Today I brought my handicap factor down to 8.7, a 39% decrease from my index at the start of the year. At some point, I expect the the rate of decrease to slow down -- probably once my index reaches six or seven.

Earlier this week, I brought my index down to 9.9, the first time I've been in single digits. Clearly my efforts are paying off somewhat. But to reach my goal of under 5.0, I need to lower my index more than I have already. The next five points will be much harder to eliminate than the most recent five were. I think the five strokes will come from two fewer double bogies, two fewer bogies and one more birdie. Not that unreasonable!

Since I started tracking my key stats against the PGA Tour, I’ve greatly improved my game. I’ve improved by driving distance by 7%, my driving accuracy by 18% and my greens in regulation by 116%. My putting has improved by 7%, too. My personal bests in each category are better than the average of players on the PGA Tour. Not bad, but still lots of room to improve. My goal is to lower my index, which is currently 10.2, below 5.0 this summer. To do so, I will need to shoot at most 5 over par at least ten times. I believe the keys to scoring will be better driving, better distance wedge play and better overall strategy.