Golf Goals, Purpose and Finding the Joy in Practice

A couple of years ago, I decided to get “serious” about my golf. I wanted a bit of purpose behind my gym training, and not running anymore meant no half marathon goals or similar, and as after COVID I made the choice to rejoin the golf club full time rather than just as a Twilight member. If I was going to invest the time (and the money, because let’s face it, golf in the Algarve isn’t cheap) then I wanted to actually enjoy playing well, not turn up every week, play badly and get annoyed.

I’ve always had the longest, loopiest swing. My swing used to be a mix of John Daly and Jim Furyk, which, as combinations go, is not ideal. When it works, it’s great. When it doesn’t, it’s anyones guess where the ball might end up !

So, I started having consistent lessons, made some fundamental changes to my swing and started to make real progress and became more consistent. I got my handicap down from around 15 to flitting between 9 & 11. Then, as life tends to do, work got busier, practice time disappeared, and I stopped my lessons. My head was full of too many swing thoughts, and I just needed a break. Each practice session was becoming full of too many thoughts and trying to make too many tweaks all the time, and it started to become a bit overwhelming.

For a while, I simply played. I still warmed up before rounds but didn’t really practise very often. Then, a couple of months ago, I got the practice bug back again, and it’s been interesting to notice how different my reasons for practising are now.

When I first started trying to get my handicap down, practicing was for the goal of getting my handicap down, some sessions where to just get outside, but the vast majority were all about chasing the handicap.

But then recently practicing has become much more a way of relaxing after work, of getting those last hours of sunlight in after spending all day inside. And I kind of fell back in love again with practicing. But not so much from a handicap lowering point of view.

Like yesterday, I just felt like I needed to get outside and do something, as it was such a glorious day. I ended up spending two and a half hours putting, chipping and hitting irons, and never even made it to my driver, ran out of time ! It was bliss. Perfect Algarvian October day, sunshine, no pressure, just me, the range, some chilled tunes and a quiet mind.

That’s what I love about golf, it can be so many things. It can be competitive, nerve wracking, adrenaline filled when you’re in a match, teeing off in a Mid Am or coming down the last few holes in a competition. But it can also be peaceful and restorative.

For my birthday this year, I played 2 of Portugal’s most beautiful courses, and it was proper millionaire’s golf. When I played Torre at Comporta as it was still in soft launch, it was literally just me and two other people ( who I never saw) on the course. Absolute heaven, it was the most relaxing blissful round of golf ever, the course is simply stunning .

Now, practice for me has become my way to switch off and recharge. There is a positive in that the by product of it is hopefully my swing will become a little less erratic. I’ve started having lessons again and really liking the new perspective on my swing and quite excited to see where it will go, if I can just get my body to do what we’re trying to work on. The good thing is, it is as Huw says just “tidying” up my swing.

As for goals, I briefly touched 8.3 this year before going back up two shots in less than two months (thanks WHS!). So I would still love to one day get to 5 , but for now lets see if we can get to 7 during 2026, eliminating those rounds in the late 80s &90s , and having more round in the 70s and early 80s .

The challenge, as always, is time, and with no floodlit ranges in the Algarve, winter practice is tricky. So it’ll be Saturdays for now. But we’ll see what happens.

The main thing, in golf and in life, is to enjoy it. As I said to my friend when we were both having a bad round in a Mid Am, we’re not paid to do this. We play for fun, but fun doesnt mean we dont get competitive, but it is not the end of the world if we dont win, we are still above ground, have the ability to laugh and go and play again. I’d hate to do it for a living, its far too stressful to have your mortgage reliant on the outcome of a shot.

So whatever happens, the goal is simple, relax, smile and enjoy the game.