My 2012 New Years resolutions for my golf game

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. I haven’t done one in years, maybe decades.

But with my golf game (read here) and my life (I’m turning 40) at a crossroads, I think it’s probably time to get a little more serious about things.

So here are a few goals off the top of my head. If I reach one or two of them, I’ll be thrilled. Anything after that will be gravy.

* Lose weight: For the first time in my life, I’m ready and committed mentally to stay fit. It’s taken me this long to figure out that when I’m stressed, I eat and over-eat some more. Sugar mostly … candy, desserts, ice cream. But I’ve lost 20 pounds this fall and I want 10 more. It can only help my golf game.

* Find yoga: With a bad back, I’ve been saying for years that I’m going to start taking yoga classes. A visit to my dentist convinced me. He bragged how he blasts the ball well past his senior friends, all thanks to the yoga classes he began taking 10 years ago. He wears a back brace around his office after years of bending awkwardly over his patients. He told me if I start stretching now before I lose that flexibility, I’m be so far ahead of the curve.

* Find a 3-wood: The hole in my bag has always been a 3-wood. I’ve never been able to hit one consistently. My playing partners gasp when I pull out my old TaylorMade with the bubble shaft. While all my pals are overpowering par 5s with ease, I’m perfectly content with bogey. No more. I need a power stick to get me in position for birdie, not bogey.

* Fix my grip: This is the most important resolution. During a lesson from a noted PGA pro, he called me “a shut-faced hooker.” If that isn’t an insult, I don’t know what is. My homemade grip needs a change so I can lose my low ball flight and start hitting soaring shots that actually find greens in regulation not dive in bunkers.

* Have fun again: At the end of last year, I was ready for a break from the game. A recent conversation reminded me to keep golf fun. It’s the only way to score. A free, relaxed mind equates to a free, relaxed swing. Just ask Tiger Woods. I’m ready to smile and laugh again on the course. Shouldn’t that be everybody’s resolution for 2012?