Goal Setting ©

By Betsy Shoenfelt, Ph.D.

Mental skills can aid your golf game as much as physical skills. One mark of a mentally tough athlete is the ability to focus attention and effort on key components of the game. Goal Setting is a relatively simple technique that can focus your efforts and improve your performance. There are several important characteristics that must be present for goals to be effective.

First, goals must be accepted and understood. Goals that are thrust upon us, that we neither understand nor believe in, will not help our performance.

Second, goals should be specific and should be challenging. Specific goals have been proven to be much more effective than vague "Do your best" goals. Rather than using the general goal of "play a good round," set a more specific goal such as "cut two strokes off my score on the back nine." Challenging goals that are difficult but realistic (i.e., the goal is attainable) will improve our performance much more than easy goals. We tend to dismiss unrealistic goals – so they fail our first criterion.

Third, our goals should be measurable. What is a measurable goal? Ask yourself "How will I know if I have accomplished this goal?" If you can provide an answer to that question, your goal is likely to be measurable. If possible, quantify your goal. However, quantifying goals is not always possible or necessary.

Fourth, keep track of your performance in relation to your goal. At the end of your round determine if you met your goal. This feedback is a source of motivation and may provide information to improve your strategy for attaining your goal. If you attained your goal, pat yourself on the back! Now set a goal for the next time you play. Is there room for further improvement or do you want to strive to maintain your current good performance? If you failed to meet your goal, can you determine why it was not attained? Was it strategy, effort, lack of focus, or perhaps some extenuating circumstance? The answer(s) to this question provide you with information to modify your play on your next round of golf.

Finally, goals may be set for outcomes or for the process (performance) that is necessary to reach an outcome. Long-range goals are frequently stated in terms of outcomes. However, the shorter the time frame for the goal, the more important it is that the goal focuses on the process. For example, you may have a goal of breaking 90 (or 100 or even 110 J ) on a round of golf. This is an outcome goal. However, when you are teeing off on a specific hole, your goal setting will be more effective if you state your goal for that hole in terms of process. For example, "My goal for this hole is to lay-up on this side of that body of water, then hit an approach shot onto the green." This goal is focusing on the process you will use immediately to help you attain your more long-range goal of breaking 90.

You may use the acronym "SMART" to remember the characteristics of effective goals. "S" for Specific, "M" for Measurable, "A" for Attainable, "R" for Realistic, and "T" for Timely. Use "SMART" goals to focus on the dimensions of your golf game you would like to improve. If you are working on your short game, set a goal for the number of putts for the front nine (e.g., 16 or fewer putts). After the first nine holes, see how well you did, then set a goal for the back nine. If you are focusing on drives, set a goal and keep track of the number of drives that hit the fairway.

Goal setting can be used by virtually anybody to improve performance on the golf course, at work, or in your personal life. Follow these guidelines and see how effective goal setting can be for you.

© Dr. Betsy Shoenfelt is a sport psychologist on the faculty of Western Kentucky University, a member of the USOC Registry of Sport Psychologists, and a member of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of EWGA. Dr. Shoenfelt may be reached at betsy.shoenfelt@wku.edu or 270-745-4418.

Sport Psychology