The Dan Plan - 10,000 Hours to Become a Pro Golfer (Dan McLaughlin)

[RFKFREAK]

Don't get me wrong, Chris, unlike some I have no problem with Dan the person. What I'm trying to do is take personality out of the equation and look at the plan itself and try to learn from it.

Was (or rather is) weather a factor in the performance of the subject plateauing for 2 years? I'd say not. Would you have been able to get more useful hours in living in a warm climate? Yes, but then that just explains the plan taking longer rather than it stopping showing progress 2 years ago. Any professional growing up in the British Isles has to cope with pretty similar weather issues yet many make it to the pro ranks.

What I was saying was that there is loads of work that can be done over the winter months. The subject has a Flightscope which has an indoor mode and also has an ipad. I've got lots of work I want to do on my long game but although I'm working on it a bit I'm doing far more short game right now while I still can. When everything freezes over and I can't get out and about, that's when I'll be switching focus to long game and the same can be done in Portland with a Flightscope but using it inside hasn't once been mentioned on the blog.

I guess I can't see why you can't switch focus depending on what you can achieve at different times of the year. Take your example - why practice 3 foot putts outside when you could be learning to chip rather than chip and pitch all summer then learn to get your putter face square on a mat inside over the winter? I just think this sort of advice was daft and meant weather becomes far more of a factor than it actually needs to be.

As for Dan the person, I have absolutely no issues with him at all, in fact we've chatted via email from time to time and get on fine. I hope he gets the back sorted and can get going again but when he does I just think he needs to considering changing up the plan a bit, maybe look at ways he can improve the areas of his game that will make a difference in the long term and that will probably mean finding a coach who will 'buy in' to the whole concept.

I just don't think he's going to do this, though.  I think he's looking to springboard this into a way to make money afterwards and this injury gives him the exit strategy to have a "legitimate" reason for not being able to finish the plan to a successful conclusion and save face.

[Nosevi]

[QUOTE name="Nosevi" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/3510#post_1202961"] As for Dan the person, I have absolutely no issues with him at all, in fact we've chatted via email from time to time and get on fine. I hope he gets the back sorted and can get going again but when he does I just think he needs to considering changing up the plan a bit, maybe look at ways he can improve the areas of his game that will make a difference in the long term and that will probably mean finding a coach who will 'buy in' to the whole concept. [/QUOTE] I just don't think he's going to do this, though.  I think he's looking to springboard this into a way to make money afterwards and this injury gives him the exit strategy to have a "legitimate" reason for not being able to finish the plan to a successful conclusion and save face.

This is something that's been mentioned a bunch of times that I just don't get - the idea that someone (and I'm not saying Dan, I'm saying anyone) can become a motivational speaker when they set out to prove anything is possible but fail to accomplish the goal they set out to accomplish. What's the message - "Not everything in life is possible.", "Don't bother, it's not going to happen."? I simply don't get how you could motivate people if you yourself fall well short. You may get to talk in your local high school but you're not exactly going to be hitting the international speaking circuit. In this case there has to be a 'win' of some sort - state Amateur would probably do it (if such a thing exists over there), it doesn't have to be PGA Tour but he'd have to be able to say that he achieved something tangible and/or quantifiable in order to go down a (successful) motivational speaking route.

[ChrisWev]

In this case there has to be a 'win' of some sort - state Amateur would probably do it (if such a thing exists over there), it doesn't have to be PGA Tour but he'd have to be able to say that he achieved something tangible and/or quantifiable in order to go down a (successful) motivational speaking route.

To be fair he did break par, that's a big achievement in itself.

[RFKFREAK]

This is something that's been mentioned a bunch of times that I just don't get - the idea that someone (and I'm not saying Dan, I'm saying anyone) can become a motivational speaker when they set out to prove anything is possible but fail to accomplish the goal they set out to accomplish. What's the message - "Not everything in life is possible.", "Don't bother, it's not going to happen."? I simply don't get how you could motivate people if you yourself fall well short. You may get to talk in your local high school but you're not exactly going to be hitting the international speaking circuit. In this case there has to be a 'win' of some sort - state Amateur would probably do it (if such a thing exists over there), it doesn't have to be PGA Tour but he'd have to be able to say that he achieved something tangible and/or quantifiable in order to go down a (successful) motivational speaking route.

Because, as @Shorty said:

Bottom line is that most people don't know anything about golf.

2) People who know nothing about golf will think that he almost made it but was thwarted by injury.

3) He will claim to have got down to 2, will not contradict or correct interviewers who think he got to "near scratch".

4) Non golfers think that that makes him close to pro standard.

5) They will believe his BS and he will make money doing inspirational talks to morons who think that anything is possible and are told so by adults who should know better.

6) He will claim that the improvement curve was basically stopped by the injury.

As it is, you'll notice that his website is essentially devoted to the amount of media he attracts.

Someone who brings pays Dan to give a motivational speech is getting paid by people attending a seminar (or something as such).  They're looking to hear a good success story and the narrative will be that he came very very close but because of injury, he couldn't succeed but that he made great strides and was on his way.  And there's a good chance it will work because most people don't know a scratch golfer nor do they know how far scratch is from pro level.  I would venture to guess that many think that 0 is the lowest handicap possible and that better than that is the pros.  So, in some ways, the people that would pay to listen to Dan speak would be getting fleeced, IMO.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nosevi

In this case there has to be a 'win' of some sort - state Amateur would probably do it (if such a thing exists over there), it doesn't have to be PGA Tour but he'd have to be able to say that he achieved something tangible and/or quantifiable in order to go down a (successful) motivational speaking route.

To be fair he did break par, that's a big achievement in itself.

I agree that's pretty decent.

It is pretty clear after watching his beginning videos again that he does not have talent to play pro, though.

[Nosevi]

[QUOTE name="Nosevi" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/3528#post_1203142"]  In this case there has to be a 'win' of some sort - state Amateur would probably do it (if such a thing exists over there), it doesn't have to be PGA Tour but he'd have to be able to say that he achieved something tangible and/or quantifiable in order to go down a (successful) motivational speaking route.[/QUOTE] To be fair he did break par, that's a big achievement in itself.

True, it is, but does it say to you "Anything is possible." if you set out to achieve something far harder but didn't come close to it. I'm not belittling Dan's achievements however it may come across. I hope Dan sorts his back out, I hope he gets things going again and I hope he changes a few things in order to focus the time he has remaining where it needs focusing. I (possibly above others for obvious reasons) want to see him succeed at some level and show this sort of thing can actually be done. Will he 'bail out' and quit because of an injury if he doesn't have to? I don't think so because at this point he hasn't achieved the sort of thing he set out to achieve or the sort of thing that would stand up to questioning at a speaking engagement. He'll update his blog soon I'm sure........ actually I'm not guessing on that one :-)

[Shorty]

This is something that's been mentioned a bunch of times that I just don't get - the idea that someone (and I'm not saying Dan, I'm saying anyone) can become a motivational speaker when they set out to prove anything is possible but fail to accomplish the goal they set out to accomplish.

Because Dan is a fraud of sorts. He doesn't let the truth get in the way of a good story.

He isn't honest with himself and he is less honest with others; look at his interviews.

He was even pissed off because he didn't get substantial sponsorship.

He is going to pretend that he was on track until he was set upon by injury.

[ZappyAd]

This is something that's been mentioned a bunch of times that I just don't get - the idea that someone (and I'm not saying Dan, I'm saying anyone) can become a motivational speaker when they set out to prove anything is possible but fail to accomplish the goal they set out to accomplish. .

I think he has probably done some things that are hard to do and that a lot of people wouldn't ever attempt. He thought up a seemingly impossible challenge, gave up a significant chunk of his life to chase it and did it in front of the world by posting it on the Internet. A whole bunch of people probably told him he was crazy and it couldn't be done or that he was doing it the wrong way but he kept on doing it his way. Ok so he hasn't achieved his goal yet but he took that step over the edge to see if he could. I don't know what the stats are like relative to making it on the pga tour but risking everything to chase down a crazy goal isn't something that everyone does every day (present company excepted of course!).

[natureboy]

I just don't think he's going to do this, though.  I think he's looking to springboard this into a way to make money afterwards and this injury gives him the exit strategy to have a "legitimate" reason for not being able to finish the plan to a successful conclusion and save face.

I'm not sure I agree with this. I think he would make less money as a motivational speaker than as a professional photographer - remember how he paid for his years off. I could see a self-published and publicized book about his journey, but I don't think the speaking will really pay off the way some of you think. Book sales will be an indicator of potential success their. Now that he has lots of golf world experience, I could see him doing photojournalism / blogging in the golf industry or for golf publications. I think that would be more lucrative and fun if he loves golf.

According to the USGA definition it would seem that 'scratch' is regularly capable of shooting the course rating. With a typical golfer normal score distribution of three shots, that would put the upper limit around a 1 HCP. Personally I would consider 0 or better scratch, but even Dave Pelz in a Shotlink study lumped +5 to -5 as all one 'scratch' bin (probably to give him enough data points).

[Shorty]

I think he has probably done some things that are hard to do and that a lot of people wouldn't ever attempt. I don't know what the stats are like relative to making it on the pga tour but ............ (snip) risking everything to chase down a crazy goal isn't something that everyone does every day (present company excepted of course!).

In the same way that very few people say "Hey  - I'm about to learn to play guitar and my aim is to join the Rolling Stones".

IT was never going to happen.

Remember, there are probably 1000 golfers you have never heard of within 100 miles of him who would have him by 10 shots any day of the week.

He isn't in the top 1,000,000 players in the world. If he was, he'd be a gun player who would beat just about anyone he played against.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZappyAd

I think he has probably done some things that are hard to do and that a lot of people wouldn't ever attempt. I don't know what the stats are like relative to making it on the pga tour but ............ (snip) risking everything to chase down a crazy goal isn't something that everyone does every day (present company excepted of course!).

In the same way that very few people say "Hey  - I'm about to learn to play guitar and my aim is to join the Rolling Stones".

IT was never going to happen.

Remember, there are probably 1000 golfers you have never heard of within 100 miles of him who would have him by 10 shots any day of the week.

He isn't in the top 1,000,000 players in the world. If he was, he'd be a gun player who would beat just about anyone he played against.

We already know this based upon his Oregon State Qualifier results. . .

[newtogolf]

I'm not sure I agree with this. I think he would make less money as a motivational speaker than as a professional photographer - remember how he paid for his years off. I could see a self-published and publicized book about his journey, but I don't think the speaking will really pay off the way some of you think. Book sales will be an indicator of potential success their. Now that he has lots of golf world experience, I could see him doing photojournalism / blogging in the golf industry or for golf publications. I think that would be more lucrative and fun if he loves golf.

According to the USGA definition it would seem that 'scratch' is regularly capable of shooting the course rating. With a typical golfer normal score distribution of three shots, that would put the upper limit around a 1 HCP. Personally I would consider 0 or better scratch, but even Dave Pelz in a Shotlink study lumped +5 to -5 as all one 'scratch' bin (probably to give him enough data points).

I agree with @RFKFREAK ry was the perfect exit strategy.  Instead of being a failure, we'll feel sorry for him because his back injury didn't allow him to complete what he started.

Many aspects of professional photography are a dying business unless you're Annie Leibovitz and a few select others.  I am in the marketing business and have a few business friends who are wedding / event photographers, they are hurting for business.  Between stock images, digital SLR's, cell phones with high quality cameras built in and Photoshop, the demand for true professional photography has been and continues to be in a major decline.  The only fields that are still doing well is still life, architectural and real estate but even that is getting over saturated.

I'll be shocked if he goes back to photography, there's much more money in professional appearances and motivational speaking if he's in high enough demand and convince everyone he would have reached his goal if not for his bad back.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by natureboy

I'm not sure I agree with this. I think he would make less money as a motivational speaker than as a professional photographer - remember how he paid for his years off. I could see a self-published and publicized book about his journey, but I don't think the speaking will really pay off the way some of you think. Book sales will be an indicator of potential success their. Now that he has lots of golf world experience, I could see him doing photojournalism / blogging in the golf industry or for golf publications. I think that would be more lucrative and fun if he loves golf.

According to the USGA definition it would seem that 'scratch' is regularly capable of shooting the course rating. With a typical golfer normal score distribution of three shots, that would put the upper limit around a 1 HCP. Personally I would consider 0 or better scratch, but even Dave Pelz in a Shotlink study lumped +5 to -5 as all one 'scratch' bin (probably to give him enough data points).

I agree with @RFKFREAK freak, the injury was the perfect exit strategy.  Instead of being a failure, we'll feel sorry for him because his back injury didn't allow him to complete what he started.

Many aspects of professional photography are a dying business unless you're Annie Leibovitz and a few select others.  I am in the marketing business and have a few business friends who are wedding / event photographers, they are hurting for business.  Between stock images, digital SLR's, cell phones with high quality cameras built in and Photoshop, the demand for true professional photography has been and continues to be in a major decline.  The only fields that are still doing well is still life, architectural and real estate but even that is getting over saturated.

I'll be shocked if he goes back to photography, there's much more money in professional appearances and motivational speaking if he's in high enough demand and convince everyone he would have reached his goal if not for his bad back.

I don't see how this is going to actually happen as most of the golfing community doesn't really think much of him.

[newtogolf]

I don't see how this is going to actually happen as most of the golfing community doesn't really think much of him.

We are a small minority, the rest of the world doesn't know all the details.  What they know is some regular guy quit his day job to become a pro golfer and he was well on his way until he hurt his back.

[Shorty]

We are a small minority, the rest of the world doesn't know all the details.  What they know is some regular guy quit his day job to become a pro golfer and he was well on his way until he hurt his back.

100% correct.

And that is why I am calling him a fraud.

He will never correct people who know nothing about the game when they say he came close.

Can you imagine him saying "You know, I was naive when I started and didn't even come close to being the best in my town, let alone making a cut in a PGATour event." He'll just crap on about the BS 10,000 theory.

[Lihu]

[QUOTE name="newtogolf" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/3528#post_1203485"]   We are a small minority, the rest of the world doesn't know all the details.  What they know is some regular guy quit his day job to become a pro golfer and he was well on his way until he hurt his back. [/QUOTE] 100% correct. And that is why I am calling him a fraud. He will never correct people who know nothing about the game when they say he came close. Can you imagine him saying "You know, I was naive when I started and didn't even come close to being the best in my town, let alone making a cut in a PGATour event." He'll just crap on about the BS 10,000 theory.

So, "Become an almost expert with 6,000 hours. . ."? :-D

[mchepp]

My point was the weather isn't that much of an impact on a 10-20 year old kid doing his PGA and playing every weekend etc in England, as they've got all the time in the world. Dan didn't, he was 30 and had 10,000 hours and he's wasted more than half of them on putting and messing about playing on a frozen course. I think the weather in Portland seems to be similar to the UK as far as temperature goes (but with much greater extremes) but it rains an awful lot more than over here in winter. I imagine the courses go from soggy to frozen to soggy?

From a resident of the Portland area, let me say frozen is extremely rare. 1-2 weeks a year...maybe. Last year 1 week. Soggy, no, not really. Having lived in California even a light rain would make the course ridiculously soggy. Here the drainage is amazing. It takes essentially a flood to make the course anywhere near as soggy as California. The ground just drains better in Portland.

Even it is raining there are an abundance of ranges with covers. So he could still practice.

. It wouldn't have helped him so much with chipping, pitching, bunkers or changing lies though. I think this is where your plan has a big advantage, you've got the swing studio and it's pretty dry and mild in Lincolnshire. You should hire a digger and build yourself a varying grade pitching area ;)

Columbia Edgewater where he was first a member has a fantastic chipping area plus a par 3 course if the chipping area is not enough. Plus an indoor hitting area. This is not a good excuse.

Location was not a problem. Was it ideal, no, but Florida probably annually gets as much rain if not more than Portland in the late summer.

He could have traveled. Say do Portland in the summer and Palm Springs in the winter, but that takes cash that he just doesn't have.

[DrvFrShow]

The reason for going to Florida would be the level of instruction available. But as has already been stated.... resources.