2012 - The Year of Commitment

"The difference between a dream and a fantasy is commitment"

I sit here writing the first of many blog entries for 2012. After spending a few weeks at home with my family I'm almost ready to head back to sunny Florida and begin what will be the hardest working year of my life. These past two weeks have given me some time to reflect over last years positive steps iv made and what specifically i need to do to get better. In a years time i want to sit here and reflect on what was a year where i got the most out of my time, i want to look back and be proud of the strides i will have made.

This is essentially my plan for the year that I'm going to outline. Without a doubt this will be the year where i work the hardest i have ever on my fitness specifically. Since coming to the USA i absolutely love working out and pushing my body to its limits. I have a couple of underlying issues which are holding me back when it comes to what i want to achieve in my golf swing. Most notably the flexibility in my hips, calves and hamstrings needs to improve because currently this cause me to early extend which can be seen clearly in this video made by MYTPI. Early extension leads to blocks and hooks which is what i struggled with all of last year. Most of the time swing faults come from physical problems which is definitely part of the reason for my poor body action at times.

I use a fantastic company called Sum it Golf services to analyze my stats. The website www.strokeaverage.com allows me to put in every shot of my rounds of golf, this gives me some phenomenal data. Im outline the key stats below and overall I'm confident because i know I'm improving every year. My statistics from last year are overall very positive, they have shown a rise in performance in a number of key areas:

Ball Striking

As you can see my driving accuracy is one of the biggest areas i need to focus on. Specifically the driver, a lot of my misses are in the semi rough however the more fairways you hit allows your more control into the greens. 

I have a great technical plan to improve my accuracy off the tee, I'm working hard on my set up position mainly posture. After a recent bio mechanics session I'm trying to create more forward bend from my hips and pelvic bone rather than from my shoulders. Also I'm trying to work the plane more around my body on the backswing with the left arm working more around me, The best way to do this is to get the shaft position at address inline with my belt buckle.

Short Game

My short game stats are where are really need to see improvement this year, i worked tirelessly on it last year without much focus and too much experimentation. This year i have a good plan which i won't change.  My bunker play however is very good, its close to world class.

Putting

Putting is one of my greatest strengths i putt great in competition, the only problem i may see is if start to hit more greens the stats will naturally tend to get a fraction worse unless I'm hitting it really close.