So How Has Your 2016 Season Been?

[Tcann32]

It's been... Interesting. Honestly, it's been a season in search of something up until around 6 weeks ago, or so.

 

Every now and again, something would click and Id put up a decent round, but if it weren't for ESC, my cap would've gone a bit higher. It started with driving, then when that got better, it went to irons. Putting has been a light switch all year and either has been no three putts for 4-5 rounds, then they'd come on in a plentiful fashion.

 

In the last 6 weeks though, consistency has come in again with some repetitive thoughts and movements. Even if my scores haven't always shown it, I've played most rounds with blemishes on 5-6 holes only, and the size of the blemish is what determines the outcome. I've shot 80 with 2 doubles and 0-2 birdies 6-7 times now in the last 10-12 rounds, which drives me bonkers.

 

Conditions have been tough for the majority of the year. For whatever reason, I can't recall playing in strong winds on such a consistent basis. But it has helped elevate the game as well.

 

Equipment has held steady. I've bought and sold plenty of clubs, but the clubs in the bag have been sticking around. Other clubs have seen some range time, but the gamers haven't changed since I got my last set a little over a month ago. It's frustrating to be playing well now as conditions will be poor soon, and any attempt to play well will be futile.

[harolease]

switch membership to a new course which was longer Plays 6800-7200 from the back tees and was able to improve my driving. Still not as long as some of the younger guys but able to comfortable get pin high in two from 520 yards straight away with no wind or helping dry fairway

My putting was inconsistent but had some good days

Hopeful for improvement next year.

[swoll cracker]

For me it was two seasons rolled into one.

 

I layed very well this year until mid-August. I drove the ball as well as I have in years, I was hitting solid irons, and my short game was steady. My index dropped as low as 0.0 and I had a long stretch where I shot anywhere from 70-73. I had a strong tournament finish in an 18-hole stroke play event and in a 4-man quota event.

 

The season turned in our club championship. I struck the ball reasonably well but completely lost confidence in my putting after struggling that weekend. I followed that up with a less than stellar performance in a state event caused mostly by poor putting. And the topper was our Senior CLub Championship in which I would have been considered a co-favorite. I completely fell apart and finished 8th, shooting scores higher than anything I had posted all year.

 

Unfortunately, the poor play has continued into October. I'm playing for exercise and the social aspects of the game. But there are days where its not a lot of fun. It'll be back to the drawing board in the off-season. I have a lot of work to do to get back physically to swinging the club better and a lot of work mentally as well.

[A.G. Pennypacker]

This was a great season for me. First season as a member at a private club, got the most rounds I've ever played (somewhere around 50), and dropped my index by 4 full points. Combined with the fact that I made a significant change to my grip (went from very strong to neutral), and also changed my swing with driver and 3w, I'm incredibly happy that I was still able to improve on scoring. The goal for next season is to drop by index by another 4 points and shoot in the low 80s. :to_become_senile:

[cwglum]

My worst season of golf since keeping an index (15 yrs). Have spent over $500 in lessons with 3 different instructors over the last 18 months trying to find something to work on that will stick, but ball striking is at an all time low. The one consistent denominator is the guy swinging the club. Only way I score is from getting up and down from 30-50 yds away from green. Enjoying it less and less each time out and playing much less as a result.

 

 

Can't wait for winter to do some skiing.

[VNutz]

Inconsistent for me. Had some solid mid 70s rounds, but nothing where I went low or really threatened par, and of course had a few bad rounds. Just didn't play enough to keep anything going, I'd play back to back weekends then nothing for 2-3 weeks. The good rounds felt so solid and easy, the bad ones like I don't know what I'm doing. Driver started going to crap later in the year so I went back to an old flame and rekindled the magic, made a putter change midseason that feels like it's a keeper, so I'm very happy there. Handicap went from a 3 at the beginning of the season to a 4.5 now; with 2 younger kids that's about what I'd expected.

[RossRules]

Had a good season. Dropped from a 6.7 to a 4.3. That's my lowest index ever. I spent a lot of time on the short game in the spring and it paid off big time. I'm playing well right now, but I fear our season is coming to a quick close here in western PA.

[ZAP]

Tee to green this has been my best year in a long time. Short game and putting have been embarrassing at times. Guess I know what to work on this winter.

[RainShadow]

Consistently mediocre. Only a couple of rounds in the high 70's. Managed to keep my index around 9.5

Poor ball striking and erratic driver. Not lost ball erratic, but not hitting a lot of fairways. If I wasn't a decent putter, I might have hung it it up.

Had Achilles surgery last November and just now getting back to near 100%.

Only have 14-15 rounds in since May.

Looking ahead to being healthy. Ain't getting any younger (55)

[elwhippy]

In a word. Rubbish. Driving great but iron play and putting have ruined my scores all year. Now swapped to a more GI set of clubs from AP2s and seen immediate improvement. Autumn and Winter will revolve around serious practice and lessons.

[GolfAddictions]

I had a pretty good season. I reached my goal, which is the same every season, to beat my previous best score (72). I got my handicap (not official) to a 4 and I shot in the 70's often.

[J2putts]

Great. Started the season at a 21 .6 index..I'm currently down to 8.7

[kstorm]

I'm not playing bad I wish I could play once a week to get more consistent but what can you do. It's still fun out there.

[tannyhoban]

Great. Started the season at a 21 .6 index..I'm currently down to 8.7

 

Yessir, that is a good season. Keep on truckin'.

[SurfDuffer]

Bad season for me. Fell on ice in late January and wrenched my back which nagged me until about May. Dealt with a bout of the shanks that killed any desire to play for a while. Putting improved dramatically in the mean time. Played consistent golf in the upper 70s in July and August. September and October I have been surfing a lot and busy at work and haven't been playing much. That's my season in a nutshell.

[Hawkeye77]

I considered the trip to Chicago for Monte's clinic in May the "official" start of the season. Kicked it off with a damp pre-clinic 18 hole walk in Schaumburg with DavePelz4 - great time, wet course because of weather but awesome greens for May, wife was thrilled and appreciative of Gary's restaurant recommendation - oh yes! :nyam: Clinic was great even though the weather wasn't. Mark and his wife were awesome hosts for dinner, met some other super guys (Doug, Jim and really sorry for not remembering other names) and it was a lot of fun.

 

As a result, and getting out quite a bit early in the year, got my handicap down to lowest it's been in a couple years in the Spring BUT course conditions at my course got wet and wetter and because of a complete disregard for maintenance by the owners became unplayable quite often over the spring and summer and even this fall on too many occasions. Consequently, played less, practiced less and most in our group really didn't enjoy a lot of our golf out there. Played a few other courses, which was fun. Got over to Iowa City to visit my daughter before she moved to Lincoln (aargh!) and got in some rounds with her, notably a side trip to a course I played in HS and played well there. Our local course is just far enough out of town that I'll usually work practice into a day that I play and if we can't access the course (and the range was often closed as well) then practice isn't happening. Really felt like I'd gotten somewhere with what I've learned from Monte, but I know nothing got ingrained like it could have this summer. Can I get some cheese with my whine?

 

An incredibly kind invitation from DP4 led to a trip over to TPC Deere Run. A very fun and welcoming group of guys. Unfortunately, my lack of play in July and into August in general caught up with me, along with just a bad day with the golf swing, and the course absolutely brutalized me - BUT I had a great time, played with some true golfers, and saw a really nice and well-designed golf course. And people bought me beer - what the heck. Listening to Iowa kick Iowa State in football on the radio on the long drive home capped a really long and fun day - for me anyway!

 

Since then, we've had a wet end of summer and early fall and disgusted by what our course became over the summer so again, just not playing as much. Played 36 at a different course last Saturday and had a blast and played well, so there's still hope, but days are shorter and weekend commitments will eat into golf the next few weeks and after that I'm pretty much interested in spending weekends in the field with my dog.

 

I'd have to say the highlights for the year pretty much took place out of town (except for annual Father's Day golf with daughter and Dad) with wrxers and my daughter and those few trips were enough to make the season a success overall, so I'm so grateful for those opportunities.

[deadsolid...shank]

I considered the trip to Chicago for Monte's clinic in May the "official" start of the season. Kicked it off with a damp pre-clinic 18 hole walk in Schaumburg with DavePelz4 - great time, wet course because of weather but awesome greens for May, wife was thrilled and appreciative of Gary's restaurant recommendation - oh yes! :nyam: Clinic was great even though the weather wasn't. Mark and his wife were awesome hosts for dinner, met some other super guys (Doug, Jim and really sorry for not remembering other names) and it was a lot of fun.

 

As a result, and getting out quite a bit early in the year, got my handicap down to lowest it's been in a couple years in the Spring BUT course conditions at my course got wet and wetter and because of a complete disregard for maintenance by the owners became unplayable quite often over the spring and summer and even this fall on too many occasions. Consequently, played less, practiced less and most in our group really didn't enjoy a lot of our golf out there. Played a few other courses, which was fun. Got over to Iowa City to visit my daughter before she moved to Lincoln (aargh!) and got in some rounds with her, notably a side trip to a course I played in HS and played well there. Our local course is just far enough out of town that I'll usually work practice into a day that I play and if we can't access the course (and the range was often closed as well) then practice isn't happening. Really felt like I'd gotten somewhere with what I've learned from Monte, but I know nothing got ingrained like it could have this summer. Can I get some cheese with my whine?

 

An incredibly kind invitation from DP4 led to a trip over to TPC Deere Run. A very fun and welcoming group of guys. Unfortunately, my lack of play in July and into August in general caught up with me, along with just a bad day with the golf swing, and the course absolutely brutalized me - BUT I had a great time, played with some true golfers, and saw a really nice and well-designed golf course. And people bought me beer - what the heck. Listening to Iowa kick Iowa State in football on the radio on the long drive home capped a really long and fun day - for me anyway!

 

Since then, we've had a wet end of summer and early fall and disgusted by what our course became over the summer so again, just not playing as much. Played 36 at a different course last Saturday and had a blast and played well, so there's still hope, but days are shorter and weekend commitments will eat into golf the next few weeks and after that I'm pretty much interested in spending weekends in the field with my dog.

 

I'd have to say the highlights for the year pretty much took place out of town (except for annual Father's Day golf with daughter and Dad) with wrxers and my daughter and those few trips were enough to make the season a success overall, so I'm so grateful for those opportunities.

 

We're going to make her a Husker!

 

(But my daughter moved to Colorado........)

[3chavgolf]

Wish it could be better. Hurt my back and haven't picked up a club in a few months. Before that I was playing pretty well. Had finally fixed my hook (for the most part) and now I'm anxious to see how I hit when I am ready. I've been working on my putting stroke though.

[deadsolid...shank]

Weird. Handicap is down and had pretty good succes in the bigger tournaments this year, but I don't feel l played nearly as well this year as the past couple. Seems like it's been much more frustrating year. I don't recall ever really feeling like my game was ina good place. I guess the few intermittent good rounds must have come at the right time.

[klebs01]

I hadn't played much the past few years. I think I only played 27 holes all last year. This spring, my wife suggested I get back into golf so I joined a private club. Ended up averaging 4 rounds or so a week. It's been great. Started with a goal of getting to a 5 handicap. Started the year at a 13..4 and the revision today was 5.7. Close enough now that it's October. Now to next years goal of getting to a 2. If I get there I will start playing competitively again.

[Cicero]

I lost almost the entire season to injury. With that said, the range session and the round I played just recently has left me feeling very positive about where my game could go. I'm ready for the offseason and looking forward to next season!

[avrag]

Good. Got my offiical hcp index down from 16.2 at the start of the season to 12.6 under our system, which only counts competition scores, won two net events and even one gross event in the process. Most of it was down to an improvement in my full shots with shorter clubs, which always had been my nemesis. Distance control from 8-iron down to the wedges is just so important, and two minor tweaks in my set-up while taking lessons from my local teaching pro did that.

The only thing that worries me is the fact that nagging injuries keep popping up more and more, if I practice a lot. But what can you expect once you have passed 50?

Still haven't managed to break 80 in a comp, though. So that's the goal for next year. And playing the Old Course.

[tannyhoban]

Another gorgeous day today here. Glad to see everyone here has plans for next year that don't include ditching the game.

 

It's a journey.

[Frohlich]

I have been a 7 to 11 handicap for the last 5 years. I play around 30 rounds a year and always play my best golf late in the season. This year I probably played closer to 40+ rounds because the kids are growing up and my family commitments are easing up. I am not one of those guys whose swing is always there and can play great out of the gate. This year my index dropped to 5.1 and I played my last round of the year Friday and shot a 71, tying the best round of the year I played on Memorial day weekend.

 

The biggest change I did was practicing 50%..75%...100% swings with my 7, 8 , 9 and wedges. I would just go to the range and grab one iron and practice full and partial shots. After about 4 or 5 range sessions it became natural for me to take less than 100% swings and helped my scores so much and improved my tempo a ton and just relax all my swings. All of a sudden if I was 60 to 150 yards out, I knew exactly what club and swing to play and I was getting within a 20 foot circle of the pin so much more than I ever had. On my good days I was sticking it inside a 10 foot circle a lot and giving me a lot of realistic birdie opportunities each round.

 

That is the first thing I will start with next Spring when I pick up the clubs again ...partial shots + full shots with each club and just a smooth relaxed swing.

[Chomper]

Great year of golf for me.

Lowest handicap of my life.

A third hole in one.

Personal best round.

Won my flight in my first member guest tourney. Won a two man net event at my home course. Won a few other team events.

Played Sand Hills, Whistling Straits, Dismal River, Turtle Bay, and had Prairie Dunes on the calendar.

Played the most rounds in one year that I have ever played.

Highest % of FIR and GIR. Short game still needs work but saw glimpses of greatness.

Overall a fantastic golf year for me!

[The Mad Bomber]

Sh!t.

Did you want me to elaborate? Really sh!t.

 

I only got 12 rounds in all year before the snow came in early October and closed the courses down. I only played in one tournament and blew my brains out on the second day with a 77. This was easily the worst year for golf I've ever had. On the bright side, I'm thinking next year has to be better!

[Roody]

I think 2016 might have been my best year ever.

 

- I've gotten 100+ rounds in, and still going.

- I've broken 80 more times than I ever have in the past.

- My handicap is down to a 7.8.

- Two weeks ago I shot arguably my best round ever by shooting 73 at my home course (my lowest is 72, but I did that on a much easier course a few years ago).

- During that round I had 5 birdies (also a new record for me for one round).

- Added TPC Sawgrass to completed items on my bucket list.

- Joined a new course this year, made a bunch of new friends and playing partners.

 

It was a really good season.

[jkc-rva]

A rollercoaster.

[Tex1986]

2016 has been up and down for me.

 

I got myself down to an 11.5 handicap in 2015. The end of 2015 and first half of 2016 saw golf get put on the back burner while I knocked out the CPA exams.

 

I started playing more again in August 2016 and finally have my game back to where it was mid 2015. I get to play all year down here in TX, so I plan on making a big charge over winter to break 80 and get myself down to single digits.

[03SMURF]

2016 was a good season overall. I was pretty consistent most of the year and had a 3 week stretch of playing lights out when my course conditions were good. Much of the year, though, the greens were the hardest I've ever seen and it hurt my ability to go low, low. I shot a couple of rounds that were new PR's and improved my wedge game tremendously over previous years. Yesterday, I repeated as the championship flight winner over the guy who was normally the club champ before I joined last year, beating him 6&5 with only 1 fairway hit and I was -1 after 14. Looking forward to changing clubs next year and hopefully getting even better.