As I set goals and make resolutions for a new year, I also enjoy looking back at this year's highlights and accomplishments. 2008 proved to be an especially artful year! As I entered my fourth year playing golf, I not only reached my goals for lowering my index below 3 and breaking 70, but played more rounds of golf and on more new golf courses than during any prior year.


Photo by Aidan Bradley - golfcoursephotography.com

The year started off nicely with my second hole-in-one in January (at Cypress Ridge). In the middle of the year, I reached my low index of 2.4 after scoring my first par round from the back tees in July (at Monarch Dunes). And the year ended on a good note when I finally shot my first round under 70 last month (at Glen Annie). I enjoyed golf trips to the Big Island and Colorado and played a total of 17 new golf courses. I played my 50th career golf course at Pasatiempo in Santa Cruz and 60th golf course at Seven Oaks CC in Bakersfield. I played a total of 146 rounds of golf this year, averaging 12 rounds per month. Those rounds included exactly 100 rounds under 80, just 45 over 80, and 1 memorable round under 70!

But the most memorable highlight of the year was watching both of my children graduate from college! My son graduated from Cal Poly SLO with a Business Finance degree. My daughter graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Psychology and plans to enter law school next year. I'm obviously proud of both of them, and am grateful for the end of tuition bills.

There's plenty to look forward to next year too. I celebrate my 50th birthday in February and my 25th wedding anniversary in July! With golf, I simply plan to continue striving to improve and to enjoy and appreciate the game even more!

Wishing each of you a Happy Holiday season and an Artful New Year!

Labels: Goals, Statistics

It appears I'm nearing the end of 2007 pretty much where I started the year. My index still hovers around 4.0 and only half my rounds continue to come in under 80. I made great progress during my first year in 2005, getting my index down to 10 and breaking 80, then again last year, knocking my index all the way down to 4 and shooting par. This year, I set a goal to get down to 2 and break 70, but so far have failed to do either.


12-Month Handicap Index

Although I've reached a short-term plateau, probably due to spending much less time practicing this year, I shot 2 even-par rounds at Monarch Dunes (70.7/135) and shot rounds at or near par three times at Cypress Ridge in tournament play. I've made a lot of progress playing completively. I played in 3 men's leagues this year and finished in the top three in overall standings in each league.


12-Month #Rounds Per Score

I'm flirting with lower scores and indexes and have had several rounds lately where breaking 70 was within easy reach. I'm starting to hit more than 10 fairways and 10 greens in regulation per round much more frequently. Even my putting is starting to show signs of improvement and my putts per round is trending downwards.

I've learned to finish off good rounds, I rarely have blow-up holes anymore and am finishing many more rounds with no double bogies. I'm also making critical putts to save par and bogie more often. I'm giving myself more quality birdie opportunities too, and hope to start taking more advantage of those close approach shots.

There's a little more time before the year end. I'm still hoping for a little miracle!

Labels: Progress, Statistics