I’ve started trying to keep a journal of post-round notes – what went well, what didn’t, what swing thoughts I used, etc. Thinking this will be helpful if I actually go back and review it.
What format/app do you use? What kind of info do you record and how do you use it?
I do this religiously and I love it. It has done wonders for my practice. I keep it pretty simple. I make notes in notepad in my phone during the round, then I write them down in a physical journal. I keep it in the waterproof pocket of my bag so I can reference it when I go to practice.
I’ve started keeping a “rounds” journal as well (last year forward). I’m keeping it simple so that I actually review and get value…so I just keep a pocket notebook from the dollar store and write down things like:
Per hole - score, near fairway, GIR, # of pirches, # of putts.
Then I write down the clubs I hit and if any were “troublesome” and look for patterns.
I’ve realized with doing this that the better I drive the ball, the better my scores….usually regardless of how the rest of my game is that day.
I usually take my scorecard home and do this immediately after a round so it’s fresh…writing bare minimum on the card during the round to keep up pace of play.
I don’t keep a journal but do use Shotscope to record my rounds. One habit I am trying to build is to look at every hole and pick out the best shot, even on a treble there will be one. This gives me a much more positive outlook than just focusing on where I am losing shots (I do that obviously to understand what to do to improve).
I think this is pretty universal. The game is really hard when you’re not keeping the tee shots in play. That’s my biggest challenge. It gets a lot easier when you’re playing from the fairway.
I’ve been using OneNote and just making an entry of 3 or 4 points after each round. The trick is to actually get myself to review it and take action on it.
Definitely seeing some trends – OB tee shots can ruin a round. I need to just keep it in play with driver and rely on my iron game instead of swinging for the fences. And sometimes I have a tendency to block partial wedges to the right.
I heard about someone doing this absolutely religiously. They kept notes of what they ate for dinner, what time they went to bed, how they slept, what time they woke up, how long before their tee time they got to the course, how the range session went. EVERYTHING. Then studied it over and over again to look for patterns as to what resulted in his best rounds. I think he wrote all this down on paper. Doing this took him from being just RFG to being WAGR #1.
I heard about this and then I decided to do it too. Lasted two rounds. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
I have been using the free version of DayOne journal on my iPad for a few years now. After each round I record my thoughts. I also add a screenshot of my scorecard from The Grint if I used it to score my round.
I use Shotscope for the data and a paper notebook for post round reviews. Try to record a standard format of:
I also rate myself A-E on Tee shots, Approach, Chipping/Pitching and Putting.
I am currently toying with a custom Microsoft Forms questionnaire on my O365 account to automate my data capture through my iPhone for easy transfer to Excel (and further analysis). Need to amend my form to capture basics; date, course, event etc
I’ve started journaling my rounds based on that terrible article about how a guy who was obviously good at golf stayed good at golf… I’ve enjoyed journaling them, even if both rounds have been actively mediocre.
Updated sharing permissions… I had it wrong the first time around.
To each his own, but that’s a lot more detail than I keep. Do you think you’ll actually review it and use it? That’s the key to a useful journal in my opinion. I tend to jot down just 3 or 4 key thoughts, what went well, and what I need to work on, swing thoughts that worked, etc.
I did get a kick out of the fact that you recorded what shoes you wore and what logo was on your ball. 
Never know what the lucky combination might be.
Thanks for sharing Will. Really interesting to see how much detail you keep. I struggle with the discipline to maintain the basic details so have to keep it as simple as possible. What I noticed after maintaining a paper notepad of rounds and practice sessions over 18 months was the patterns were really clear. My problem is I didn’t take positive action assertively or early enough. And I’ve only just fully appreciated this past year how committed you need to be to make a technical change.
The logo was mostly a joke. I’m 100% serious on the shoes.
If you listened to hack it out golf with Sasho, he talks about shoes and how different ones are better for people… I had my best driving day in my new balances, so I’m curious to see if there is something there. I just put new spikes in my footjoy classics to see if added traction helps me hit the ball better.
Obviously going to be a ton of noise in that signal, but it’s worth trying to figure out the stuff I can control.
Honestly, right now the focus is mostly on writing it to force myself to walk back through my rounds… last round had some really easy mistakes (double on par 5s out of the sand)
We will see if I keep up with it over time.
I did listen to that podcast. So maybe Sir Nick isn’t BSing about the Squairz shoes adding 15 yards!
I think a stable base really helps me, but I’m not 100%
It’s one of those things that you don’t really think about and probably isn’t a huge factor most of the time, but I have the time, why not play around with it.
My footjoy flex have been relegated to practice shoes…
I’ve been keeping a golf journal all season, and I’ll normally review my last couple rounds before playing or practicing, to remind myself of swing keys or things I’m working on. But today after playing a not so great round, I went back and reviewed the entire season. It was kind of frustrating to see that I keep fighting the same things and haven’t improved them or ingrained better habits. Main thing is overswinging with the driver. I do a lot better with what feels like a 3/4 swing, but I keep reverting back to old habits.
Same here. Frustrating to go back to 2019 and keep seeing the same observations; tempo (too quick / rushing the downswing), over-rotating etc. I mentioned to my coach and he said these will be my tendencies. I have to be aware of them and keep fighting to keep them at bay.
