Why Are Golfers Delusional?

[Double Mocha Man]

Nobody ever says that with a break or two they could have been a garbageman.  It's always the glamour professions.

4 hours ago, Patch said:

Being delusional is a good word, but being "gullible"  adds to their delusion.  They believe everything they hear about building a better game. 

Yes, they are the ones who claim they'll be on the McKenzie Tour in no time...

[uitar9]

A friend of mine who told me he was a star golfer at 14 had an opportunity to play the Monday qualifiers at 5 Mackenzie  Tour stops. He was now 33 and had not played tourney golf in ten years.

Don't know his HCP but when we played with him he regularly shot par, +1.

A sponsor covered new gear, clothes, travel, hotel, food, practice rounds, entry etc.

He came home with great memories. Never broke 71...all the qualifiers were 5 to 7 under. 

That was the Mackenzie Tour.

Those pros are good.

 

[Double Mocha Man]

1 minute ago, uitar9 said:

A sponsor covered new gear, clothes, travel, hotel, food, practice rounds, entry etc.

Can I get the name and phone number of that sponsor?  😀

[uitar9]

1 minute ago, Double Mocha Man said:

Can I get the name and phone number of that sponsor?  😀

He had a job at an auto dealership and was doing well. I believe the owner offered him the opportunity vs a salary sales bonus. Plus he got two months off.

[RFKFREAK]

3 hours ago, iacas said:

People think they could be professional poker players, too. It's not even just tied to sports. Actors and actresses, as well. The list goes on.

This, too.

During the poker boom after Moneymaker won the WSOP Main Event in 2003, I remember a ton of people who thought they could play poker professionally.  There was definitely money to be made back then but being a professional and playing in the bigger games to really make a living off it was something completely different and tons of guys just crashed and burned.  

Edited August 30, 2020 by RFKFREAK

[mcanadiens]

17 hours ago, False hopes said:

What are your thoughts?

If we didn't think we could improve, most of us would quit.

All you got to do is play the game a little while to know you couldn't hold a PGA Tour player's ball marker.

Experienced players live for their personal goals, those moments and the one shot in a 100 that feel like something the best might hit.

[TourSpoon]

14 hours ago, Bonvivant said:

Most regular/serious golfers should understand that golf is still an athletic sport. There are exceptions to the rule, such as Daly, the same that the exception to boxers is Butterbean. Daly played in a different time where 16 ounce curls were normal for many pros.

If they think that they can strike a ball as good as Rory, or even a non main PGA tour player (Luck is a good example right now), then they are also delusional.

Daly had more natural talent and ability than almost any golfer I can think of. He didn't work out, was insanely long off the tee, had phenomenal touch, could smoke a carton of cigarettes and drink a 12 pack of diet cokes (when he was on the wagon) in 18 holes and not miss a beat. He won 2 majors and led the tour in driving distance for a few years. How good would he have been if he only had his life together. 

For the OT, people talk that nonsense all the time. These guys are freakishly good. I just told the story about my friend that was played the tour for 6 months who played my home course when I was in college. I picked out a bad line on a hole and he drove the ball (right where I told him to) through the fairway into a lake (I had never seen anyone hit it that far). He had to drop on a severe bank and doubled the 3rd hole. Seven birdies later he walked with 67 on a course he never had seen, on really mediocre greens, tipped out around 6800 yards with a balata ball and first generation metal woods. The same guy shot 29 on the back 9 at Q school at Doral. He couldn't even keep his card one season. 

[False hopes]

18 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

If we didn't think we could improve, most of us would quit.

All you got to do is play the game a little while to know you couldn't hold a PGA Tour player's ball marker.

Experienced players live for their personal goals, those moments and the one shot in a 100 that feel like something the best might hit.

I really don't think its about improvement, it's a sense that they even have the ability.  Some people can't comprehend what it takes to be a pro.

[mcanadiens]

1 minute ago, False hopes said:

I really don't think its about improvement, it's a sense that they even have the ability.  Some people can't comprehend what it takes to be a pro.

You'll always have a few.

Most golfers pretty much figure it out after a few years. You progress in the first few years, run into the wall, look at the birth certificate and know better.

[False hopes]

5 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

You'll always have a few.

Most golfers pretty much figure it out after a few years. You progress in the first few years, run into the wall, look at the birth certificate and know better.

A few years? Shit it only took me a few swings 😆 

[mcanadiens]

1 minute ago, False hopes said:

A few years? Shit it only took me a few swings 😆 

Nice. ... Then you are ahead. of the game.

 

[BeCu]

I knew a guy once that was a teaching pro at a local municipal course. Before becoming teaching pro he won  a few local amateur tournaments. Out of the blue one day he told me that he really thought that he could play professionally. I asked him how do you really know? He said well I hit the ball better than player x (played D1), I hit the ball way better that player Y (club champion/D2 player/one time qualified for mini-tour event), etc. So one year he tried a US Open qualifier and did not break 80. I watched him play and practice and I never thought he was tour caliber like what I see on tv or when I volunteer for a champions tour event -- more details below. The local courses he played a ton over the years and knew how to score on those. He never played in college or mini-tours. I considered him a very good local "scratch" golfer that is really good teaching kids the golf swing. I still feel that way and am glad he is teaching versus trying to play professionally.

Why do I think that? I volunteer a Champions Tour events and work the driving range. Absolutely love watching those guys practice on the range. Literally watch those greats hit laser after laser for hours.  Maybe some you guys can understand what I am trying to say. So obviously I am not a professional instructor but I have never seen a Champions Tour player hit a bad shot on the driving range from my perspective (they probably do from their perspectives -- I just don't see it). See I don't have a "trained eye" like I am sure some on this forum do. But what I do know is I have seen the local teaching pro hit many errant shots on the driving range and his swing is not consistent like the Champions Tour players. So I can only imagine what the young guys on the PGA Tour look like in person. I know some of you have a "trained eye" and can easily spot talent. 

 

[mclaren4life]

I agree with those that said it’s not just golf. It’s any kind of high profile high earning profession. I hear so many people say I could be a comedian but can talk to a group of 5 in an office meeting.  True there are some cases where a very small number of people could pull it off but for the other 99% it’s just a way for them to feel a little bit better about their life. 

[Bonvivant]

15 minutes ago, TourSpoon said:

Daly had more natural talent and ability than almost any golfer I can think of. He didn't work out, was insanely long off the tee, had phenomenal touch, could smoke a carton of cigarettes and drink a 12 pack of diet cokes (when he was on the wagon) in 18 holes and not miss a beat. He won 2 majors and led the tour in driving distance for a few years. How good would he have been if he only had his life together. 

Some people see Daly as a "If he can do it, anyone can" type of character. A look of general unathleticism that we see in much of the American public. That's what I was eluding to. I agree, he was something else.

[False hopes]

14 minutes ago, mclaren4life said:

I agree with those that said it’s not just golf. It’s any kind of high profile high earning profession. I hear so many people say I could be a comedian but can talk to a group of 5 in an office meeting.  True there are some cases where a very small number of people could pull it off but for the other 99% it’s just a way for them to feel a little bit better about their life. 

Reminds me of a joke some friends and I used to say.  If I could surf, I'd best the best surfer in the world.  It was always in response to people who couldn't do something but called it easy.

[boogielicious]

14 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

This is a fact!

I played beer league softball for about 20 years. Anyone who's met me knows I am no athlete. I am much better suited to teach math than PE. Having said that, I cannot tell you the number of guys in that beer league who swear that they would have been playing professional baseball right now if it wasn't for a coach that screwed them over. Every team had a couple of these guys. Some teams were built entirely from these guys. 

We'd be eating nachos and drinking beer after a game or tournament and you'd hear the same story over and over again. It always went something like this "You know Alfonso Soriano?" ... "He and I played on the same team in high school. I was way better than him, but his dad was best friends with our coach. So, he got to play and I didn't. Then of course he did steroids and I refused to. That's why he played all those years for the Yankees. Otherwise, it would have been me." 

I swear to Buddy Christ I heard that story with different major leaguers in it a thousand times. Although, the Alfonso Soriano example is a real example. I played beer league softball with a dude who would swear up and down that Alfonso Soriano's dad stole his baseball career.  Which should obviously be bullshit because I'm pretty sure Alfonso Soriano is from The Dominican Republic. 

By the way, it was also true in the city league basketball I played in. Which makes even less sense. If you take one look at these guys and then look at even the lowest level NBA player, the physical differences are obvious. But its always some relationship thing that ruined their career, or a coach who "didn't like me". 

There was this kid in my son’s day care 20 years ago. We were at a birthday party and his dad said, “watch him throw a ball”. We were pretty good friends with the kids parents at the time and we said sure. He was not that big, but when he threw it was stunning. He was also a lefty. We kept in touch with the parents but really didn’t see the kid much after that because he lived in a different town. When we ran into the parents, they never mentioned much about their son other than the normal stuff parents talk about,

He was drafted by the Yankees in the fourth round last year as a pitcher.

I also had a workmate who’s son was drafted by the Padres in the third round as a closer. He was the number one closer in the country his last year of college. She never mentioned that her son as that good. We worked together for 31 years.

[False hopes]

24 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

There was this kid in my son’s day care 20 years ago. We were at a birthday party and his dad said, “watch him throw a ball”. We were pretty good friends with the kids parents at the time and we said sure. He was not that big, but when he threw it was stunning. He was also a lefty. We kept in touch with the parents but really didn’t see the kid much after that because he lived in a different town. When we ran into the parents, they never mentioned much about their son other than the normal stuff parents talk about,

He was drafted by the Yankees in the fourth round last year as a pitcher.

I also had a workmate who’s son was drafted by the Padres in the third round as a closer. He was the number one closer in the country his last year of college. She never mentioned that her son as that good. We worked together for 31 years.

I played ball with a kid who went on to play college ball, Saint Mary's.  When I asked him how he hit curveballs so well he just told me to look at the stitches you can see the spin.  Yeah, like my favorite podcaster says, there's different levels to this shit folks.  No that guy didn't get to the pros.

[Carl3]

I could have been a contender

Edited August 30, 2020 by Carl3