The Goals Post

Golf goals and reflecting on 2024

Caddie Corner is a weekly golf newsletter. Every week we (the golf-obsessed) reflect on golf, life, and the moments in between. Thanks for being here. Let’s get to this week’s story

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I’m sitting by a pool in Florida wondering if Michael Greller is going to be on Jordan’s bag this time next year.

Not how I imagined 2025 to start.

For those who don’t know, Greller is on Max Homa’s bag this week. How many approach shots does it take to realize how much less stressful his job just got?

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2024 Goals Recap

I had some ambitious goals for last year. The first being to cut my handicap in half. I started at an 8.9 and wanted to get in the 4s.

How’d that go? I was on track through the spring. I got down to a 7.5. Consistent rounds in the 70s. Then I ejected. Full Jordan at Amen Corner ejection (or Rory at Pinehurst if you can stomach it).

We enter the new year at a 10.0 even handicap. So it goes.

Last year I wanted to play 45 rounds. Happy to say I played the most golf of my life last year. That may have contributed to the bad habits forming.

2025 Goals

1. Play less golf. Counterintuitive, I know. But I think I’m at the age where golf isn’t the most important thing in my life. Of course, I’m lying to myself as I write this. I’ve just realized that if I want to live the life I imagine, it probably involves less time on the course in the immediate future. What does this look like? Full abstinence? Cold turkey? Not at all. Unless you want me to cancel my tee time booked for this Saturday.

   Pruning the good things in our lives to make room for even better things is hard. What does “less golf” mean? No weekday rounds? No golf trips? I can’t exactly say. Though, if I had to guess, 25 rounds would mean I spent a lot more time elsewhere.

2. Enjoy the rounds I do play more. This is a study in if absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. How can I appreciate golf more? Can I slow down and be grateful to play the game?

3. Try new courses/Be intentional with where I play. Living in Chicago I am fortunate to be an hour ride from some amazing golf courses. Yet I play the same ones all the time. If I am going to play less, why not be intentional about where I play? And why not make a day trip up to Wisconsin and back for some different golf?

4. Film more courses. Last year I shot drone videography for 14 courses. Looking back at last year, those early mornings by myself in a golf cart and a cup of coffee watching the sun rise were moments that remind me golf is more spiritual than we’d like to admit. Take a look at some of these shots I got:

   

   

5. Caddie more than I play. Last year I got back on the bag for the first time in 6 years. That was the best decision I made last year. And while I hope to be busy in 2025, I hope to leave room for looping.

6. Connect with good humans. I made a list this week. One column for people I met this year that came into my life in a positive way. The other column for friends and people that have come out of my life. I think losing friendships is the hardest part about being in your 20s. And I’m scared that I’m actually getting good at it. But when I looked at my list, I was happy to see the column of people IN far outnumbered those that went separate ways. I hope the same is the case in 2025.

2025: The Year of Stretching

I turn 27 this year. I got my first massage ever last month. Not because I wanted it. Because I needed it.

When I was 23, I spent three straight months sleeping on couches in different cities. I’d wake up in the morning and barely need coffee. I slept on my parent’s couch in the basement over Thanksgiving and woke up thinking I needed to go to the ER.

While 2025 is about proactively protecting my post-side, I am going to stretch in other ways.

I’m constantly amazed at the human ability to do. To create. To build. To explore. But our world makes it so much easier to do literally anything else. And I’m as guilty as anyone. My roommate’s can attest by the “I thought you just started that show yesterday” comments, as I binge another Netflix show (sorry, Peaky Blinders is just as good the second time around).

This year I am going to attempt to stretch my own capacity to do. Which means removing distraction. Cutting and pruning and eliminating. Basically a greenskeeper’s job description.

Is it going to be fun? Not always. Will I have to say no to things I want to do (like golf)? Most definitely. Will it be worth it? Come back next year to see.

2025 Golf Predictions and Last Year Recap

2024 PGA Tour Predictions

1. Breakout player of the year: Ludvig Aberg. ❌Bit of a sophomore slump

2. Most wins of the year: Scottie Scheffler ✅

3. Who falls off this year: Rory. ❌ Four wins didn’t fall off. Are US Open heartbreakers becoming a consistent thing???

4. World number 1 entering the Masters: Scottie Scheffler ✅

5. World number 1 at the end of the year: Scottie Scheffler ✅(dude’s a machine)

2024 Major Predictions

1. The Masters: Scottie Scheffler ✅

2. The PGA Championship (Valhalla): ❌Rory repeats

3. The US Open (Pinehurst No. 2):❌ Tommy Lad

4. The Open (Royal Troon): ❌ Ludvig Aberg

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2025 PGA Tour Predictions

1. Breakout player of the year: Cam Young finally gets 1+ wins

2. Most wins of the year: Xander, Rory, and Scottie each win exactly 4 times

3. Who falls off this year: Bryson. Will be a quieter major season for the big golfer

4. World number 1 entering the Masters: Scottie Scheffler

5. World number 1 at the end of the year: Scottie Scheffler (it’s the Scottie era try to enjoy it)

2025 Major Predictions

1. The Masters: Xander Schauffele

2. The PGA Championship (Quail Hollow): Need I type it…?

3. The US Open (Oakmont): Scottie Scheffler

4. The Open (Royal Portrush): Tommy Lad (but do I need to say what I really think…)

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What are your goals for 2025?

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