It's All About Consistency

2

Posted by Dexter Francois | Posted in , , | Posted on Thursday, August 4, 2011

Busy, Busy, Busy. This is how I would describe this past week. Although I have been too busy to post for a few days, I have however, been able to squeeze in a few rounds. My other obligations have just made it hard to find the time to scribe about my activities on the golf course.

Things are getting back to normal, and with this, I have developed a new norm. Shooting in the 70's. Three out of my last four rounds have resulted in me braking the once elusive 80 mark. What used to be a dream is now a reality and I am on pace to becoming a single digit golfer. I am currently a 10.9 and after my last round, it put me at a 10.4(The handicap index, however, resets on the 1st and 15th of each month).

A few post ago I talked about setting new goals. The main goal, as I mentioned earlier was attaining a single digit handicap. Instead of focusing on setting new scoring lows, I decided that it was more important to try and be consistent. I said that I wanted to average around 82-84 for the rest of the year. On top of that, I challenged myself to break 80 at least ten more times before the year was through.

Well...it's three down and seven to go. My last four rounds have been 77, 79, 82, and 79. It should have been four in a row. I'm happy with my 82 but I literally had six or seven putts that burned the edges or lipped out. The Doctor is my witness. That could have be a 74 or 75 round.

What I am pleased with is the fact that even though I felt like I didn't play well for my 82 round, it was still within my goal. The Doctor and I were talking about how our expectations have changed. A month ago I would have been ecstatic about shooting an 82. Now I'm like, eh...

The pars are coming easier now and birdies are happening more frequently. I think it's because I'm not giving up on a hole anymore. If I have a bad tee shot, I forget about it and focus on the next shot at hand. I'm thinking my way around the course a lot better as well. I only hit the shots I'm confident in.

With all of this comes consistency, and that's what I'm after. Mike had these words for me after we talked about my goals...

"...Dex, Once again, you're focusing on consistency rather than just setting new personal bests -- that's the key to steady improvement.

BTW, don't be surprised if you set some new personal bests in the process anyway. After all, it's those inconsistent shots that run up your scores."


Once I really made this my focus, my scores began to reflect my new attitude towards my game. With all that being said, I know I am going to have a few bad days, especially now that I been talking up my game(The Golf Gods tend to even things out just to keep our egos in check). However, a bad score to me nowadays is an 84. Even with this score, I'll still be giving myself a chance at meeting my goals. And that's all I can ask for. A chance. Have a great round and always hit your target.

Photo found here.


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Comments (2)

  1. August 4, 2011 at 5:42 PM

    Not to say I told you so, but... ;-)

    Well done. At this rate you'll need to set new goals AGAIN before the year is over. That's a nice problem to have, isn't it?

  2. August 4, 2011 at 9:55 PM

    Thanks Mike! A nice problem indeed.