2020 is/was a wild year. We had shut downs and uncertainty, but a lot of us played more golf than ever.
How was your year in golf? What were your favorite new products, courses, moments, etc.? What was your best score and best shot? Who did you play with? Did you improve? What did you learn? If this was a tough year on the course, I want to hear about that too.
My year has been amazing. Looking like Iāll get a couple of rounds in this month too!
March-May: I played a ton of golf in March and April at my home course. With everything shut down and working from home, golf was an easy get away, and for a while we were limited to single golf, so I played a lot of really fast 18 holes rounds. In May I went to Erin Hills as part of a Local Golf Advisor event, and fell in love with the place!
June: In June I played my first tournament of the year and kinda sucked. But it was fun. I also took a trip to Northern Minnesota with some friends and played The Wilderness at Fortune Bay, The Quarry and The Legend at Giantās Ridge, and Deaconās Lodge. Four really terrific courses.
July: July was Club Championship month. I finished 8th overall, so not bad, but I had a rough 2nd day. Was in position for a top 5 but couldnāt get it done. I also played my first Pete Dye Course at Des Moines Golf & CC South, and found a hidden Gem in Rice Lake CC in North Central Iowa.
August: August saw our annual Marion Cup come and go. My club, Indian Creek, won it for the 4th or 5th consecutive year. On August 10th, a Derecho (sustained straight line winds) hit our town and did immense damage, including taking out 150+ trees at my home course. Winds were clocked at 120-140 mph, for about 45 minutes straight. Our club was closed for a total of 6 weeks over the next 2 months to enable clean-up. As such most of my golf was traveling golf in this time. I played some new Iowa courses, which was fun. I also went on our Annual Greaver Cup Trip, this year to Central Wisconsin for Lawsonia Links, Mammoth Dunes, The Sandbox and University Ridge. Great Trip!
September: I played my last tournament of the year in Dubuqueā¦the Dubuque Am at Dubuque Golf & CC. I finished 7th overall. I also took a lesson which led to some really positive gains in my game. And I finally got to play Waveland in Des Moines, which is the oldest Municipal Course west of the Mississippi.
October/November: With my home course reopened after clean-up, I played a bunch of rounds at my home course, and shot my personal best for the year, a 4 under par 64! I also started speed stick training during this time.
Itās been a great year so far! Iāve got 140 rounds played, and Iāve played rounds with probably 50 different people over the year. It will be hard to top 2020 from a golf standpoint, but Iām sure going to try.
You might get to play with me next year, so I think 2021 will be pretty great.
True dat! Letās make sure this happens!
It was a strange year, to say the least! Practical Golf reached levels that I never thought possible, and starting this community is certainly a bright spot as well.
When courses opened up around here in late April I came out pretty hot. Shot my two lowest scores within a week of one another (65/66) and got my hcp down to a +1.5.
However, towards the summer I struggled in the 5-6 tournaments I played in. Each time I seemed to put myself in a hole early on and had to grind out a score. A few times I was very close to getting into the big event (these were all qualifiers and you generally need to shoot around E to +2), but kept missing by 2-3 strokes. Either way, I played some of my best golf overall, but I think something was a little off during competitive play. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but my gut feeling is that I was mentally off. To be honest, everything that happened this year probably has taken a toll on my mind that I donāt completely realize.
Product-wise, Iād say the three favorites that I ādiscoveredā in 2020 are the Perfect Practice Putting mat, PRGR launch monitor, and the Rapsodo MLM.
Outside of health and family, golf has really been the bright spot this year and pushed me to recommit to the game more so than I have in a long time. While I am (and probably always will be) working through various swing changes and tweaks, Iām probably playing the best I ever have, or at least the most consistently. Joining a club means Iām getting in at least 9 holes pretty much every day, plus no offseason here. Dipping my toes into tournament play didnāt go well score-wise, but was fun and something Iām excited to continue.
I started out the year trying to play some new courses, and played a few different courses in January and February. I started that year at a 0.5 handicap, but due to Covid and some counties shutting down golf during March and April, I played as much as I could not knowing if Iād get to play again for awhile. I played some good golf (including 5 rounds with no pins) and got to a +0.1 by March.
In May I had my low round of the year, a -6 65 on a 6400 yd course in Tulsa, and by June my handicap got to a PB +1.7. Also in June I decided to take the plunge on new Sub 70 irons, which is an odd strategy considering how well Iād been playing, but I thought I could still get better.
In July I became a MGS tester for the Honma TR20 driver, so I had another new weapon in the arsenal, had a couple good rounds on vacation and got to a +2.0 before bruising some ribs while mountain biking. BTW, the Honma is a beast!
After I was healed up, I started playing a lot of Wolf and Skins at Rockwood with a couple of buds on Saturdays for the last few months but havenāt quite found the early season form again. My putting has been hovering between mediocre and horrible and I tried 5 or 6 different putting styles, often switching mid-round.
In September, this great Practical Golf Forum came into our lives, and I got to interact with a bunch of great folks and have a nice distraction from the election. Also I did the free month of DECADE and did some informal speed training after being inspired by Brysonās U.S. Open victory. My son went through the First Tee program, so I spent more time practicing while he was there and didnāt play much.
October was probably my best golf month of the year! I played in a Member-guest at Summit Rock and made a bunch of birdies but too many doubles and finished a stroke out of the money. Then I won the Perfect Putting Mat on this forum, and then at the end of October, on a whim, and coaxed by @Golfer_Jake_78, I decided to participate in an all day Golfathon.
In the Golfathon I played 7 full rounds, 126 holes in a day. I had great support from several Twitter friends and raised over $1500 for the First Tee of Fort Worth. I played every set of tees, and the last round was extra special as I was worn out and emotional, yet somehow shot my Rockwood PB -3 69 from the tips. Itās a feeling I will never forget.
In November, I played a few rounds, knocked out my lowest GHIN scores and jumped up to a +0.9. But I just discovered the Claw grip and I feel like my putting could be better than ever.
I won some @SuperSpeedGolf sticks from @LouStagner and have a PRGR on the way, so Iāll be doing some intense speed training over the next few months!
We have no off season here, and Iāll play some Saturdays through the winter when the temp is above 40. Also in talks with my wife to let me join Rockwood so that I get to play a bit more next year vs paying per round. 2020 has been weird, but Iām grateful for all that golf has brought me this year.
It was definitely an odd year. My wife has absolutely hated 2020, but for me it wasnāt so bad mostly due to golf. Unlike most I actually had to be in the office more because of Covid so I didnāt get to practice or play a few holes regularly like I thought I would. I did get to play a bit more golf though because most other plans got cancelled. Without the practice time my play was hot & cold. I won more money than usual not by winning any tournaments, but with skins, closest to the pin, etc. I did have a 2nd and 3rd place in tournaments which was nice, but it was another season of being really inconsistent highlighted by a 103 on Saturday followed by an 81 on Sunday in a tournament.
I feel like I have a better understanding of what goes wrong in my swing and how to fix it, but I realize that I need the practice time to be more consistent. I was able to finish this season pretty strong so hopefully I can improve on that for next season.
Yeah, I definitely got better and more comfortable in our small money gambling games. I also had to work in the office every day and didnāt get to work remotely at all. Glad I got to play as much as I did, but definitely want to give my wife all the breaks I can since she has had the kids at home way more than expected!
My first (almost full) year of golf! Learned I hit hybrids better than anything, got a new(to me) driver that rocks, and enjoyed the heck out of it! Now I have 30 rounds total under my belt. What other sport can you START in your 60s, see beautiful surroundings, and always have a challenge? Made progress toward bogey golf. Fairway shots improved, which was my tough spot.
A sanity saver for me!
Did you guys play high school or collegiate golf? I am always curious on the background of people who make it to + handi territory. Great achievement.
I played baseball through my first year in college. Didnāt really take the game seriously until probably 2015 (played a bit in highschool but never consistently, no instruction, maybe broke 90 a handful of times)
Since 2015, I have moved from probably a 16 down to 6. Looking to take the next step though in 2021
16 to 6 is s great jump! The last few to scratch are hard, but you can do it.
I grew up playing a lot, but also played all other sports that I could. I played basketball and golf thru sophomore year, then quit basketball to focus on golf my last 2 years. I played some in my spare time first year of college, then walked onto the college team my sophomore year. I didnāt get many tournaments my sophomore year, then got to play most all of them my junior year where I was the #4 or #5 guy on the team, and by senior year I was burned out, plus we had a bunch of recruits and juco transfers that were better than me, so I didnāt get to play much. My tourney scores ranged from around 75-84, and my course management and putting werenāt great back then.
Also got suspended from 4 tournaments when my coach saw me playing intramural baseball when they were returning from a trip that I didnāt qualify for (against team rules). I never had lessons growing up, and my college coach once said I was āuncoachableā
When I left college and had to start paying to play golf again, I fell in love with the game. I was probably around scratch in '06-'08 but didnāt have an official handicap. Then got married, had a couple of kids, golf game dipped a bit and only played 15-20 rounds a year. Now that the kids are a bit older, Iām playing closer to 2.5-3 times a month
Probably my best year in golf. Set 3 goals: break 90, break 40 for 9, and play 50 rounds. Mission accomplished on all three, including 72 rounds, which is more than I may have played in my previous 19 seasons combined. I also learned a lot about my game. The less I think about, techniqe-wise, the better. I also need to get better at sticking to my gameplan. I ran into trouble when I switched things up because I was hitting it well, and that hurt me. Also, if I take lessons again, I think that Iāll be focusing on short game, learning shots, and course management. I took lessons this year, and my scores suffered a ton because I was too focused on mechanics (though the grip change helped immediately).
I played my first matches using handicaps, and it was so much fun. Will definitely be doing more of that next year (maybe even with something on the line besides bragging rights).
I witnessed two holes-in-one, first time ever seeing even one.
I also learned to enjoy my time on the course, even as Iām trying to improve. It made it easier to deal with bad holes and rounds (too many, of course).
The best thing about this year is that I now have concrete things to focus on for 2021, things that I know Iāll be able to improve upon. Canāt wait until next year.
Goals for next season:
80 rounds
Lock in the best ball flight for my game
Shoot level par for 9
Break 80
Gain a club in distance
I played in high school and had a very brief, uneventful stint in D3 golf. To be honest, I wasnāt all that special back then competitively. I didnāt keep an official hcp, but if I had to guess I was probably somewhere around a 3-6 from age 15-19. Then came a long absence from playing golf consistently because I lived in NYC.
I didnāt really reach my current level until I hit my early 30s (Iām 37 now), and that process was really the starting point for the site.
Jon, not to derail this thread, but have you ever written up and posted the origins of the site? If you have, it would be awesome to read. If not, you should write it, because it would be awesome to read 
Iām not sure itās all that interesting 
- somewhere around the end of 2014 I was reading some golf blogs (back when people actually tried to start golf blogs) and thought to myself, āI can do better than thisā
My golf really peaked in 2019. I had a 4 month hiatus in between jobs and was able to play 1-2 times per week. I finally dropped my handicap below 9-10 and really improved ball striking over the year. Highlight of 2019 was shooting career low 74 (2 over).
In November, my son was born. We now had an 18 month old and a newborn and I had begun my new job in October. There was very little golf played between November and March.
Once Covid kicked off, I began getting out a bit more but never got the consistency / gamer attitude back that you get when playing 1 or more times per week. Began to practice more. At some point I stumbled on Practical Golf as well as @Adamyounggolf materials. Lots of 40 minute range sessions and swinging at home in front of the mirror. Lots of rushed 9 hole rounds (donāt really recommend this, i think practicing is most productive if you donāt have a full 2 hours to play 9 holes for score)
I started taking some stats and pretty quickly realized I needed to level up my ball striking and hit more greens to really lower my handicap. I would say my focus has turned up a notch since maybe august / September. I am taking a lesson about every 6-8 weeks and am working on a few simple things in my golf swing (getting fully turned / properly coiled and giving myself enough time in transition to keep the shaft shallow). I am doing less stupid things strategically, and am starting to hit more and more solid shots on the course. I am still fighting double crosses, and my immediate goal is to play everything with a right to left (draw) pattern and start everything right of my target line. I am starting to have some better practice sessions (gate drill) and this focus has really shown me that I need to improve my pattern. Basically there are practice sessions where I am fighting tooth and nail against steepening shaft and a left path and my brain leaves the face open to compensate. Other sessions, I groove the path slightly right, with good face control and the ball flight is SO MUCH BETTER (more compression, more center face contact and the crazy outlier missesā¦ie double crossā¦ become way less frequent)
Highlight of the year was shooting 79 on a course rated 74 from 6850 yards. The course was sopping wet and the wind was blowing so it played at least 10% longer. I was hitting hybrids and 5 irons all day into greens and ground it out.
Really excited for the next year. I am committed to making a few technical changes in my swing that should lead to a more consistent start line and pattern. Patience is the theme. I really feel that there is a day coming soon where I find the pattern on the course and hit 14 greens and 18 ānear greensā.
Good thing to think back on.
Ended the year roughly where I began handicap wise at 1.2, though started year going from a 1 to a +.3 with the handicap system change.
Had 2nd child as the world shut down but was still able to get out to play a decent amount, but not as much practice as Iād like.
Finally starting to get feel of new driver so maybe can get things all clicking at the same time soon and put up some lower numbers. Hard though with kids and a wife who feels locked up now since all the things she likes to do arenāt really safe these days (i.e. spa). Have a few better thoughts with putter than I did at start of the year (was going back and forth between two putters) so really happy with that. If driver can stay consistent (just not putting balls in hazards/OB), putter feel sticks around, and can gain some consistency with irons (by playing more) - '21 will be really fun (especially if I can play and not feel like Iām going to be in trouble the second I get home).
Lol
Iāve definitely gotten the āwhen are you going to be homeā text when Iāve been on number 5 or 6. Generally just head home at the turn as the anticipation of female rage basically ruins my ability to have fun.
Iāve gotten pretty pro active in terms of putting a round on the calendar 5 - 14 days in advance and making sure my mom is available to take our 2.5 year old. Has helped a lot. Very little weekend golf for me.