Ten thousand hours

[HSip]

The quality/focus of that 10,000 hrs of practice/play must be considered. I don't think anyone can argue that 10,000 hrs of well directed practice wouldn't improve any of us but 10,000 hrs of pounding a driver at the range is only going to "improve" our game so much (see the Hi-Hcp hitting 300yd thread - jeez). So will 10,000 hrs make us Tiger Woods = No, will it make us better = most likely.

[allin]

You guys are completely wrong. You cannot teach someone to throw a ball 95 mph. You cannot learn how to to run the 100 meters in less than 10 seconds. Practicing alone won't allow you to hit a 300 yard drive. Unless you have some god given natural talent all the practice in the world won't do you any good.

I would add one thing, a body build suited to and built to stand up to the practice required for your chosen sport. There is a reason there are no 5' 3'' or 6' 10" men on the PGA tour. My college track coach said I had a world class cardio system with a ten cent body. What he meant by that is even though I had the basic speed and abiltiy to run 800 meters fast, whenever I would get under 1:47 I would start having injuries. At around 6 foot 165-170 oounds my body just could not take the extra work needed to reach world class levels. Fast twich, slow twich muscle variance is well founded as well.

[allin]

I am not sure how this became a discussion on nature vs nurture? My original post was meant to spark a discussion which would perhaps help individuals set more realistic goals for their performance in the short term.
I see a great many posts by golfers upset at the quality of their performance. If 10,000 hours is a reasonable amount of practice time to become expert, 3 handicap or below, would be my definition, then most of us our being awfully hard on ourselves. Certainly where you focus your time should vary somewhat based on where your natural strengths are. If you have better feel and eye hand coordination, but no particularly strong or flexible, then seeking to excel in the short game makes sense. Just like your swing style varies depending on your physique, maybe the rest of your game should be built around that type of assesment also.

[Enthusiast]

Im gonna have to go against most on this.

In most pro level sports a certain body is required, BIG for most of them.
but golf it seems like you can get clubs, for any body size. and being small (frame) really doesnt mean a disadvantage does it, I mean as long as your are just as strong where it matter as someone on a bigger frame.

Strength you can train for if you are lacking.

And some of you say well "how come if its that easy more dont do it?" How many people can you truthfully say want to play pro and are dedicated to it? Most people want to be a good causal golfer.

As stated earlier for the average guy they will reach a point where they are mostly satisfied and become stagnant, or hard to teach because they are set in their ways.

Think about it. Strength and endurance can be gained sure its harder for some but it can be done. And technique can be teached. But you must have a good teacher. If you want to play proffesionally (at least in my opinion) there are only a select number of people who should be teaching you, and think if they where ALWAYS there teaching you and you did it everyday, for one reason, to play proffesionally, and learned from the best. I personally believe even an average joe could do it.

With that being said I think you have a certain age window when you must start. For example if you start late your behind the others who started early, and as you make your way up the ranks, given you start late enough, at a certain age your body will begin to decline. Sure you can be old and be in great shape, but thats not to say you woudlnt be in better shape given you where 5 or 6 years younger. And you may peak before you make it to a pro level.

Personally I think any average joe, that starts young enough, with enough GOOD training and dedication can do it, although it may be harder for them than others I think its possible. But to most this game is just a passtime.

I friend of mines younger brother that isnt even 18 yet and he can consistently shoot par or under (atleast on all the courses Ive played with him on) and after seeing him I think he COULD given proper training and dedication go pro but I know he wont, cause to him its just a hobby. And trust me he is not a natural born athlete, he is very scrony and tall, Not very quick or strong but for his size he can get some pretty good lcub speed.