Why Are Golfers Delusional?

[windlaker]

I have a friend that thought his kid would make it to the Big Leagues in baseball.  Ever since he was 10-12 years old, traveling teams, baseball camps.  Easter Break would send him all over the Country to baseball camps...one time to Puerto Rico.  He and his wife kept talking about getting scouted, getting a scholarship.  Other friends of mine that had their kids on the same teams said "He's OK, but he's not great".  Never even got a sniff at a scholarship.

I played softball with two twins that had made it to A Level baseball with the Orioles. Those two were head and shoulders above everyone in the league.  Hitting, running, throwing, you name it.  And they only made it to A Ball.

My cousin went to a Division B college on a football scholarship.  Got a call (not drafted) from the Denver Broncos.  He made it through the 1st cut of Training Camp, then got cut.  He know he was a mile long shot.  He said you just cannot believe the difference between College & the pros...the speed, mostly.  Plus it was the same year Terrell Davis got drafted.  Uh, my cousin ain't no Terrell Davis.

Yeah, most folks think they are better than they really are.

[Darkfrog]

I think for recreational golf, the nature of the sport fosters a certain amount of delusion. The "stop conning yourself" thread is a good example of this. I used to play with a guy in his early 20s who thought he could play professional golf "in a couple years". People told him he had a good swing, and every once in awhile he would hit a really pure shot, but he could barely break 100 from the white tees. He simply had no idea how good professional players hit the ball.

Team sports, even recreational, are self correcting for talent. For example, someone in a pickup basketball game who thinks they can shoot like Steph Curry isn't going to get the ball passed to them if they continuously heave air balls from 35 feet. But in golf, I see plenty of guys hit a ball OB, take a mulligan, put their ball in a better lie in the rough, take gimmee putts from 6 feet, etc. They are only accountable to themselves.

I played soccer pretty seriously through high school, and there were a couple really good players on those teams. One of my high school soccer teammates got recruited to play on a European 2nd or 3rd division club's youth team at around 15, didn't make it past a year, came home, finished high school and eventually played for a D2 college. I also played football, and there were some guys who got recruited by big college programs, had decent college careers, and never sniffed the NFL.

[GolfLug]

5 hours ago, Bucki1968 said:

 A couple more tournaments showed me just how good I really was. My even, +1, -1 scores didn't even make a cut.

So weren't you happier before the reality check?

 Yeah, I would rather be delusional than depressed. lol

[Bucki1968]

15 hours ago, GolfLug said:

So weren't you happier before the reality check?

 Yeah, I would rather be delusional than depressed. lol

I guess I wasn't really depressed. I just didn't have the money to do nothing but practice. Even then I was working 40 hours a week at a golf club and getting out as much as I could to play/practice. The one thing I did learn was that the guys that were winning/shooting the lowest scores were pretty much doing it for a living. I was not in the same financial boat. I'm still pretty good but I play a lot with some college players from the area and realize that the game is essentially passing me by. Funny thing is, I hit it further and straighter now than I ever have and I'm still 50-75 yards behind those kids. 

[mcanadiens]

4 minutes ago, Bucki1968 said:

The one thing I did learn was that the guys that were winning/shooting the lowest scores were pretty much doing it for a living.

No kidding.

I'll snag an off day here are there during my business's down times. Some times I go in the morning. Some times in the afternoon. ... No matter what club champ, #2 and #3 are always there. By always, I'm mean they are never not there. 

I'm pretty sure those guys have their mail delivered to the course and have an office in the club house.

[Killa]

I think with golf it’s the thing that I as a high 10s handicap can go to a course with any PGA pro and there is a chance that if we get to a par 3 that I will hit a better shot and/or get a better score than they will. I will never score as well as they do from the back or even come close, but on a single hole I might play better and that gives you the insane idea, that if you just practiced a bit more, every shot will end up like that. 

[False hopes]

On 9/1/2020 at 8:05 AM, Killa said:

I think with golf it’s the thing that I as a high 10s handicap can go to a course with any PGA pro and there is a chance that if we get to a par 3 that I will hit a better shot and/or get a better score than they will. I will never score as well as they do from the back or even come close, but on a single hole I might play better and that gives you the insane idea, that if you just practiced a bit more, every shot will end up like that. 

Maybe this is it.  Golf as a sport is in a unique spot, there are times with this sport where you do something that not even a pro could do better.  It just makes you feel better than you are.  But as a hacker it's what makes me love this game so much.

[RFKFREAK]

i'm not going to lie - reading this makes me so glad that I was never a stud athlete that had dreams that I could go pro.  I was always an ok athlete but knowing I was never going to be great at any sport allowed me to follow and enjoy other pursuits. 

[Mr22putt]

11 hours ago, RFKFREAK said:

i'm not going to lie - reading this makes me so glad that I was never a stud athlete that had dreams that I could go pro.  I was always an ok athlete but knowing I was never going to be great at any sport allowed me to follow and enjoy other pursuits. 

That's because you're not insecure and a delusional POSER....I knew at 12 I had no chance of playing pro golf...nuff said.

[Sandy Lie]

But sometimes dreams come true!  

Fate leaves local golfer smiling | HeraldNet.com

---

EVERETT - Truth be told, Duane Diede is not the best golfer in Snohomish County. Neither is he the best in Everett. He is not even the best at Everett Golf and Country Club, where he has been a member for more than two...

....so this a while ago and it wasn’t the PGA Tour, but a SR U.S. Open would be just fine!

I was a Member there when I lived in Washington.  Great guy, Club Champion a few times. Steady golfer. 

Edited September 4, 2020 by Sandy Lie

[boogielicious]

17 hours ago, RFKFREAK said:

i'm not going to lie - reading this makes me so glad that I was never a stud athlete that had dreams that I could go pro.  I was always an ok athlete but knowing I was never going to be great at any sport allowed me to follow and enjoy other pursuits. 

I always felt bad for the athletes who came in 4th at the Olympics. So close.

[RFKFREAK]

8 hours ago, Mr22putt said:

That's because you're not insecure and a delusional POSER....I knew at 12 I had no chance of playing pro golf...nuff said.

True, I was insecure and delusional about too many others things to that being a pro athlete to the list.   

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I always felt bad for the athletes who came in 4th at the Olympics. So close.

Yeah, I can imagine how some of them never came to peace with that.

[Double Mocha Man]

3 hours ago, Sandy Lie said:

But sometimes dreams come true!  

Fate leaves local golfer smiling | HeraldNet.com

---

EVERETT - Truth be told, Duane Diede is not the best golfer in Snohomish County. Neither is he the best in Everett. He is not even the best at Everett Golf and Country Club, where he has been a member for more than two...

....so this a while ago and it wasn’t the PGA Tour, but a SR U.S. Open would be just fine!

I was a Member there when I lived in Washington.  Great guy, Club Champion a few times. Steady golfer. 

Sandy... That was a good read. Do you remember how it turned out for him?

[GolfLug]

4 hours ago, Sandy Lie said:

But sometimes dreams come true!  

 

....so this a while ago and it wasn’t the PGA Tour, but a SR U.S. Open would be just fine!

I was a Member there when I lived in Washington.  Great guy, Club Champion a few times. Steady golfer. 

Oh crap.. just when we thought we had done waking everybody up from their delusional reveries... lol.

JK, nice story. I think this is where I think professional golf is a more like professional poker. You never know what's (who's) lurking in some basement table somewhere, get hot, cut right through a few qualifiers and bang.. atleast make a brief foray into the highest levels. 

Awesome.

Edited September 4, 2020 by GolfLug

[Double Mocha Man]

Found his qualifying score online.  Poor guy... overwhelmed the first day and shot a 93.  Came back on day 2 and shot a redeeming 79.  Bellerive is tough.  He missed the cut but wasn't the last in the field.  What a story he has to tell!!!

[Sandy Lie]

19 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

Found his qualifying score online.  Poor guy... overwhelmed the first day and shot a 93.  Came back on day 2 and shot a redeeming 79.  Bellerive is tough.  He missed the cut but wasn't the last in the field.  What a story he has to tell!!!

When he came back he told us every detail.  He was a bit overwhelmed but he had a blast. Cars, trinkets etc. Biggest thing was his practice rounds.  Played 9 holes with Tom Watson.  He talked about the course setup and how incredible it was.  Being announced on the 1st tee,he said his hands never shook so much!

[308 Ragin Cajun]

I have a nephew who was drew attention from a Colorado Rockies scout when he was 16. signed a college scholarship, and was red shirted. He played with some pretty solid pro prospects on that college team, but when he saw what they were giving up to possibly make it to the pros, he decided it wasn't for him. Apparently baseball was their whole life, even to the point of missing class, no social life, giving up just about everything for baseball. he quit his sophomore year, completed his education, and went on to law school. he's now a practicing attorney.,  happily married with a baby, and appears to have no regrets.

[MarvChamp]

Because they (we) are human beings and totally self-centered. Being delusional is a way of protecting fragile egos. -Dr. Jung, the Best Golfer in the World