Isn’t it a ritual to make “resolutions” in the month of January, that we never keep? Are you looking back right now and wondering how you did not follow through with those resolutions? But more importantly, are you attempting to do the same thing in 2025? Yet, have no real plan to execute the resolutions? I’ve been in the golf school industry over 25 years and having run the best golf schools in the Orlando area for the past 15+ years, I can tell you I’ve seen resolution after resolution fail. Why? Because you are failing to set realistic goals. And that is what this post is all about. Making realistic golf goals for 2025.
Resolutions tend to be dreams you’d like to experience. Versus an actual experience that is planned. What we’re talking about is setting goals, making plans, so your abilities can achieve the realistic goals that make sense for you. As well as you having fun in the process. Not “pie in the sky” dreams that are unrealistically based upon what seems to be the impossible to accomplish in one year. Within previous posts, including last month’s post about how you got in your own way of achieving objectives in 2024, I’ve discussed numerous ways to set goals and achieve those goals.
What This Post is All About
This post is a list of possible goals you can realistically accomplish in 1 year, 365 days, with minimal effort. We’re challenging you in 2025 to consider making realistic goals the top priority, right now, to obtain what you desire this year. We suggest choosing 10 of the ideas below, creating a plan to achieve each by the end of the year.
Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a dedicated competitor, having clear objectives can improve your skills and deepen your enjoyment of the sport. Setting specific, achievable goals is a great way to stay motivated and track your progress.
When you’re a client of John Hughes Golf, you set goals. As a matter of fact, I set goals every year! Why? Because setting goals provides a pathway and a measurement of your abilities, your improvement, and your future.
Which suggested ideas below will you choose as a realistic golf goal you can set and achieve in the upcoming year?
Lower Your Handicap by 2-3 Strokes
Improving your handicap is one of the most rewarding goals for any golfer. Most golfers think they can knock 5 or more strokes off their handicap in a short amount of time. Only to find the number being the same year after year. 2-3 strokes are very realistic if you focus on small but impactful improvements to your game. Like improving your short game. Or hitting more fairways. And reducing three-putts. Just about any of the goals listed below can directly affect your ability to lower your handicap in 2025.
Committing to a Practice Routine
You can’t engrain positive change in your golf skils without practice. Committing to a plan now can make 2025 a successful year for you on the course.
Many of the clients of John Hughes Golf come to their first coaching session stating they play more than practice. Particularly more “calendar experienced” golfers. Setting a goal of practicing once a week for 10 minutes is better than not practicing at all. And don’t confuse practice with warming up before a round.
What if you set into your weekly schedule 10 minutes to practice one skill? I bet by December of 2025 your handicap will shrink. And that specific skill will no longer be a weakness in your game. Ideally, 2 to 3 times a week is better. But let’s start the year with under promising and over delivering with this goal.
Break a Personal Scoring Barrier
What milestone scoring barrier are you closest to breaking, consistently? Set out to break that scoring barrier more often in 2025 by identifying 2 to 3 skills that mathematically are holding you back from doing so. It’s not enough to break the barrier once or twice. Find a way to consistently break the barrier by the end of the year and you’ll feel like your golfing year was a success.
Play a Bucket List Course
When I first started playing golf, this was always on my goals list each year. To play a golf course that was special in some way. Whether it was a local gem or a world-renowned course, playing a bucket list course always inspired me to reach set new goals. If you have the time available as well as the financial resources, playing a bucket list course in 2025 will create lasting memories to cherish for a lifetime. This is one of my goals for 2025.
Improve Your Fitness for Golf
Improving my overall fitness is another goal for me in 2025. It’s time to take better care of myself so I can play and practice more.
By taking better care of your body, you can probably take better care of your golf skills. It’s all about flexibility, strength, and endurance. Incorporate exercises that target your core, hips, and shoulders into your routine. Like practicing, a few minutes each day of stretching and mobility work won’t kill you. And can translate to a smoother, more powerful swing.
Whether at the practice facility or on the golf course, taking a lesson will provide you objective feedback and data you can use to formulate and improvement plan for 2025.
Take a Lesson
As much as you try to diagnose your swing and your perceived flaws, it’s hard to do so. And very subjective to the content you’re absorbing every day. One lesson with John and the staff of John Hughes Golf can provide valuable insights that will elevate your game. Why guess what you’re trying to accomplish? When a professional can objectively measure and evaluate what you’re doing and provide you with a very realistic plan to achieve your golf goals of 2025. I hope you take advantage of visiting the best golf school in Orlando when you visit me and my team in 2025.
Track and Improve Your Stats
Capturing and understanding your statistics in a deeper way will help you obtain your golf goals for 2025.
Start tracking key performance stats, such as fairways hit, greens in regulation, and total putts per round. Statistical platforms such as Arccos can make the process easy and automatic. While providing deeper
insights into your game. Statistics will make it easier to plan practice sessions as well as make decisions on the golf course. In turn, lowering your scores. Pick one statistical category you can improve. And watch some of the other categories improve as well.
Participate in a Tournament or League
Step outside your comfort zone and play a tournament. Not a Scramble, but a real tournament. Whether at your club or through one of the various amateur associations or amateur tour series. The experience of competitive play can sharpen your focus. While teaching you how to handle pressure situations.
The more pressure situations you face and handle, the better you handle pressure during future rounds. The first tournament you play is not about your score. It’s about having fun and learning what you’re capable of accomplishing. While watching and learning from others as they handle the adversity they put themselves through.
Master One New Shot
What is the one shot you wish you could hit consistently, when called upon to do so? Why not make that single shot one of your goals for golf in 2025? Whether it is a new “go-to shot.” Or a shot you need in your arsenal to play well at one of your bucket list courses.
It may be learning to hold your shots into the wind. Or learning to hit the ball high or low on command. It does not matter what shot you choose to learn and master in 2025. The fact that you chose one will provide self-competitive opportunities for you to learn more about yourself and your game.
Play More Golf with Friends or Family
We are all sometimes engulfed in the small daily fires we call life. But you can’t forget to play the game you love! I’m as guilty as the next person with this goal. Insuring I have plenty of availability for my clients.
Often, I find myself feeling guilty on the golf course playing golf. Instead of coaching golf. Which is why playing more golf in 2025 is a realistic and obtainable goal for me. I challenge you to do the same. Set time aside each week to play a minimum of 9-holes or more. With people you enjoy playing golf with. The memories you make on the course are more important than the scores you post.
Learn to Play a Curved Shot on Demand
Like mastering a new shot in 2025, is learning how to purposely curve a golf shot in either direction. Learning the basic physics that makes a golf ball curve is essential. As well as understanding the physics that comprises the uniqueness of your golf swing.
As you conquer this goal in 2025, play games with yourself at the practice facility as well as the golf course by purposely curving your shot around an obstacle. Being able to have this skill in your arsenal will greatly enhance your enjoyment of the game and differentiate you from almost 90% of all golfers worldwide.
Play 18 Holes without Losing a Golf Ball
Sounds simple and easy. But requires the best of decision making when faced with adverse lies and situations. No longer can you nonchalantly go about your business on the course when just one golf ball is available to you. The pressure is on you to make great decisions and execute those decisions to the best of your ability.
At the end of the round, be sure to retire that ball. And place it in a prominent place in your den or office to remind you what it takes to play and 18-hole round of golf with just one golf ball.
Develop Swing Speed
Easier said than done due to the consistent nature of fitness training needed to sustain more swing speed. But an admirable goal, nonetheless. If this is one of your golf goals for 2025, be sure to budget adequate time to train as well as recover.
Remember that training for speed is a lot different than training to control your club face. And requires complete ignorance of where the ball is flying when applying newfound swing speed to a golf ball. I am contemplating this as one of my golf goals for 2025.
Learn to Play Your Misses
I bet you “roll the ball” to avoid hitting a shot out of a divot or imperfect lie. I bet you fix imperfections in the greens you’re not supposed to by rule. But more importantly, I bet you emotionally and mentally beat yourself silly when you don’t hit the shot your were intending, to the slightest degree.
A lot of my clients do this and I consistently remind them that golf is a game of misses. And you must learn to play those misses to the best of your ability to lower your score. Learning to play your misses includes being kinder to yourself and becoming a problem solver. Not a problem magnifier.
Introduce Someone New to the Game
A great goal all golfers should undertake no matter the year. Introducing someone to golf today is much different than 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago. With the gamification of golf including Top Golf and Top Tracer, it is easier than ever for a new golfer to “catch the fever” we all did at some point.
Why not introduce someone to golf in 2025 in a way that makes the best sense to them, not you. And support their interest by gradually getting them to the golf course, where the new golfer can learn the things you’ve learned about the game and yourself.
Don’t let a hole dominate you in 2025. Take charge and dominate it!
Conquer a Hole that Conquers You
This is always a goal of mine. When I find there is a particular hole that no matter what I do I have a difficult time with, that hole becomes the goal for the year.
An example for me is #12 at McLemore Resort’s Highlands Course. An uphill par 5 that is relatively straight. But the contouring and shaping make it look “S” curved. I had a difficult time getting off the tee on this hole because my eyes could never fixate on a specific target. I made it a point in 2023 to find a target and never again make worse than par on this hole. And I achieved that goal. You can do the same with a hole that has your number in 2025.
Now to Put the Realism to Work with your Golf Goals for 2025
For your goals for golf to become reality in 2025, I suggest you divide your goals into short term and long-term goals. Providing you with an example with the goals I am setting for myself, my short-term goals are to practice more, introduce someone new to the game, and to start a fitness program for golf. The later can be construed as both a short- and long-term goal. My long-term goals are to play a bucket list course, play more golf, and to get in better golf shape.
Now the fun begins. Planning how to start all the goals gradually, not all at one time, is the key to your success. I’ll take my own advice and start placing myself in an impact position against my office door at home at least 10 minutes once a week to start. Doing so, I’ll close my eyes and feel what it is like to create leverage against the door frame.
From here, I’ll add daily stretching and mobility exercises. Doing those daily should make impact better with very little ball beating. While preserving and protecting my ailing L4/L5 disc.
As you can see from my example. Just one small step at a time can lead to big results for you in 2025. A small amount of concentrated effort is all it takes to get started. And as momentum builds, adding each goal to the daily or weekly schedule should be easier to squeeze in. This is an overall better method to sustaining your goal achievements for 2025.
Conclusion
As you set your golf goals for 2025, remember to keep them realistic and tailored to your personal golf journey. Celebrate your progress and enjoy the process. Little by little.
Please feel free to share your goals within the comment section below, so me and my staff can assist you with reaching your golf goals for 2025.