Impossible or doable?

[iacas]

Back to topic now. Any further off-topic responses will result in an immediate trip to the Penalty Box.

That means you, heyscuba.

[SubPar]

... I just started playing in January 2008 and my handicap is at 24.1 atm. I play golf atleast 15 hours a week and take lessons once in a while. Do you think it is possible?

Getting a 5 in less than two years? Maybe, if you are one of the most naturally gifted athletes ever born. As a purely philosophical argument, yes, it is possible. In the real world, not a chance.

If it were just a game of physical skill under the same conditions on every shot, a lot of people could get pretty good at it. But in golf there is much more than learning to swing the club and make good contact with the ball. Every single shot represents a slightly different set of circumstances and it takes a lot of physical skill combined mental and emotional control, along with expereince that takes years to gather. It would be unlikely anyone could build the library of skills to reach a 5 index in one or two years. After a year of hitting balls, I took a few lessons and went from a 16 to a 10 in two months, playing 5-6 times a week. Then it took me four years to get to a 6.4 and I could never go lower than that. I've been playing for 12 years and now hold steady around a 7-8 index. Going from 24 to and 8 or 10 in a year is not that hard to imagine, but each click gets exponentially harder to shave off as you go lower. SubPar

[useless149149]

Definitely doable. This summer I went from a 18 to a 1.3 in 5 months. It took me around 10 hrs of golf a day, so if you can devote 3-4 hrs a day you should be good (especially if you don't play rounds). Try to be honest about how good parts of your game are. I seperated my shots into 4 categories (drives, approaches, short game, putts) and give each shot a score 1-10 on each hole, then use that to dictate the practice for the next couple of days.

[SubPar]

Definitely doable. This summer I went from a 18 to a 1.3 in 5 months. It took me around 10 hrs of golf a day, so if you can devote 3-4 hrs a day you should be good (especially if you don't play rounds). Try to be honest about how good parts of your game are. I seperated my shots into 4 categories (drives, approaches, short game, putts) and give each shot a score 1-10 on each hole, then use that to dictate the practice for the next couple of days.

I did a little research: So it looks like you're in high school and you've been playing golf for about 12 years. About a year ago you were a 15 handicap, so one has to wonder how you play at a 15, go up to 18, and then drop to a 1.3 in 5 months. There's a good chance you were in school for a couple of those five months, so I'm a little skeptical. Granted, you could have had a wealth of talent that was lying dormant all those years. If you really went from 18 to a 1.3 then you are a very talented person and a rare golfer. Young people can sometimes 'wake up' and realize a tremendous potential. Not as likely to happen after you hit 25+ years of age. There is a world of difference between someone who has played for years trying to get to a 5 index, and a person who just started playing golf less than a year ago. SubPar

[joshtpa]

I agree subpar.

[useless149149]

I did a little research:

I was a twice a month golfer up till then, and found my touch on the greens about 5 months ago, and then playing as much as i did during the summer, and being young, it seems to add up. And the only reason its as low as it is is because i had a four round stretch in half a week that was even par.

[907golfer12]

I would definitely say yes, since I did it.

Basically you need to spend every day swing clubs and practicing. I think one reason that I dropped so fast was because for 1 or 2 hours everyday I was chipping around the green while I was waiting for my mom to pick me up. This helped me be able to get up and down a lot since I had good distance control and I left myself tap ins if I missed greens.

But like many have said, you need to practice everyday, and practice your short game a lot, as this is where you can drop your strokes the most. My suggestion is that you get your swing and every club to a point where you can control the ball, and you know where your misses are and then just devote the rest of your time for a while on your short game.

Good luck in your quest to single digits, it will be a long and bumpy road.

[GolferDot]

Dragonflyn, My goal is also to get to scratch by august next year, I want to be on 5 by Dec. this year.
I have to admit I actually started playing golf at 8 years of age. Gave up when I was 15 (chasing girls) and started playing again in May of this year.
So if ya up for a little challenge lets see who can drop to what handicap by when. I certainly don't have the time to practice like you do but then I have an advantage from a swing ingrained at an early age.

[dragonflyin]

Dragonflyn, My goal is also to get to scratch by august next year, I want to be on 5 by Dec. this year.

Am I actually the person you want to challenge... or perhaps you mean someone else...

[Lefty731PM]

Definitely doable. This summer I went from a 18 to a 1.3 in 5 months. .

Please supply a link to your USGA handicap so we can see the evidence. I have to say that I find this to be an absolutely ridiculous claim. I look forward to being proven wrong, but am not holding my breath.

[Lefty731PM]

I want to ask everybody if this is possible. I made a bet with my girlfriend and a friend of mine(who has a handicap at +1). The bet with my GF is that I believe I can get to a handicap of 5 or better before august 2009 and she doesn't think I can do it! I just started playing in January 2008 and my handicap is at 24.1 atm. I play golf atleast 15 hours a week and take lessons once in a while. Do you think it is possible? Why/why not?

Well given that Greg Norman did it I suppose it is theoretically possible, but I would have to say that the task you have set yourself is virtually impossible. You will find it easier to go from 24 to 12 than from 12 to 8.

[GolferDot]

Am I actually the person you want to challenge... or perhaps you mean someone else...

Opps, sorry I meant Needtobreak80. Sorry, but if you have asperations to get to scratch Dragonflyn then why not , It helps to have a couple of people striving.

[ChrisMc]

Again, Possible ? Yes. Likely ? Absolutely not.

To achieve what you're going to try to will mean that you would have to dedicate so much time to practise & playing, that you may well end up losing the girlfriend anyway, so make your choice !
Oh, and you're going to have to be incredibly talented naturally too .

[Lefty731PM]

Well given that Greg Norman did it I suppose it is theoretically possible, but I would have to say that the task you have set yourself is virtually impossible. You will find it easier to go from 24 to 12 than from 12 to 8.

Just to clarify this - He got to scratch in 2 years, so if you can get to 5 in 1 and a half years you would have to be similarly gifted. Given that you say that you "played basketball at a professional level but didn't get paid" I'm sort of reading between the lines. If you are serious about this quest - and want us to follow it, please link to the Danish Golf Association handicap site (or whatever shows us your official handicap) and we'll watch your progress, but, again, I am guessing that you don't know enough about this game to realise that you would be one in many millions if you could achieve it. I seem to think that there are some folk who think that you would achieve this goal by once shooting 77 rather than reducing your OFFICIAL handicap.

[Needtobreak80]

GolferDot: Lets do it. How do you plan on doing it?

My goal is to be in the 12-18 range by the 1st of december, cause thats when it starts to get real cold and wet here. Then from December to February I plan on spending a lot of time on the putting green and working on the short game as well as taking some lessons on the range. I plan on practicing 3-4 days a week for about 3 hours each time during that period. Then when the wheather is nice again I plan on doing a lot of rounds in march april and may to get to around 8. From then I plan on training extremely intensive, I mean almost camping out on the course and work a lot with the club pro.

Then i'll just have to wait and see what happens. I know for sure that I can get to 8 and I'm confident I can make it all the way to 5.

[Lefty731PM]

Here is something you posted earlier:

"Yesterday I played some of the best golf since I started playing in January 2008. I only had time to play 9 holes and I shot a 8 over 44 and improved my handicap from 26.5 to 24.1!"

How do you reduce your handicap by playing 9 holes? I am guessing that your handicap is one that you have given yourself. In other words, I am even more sceptical.

[Needtobreak80]

I'm not sure about what you mean about reading between the lines of the fact that I used to play on a pro basketball team? (If you do not believe me I can prove it)

I will make sure that you can follow the progress.

[Lefty731PM]

I'm not sure about what you mean about reading between the lines of the fact that I used to play on a pro basketball team? (If you do not believe me I can prove it)

I meant that anyone who is able to be paid to play a sport would be crazy to knock back money. My comment was based on the fact that you said you played at a professional level but didn't get paid. Why didn't they pay you? The fact that you were hoping to get a scholarship should not affect that. I am sure you were a fine basketball player, but I don't believe that you have a golf handicap. You have essentially confirmed this by saying that you played 9 holes and reduced your handicap. You don't handicap yourself.