My 11 Golfing Resolutions For 2025

I’m not expecting many people to be bothered by my golfing new year resolutions and goals for 2025 – but do bear with me. Because I’m that typical lazy/average golfer – always moaning about not getting better but not doing anything about it – the goals I have in mind might actually help you to put your own effective improvement plan in place for 2025.

However, 2025 will not all be about hitting balls and spending more time on the range. As well as setting myself targets to hopefully keep my golf handicap in the single digits, I’m determined to set a few goals to improve my overall enjoyment of the game, because, at times last year, it felt like playing 18 holes had become a bit of a chore.

Putt Out… Every Time

This one is crucial. To hell with speeding up play – it’s time to get serious over the nervy three-footers and start ramming them in the back of the hole. My regular playing partners allow gimmes in weekday friendly matches, whereby your putt is considered ‘good’ when you’re within the length of your putter grip.

I don’t think it’s doing me any favors. In 2025, I’ll take the gimme on the card for the all-important mini competition (there's a few coins at stake) but I’ll also putt out. This way, when the competitions come around I’ll have had way more practise from close range and I should, in theory, be more comfortable cleaning up. In theory.

One Competition A Month (Minimum)

This was the goal for 2024, and I came up short. Well short. Playing competitive golf is one of the best ways to improve your game. Not only do you put yourself under pressure with a card in your hand, you’ll often find yourself grouped with better players – who you can really learn a lot from.

So, one competition a month is the target, and I want at least half of these to be medal competitions. Medal golf where every shot counts is the most testing competition format.

I love Stableford, not least because one or two bad holes won’t necessarily cost you the chance of winning, but Medal golf really teaches you how to manage your way around the course.

Play More New Courses

If I were to list my resolutions in order of importance, this might come out on top. For various reasons I didn’t play anywhere near the amount of courses that I hadn’t played before in 2024, and teeing it up somewhere new is one of the beauties of this game. The aim for 2025 is six courses that I haven’t previously played. ‘Variety,’ as they say, ‘is the spice of life.’

No Buying Bottled Water

I’d like to commit to planting a tree in my garden for every flight I take in 2025, but there’s just no room. However, I am serious about offsetting my own carbon footprint, and one of the easiest ways to help the environment is to stop buying plastic water bottles.

There’s really no need; I have numerous reusable golf water bottles, including one that I purchased at the 2023 Masters that I have become scared of using for fear that I will spoil it.

Ditch The Chocolate Bars

More bad news for my professional. Sorry, Andrew, but your profits are about to take a hit – it’s no more Twix bars, KitKats or Yorkie bars in 2025 (not on the golf course, at least).

In all seriousness, I consume a minimum of two chocolate bars per round plus a couple of bananas, which gives me plenty of energy spikes but also quite a few crashes.

I know what to eat on the golf course, and it’s not confectionery items and sausage rolls. I’m not going to say something rash, like I’ll join a gym, but I can definitely see myself improving my on-course diet.

Get New Wedges

I’ve not changed my wedges for four years, despite knowing that the research shows wedge performance generally deteriorates between 65 and 75 rounds.

My wedges have been fitted and they’ve had new grips in the past, but the grooves are looking a little worn. Even a 9-handicapper like myself can notice when they’re getting less action around the greens.

Alarm bells will surely now be ringing at Vokey HQ (contact details at the bottom of this article).

Get Fitted For A Putter

It’s something I’ve never done, but it’s been on my list of ‘wants’ ever since I did an instruction shoot with putting guru Mike Kanski.

I’ve been happy to spend a fair bit of money on new putters in recent years. In fact, buying and experimenting with putters using Facebook Marketplace has become a bit of a hobby. However, I’ve never been through the custom fitting process as I have done for every other club in my bag.

I also spent a lot of money on lessons in 2024, without ever doing any work on my putting. Given that it’s the most used golf club in the bag, it’s time to give this area of the game the attention it deserves.

Play The Same Ball… All Year

That’s the same model ball, not the actual same ball – that would be ludicrous. Generally speaking, I do play with premium golf balls because of the supreme performance they offer in every department. However, I do vary between models and will occasionally play with different ones over the course of a round.

The most important change that I will make in 2025 will be to practice with the same ball. Going to the short game area and chipping with a random bag of balls just doesn’t make sense, for each model performs slightly differently.

Become A Fundamentals Bore

One of the benefits of working with Golf Monthly Top 50 Coaches is getting free lessons. I have never attended an instruction shoot that has not involved covering, at some point, the importance of sound fundamentals/basics.

Something was said to me on the course in 2024 that has stuck with me: “Michael, you can hit a good ball but your swing is s*it.” What the guy was getting at, I discovered, was that my posture and aim was not very good. Ever since, I’ve made a greater effort to work on my fundamentals.

I need to tighten up still, and in 2025 I will be taking it to a new level by becoming a fundamentals bore. Without going into too much detail, one area where I’ve already had success is how I walk into position.

I’d like to thank Top 50 Coach Russell Covey for pointing this out. Amateur golfers have a habit of stepping in to address the ball with their lead foot first; this is something I had been doing, and it meant I was getting quite closed.

I now step in with my trail foot to line myself up and take aim, as you'll see most Tour pros do; it's already paying off, although, like many golfers, I need to continue with this on the range to ingrain good habits for the course.

Get My Brother Playing Again

I was fortunate to be sent the Benross HTX package set in 2024. Even before taking delivery, I had someone lined up to take them after testing – my dear brother.

I was saddened when he gave up the game due to a chronic case of fatting every club he hit. When he recently told me that his two 11-year-olds had started having golf lessons, I was delighted.

He has promised me that he will now start playing again. If you know someone who has given up the game, make it your mission to get them playing again in 2025. I can’t wait to see my brother back on the fairways topping his woods – it’s one of the greatest sights in golf.

Upgrade My Driver

It’s time to say farewell to my trusty old Titleist 915D2. Generally speaking, the performance gains from one generation to the next are minimal, but my driver is now over a decade old.

For anyone going this long without an upgrade, and this includes sets of irons, my advice would be to get yourself down to your local PGA professional. As someone who can be fairly erratic off the tee, I need the extra forgiveness that a more modern driver will offer me (I'm looking at you Titleist GT2).