, 3 and 4 to go with them. My goal for last year was to break 90 and I did it. Got to keep that going. Just keeping in mind we are not pros. We need to enjoy every second we are on the course.

Play Well,

Steve S.

After a 15 year lay-off from golf due to Master's work, job, and 4 kids, I got back into it last year.  My goal was to get to a 1-HDCP.  Didn't get to play as much as wanted, but did get some good practice sessions in.  Finishing this year with a 7.5-HDCP using my old png Eye 2 irons and wedges.  Now, I recently got a 915D2 driver and just last week acquired some AP2 714's (3-GW), so I'm ready to hit the course in Jan to start the journey to a 1 or below.

I set goals for myself at the beginning of this year which were specific to mor GIR's, lowering my putts per round while maintaining my fairways hit.  I need to look at where I actually finished against those goals and make adjustments for 2016.  I know there are a few of them I didn't hit.  I also wanted to get my handicap down to a 6 and break par for 72 holes, and neither of those happened.

My primary goal is to improve my short game from 30 to 60 yards. My short game is pretty solid overall but when I look at missed opportunities, it typically comes down to a shot from this range. A big part of this is course management as well and simply not missing a shot in an area that makes the next shot too difficult.

Break 80 more often..  Able to do it 3 times this summer and would like to do it more often next summer.  What a great feeling it is to card in the 70s..

 And to play better in tournaments I'm invited to.  Wasn't a good year for me playing in tournaments.   

Had pretty bad back problems all last year and had a tough time breaking 90. Finally had to have surgery and after another 2-3 months can start playing again. Goal for this year is to get back into the "swing of things" and get my handicap down to the 10-11 range.

After a horrible 2015 (on and off the course), I've come up with a decent list of specific things that I think I should be able to achieve.

#1 Get my irons checked/adjusted for loft & lie

#2 Lose 8%~ body fat and improve flexibility/mobility

#3 Take at least 5 lessons in 2016 - primarily on the short game and putting

#4 Play at least 25 different courses and at least 30 rounds or equivelant (540 holes)

#5 Increase my FIR (25%) & GIR (24%) by at least 5% each

#6 Reduce my Putting Average (1.97) to 1.8 or lower

#7 Stay in the moment and have fun on the course!

Great question Mitchk2. I have only taken up this great game serious for the past two and a half years. At first it was to break 100. Last year it was to break 90, did that at the end of October. I know breaking 80 is setting the bar high. I think to get to the mid 80s and lower my handicap by 5 is going to be tough enough. That would make my year. Merry Christmas to all!

Play Well,

Steve S.