Golf Psychology: Goal Setting Basics for a New Golf Season
by Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.

A new year has arrived with great dreams and new golfing goals for 2005. I ask all my students to set goals for the new golf season. However, goals should be more than just about lowering your handicap. The main purpose of goals is to focus your attention and energy on what you what to accomplish AND on the plan for accomplishing those goals. Goals direct your attention and focus you on improvement, in other words.

Setting goals for your golf game is important for the following reasons:
1. To enhance your motivation and commitment.
2. To help you stay focused on what to accomplish.
3. To assess your strengths and weaknesses so you can structure practice accordingly.
4. To keep track of your performance improvements and progress.

The first place to start is to consider your season goals or year-end goals. Let’s use the example of Tom who plays on the Nationwide Tour. I would encourage Tom to set goals to help him achieve each week he plays. Two wins for the year, six top tens for the year, and to finish top-20 on the money list. I would want him to stay away from setting goals around making cuts (Tom can make every cut, but finish last every week.)

The next step for Tom is to get more specific with his goals and decide what he needs to do on the weekly and daily basis to achieve these goals—this is the key element in goal setting. OK, you want to win and finish in the top 10, then what do you need to do each day and each week to achieve your long-term goals?

Tom needs to assess the current state of his game and decide what needs to be improved. Let’s say his putting average was 32 putts a round last year, but he hit 13 greens in regulation. This tells me that at least one of his goals should be to improve putting—maybe to average 30 or less putts/round every week.

Here is the procedure for goal setting: (1) Assess your current game and decide what parts need the most attention, (2) set long-terms goals for the season, and (3) set short-term process goals to help you achieve the long-term goals. You also can set goals beyond competition by setting practice goals (note: this is very important for under-motivated players). An example of a practice goal is to make 20 three footers in a row or to hit four out of five drives in a designated area in the range. These goals should also be develop around your weaknesses.

What are the “how to” of setting goals? First, goals should be specific, measurable, and time-dependent. Instead of setting the goal to “get better this year,” be more specific with a timetable in mind, such as “improve my handicap three strokes by October 1st this year.” A measurable goal is one that you know when you have achieved it. If you currently hit eight greens a round, then your goal may be to hit 10 greens per round during this week or month.

I want to reinforce the idea that short-term performance goals should be set high…a bit higher than your current ability to push yourself, to help you strive for success. You want to reach for your goals, but at the same time, I don’t want you to become obsessed with having to achieve ALL your goals!

Set goals that match your ability. As I stated earlier, your goals should push you to higher levels of performance, but be attainable. If you are hitting only seven fairways a round, it’s not practical to set a goal to hit thirteen fairways a round, but it is manageable for you to hit eight or nine fairways a round.

Set performance goals, not just outcome goals. Most golfers are stuck on setting outcome goals like “score for 18 holes” or “finish in the tournament.”

My philosophy is that if you do a good job of hitting greens and fairways, good outcomes will come with hitting some performance goals. Performance goals relate to doing your best on a shot-by-shot basis. Performance goals can be set around hitting fairways, hitting greens in regulation, getting up and down, one putting, and sticking to your pre-determined game plan.

Finally, set practice goals as well as performance goals. Practice goals can include the amount of time you spend in practice and the various part of the game (putting, chipping, full shot, etc.). Practice goals can also include drills you want to accomplish in each practice. For example, I ask my students to spend 50% of practice time on the greens improving touch, and I give them specific drills to improve touch during that time. Another example is setting a goal to hit 20 three-footers in a row before you leave the green.

Want help with setting your golf goals. Check out Dr. Cohn's Golf Psychology programs.