For those of us living in the Northeast, the 2024 golf season is officially over. It’s a sad time of year, knowing that the USGA’s official GHIN service forbids you from posting scores online. Yet, at this point, golfers can reflect upon their past season, recalling both good shots and bad, smiling at the birdies they made while kicking themselves over three-putts that no doubt gave them vain.
Look no further than my own game. My first round of the season came at Lancaster Country Club ahead of this year’s U.S.
Women’s Open . It was a shotgun, so our group started on the dogleg right par-4 14th, a beautiful golf hole, if I may add. After finding the right fairway bunker off the tee, I hit a solid 9-iron from 150 yards up and onto the green.
It stopped about 20 feet above the hole. Then, I made it for a three—pretty good start to the season. But alas, it was short-lived, as I three-putted four of my next six holes, leaving me frustrated beyond belief.
Hence, I tried to work on lag putting—and working on my speed—all season. It’s also something Sam Burns told me at the Travelers Championship that all amateurs should try to improve. Speed on the greens matters way more than direction.
So, with the golf season more or less behind us for a large swath of the country, this is also a time when golfers should think of where they need to improve, whether off the tee, on the green, or somewhere in between. Perhaps your irons need work, a facet of the game where a few se.
