As the new year begins tomorrow, I thought today was as good a time as any to reflect on the year. For context, here’s a link to my thoughts at the beginning of the year. In the rest of the post I’ll comment on each section, and add some of my thoughts/plans for 2023.
Physical Training
I did a good job of staying consistent with my core and mobility work. I definitely tapered off with regards to tracking the workouts and posting them to my job’s system, so I probably did not maximize my rewards. I wore the heart rate monitor pretty consistently while playing though the warmer months, but when things started cooling off, I found the chest strap didn’t stay on very well, so I stopped wearing it while playing. I also found myself not wearing it as much when working out, which is something that I intend to get better about in the new year.
I’m also planning to do more mobility work this year. Specifically, I want to work to increase my shoulder mobility. When I’ve made videos of my swing, I’ve been surprised at how much shorter my range of motion actually is compared to how it feels.
Technique Consistency / Drills
Overall, I did a good job staying consistent with my righty swing. However, I definitely did some exploring on the lefty side. I suppose that this was inevitable given how new I am to swinging lefty. It takes quite a bit of time to close the gap between “feel versus real”, especially at the beginner level. I had several “aha” moments through the year where I stumbled on things that I wasn’t doing properly, and I was able to make some adjustments that really helped. With temperatures dropping I have already started doing a lot of mirror drills, and have identified a few more specific things that I’m working to incorporate into my lefty swing.
My plan for the upcoming year is to continue the mirror work to refine my lefty technique. This is something that I can do a couple of times a day, regardless of the weather. As I go back and forth between lefty and righty as I do these drills, this should also help to continue refining my righty technique. I am going to be careful to not get too caught up in my technique though. While I plan to spend a block of time really focusing on technique, I’d really like to transition into more skill based work as the spring approaches.
Short Game Practice
While I did have a couple of months when I got out to work on my short game regularly, I didn’t do it nearly as much as I would have liked. Getting out a couple of times a week to chip and putt certainly seems like a worthy goal to aspire to for 2023 though.
Mental Game
While I can’t claim to having played completely frustration free, I am very happy with my attitude on the golf course this year overall. I rarely got upset on the course, and I did a good job of being mindful about just how lucky I was to be out there. I stopped listening to podcasts when playing solo, and I think this helped me to stay in the moment more and just enjoy the experience.
I also did a good job with course management. I almost always played smart, and even when I took on risky shots, I did so fully acknowledging that there would likely be negative consequences for my score.
Performance Goals
I had an unofficial goal to get down to a 15 handicap, and I accomplished that much earlier in the season than I expected. I think I got as low as a 13.1, which was pretty exciting. While it has drifted up a bit, I would like to get it even lower in 2023. Unofficially, I’d really like to get down below a 10. I think that I have a good chance of getting there if I am able to stay healthy and stick with the process. If I’m able to keep my righty game where it currently is, and get my lefty game down to bogey golf, it should be achievable.
Alternate Golf 