5 Lessons Behind My Best Year Of Golf Yet And How They Can Help Yours Too

As golfers, this time of year naturally pulls us toward the winter grind – new drills, new swing thoughts and fresh goals for next season. But I’ve also found value in looking back at the year just gone. When I did, I realised I’ve reached my lowest handicap to date (6.1) and played some of my best competition golf.

That doesn’t mean there haven’t been some shocking scores along the way – because there have. Golf is a rollercoaster, after all. But reflecting on the season has shown me something far more useful than the scores themselves: the lessons behind them.

And as someone who’s always looking to learn and improve, I wanted to share the biggest lessons I’m taking from this year into next in the hope they spark ideas for your game too.

Treat Every Round As Data

When I set myself the challenge to get to single figures in a year, every round felt like it was make-or-break. It was either going to move me closer to my goal or feel like a frustrating tug backwards.

That pressure became an invisible weight I carried into each game. One bad shot and it felt like that weight came crashing down, unravelling my whole round. “Well, that’s it – I’ll never shoot that score now.”

That experience is exactly why I started treating every round as data. I needed a way to detach from the disappointment of those “bad” rounds and stop tying my progress to a single swing or score.

So instead of beating myself up when I don’t score well, I pull out the patterns: What worked? What needs work?

I look for the parts of my game that actually cost me shots, whether that’s tee shots, short game, strategy or focus, and I build my practice around improving those.

Drawing out the data in that way gives me something positive to work with, rather than a disappointment to dwell on. It turns every round, good or bad, into fuel for getting better.

A Bad Start Doesn’t Mean A Bad Finish

When I look back at my best competition rounds this season – a 78 (+6) and a 79 (+5) – they have something surprising in common: both started badly.

In the +6 round, I was four over after the first three holes. In the +5 round, I opened with a double bogey. Not ideal.

In previous seasons, that would have derailed me. I’d have spent the next few holes wasting energy kicking myself, replaying mistakes instead of focusing on the shot in front of me.

But this year, the mental work paid off. Instead of unravelling, those tough starts became the foundations for my best scores yet.

What I’m most proud of isn’t the numbers on the card, it’s the ability to let go of the shots or choices that led to those shaky starts. To trust that I could bounce back. To believe that how a round begins doesn’t have to dictate how it ends.

Now those rounds have given me something powerful: proof. Proof that you can steady yourself, settle into the round and still shoot a personal best score, even after a rough start. It’s a belief I’ll carry with me into every round going forward.

Progress Isn’t Linear And That’s The Point

Even though I’ve played some of my best competition golf this year and my handicap is the lowest it’s ever been, the journey has been far from smooth. It certainly hasn’t followed that clean, upward trajectory we all dream of.

What I’ve learned is that if you want to keep improving, you have to embrace the messy middle. I think of it like a catapult: to move forward, you have to pull back first.

And that pull-back phase is uncomfortable. It’s the rounds where the swing changes you’ve been working on haven’t quite clicked and every shot feels hit-or-miss. It’s the practice sessions where you walk away wondering if you’re improving at all.

But to break through a ceiling, you have to keep knocking again and again, trusting that those repetitions eventually clear the path to your next level. The messy middle may be painful but it’s temporary. The progress you earn on the other side is permanent.

So when I’m in those dips now, those stretches of struggle before the step forward, I remind myself that progress isn’t linear. It’s iterative. And the messy middle isn’t a sign something is wrong, it’s a sign something is changing for the better (even if it might not feel like it at the time!).

Make Swing Changes With Your Shortest Clubs First

When it comes to swing changes, one of my biggest breakthroughs this year has come through my wedges. Not because I set out to “fix” them but because I start every swing change with the shortest club in my bag.

Beginning with small swings, rather than jumping straight to a mid-iron or driver, has helped me chip away at the changes I’m trying to make. And that work with my wedges has rippled through my bag.

Whether I’m working on reducing my early release, avoiding that scoopy impact, or keeping the club more in front of me at the top, I’ll start with my 58 degree wedge. It lets me feel the movement, without the temptation to rip one up the range.

And as a bonus, that work with my wedges has turned them from one of the leakiest to strongest parts of my game.

Play Your Strategy, Not The One You Think You Should

When it comes to scoring, letting go of the word “should” has been one of the biggest game-changers in my golf this year. I can clearly see the difference between the rounds where I fall into that trap and the rounds where I stay committed to my strategy.

Those “shoulds” – “I should hit driver here,” “I should take on that pin” – often come from comparison. From watching what other golfers do or some imagined idea of what a golfer of our handicap is supposed to do.

This season, I started making decisions based on strategy, not should. Sometimes that meant hitting hybrid off the tee instead of forcing a driver into a tight landing area. Other times it meant aiming for the middle of the green rather than taking on a tucked pin.

And when I found myself out of position, this approach saved me. Instead of attempting the hero shot, I went back to my mantra: “When in trouble, don’t make double.” and plotted my way out with the high-percentage shot, not the high-risk one.

As my confidence grew in certain areas of my game, I did start taking on braver shots but the difference was that those decisions were no longer driven by “should.” They were driven by the work of turning them into a strength.

Playing your own game isn’t playing small. It’s playing smart. And more often than not, it’s what leads to your best golf.

Follow Jess’ golf journey on Instagram and TikTok.