You cannot hit what you cannot see

"Most people aim at nothing in life and hit it with amazing accuracy." Jim Cathcart

For most of us, this is exactly how we approach golf. We aim at nothing specific, and therefore we get random and meaningless results from our golf.

This lack of aim can come in many forms, such as; no goals, no targets, or no expectations. It is usually manifest by poor decisions, mediocre effort and higher than desired scoring.

If your last round of golf did not yield the kind of golf score that you wanted, try this the next time that you play.

1). Break down your round into three hole increments. (Ex: 1-3, 4-6, 6-9 etc...) all the way through the nine hole or 18 holes that you plan to play.

2). Take a look at the three holes in the first segment and set a realistic target goal. For example, if you have three birdie holes in front of you, and you are an average golfer... Maybe setting a goal of +2 or +3 over par might be a realistic goal for that stretch.

3). Do the same for each of the remaining three hole segments. Be realistic, but set a goal that also makes it exciting to contemplate accomplishing.

4). Total them up, and set your target scores for 9 holes and for the total 18 if you are not kissing your sister and only playing 9. Write the total for 9 holes on the upper corner of the card as a goal, and do the same for the 18.

5). Do not fear the fact that the scores may represent some artificially low number. Do not fear that someone may look at the score and think you a fool. Just do it.

For me, when I am playing my best, my three hole segments usually break down into a range from -2 to even par. Very rarely do I ever set myself a goal that is over par, as this will not help me accomplish my goal which is to shoot a score that is under par.

It is not often that the plan comes together and I hit my marks on all 6 of the three hole segments. But when I hit most of them, the smile on my face is due to the sub-par score that I just shot. And even though there are many rounds where I only hit a few of them, it is still better to have short term goals that keep me focused on my long term goals of lowering my scoring average.