Back in April, I reaffirmed a plan for my 2014 golf season. The intent was to improve my overall game to help achieve my goal of being a scratch golfer. My plan was met with varying success; so I thought I would share the goods, bads and uglies with you.

I have four main focus areas that help guide every golf season. With a plan in place, I am usually ready for anything on the links. Here is my plan:

• get fit – focus on exercises designed to improve my golf game;
• research – the drills and techniques required to improve my game;
• practice – dedicate time to practice to improve my game; and
• compete – either formally or informally compete every time I hit the links.

Well I can say that my overall fitness for the golf season was pretty good. I felt strong during most rounds and rarely waned heading down the home stretch. I could have improved on my physical strength, but that is what this off-season is for. I would rate my fitness a B+.

My research on drills and techniques continued all season. I improved my chipping, widened my stance, and found better methods to score low. I have shared these tips and drills through the year in my blog, and they might be worth taking a look at. Interestingly, I improved more in the last two months of the season because I started hitting the ball farther off the tee. I will continue researching better ways to improve this area this winter. I would rate my research as a solid A.

Practicing was up and down this year. I started off extremely strong, but slowed during various times in the season. When I did practice, I felt rushed and unfocused. I write about practicing with intent all the time and should heed my own advice. I would rate my practice as a C+.

I did compete a bit this year, but mostly in fun tournaments. This type of competition is not good for my competitive edge, but it is competition. I played in 2 stroke events and was underwhelming. My competitive edge was not as sharp as in years past, but keep in mind that my criticism is relative to my handicap. I would rate my competitive edge as a B.

So overall, my season was about average for sticking to my plan. It is amazing how quickly the season passed and by not staying focused, I think that I missed some opportunities to improve. However, the most surprising aspect of my entire 2014 golf season is that I dropped my handicap from 4.7 to 2.8!

Wait, before you say not nice things to me, I cannot believe it either. I had a 4 week period where I could do nothing wrong and I actually broke par once. From a pure handicap perspective, 2014 was a fantastic season.

Hopefully, I will build on my successes from this year and achieve my overall goal of being a scratch golfer.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!