Impossible or doable?

[Chubber]

You forgot one thing, putting! Throw that in instead of the second range session and second chipping session and I think your set.

I think the bolded part below is supposed to be "putt".

Yesterday I went to the course at 1.30 and I had a 5 o'clock tee time. I started off during the usual hitting about 70-100 balls on the range. Then I chipped with my friend for about an hour. After that we grabbed something to eat and went out to the range again. We spend about half an hour there and then went back to chip and

[907golfer12]

I think the bolded part below is supposed to be "putt".

Thanks, I missed that.

But to the OP I still feel you need to putt more, if you can't putt you can't score. Just the other day I played with a guy who hit a lot of GIR's, but he would 3 and 4 putt every hole, because of this, his best score is 85, but averages in the 90's.

[bogeyhitter25]

It'd be possible for you to be in single digits by next august. Probably not the 0 part though. I'm trying to be single digits before next year's golf season (16.6 now).

[SubPar]

Good luck to all you dreamers who think you can get to 0-5 in a year, from 15-20 handicaps. To say that is a one in a million shot is not just dragging out an old cliché; that's about the right odds. While you're at it, take up marathon running this year and run a 2:10 by next spring. After you are a scratch golfer, maybe you could also qualify for the Tour de France in a couple of years.

Knock yourselves out. I have to think most people suffer from the same dim thinking I hear on the golf course all the time; people indicating they feel the only thing standing between themselves and the PGA Tour is the time to play and practice every day.

I'm sure some of the same people in this group are the 15 handicappers that claim they average 270-280 with their driver. I'm sure those guys could play with Johnson, Toms or Leonard and average the same distance off the tee. No Problem.

SubPar

[907golfer12]

Good luck to all you dreamers who think you can get to 0-5 in a year, from 15-20 handicaps. To say that is a one in a million shot is not just dragging out an old cliché; that's about the right odds. While you're at it, take up marathon running this year and run a 2:10 by next spring. After you are a scratch golfer, maybe you could also qualify for the Tour de France in a couple of years.

I don't think there is any need to be sarcastic about this, the OP asked a question, you can answer and say yes I think it is possible, or no I don't no need to be rude. And maybe he can't do it, but if he thinks he can it will help him do the work and put in the effort to improve himself as a golfer, and in the end if he makes it or not, he is still a better golfer then before. I mean that was my goal last year, and I was lucky enough to attain my goal, and I do accredit that to being able to play and practice golf every day.

[Lefty731PM]

I mean that was my goal last year, and I was lucky enough to attain my goal, and I do accredit that to being able to play and practice golf every day.

I would love to see a link to your official USGA handicap which shows your progress to that handicap in a year or whatever it was. Naturally, I am assuming that all of the reductions were in competition play. My opinion is that a lot of these low handicaps administer their own handicaps with software.

[Lefty731PM]

Good luck to all you dreamers who think you can get to 0-5 in a year, from 15-20 handicaps. To say that is a one in a million shot is not just dragging out an old cliché; that's about the right odds. While you're at it, take up marathon running this year and run a 2:10 by next spring. After you are a scratch golfer, maybe you could also qualify for the Tour de France in a couple of years.

Hey!!!!! You're so negative! I started playing piano in February and my aim is to be a concert pianist by August next year. Are you going to pi$$ on my dream and say it's not possible. I REALLY WANT TO DO IT, and I practise every day.

[907golfer12]

I would love to see a link to your official USGA handicap which shows your progress to that handicap in a year or whatever it was. Naturally, I am assuming that all of the reductions were in competition play. My opinion is that a lot of these low handicaps administer their own handicaps with software.

Dude you don't have to believe me if you don't want, and I really don't have to prove anything to a guy I don't know on a forum, but I will tell you that all of my last 20 scores are in the 70's.

[Lefty731PM]

Dude you don't have to believe me if you don't want, and I really don't have to prove anything to a guy I don't know on a forum, but I will tell you that all of my last 20 scores are in the 70's.

One would expect so, if you play off 5. I think you have answered my question.

My interest is in the fact that you say that you made it there from 18 or something a year ago, didn't you?

[Lefty731PM]

I don't think there is any need to be sarcastic about this, .

In all honesty, I think that there is every reason to be sarcastic about this. Everyone wants to improve rapidly and we all have goals, but there is something about this society that means we think we can fast track ourselves to the point that is not only impossible, but ridiculous.

No one wants to play the guitar, they want to be a rock star. No one wants to act, they want to be a movie star. They don't want to improve their game, they want to be a pro and say that they'd be happy playing Nationwide, as if those guys aren't that good. And - they want it now. Read "A Good Walk Spoiled" and see how much "fun" the average tour aspirant has. Getting a PGA Tour card is a licence to LOSE money. The evidence of how good you have to be to become a pro is on TV every day. To think that it is possible to achieve that on desire alone is a perfect symptom of the current generation's complete and utter separation from reality. I love golf because you can't buy a game and daddy can't make you a pro.

[Petden]

I would say that golf is the hardest sport to improve on. Nothing is ever constant. You depend solely on yourself. It takes a perfect beyond that of almost any other sport. A 5 handicap is almost perfection. At that point you are among the top golfers in the world. If you can learn from each shot, what you ahve done wrong and rarely make that mistake again then you may get that 5 handicap. You will need hours of practice each and everyday - meaningful practice where you can become aware of concepts of the swing that were not obvious before.

If you can achieve that goal in that time frame you should contiue practicing becasue in a few years at that pace you could make the PGA.

[Lefty731PM]

A 5 handicap is almost perfection. At that point you are among the top golfers in the world. If you can learn from each shot, what you ahve done wrong and rarely make that mistake again then you may get that 5 handicap. You will need hours of practice each and everyday - meaningful practice where you can become aware of concepts of the swing that were not obvious before.

Let's forget about handicaps for a minute, as it is clear to me that a lot of golfers

a) do not have a handicap b) make one up c) have no idea what one is or d) have a vanity handicap which they invent. (even with a computer program) e) Ignore the rules From what I gather on this forum, a 5 handicap can mean anything at all, so lets talk stroke rounds played by the rules of strokeplay. Measure your chances of becoming a pro this way: Shoot in the 60s pretty much ALL of the time on good courses which are not set up to be artificially difficult and win a lot of events where the top players in your are are. Progress to wider and better fields and keep winning. And over the course of a year post quite a few scores in the very low 60s. Unless you are breaking par REGULARLY you are destined to being a good amateur golfer and there's nothing wrong with that. It's not about the good shots you hit, but the bad ones you don't hit. Now - have a look at Nationwide Tour results and imagine yourself shooting under par and missing the cut. Then look at the Q school scores and see how you'd go with par figures under that pressure. Forget the "I'm a 5" "I got to 2 in 2 years" BS. It's all about low scores, lots of birdies and very few big numbers. If you are shooting low 70s you are a fantastic golfer compared to the millions on the planet, but compared to a pro, you are not within a million miles. Here's a good article! http://www.iseekgolf.com/news/7428-s...e-a-••••••••er

[907golfer12]

One would expect so, if you play off 5. I think you have answered my question.

Yes, I started last year around May '07, got to an 18 handicap at the end of the season, about early-mid October, and now have a 5.3 index. Like I said before, if you don't want to believe me then don't, I have no need to impress you. I, and the people that know me know that I am a 5 index, and that's all I really care about, not some guy that I don't know on a golf forum.

[Lefty731PM]

Yes, I started last year around May '07, got to an 18 handicap at the end of the season, about early-mid October, and now have a 5.3 index. Like I said before, if you don't want to believe me then don't, I have no need to impress you.

OK. I'll assume that it's an "unofficial" handicap", then.

I thought you'd be proud to show the transition from 18 to 5 in a year. I'd really like to see it because it would be an inspiration to those who want to attempt something similar. Obviously there is nothing to see.

[907golfer12]

Good for you, I really don't care what you choose to believe.

[Lefty731PM]

Good for you, I really don't care what you choose to believe.

Hey.......I'm happy to be proven wrong! I mean - it took Greg Norman 2 years in a country where you play 365 days a year. You live in Alaska, so you have essentially done it in 1/4 of the time. Why wouldn't a person think it's BS? But please - - prove me wrong!

[907golfer12]

I did spend my whole winter at our indoor driving range, working on my swing with 2 lessons a week, again if you don't want to believe me then that is fine.

[Uthinkso]

The question is really impossible to answer. To be a 5 or lower, hell even a single digit isn't a matter of practice. Its a matter of talent and skill that your born with.

Good luck either way.