Nothing to see there. Just a bunch of turkeys strolling across the 9th green while my golf ball waits and watches in the background.
This past year, I played a great majority of my golf on that particular course—oftentimes with my brother and my dad. We've spotted turkey, deer, brown hare, groundhogs, beaver, and numerous birds, including a couple of raptors. All of that nature is definitely a perk of spending so much time on the golf course.
Speaking of so much time on the golf course, I'll say convincingly that over the past two years, I've played a lot. It's easily more than the previous 10 or 15 years combined, especially considering that some of those years I hardly touched a golf club.
And as hokey as this may sound, these past two years have taught me a lot about my game. And myself. For those of you who enjoy how philosophy and psychology are woven into sports, I'll add some paragraphs about that journey later on in this post. For now, let's talk about one of the most exciting things from the 2025 golf season.
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| Titleist T150, 5–PW |
I bought a new set of irons!
I started putting more thought into purchasing a new set back in 2024, but hesitated for quite a while. Some of the hesitancy stemmed from being comfortable with my old set. (I'd had them for almost 20 years.) Another part of it had to do with the cost, because golf clubs are not cheap these days. However, technology has advanced so much in that time span that I was really missing out on tangible benefits. And it's not only about golf club design. It's also about a field called club fitting.
There was a time when getting custom-fit for a set of golf clubs was reserved for the most highly skilled players who had manufacturing experts and swing coaches at their disposal. The average golfer would just have to do a little asking around, buy a set of clubs off the rack, and pretty much leave it at that.
Now, however? Totally different story. Any golfer can go into any number of golf shops or major golf retail chains, step into a simulator, hit golf balls into a screen with a few different club models, and see enough data pop up within seconds to make a physicist blush. Ball speed, club path, face angle, launch angle, spin rate, dynamic loft, descent angle, total carry, total distance, dispersion, smash factor.
You can also try out various combinations of clubheads, shafts, and grip types. In the hands of an experienced club fitter, all this information can be used to find a set of golf clubs that provides you with an ideal combination of distance, accuracy, and feel. For you. Not that other guy. Just you.
This kind of thing appeals to me greatly, because I've always been a tinkerer when it comes to my sports equipment, and will gladly pick the brains of equipment guys and experienced players in order to learn a little more. So about halfway through the 2025 season, I finally decided to go for it. I set up a club fitting appointment at a local golf store, and went to work. After an hour of swinging, asking questions to the fitter, providing feedback on what I was feeling, and reviewing the numbers, a couple of golf club models stood out above the others I tested out. A few weeks later, I made my choice. The Titleist T150s.
And did they ever make a difference! I'll talk more about that coming up in the stats portion. Let's get to that now, in fact, because it was a good season.
Just as in 2023 and 2024, I used the Golfshot app to track my stats and analyze my strengths and weaknesses this past year. That means we've got three years of data to compare now, which will be fun to view side-by-side.
(Note:
For those of you more interested in trading cards than golf stats, feel
free to skip past this section, to where I share a recent golf card pickup. For those of you who like stats, read on.)
Fairways
This analysis shows how often I hit fairways from the tee. Although my percentage only increased slightly from last year, I'll take it. The golf course I played the most in 2025 has some narrow fairways, so any improvement is good!
Greens in Regulation
A green in regulation (GIR) means that you've hit the green with at least two shots remaining to make a par. For example, on a par 3, it would mean hitting the green with your tee shot. On a par 4, it means hitting the green with your second shot. That way, you have two putts to make your par.
For 2025 I made some solid improvement in this metric, and I'm certain that my new set of irons played a role. They've given me a little more distance, which is great. But the larger share of credit goes to the forgiveness factor. When I hit these new irons a bit off-center, the result is still quite decent. Golfers use a metric called dispersion to measure this.
To illustrate, let's say I hit 10 shots with my old 7-iron, map out where each ball lands, and surround all those data points with one circle. Then I repeat the process with my new 7-iron. The circle around the balls I hit with my new 7-iron would be noticeably tighter. And for a sport like golf, where you're trying to carry the ball a specific yardage through the air so it lands at your intended target, that's super important. I definitely hit some greens in regulation with my new irons that would have come up a little short, left, or right with my old irons. In fact, if you narrow down my GIR data from the time I started using the new irons in June to the end of the season, my percentage goes up to 45.
For a real-world application, a 6% increase in GIR equates to about one additional
green hit per 18 holes. So compared with 2023, when my GIR percentage was 30, I'm seeing a real-world increase of about two additional greens hit per 18 holes. That's not bad at all. I'd love to get that number up to 50% next year, especially if I want to reach my goal of breaking 80.
Recovery
When a golfer doesn't hit a green in regulation (which usually means you're somewhat close to the green, but have to chip the ball on and try to make that first putt to save par), I was successful 37% of the time this past year. That's a bit higher than the previous couple of years, but still not good enough.
Similar to last year, I'd say my chips from around the green are finishing about 6–12 feet away from the hole, on average. It's just too difficult to save par on a regular basis when you've got putts that long.
If I want to continue to lower my scores next season, this is the one stat I'm going to have to really improve upon. I've just got to devote more time to practicing the limitless types of chip shots and pitch shots that exist around greens. Some golf courses do have a practice green that allows chipping, so I've got to spend more time there next year.
As for sand saves (hitting the ball out of a greenside bunker and then making the putt to save a par), my percentage this year was lower than last year. It was a pretty small sample size, but regardless, I definitely do need to practice more out of bunkers—as all amateurs do.
Putting
The orange number is the average number of putts I take per hole. The blue number is the average number of putts I take when hitting a green in regulation. I've been pretty steady here since 2023. I like that the blue number is lower than 2 again. That means when I do hit a green in regulation, I'm making slightly more birdies (1 putt) than bogeys (3 putts).
Pars
This chart shows my average scores broken down by the par of each hole. I like the steady improvement on par 3s and par 4s. As for the par 5s, because I played a 9-hole course (with no par 5s) much more often than any 18-hole course in 2025, I can't really read too much into that 5.3 number or compare it to the previous two seasons.
Scoring Pie Chart
This chart expands on my scoring for each hole, relative to par. My birdie percentage didn't increase this past season, but I'm okay with that because I made a bigger percentage of pars, and consequently a smaller percentage of bogeys or worse. I like that a lot, because it felt like my overall game was a little more consistent and solid this year. These pie charts help to confirm that feeling.
Ultimately, I want that blue section to keep chomping away at the green and black sections. (i.e., more pars, fewer bogeys and double bogeys+.) It would be a bonus to see the red section (birdies) get a little bit larger, too. And even just one eagle would be amazing!
Best Score
On this cool November day, I decided on a whim to go out by myself for 9 holes. It turned out to be quite a round. The 1-under par score of 31 tied my best on this course.
I was given the OK to start my round on the 6th hole, to avoid getting stuck behind a group of three golfers who'd just teed off on the 1st. (Those holes are not far from each other.) What that means is I was actually 2-under par after my first three holes! That's definitely the hottest start I've ever had. I've never been 2-under par for a round of golf. Ever. And I'm fairly certain I've never even birdied two holes in a row at any point during a round. Making it even more fun is that the 7th hole is the longest and most difficult par-3 on the course, while the 8th hole is the shortest and easiest. I hit both tee shots to within about 12 feet, and rolled in both putts. What a great feeling!
On the 9th I made a steady par, and then managed to save a par on the 1st after missing the green to the right. On the 2nd, I had a long chance for birdie but it just trickled past the left edge of the hole. On the 3rd, I made one of my only bad swings of the day, and ended up a good 20 yards short and left of the green. I pitched the ball to about 15 feet, and just couldn't make the putt. Bogey. Back to 1-under.
After that I only had two holes to go, and for the first time all day, the negative mental stuff started to creep in. Don't make another bogey. Don't mess this up. Don't hit your drive into the trees on the right. It's out of bounds and a penalty over there. More about that mental stuff later. The good news is that I managed to steady things down, hit a good drive on 4, and hit both the 4th and 5th greens in regulation. That gave me two chances for birdie, and two chances to beat my best score.
On the 4th, I missed a fast, downhill 20-foot putt by an inch or two on the right. On the 5th, I frustratingly left an 18-foot uphill putt just a little short. I tapped in for par, and carded another 1-under score.
Overall, I can't complain even a little bit. I swung the club very well just about all day, and hit 7 out of 9 greens in regulation, which is fantastic for me. Next year we'll see if we can go one shot lower on that course.
Okay, stats portion over.
To thank those of you for reading this far—and because this is a trading card blog—I'd like to say thank you by sharing a cool little golf card I recently picked up on ebay.
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| 2021 Sports Illustrated for Kids #974, Hideki Matsuyama |
I first learned about Hideki Matsuyama during the 2011 Masters. He was the 2010 Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion, and that title earned him an invitation to the prestigious tournament. Now in the days leading up to the Masters, players are given an opportunity to sit in front of a room full of reporters and discuss the golf course, the history of it all, and how they're feeling about their golf games. Well, teenage Hideki got up there in front of the golfing world and nervously read a prepared statement in English—a language he wasn't very comfortable with. He recalled the very recent earthquake and tsunami that had devastated his region of Japan (Sendai, Tohoku), and revealed that he deliberated for quite some time on whether he should even attend the Masters. Eventually, Hideki decided in the affirmative, and he established his commitment to playing his hardest for his friends, family, and all the people of Japan. His emotion showed very clearly during the statement, but he got through it. That right there impressed me so much that I decided to root for him throughout the tournament. And wouldn't you know it? He made the cut and finished in 27th place. That was more than good enough to be the low amateur in the field, earning him the Silver Cup award. Man, I was so happy for him. Two years later, Hideki would begin his journey on the PGA Tour. Since then, the man has racked up 11 PGA Tour victories, including . . . the 2021 Masters! Most recently he won the Hero World Challenge in December of 2025. On top of all that, he seems like a pretty cool dude. Let's see what he can do in 2026.
Okay, now let's talk about some goals. First, I want to review those from last year to see whether I accomplished them or not.
(1) Hit even more greens in regulation.
ACCOMPLISHED, but will try for an even higher percentage in 2026.
(2) Save more pars from around the green when I don't reach in regulation.
ACCOMPLISHED, but just slightly. Still needs work.
(3) Get
my golf swing a little more consistent and dialed in.
ACCOMPLISHED. My swing feels
much more solid now than it did at the beginning of the year.
(4) Break 80 at
least once.
NOT ACCOMPLISHED. However, I didn't play 18-hole golf courses very much at all
this past year. I'll need to do that more next year.
Improve My Mental Focus and Stay in the Game
One thing I learned this past season is that if you have a bad hole, or even a couple of bad holes in a row, you cannot let that change your mindset. And you can't just mentally check out for the rest of the round. After all, your next shot can be the best one of the day, and it can get you right back on track. Sometimes it's very difficult to think that way when you're out there on the course—and in your own head—but if you want to really improve and shoot the best score you can on that day, you've got to try to get there. I did succeed with this at times in 2025, but failed a bunch, too. In fact, I actually smacked a clubhead into the ground more than once this past season, out of frustration. That's not typical for me at all, but maybe it shows that I really want to improve my game and score well. It was an interesting year in my overall golf journey, that's for sure.
Develop a Better Pre-Shot Routine
Picture a basketball player stepping up to the free-throw line and bouncing the ball a certain number of times before taking a shot. Or imagine a hitter in the batter's box, waving his bat forward and back as the pitcher reads the signs from the catcher. Athletes do this kind of thing for a few reasons. First, it reduces physical tension, because you're moving your body instead of just standing still. Second, it helps to reduce nerves, because you're going through a routine that's familiar, and that you know has helped before. Third, it allows you a little time to dial in the focus right before executing whatever you need to execute, which is important regardless of the sport.
In golf, this action is called the pre-shot routine. And it can have even more positive impact than in other sports.
Why?
Because golf is weird.
You can go from hitting your best shot of the day to your worst, and then back again. You could be swinging so well for most of the day that you're not even thinking about all the hazards around you, and then a bad swing can come out of nowhere, and suddenly you're watching your ball sail into the trees. But then after that, you punch the ball out into the fairway, hit a great third shot that finishes a foot away from the hole, and tap in for par. The emotional ups and downs can really get to you.
What the pre-shot routine does is bring everything back to level—regardless of whether your previous shot has you muttering under your breath about how much you absolutely stink, or whether you're pumped with adrenaline after hitting one of the best shots you've ever hit.
Historically, I haven't taken advantage of the pre-shot routine, but toward the end of this season I started to change that. Instead of just making a couple of random practice swings, lining up my shot, and swinging, I got a little more specific and repeatable. I asked myself what I could do to help me "reset", and dial in my focus regardless of the previous swing. I asked what I wanted to feel on those practice swings that would help me hit a solid shot, or to stay away from a certain swing flaw that I'd been struggling with. If you can get that certain feel on your practice swing, then you've got a much better chance of repeating that on your actual swing. See the difference there?
Over the last couple of months of the 2025 season, I definitely saw some good results from doing so. I've got to remember to start off next year in the same way. That brings me to the next goal.
Trust the Process
That's a phrase you hear often from athletes. Focus
on the process, not the result or the score. It can be really tough to do that, especially with golf, where everything you do is on your shoulders and yours alone. But I did apply this over the last month or two of the 2025 season.
How did it go? Overall, I noticed was that I would often make smoother and better swings when I wasn't thinking about stats, or the difficulty of the
hole I was on, or even my score at all. I was just thinking about making a
good practice swing, feeling what I needed to feel, and then repeating
it in my actual swing. And you know what? The results started to come. They didn't always come, of course, but in those cases I just tried to remind myself: Trust the process.
I also jotted down some notes during the year when I was swinging very well. It was nothing elaborate—just some things I was feeling during my swing that seemed to really dial it in and make it more consistent, or a couple of drills and checkpoints that I could incorporate into the pre-shot routine when needed.
Overall, I know my technique improved this past year. I really put the work in, and it shows in the 2025 stats. But I also know that with more work this year, I
can get into even better positions during my swing. And that brings me to my next point.
Take More Video and Learn from It
Toward the end of the season, I played a round of golf with a couple of co-workers. One of them took a secret video of me hitting a shot, and sent it to me later that day. It almost felt awkward to see myself hitting a golf ball, because I've hardly recorded my swing over the years. And that's really a shame, because video can reveal a whole lot.
You can watch a video of your golf swing and immediately say something like, "Wait, I was doing THAT in my backswing?"
It's instant feedback. Sometimes you can't necessarily feel what you're doing that makes a bad swing bad, but boy oh boy, you can sure see it! And once you do, you can get right to work rectifying it.
Similarly, a video of a good swing can help. It will show you what you're doing well, and during the times when your swing does happen to go a little south (which it will), you can refer to that video for a comparison, and have an easier time getting back to those good swings.
Here's the video my coworker took:
Break 80
Because I didn't achieve this goal in 2025, I'm putting it back on the board for 2026. If I play 18-hole golf courses more often this year, I think I'll have a good shot at it.
And those are the goals for 2026.
Philosophy Time
All of the mental work I've listed in the goals section is, well . . . work. And that doesn't necessarily jibe with Gregory, the golfer.
Golf has always been a relaxed thing for me. It's my easygoing nature. I like
being out on the golf course, and just being out there. It's not about competing with anybody, or proving anything to anybody. It's not about grinding, or pushing hard, or squeezing everything out of the round that I can. Actually, a big part of it for
me is not focusing too hard, or grinding too hard. I do enough of that at work. Golf is how I get away from
all of it.
But if I really want to take a jump forward with my game, I probably do need to
think, and plan, and visualize a little more. I can't go out there and just play, and swing, and leave it at
that. I mean, I can, but I don't think I'll improve as much as I could.
I don't know. I guess maybe there's a way to get a little more out of my round and shoot better scores without grinding or stressing
too hard. I just need to figure out a way to make that extra mental work and focus not feel like extra mental work and focus. Maybe I can consider it part of the
creative process instead. Golf involves creativity. And I do like being creative. I think that might be a way to do it. We'll see how it goes.
I know that's getting kind of deeper into the game,
but it's good for me to get those thoughts out here on the blog and to
see it in writing. Thanks for being my sounding board, everyone.
Bonus Card Time
For those of you who have made it all the way to this point of the blog post, here are another two golf cards I picked up recently.
These sportscaster cards from the 1970s are pretty fun. I have a couple others in my collection, but it feels a lot more complete now that these two absolute legends of the game are a part of it. And what great images, right? Arnie is blasting out of a bunker at what looks to be a British Open, and then there's Jack, staring down a putt with some serious intent. (Should I buy a pair of pants like his? Yes or no?)
Let's wrap things up there.
Thank
you all for following me on my golf journey, and for any encouraging
golf-related comments in advance of the upcoming season. I look forward to getting out there again and working on my goals.
How about you readers? Any golfers among you? Motivated to get out on the course or hit some golf balls at the range this season?
Share in the comment section!
