The beginning of the year is the time when we all like to talk about New Year’s resolutions. But within days, many good intentions quietly fade away, buried beneath routines and deadlines.
Last January I wrote about setting realistic golf goals, not the pie-in-the-sky stuff that sounds great on January 1st and disappears on February 1st. The idea was simple: set goals that really fit your life and then create a plan that makes success almost inevitable.
How do you do that? By focusing on smaller goals and the steps needed to achieve (or exceed) them. When you break down bigger goals into manageable tasks, you put yourself in position to achieve what you want by this time next year.
Guideline #1: Evaluate the previous year
Before setting your goals for 2026, take time to evaluate 2025 and establish a baseline. Look back and honestly assess the past year. Not to criticize or brag about yourself, but to evaluate what worked so you can repeat it in 2026.
In January 2025, I outlined several goals using the same guidelines in this piece, and I achieved four of the five. I lost 22 pounds. I almost doubled my rounds played and logged over 18 more rounds in 2025 than I did in 2024. I played a special course, the beautiful Cascades Course at Omni Homestead Resort. And according to Arccos, I became statistically more accurate with my approach shots.
The goal I failed at was increasing practice time. Due to a back injury, I had to protect myself so I could continue coaching my clients. In 2025, practice sessions were limited, but when I practiced, the sessions were shorter, more targeted, and more focused than ever. That leads to the next question: how do you create purpose in your practice? It starts with building a process that supports whatever goal you set for 2026.
Guideline No. 2: Focus on the process, not the outcome
When I set my goals for 2025, I focused on the daily actions that would bring me closer to those goals, rather than obsessing over the end result.
For example, playing more golf became a permanent fixture on my coaching calendar. As important as my clients are, golf had to move up my priority list if I wanted to play more rounds. That meant I had to schedule golf as part of my normal routine. How often do you put golf on your calendar to ensure you are playing enough to maintain your handicap and confidence?
That doesn’t mean every round was planned. Having a process also allowed me to say yes to the occasional last-minute “emergency nine” knowing that my responsibilities as a coach were still covered.
Processes include planning, checklists, routines, and habits: things you can control. Results are simply the result of those processes, and not the other way around. When your goals are built around actions you can control on a daily basis, you get significantly closer to achieving them.
Guideline No. 3: Keep it simple
Golf is a difficult game that cannot be made physically easier, but it is can be made simpler. Breaking goals into smaller, achievable milestones over a period of time is a proven way to meet or exceed annual goals. Smaller goals are easier to manage and easier to stick to.
Take scoring an average as an example. If your goal is to lower it by 10 shots by 2026, that can feel overwhelming. But what if you split your round into six three-hole segments, each with a modest goal? Or focused on improving specific statistical categories that make up your score average?
The beauty of simplicity is that you can become very competent in one area of your game, taking the pressure off the rest. Most average golfers miss the greens short. A simple goal might be to aim for the back of the green more often by taking one extra club. That change requires no extra effort, just a smarter decision. Compare that to trying to swing harder with shorter clubs, which is much more complex and time-consuming.
Simple is almost always better.
Guideline No. 4: Be realistic
Right behind simplicity is realism, and you could say that this should come first. Unrealistic goals require more time, more complexity and often lead to frustration. Simplicity often leads to realism.
I have a competitive junior client who is already 59 percent green on average in terms of regulations and has set a goal to reach 80 percent by 2026. For context, the PGA Tour average is around 66 percent, while the statistical leader hovers around 74 percent. While I admire the ambition, 80 percent was not realistic given his school schedule and other commitments.
After evaluating his performance in 2025, we reset his target to 66 percent, right in line with the Tour average. His process begins with improving greens hit on Par 3s between 135 and 165 yards. By creating a simple, realistic plan for those shots, we create momentum that carries over to the rest of the course, increasing his overall greens-in-regulation percentage and lowering his scoring average.
Guideline No. 5: Look in the short term
A one-year goal can lose its impact over time, just like a picture on the wall: you no longer notice it. Therefore, your 2026 goals should be broken down into smaller goals with shorter deadlines.
With the same junior golfer, we set a deadline of April 1, 2026 to achieve 66 percent greens in regulation on Par 3s in tournament play. That represents about a third of its overall goal. The next two quarters will focus on Par 4s and Par 5s, with the final quarter dedicated to refining the process and building momentum for 2027.
Put it all together
Smaller, simpler and more realistic goals, completed in shorter time frames and integrated into your daily routine, are much easier to achieve. By 2025 I will have achieved 80 percent of my goals. That success motivates me to achieve even more in 2026.
With a clear process, the larger goals you set for 2026 are absolutely achievable. However, goals without process are doomed to failure.
By now you probably have goals in mind for 2026. Spend the rest of this month building a realistic, simple process that will help you achieve those goals one step at a time, and you’ll give yourself a real chance to succeed.
Perfect putting mat
– Length: 9ft 6in Trusted and used by over 100 PGA/LPGA Tour professionals.
View Product
#5step #guide #setting #golf #goals