Junior Golf Rankings

Set Goals Why Bother - January 16, 2025

by Michael Riggs, ONE Way® Golf, CEO & Founder

The entire concept of setting goals is much misunderstood. Golfers often say, “I don’t want to be restricted to record keeping, I just wanna play the game”. I couldn’t agree more, as I, too, love to play golf, not keep volumes of records before and after practice and competition. But, goal setting, as a guide and personal motivator, will actually allow more freedom to play the game.

Let’s get one thing straight -- goals should be guidelines and guideposts, not handcuffs, for players. If goals become too specific and rigid, they can actually take much of the artistry out of the game. Great rounds are the result of the player truly letting himself go and just playing the game.

Goal setting, as a performance enhancement tool, does have benefits. First, setting realistic, yet challenging, goals will increase motivation. For example, if you need a little “push” to practice regularly or to work on specific aspects of your game, having a desired result of your practice will offer added incentive to do what needs to be done. We all need a little motivation occasionally, right? Second, having clear goals will direct your efforts. If you are aiming for something in particular, like a certain average score or placing top-ten at a tournament or hitting a certain percentage of your fairways, having that specific goal will make it clear that you are either moving toward that aim, or not.

When you do set goals, be sure that there is a way of measuring your successes and failures. So, to set the goal of “becoming a better golfer” would not be a wise goal. Why? Well, how do you measure if you are becoming better? Is it by lowering your handicap, reducing the number of putts per round, increasing the greens hit in regulation, or some other “better” measurement? Instead, phrase your goal as “I would like to lower my average putts per round by four strokes” or “I will hit 60% of my fairways” or “I will lose my composure no more than three times per round”. This terminology will allow you to keep track of your putts, fairways hit and composure kept, increasing your motivation to isolate definite aspects of your game to focus upon to “become a better golfer.”

Having goals gives you feedback, guides your efforts, and provides you with the necessary information that will keep you on track. All players, from high-handicappers to Tour players, need to set goals and create standards for themselves, as these standards help to measure their progress.

Michael Riggs, ONE Way® Golf CEO & Founder, can be reached at www.WeDevelopYou.com/Riggs by email at Michael@WeDevelopYou.com or by phone at 970.674.2818.