"After three years of playing, you've reached you're maximum potential" is this true?

[Chris223]

I would say it's a load of crap. Maybe true for some. But I notice myself getting better each year I go out any play. I've been playing for over 8 years and only in the last 2 have I started breaking 100 every time out. Golf is such a technical game. You could play for 10 years, think you'll never get better, then run into a really good player or take lessons from a PGA certified pro who changes even just 1 minor thing in your swing or stance or grip and you'll instantly become a better player. A lot of people out their would be much better players by just changing one or two things in their game and become much better.

[alf174]

Not here. My 4th year playing and things keep getting better a few steps at a time. Therein lies the enjoyment, the road to getting better. When I feel I can't get any better than its time for a new sport. Already been through a couple of other sports, lost interest because I felt I max'd out my potential. Golf is the toughest mental game I've taken up and I believe that day will never arrive (and I hope it doesn't).

[TheGeekGolfer]

If you have to ask this question then you shouldn't even be playing golf... what a load of b*llsh#t! Take some common sense pills and get back out there and practice.

[kafka01]

Golf is such a technical game. You could play for 10 years, think you'll never get better, then run into a really good player or take lessons from a PGA certified pro who changes even just 1 minor thing in your swing or stance or grip and you'll instantly become a better player. A lot of people out their would be much better players by just changing one or two things in their game and become much better.

If you play for 10 years without getting better, you wont get better the next 20 years, cuz something with your attitude and approach to the game is majorly flawed. How can you accept hitting crap shots over and over again for 10 years (or in your case 8 years) without actually working on it efficiently and trying to improve? Did you ever think about it, when standing on the range after 3 or 4 years, still not being able to hit proper shots, what you are actually doing wrong, or did you just totally neglect that?

Well i guess in those cases the USGA statistic is correct, for people who actually work on their game efficiently (who are a minority) the statistic is wrong as they will analyse and eliminate their problems in all aspects of the game over time and will become good players.

[sean_miller]

If you play for 10 years without getting better, you wont get better the next 20 years, cuz something with your attitude and approach to the game is majorly flawed. How can you accept hitting crap shots over and over again for 10 years (or in your case 8 years) without actually working on it efficiently and trying to improve? Did you ever think about it, when standing on the range after 3 or 4 years, still not being able to hit proper shots, what you are actually doing wrong, or did you just totally neglect that?

Yeah, those guys are in the minority. My average level of play is better than ever, but until I string together some sub-75 rounds, I'd say my "maximum potential" was reached years ago. Semantics.

[alomar123]

I heard this once and it was from a quote by the usga. Do you guys think this is true? I've played for four years now in high school (started freshmen year) and am still getting better each year i think. I managed to shoot a 34 (-2) the other day on 9, and shot a 79 at legaues last year. Besides those two rounds, i shoot low 80's consistently, will i really not get any better than that?

Thought the vid was pretty cool until it became an infomercial.lol

I doubt you plateau in the first 3 years. If you take this game serious you can get better.

[jamo]

I've read this before, but it was phrased in less absolute terms. It was merely an observation, based on USGA handicap data I think, that most golfers don't improve much after they've been playing for three years. Which is probably true, especially for casual golfers who don't hang out on Internet forums.

This seems right. There are many people who pick up the game for a year or two and decide they don't like it, so they have reached their "full potential." That is, they will never get any better. Those people offset all of the people that improve throughout their whole life.

[saevel25]

doubt it... i played golf since i was 14, i was in the 100's, 90's and barely struggled to past 90 in highschool. Only made the golf team once, and the baseline usually was 45 for 9 holes to make the JV team. I take 5 years off in college, my worst night will be about a 45, i usually can go about 4-6 over for 9 holes consistantly.. So thats 10 years later and i've gotten better than i did after three years.. with a 5 year lay off.. its a bunch of BS.

[Chris223]

If you play for 10 years without getting better, you wont get better the next 20 years, cuz something with your attitude and approach to the game is majorly flawed. How can you accept hitting crap shots over and over again for 10 years (or in your case 8 years) without actually working on it efficiently and trying to improve? Did you ever think about it, when standing on the range after 3 or 4 years, still not being able to hit proper shots, what you are actually doing wrong, or did you just totally neglect that?

Getting better has a different meaning for everyone. Did I neglect it all those years? No, those were the years where I only got out to play maybe 4-5 times a year. Last couple years I've been able to and been more interested in playing more and I've improved my game. When I first started, I didn't get the ball in the air often, had a complete crap set of clubs that I hated, didn't hit the ball very far. I didn't play like crap for many years then suddenly get better. I've gradually gotten better and better but only recently have I gotten significantly better since having my friend who's really good, teach me more. He's changed my stance, and showed me how to hit shots in certain situations and it has made me better. I used to play out of greenside bunkers like it was a regular chip shot, lol. Then my friend taught me how to play the ball and swing hard and now I have a lot of confidence playing out of bunkers that I can get up and down. Have I ever taken lessons? No. And no, it isn't because I'm neglecting whatever I'm doing wrong or accept hitting crappy shots. And also... I rarely, if ever, go to the range.

[Fourputt]

I didn't hit that plateau until I'd been playing more or less steadily for 15 years. I did hit the plateau only 1½ years after I first started carrying a handicap, but the USGA has no idea how long I might have played before I joined an associated club and started feeding them data. The USGA can really only cite data from players who carry a handicap, and most US players don't even consider it until they have already been playing for quite some time, if at all. There are a lot of golfers who have played for 40 years and have never carried an official handicap. The USGA can't possibly have any pertinent data on such players.

[AmenCorner]

I think I'm just starting to get better after 3 years of consistent play.