Choose One of These Simple New Year’s Resolutions and You’ll Be a Better Golfer in 2026

It’s 2026 now, which means you’ll soon be a completely different person. 20 pounds lighter and a golfer whose wildest dreams will soon come true.

In all seriousness, this is the mistake people make. They approach their New Year’s resolutions with an attitude of global change. They set a goal that is too ambitious, commit, last a few weeks, burn out and then give up. Then they do it again next year.

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Progress, in golf as in life, often comes down to consistency. Do something productive that can be repeated so many times that it becomes boring.

With this in mind, here are some simple and smart resolutions »

1. Choose A something to work on

It’s never been easier, in the age of YouTube and Instagram, to navigate your way to worse golf. There are an endless number of golf tips out there and they all seem very compelling.

It’s only natural that after enough time, you’ll find one that piques your curiosity. You’ll want to try it next time on your stovetop. The problem is, these doomscrolling tricks rarely work.

So make 2026 your year to pick one thing you want to change about your golf swing and commit to fixing it.

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Ideally, you do this under the watchful eye of a coach who tells you the specific points to work on. But even if you’re not going to take that productive step, just pick one thing in your golf swing that you’d like to improve, write that thing down somewhere, and work on it over and over again so your swing will likely end up in a better place.

There will be times when you feel like it’s become monotonous, like you’ve already dealt with it, and now you’re ready to work on something else. But while that may be true, it’s often the gateway to looking for new and interesting golf tips. Accept that you can’t change everything at once, accept that your swing will never be perfect. But also accept that you have the control to choose one thing to get better at.

I’m a little biased because Golf Digest has a partnership with MustardThis is how I tried the app in the first place, but I can vouch as a user that it is good in exactly this area. It will identify a movement to focus on and then help you correct it.

2. Track your lack understand the cause

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Hopefully you already keep some form of statistics (if not, I highly recommend Arccos). In 2026, it’s time to go further: commit to following your lack on complete plans.

What is the ball flight like when you hit a bad golf shot?

If you’re one of those golfers who says, “Well, my failure is everywhere when I hit a bad golf shot,” that’s a cop-out. There are trends in everything.

This year, learn the difference between a block, a slice and a pull-slice. We go left and turn right; the other goes to the right and curves further to the right. They are both caused by radically different things, and knowing this You are doing this will get you on the right path to fixing it.

At least being able to correctly describe the problem prevents the coach you are talking to from having to decode the problem themselves. Now you can get to work.

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So after each bad move, ask yourself:

• Where did the ball start? Left, right or exactly where I was aiming?

• Where did the ball curve?

Make a mental note. Do this all year long and you’ll start to see trends that will help you correct the worst shots in your game.

3. Plan your practices Before you get there

I started training a lot in 2025, and a common piece of advice in the fitness world is that you should know Exactly what you are going to do at the gym (weights, sets and reps) before you get to the gym.

More golfers should apply it to their own games. Especially when it comes to the driving range. Whether it’s just warming up or sneaking in a workout, you need to know exactly what you’re going to do there before you even get there.

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So if you have 30 minutes to warm up before your round, in 2026, plan precisely what that warm up will look like before you arrive.

For example:

Golfers who don’t do this tend to think they’re practicing everything, but in reality they spend 10 minutes sinking pointless 15-foot putts, no time sinking short putts, then hitting a bunch of 7-irons and heading out to the course. This practice doesn’t help them and they don’t know why.

Ryan Pyle

4. Play boring around the greens

If your goal is to shoot in the 80s – or even above 80 – one of the main ways people bleed is through disastrous shots around the greens. Missed chip shots or thinned bunker shots. Essentially, shots that start near the green, but don’t finish on the green.

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90s shooters have about 2 around green disasters per turn. Because amateur golfers miss more greens than pros, shots around the green are especially important. So in 2026, resolve to be more annoying in these situations.

Understand that while it may not be sexy, aiming away from the flag, even on chip shots and bunker shots, toward the fat part of the green will actually net you a lot more shots than you think. If you’re in the fairway but off the green, maybe instead of automatically reaching for the wedge, just pick up a putter and roll it across the green. These are pretty low-stress and yes, boring ways to avoid disastrous shots and gradually gain shots.