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

[Nosevi]

From Golfaid.com:

The Dan Plan started on April 5th, 2010, when Dan quit his day job as a commercial photographer and started dedicating over 30 hours a week with the hopes of reaching 10,000 hours practiced by November of 2015. During this time, Dan plans to develop his skills through deliberate practice, eventually winning amateur events and obtaining his PGA Tour card through a successful appearance in the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School.

Be under no illusions about what this guy's ambition was.

 

So are you saying it was (or is?) all about achieving the end goal of making it to the PGA Tour or was just about self publicity and the golf was very much secondary?

[Shorty]

So are you saying it was (or is?) all about achieving the end goal of making it to the PGA Tour or was just about self publicity and the golf was very much secondary?

It started off with him thinking that the former would gain him publicity naturally and by default.

When it became clear that he was never even going to be good enough to reach the final 16 in any club championship in the country, the project morphed into what it is now, a shameless series of media opportunities where it's almost as if his actual progress is a taboo subject.

He is banking on non golfers believing that pros play off 0, he is a 3 and 3 is very close to 0, meaning he almost reached his goal and that people like me are nitpickers.

At no stage in any interview has he conceded that he is light years from his goal, and is not even a competitive club golfer.

[Nosevi]

It started off with him thinking that the former would gain him publicity naturally and by default.

When it became clear that he was never even going to be good enough to reach the final 16 in any club championship in the country, the project morphed into what it is now, a shameless series of media opportunities where it's almost as if his actual progress is a taboo subject.

He is banking on non golfers believing that pros play off 0, he is a 3 and 3 is very close to 0, meaning he almost reached his goal and that people like me are nitpickers.

At no stage in any interview has he conceded that he is light years from his goal, and is not even a competitive club golfer.

Fair enough. I'm not convinced it's as calculated as that, I just think he underestimated the enormity of the task he had taken on and so what it would take to achieve it and is now making the most of where he is but I won't get into an argument about it

I do have a question for all but you especially, Shorty. Pretty simple question really. Is it possible? I think most would say that Dan's approach was wide of the mark in a few areas but if it hadn't been is it possible that he could have succeeded in his quest had he taken a different route and if not why not?

Edited October 11, 2015 by Nosevi

[Shorty]

 

I do have a question for all but you especially, Shorty. Pretty simple question really. Is it possible? I think most would say that Dan's approach was wide of the mark in a few areas but if it hadn't been is it possible that he could have succeeded in his quest had he taken a different route and if not why not?

It may be possible for a truly gifted human specimen, but I would say no.

With Dan, you only have to look at a photo of him. He is ungainly, has no serious move through the ball, and just does not have the physiology to make it possible. In the same way that he woiuld never be an awesome baseball pitcher or javelin thrower or high jumper.

Dan could never ever be more than a reasonably low marker, but he would always be a short hitter who would struggle on courses when he has to play from the proper mens tees.

Being from the UK, you know that handicaps there are gained soleley from competition rounds. These guys do it themselves and in solo rounds from whatever tees they like (slope accounting for something, naturally) but many members here don't even realise that for a lot of players, of the proper tees, many par 3s are unreachable as are many par 4s. They play from tees which make them feel as if they can hit any green in regulation. Put them off the back, and suddenly they're hitting hybrids into most par 4s, will be short on half the par 3s with a driver and will struggle to reach par 5s in 3.  You will notice that many guys here seem to play courses where several par 4s are driveable and they are going for every par 5 in two. That is not real golf. I'll bet your course is not like that. They never hit a wide range of shots and hit driver and short iron into every par 4. Put them off the real tees and suddenly their "70s" shooting becomes 90 on a good day. That's all well and good, but don't be comparing your GIRs and other stats with the pros.

The thing about golf is that you can pretty much spot a really good player before he even hits a ball, and you can absolutely make a (negative) judgement about a person's capacity in a short period of time. Seconds. Now, that's not to say that an ordinary looking guy can't become a good player, but becoming a pro who makes money from the game is very different.

I palyed with two pros in a pro-am the other day. One is a trainee and the other is a club pro.

They were both seriously good players - both hit it a mile and had everything - but these are fellows who can make maybe a couple of thousand dollars in a few months if they play well. They are light years from making money as players and would have Dan by between 10 and 15 shots any day of the week.

And when I say they hit it a mile, I mean HUGE distance. There are players ion this site who have never actually seen touring pros hit it and this is why these threads and the endless "Can I turn pro?' threads are so silly. It's like anything. When you see the real thing, there's no mistaking it. People who have not seen these guys in the flesh have no idea. TV gives zero impression of the power they have.

My answer is: Go and watch a good pro on the practice tee for five minutes. Can you imagine yourself EVER hitting a 4 iron the way they do, or a driver? Same distance, same control, same consistency. If you can, go for it. 

Bottom line: six birdies a round is the target of most playing pros and to minimise errors.

 

Edited October 11, 2015 by Shorty

[pullfade]

I and many others along the way did tell him that slowly moving his way through the bag might not be the best approach. At the time, Dan knew nothing about the game and decided to stick to the program that his instructor, Christopher Smith laid out for him.

From Dan's perspective, I'd imagine if you knew nothing about the game and were seeing one of the best instructors in Oregon that has many accolades including the Speedgolf world record holder you might tend to listen to him over randoms and even friends giving you unsolicited advice. 

You all attack Dan for starting out his plan the way he did, but some of that, I feel needs to be directed at Christopher Smith. It would be interesting to see what he would say about it and whether he could admit the possibility of being wrong. Probably not. The guy is a real tool. 

 

Edited October 11, 2015 by pullfade

[Nosevi]

It may be possible for a truly gifted human specimen, but I would say no.

With Dan, you only have to look at a photo of him. He is ungainly, has no serious move through the ball, and just does not have the physiology to make it possible. In the same way that he woiuld never be an awesome baseball pitcher or javelin thrower or high jumper.

Dan could never ever be more than a reasonably low marker, but he would always be a short hitter who would struggle on courses when he has to play from the proper mens tees.

Being from the UK, you know that handicaps there are gained soleley from competition rounds. These guys do it themselves and in solo rounds from whatever tees they like (slope accounting for something, naturally) but many members here don't even realise that for a lot of players, of the proper tees, many par 3s are unreachable as are many par 4s. They play from tees which make them feel as if they can hit any green in regulation. Put them off the back, and suddenly they're hitting hybrids into most par 4s, will be short on half the par 3s with a driver and will struggle to reach par 5s in 3.  You will notice that many guys here seem to play courses where several par 4s are driveable and they are going for every par 5 in two. That is not real golf. I'll bet your course is not like that. They never hit a wide range of shots and hit driver and short iron into every par 4. Put them off the real tees and suddenly their "70s" shooting becomes 90 on a good day. That's all well and good, but don't be comparing your GIRs and other stats with the pros.

The thing about golf is that you can pretty much spot a really good player before he even hits a ball, and you can absolutely make a (negative) judgement about a person's capacity in a short period of time. Seconds. Now, that's not to say that an ordinary looking guy can't become a good player, but becoming a pro who makes money from the game is very different.

I palyed with two pros in a pro-am the other day. One is a trainee and the other is a club pro.

They were both seriously good players - both hit it a mile and had everything - but these are fellows who can make maybe a couple of thousand dollars in a few months if they play well. They are light years from making money as players and would have Dan by between 10 and 15 shots any day of the week.

And when I say they hit it a mile, I mean HUGE distance. There are players ion this site who have never actually seen touring pros hit it and this is why these threads and the endless "Can I turn pro?' threads are so silly. It's like anything. When you see the real thing, there's no mistaking it. People who have not seen these guys in the flesh have no idea. TV gives zero impression of the power they have.

My answer is: Go and watch a good pro on the practice tee for five minutes. Can you imagine yourself EVER hitting a 4 iron the way they do, or a driver? Same distance, same control, same consistency. If you can, go for it. 

Bottom line: six birdies a round is the target of most playing pros and to minimise errors.

 

I see your point I think which is exactly why I made sure I was practising with and playing with pros at and above the level I'm aiming at from the off. The guy I practice with the most often (couple of times a week when he's in the country) made the cut in his first European Tour event so is arguably 'good enough'. I could not only tell you how he strikes each club in the bag I could give you high speed video both on and off the course, FO and DTL, as well as complete launch monitor data. Having walked the fairway with him for a few tournament rounds he tends to be longer than those he's played with. How far off am I? Average of 4 yards carry for a mid iron, stretches to 9 yards for a 4 iron (but I'm working on it) and about the same for a driver. It's the end of 1 year out of 5, my call is I'll get there in that one facet of the game at least.

But am I that different to the likes of Dan or am I simply going about it in a different way? I needed more power off the tee so I worked out how to get it (0500 alarm as usual tomorrow and I'll be in the gym by 0545 - it aint rocket science). I think the mistake many make is to think that by blogging it it'll somehow happen more easily whereas I think blogging it is in fact a distraction. I've got a thread on here but if you read the first part you'll notice it makes no sense as a stand alone post. That's because it was a post on this thread that was moderated into its own thread - I didn't start the thread and had zero intention of ever starting one. As I said, at best it's a distraction.

All I'd say is that in a similar way to the fact that if Dan fails it doesn't mean it's undoable (one data point etc), don't judge all of these type of 'plans' by the slightly haphazard methodology of some (or perhaps most). Some of us know exactly what we're aiming at, on average I compete in some aspect of the game against a tour pro or top amateur (top 400 in the world amateur rankings) maybe 3 times a week. I know the target, getting there, now that's a different matter. :-)

I and many others along the way did tell him that slowly moving his way through the bag might not be the best approach. At the time, Dan knew nothing about the game and decided to stick to the program that his instructor, Christopher Smith laid out for him.

From Dan's perspective, I'd imagine if you knew nothing about the game and were seeing one of the best instructors in Oregon that has many accolades including the Speedgolf world record holder you might tend to listen to him over randoms and even friends giving you unsolicited advice. 

You all attack Dan for starting out his plan the way he did, but some of that, I feel needs to be directed at Christopher Smith. It would be interesting to see what he would say about it and whether he could admit the possibility of being wrong. Probably not. The guy is a real tool. 

 

Personally I've never criticised Dan for the way Dan started. I've criticised the instructor I think but not Dan. I think it wasted time and as his plan has a clock running (10,000 hours) that's something he couldn't afford, but the way he started has had no actual bearing on where he is IMO. He putted for about 7 months I think but his progress stalled a while ago.

Regarding Mr Smith, define 'best' in terms of "one of the best instructors in Oregon". Really?!?!?

The one thing I do think would do Dan's cause the world of good would be to acknowledge those on his blog asking what's going on. He acknowledged a guy offering advice on a swing that limits back pain but nothing to numerous people asking how he is. Mistake. I get on fine with Dan but think he needs to descide whether he wants the attention a blog generates or not. Picking and choosing isn't helping him out all that much in the eyes of would be supporters. 

[Mike Boatright]

It's really not that hard to asses if your good enough to be a pga tour pro. It's about range you need by today's standards a minimum of 315 yards driving distance ability and be able to hit an 8 iron about 175 yards, That's it the rest is skill and scoring which isn't easy but is learn able and trainable and might take 7 years to get really good. If a guy like Dan is hitting it 260 of the tee and shooting par then he has no chance same goes for anyone in that distance range.

Edited October 11, 2015 by Mike Boatright

[pullfade]

Regarding Mr Smith, define 'best' in terms of "one of the best instructors in Oregon". Really?!?!?

I didn't just make that up. He's been named as one of the top instructors in Oregon by Golf Digest for 10 plus years. 

http://train2trust.com/AboutChristopher.aspx

It's really not that hard to asses if your good enough to be a pga tour pro. It's about range you need by today's standards a minimum of 315 yards driving distance ability and be able to hit an 8 iron about 175 yards, That's it the rest is skill and scoring which isn't easy but is learn able and trainable and might take 7 years to get really good. If a guy like Dan is hitting it 260 of the tee and shooting par then he has no chance same goes for anyone in that distance range.

There's so much BS in this post it's hard to know where to begin. A minimum 315 yards driving distance. That actually made me laugh out loud.

Edited October 11, 2015 by pullfade

[Lihu]

I and many others along the way did tell him that slowly moving his way through the bag might not be the best approach. At the time, Dan knew nothing about the game and decided to stick to the program that his instructor, Christopher Smith laid out for him.

From Dan's perspective, I'd imagine if you knew nothing about the game and were seeing one of the best instructors in Oregon that has many accolades including the Speedgolf world record holder you might tend to listen to him over randoms and even friends giving you unsolicited advice. 

You all attack Dan for starting out his plan the way he did, but some of that, I feel needs to be directed at Christopher Smith. It would be interesting to see what he would say about it and whether he could admit the possibility of being wrong. Probably not. The guy is a real tool. 

 

If I had to guess, he took one look at Dan and felt that the only thing he could do like a pro is putt. . .

[Mike Boatright]

Regarding Mr Smith, define 'best' in terms of "one of the best instructors in Oregon". Really?!?!?

I didn't just make that up. He's been named as one of the top instructors in Oregon by Golf Digest for 10 plus years. 

http://train2trust.com/AboutChristopher.aspx

There's so much BS in this post it's hard to know where to begin. A minimum 315 yards driving distance. That actually made me laugh out loud.

 

 

I'm not talking average guy, just being able to do so. The guys on tour hit it 370 yards sometimes and usually hit 7-9 irons 170 to 210 yards. This is why they can play 485 yard par 4's as if it's a cake walk. This is kind a like a prerequisite to being pro these days.

Everything else is short game putting sand saves etc.. This is all factual dude what's so funny lol?? Pga tour guys hit it 289.00 average but have the ability to crank it up!! My point is a club player like Dan probably hit's it 275 max maybe he can be a scratch but just lacks firepower. This isn't baseball here where being 5 foot 7 and having max skill can let you be a 2nd basemen averaging 300 and getting hits,doubles you know skill.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Mike Boatright

[Lihu]

I'm not talking average guy, just being able to do so. The guys on tour hit it 370 yards sometimes and usually hit 7-9 irons 170 to 210 yards. This is why they can play 485 yard par 4's as if it's a cake walk. This is kind a like a prerequisite to being pro these days.

Everything else is short game putting sand saves etc.. This is all factual dude what's so funny lol?? Pga tour guys hit it 289.00 average but have the ability to crank it up!! My point is a club player like Dan probably hit's it 275 max maybe he can be a scratch but just lacks firepower. This isn't baseball here where being 5 foot 7 and having max skill can let you be a 2nd basemen averaging 300 and getting hits,doubles you know skill.

There's no comparison between these two distance metrics.

[pullfade]

 

 

I'm not talking average guy, just being able to do so. The guys on tour hit it 370 yards sometimes and usually hit 7-9 irons 170 to 210 yards. This is why they can play 485 yard par 4's as if it's a cake walk. This is kind a like a prerequisite to being pro these days.

Everything else is short game putting sand saves etc.. This is all factual dude what's so funny lol?? Pga tour guys hit it 289.00 average but have the ability to crank it up!! My point is a club player like Dan probably hit's it 275 max maybe he can be a scratch but just lacks firepower. This isn't baseball here where being 5 foot 7 and having max skill can let you be a 2nd basemen averaging 300 and getting hits,doubles you know skill.

These are the facts, dude. Stop just throwing numbers out there, you're making yourself look like an ass. A minimum of 315 yards driving distance ability. That's laughable. 

Edited October 12, 2015 by pullfade

[natureboy]

"Freakish" is the right term. Paul Runyan was a while ago and the tour setups have changed considerably since then. Were he around today, driving the ball as he did and playing on the setups they have today Paul Runyan would not be able to compete, no one currently playing the game could. What you are talking is for someone to be as accurate with their wedges from 50 or 60 yards out as exeryone else is with their putter from 25 feet. I hate using the word impossible as someone always pitches up that proves it wrong but let's just say it would be so improbable that it's not worth contemplating what the possibility is. On a 7,200 plus yard course you've got to get the ball out there to compete.

Regarding miss Spirinac she's selling something guys want to buy (golfers and non-golfers) and she's actually doing it quite successfully. She's a natural athlete who played the game from a relatively early age right up through college. You could argue that she's doing nothing that some of the girls on the LPGA do ie use sex appeal to gain media exposure, whether that will help her as she needs the sponsorship I'm pretty sure she's already got or at least got lined up or just be a distraction remains to be seen. It probably depends if the media attention is a tool she's using to get to where she wants to go golfing wise or if the media is in fact the end goal and the golf is the the means to get the media attention.

What @Shorty seems to be saying (and please correct me if I'm wrong) is that with Dan it's the latter. I'm not sure if I agree but Dan has repeatedly stated that it's not about the golf it's about discovering his potential in a new field. Not sure I could spend maybe 7 years playing golf if it's not about the golf so I think that although that may have been the case early on it probably isn't any more.

You're taking Runyan out of context. He was 50 to 90 yards behind the longest hitter of his day. I'd estimate around 200 yards to Snead's 270. Yet he simply drubbed Snead in Match Play. Granted in medal play the fractional gains of more length mean more. If you gave Runyan a modern driver & ball my guess is he'd be in the 240 total distance range. If you subtracted that 70 yards from today's longest hitters it would be around the same. Tour is tougher today, and more long hitters have adopted his very sound techniques and approaches to short game. All I'm saying is outliers like him can crop up and succeed and driving distance while important is not de-facto essential if offset sufficiently...except for situations like his last PGA competition where due to the setup (and I expect age-diminished length - he was 66) he couldn't reach the fairway from the tee and was aiming for the walking path.

I personally love watching Paige Spirinac. I hope her popularity helps fuel her journey to see how good she can get at golf. I personally think that's her goal rather than fame. If Dan didn't enjoy golf, I can't see him undertaking the time commitment with an activity he didn't like. Dan hasn't sold you, but he's sold some others. He's been more successful than some others with a similar dream at crafting a tale that is engaging to many people who love a tilting at windmills story. Wasn't 'Man of La Mancha' pretty popular? Are people fools for paying real cash money to enjoy the tale of a crazy 'knight'? I feel the same about Chad Pfeifer's journey.

@Shorty is right on target regarding Dan's intentions. Everything Dan is doing seems to point towards being "showy". My personal feeling is it would be great if he didn't give up so easily, and at least add to his blog that he got as far as he could that his talent allows. The fact that he doesn't do so makes me feel like he's not in it for the project's sake?

@pullfade might have known him for some years and possibly encouraged him to try this, but it seems like Dan should have gone long game first and should have been told to do that first. Even without Brodie's research it was pretty obvious to me and many other golfers that you need to get good with driver first. It's the first club you use on most par 4 and 5. The longer and straighter you are off the tee, the easier the rest of the hole. It makes no sense that a bunch of talented golfers would allow him to start off putting for 7 months. Putting just doesn't take 7 months to learn. Chipping doesn't take that long to learn either if you have decent full swing mechanics. In fact, if your full swing mechanics changes you will most likely change your pitching and chipping stroke accordingly. No matter what, starting off putting and chipping/pitching for 2 years is stupid. Anyone who knows him and is reasonably skilled should know to tell him to work on his long game first.

FYI, I started about the same time as him, and as of a year ago my on course driving was longer and as of 4 weeks ago is straighter than Dan's based upon his Trackman combine results. Took me 3 years just to get a 1.75 out of 5 swing to do it, and it might have taken Dan only 1-2 years if he worked on it properly?

I can't (nor can you) read Dan's actual intentions, but only how he comes across to you individually. But your personal reaction is valid for you. His early vids seemed pretty sincere to me. He does seem a little unrealistically confident in many of his quotes, but maybe that and some 'showiness' is what he thinks he needs to stay on track. Doesn't grab me (though I pull for him to reach some breakthroughs) or you, but I guess that means we're not his audience. Paige Spirinac doesn't appeal to every golfer either.

I agree about the long game: "If you can't putt you can't score...if you can't drive you can't play." So are you implying that Dan 'concocted' the putting first approach? I don't buy that. The first coach either sincerely thought 'this is what the pros did starting as kids so it's a good way given he wants to play like them', or he was insincerely trying to 'test' Dan and / or maybe make him go away. I don't think that part of the plan came from Dan at all. I don't think he knew much about golf training at that point (and I would say hasn't learned enough still). That said, I think Dan did build valuable touch with all that time on short-game, but he could have been doing short in the AM and long in the PM to make better use of his time.

As to 'quitting'. I don't see that he's given up. He's got an e-book for sale so maybe he's gauging how well that does before he digs into more savings to continue.

What is a '1.75 out of 5 swing' ? If you've gotten to an 11 handicap in only 3 years of golf, well done. About how many hours did you put in each year down there in sunny SoCal?

 

Edited October 12, 2015 by natureboy

[Mike Boatright]

You guys do watch the pga tour show on the golf channel right? Even lpga tour players knock it 300 these days.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP9oiYP_nCQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fwG10eE4gc

 

Edited October 12, 2015 by Mike Boatright

[Nosevi]

You guys do watch the pga tour show on the golf channel right? Even lpga tour players knock it 300 these days.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP9oiYP_nCQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fwG10eE4gc

 

But those are neither average guys on tour driving wise nor their average drives, breath of wind behind, bit of ground help, elevated tee or a combo of all produces big drives that the fans revel at and the announcers exagerate - that shot Rory hit was "against the wind" according to the announcer yet that would have the flag hanging the other way when he fires into the pin. What sort of flags do they use on tour that hang into wind?!?!? One thing they got right - the ball was on a downslope, it got some ground help. Great drive all the same but not super-human.

[Lihu]

You're taking Runyan out of context. He was 50 to 90 yards behind the longest hitter of his day. I'd estimate around 200 yards to Snead's 270. Yet he simply drubbed Snead in Match Play. Granted in medal play the fractional gains of more length mean more. If you gave Runyan a modern driver & ball my guess is he'd be in the 240 total distance range. If you subtracted that 70 yards from today's longest hitters it would be around the same. Tour is tougher today, and more long hitters have adopted his very sound techniques and approaches to short game. All I'm saying is outliers like him can crop up and succeed and driving distance while important is not de-facto essential if offset sufficiently...except for situations like his last PGA competition where due to the setup (and I expect age-diminished length - he was 66) he couldn't reach the fairway from the tee and was aiming for the walking path.

I personally love watching Paige Spirinac. I hope her popularity helps fuel her journey to see how good she can get at golf. I personally think that's her goal rather than fame. If Dan didn't enjoy golf, I can't see him undertaking the time commitment with an activity he didn't like. Dan hasn't sold you, but he's sold some others. He's been more successful than some others with a similar dream at crafting a tale that is engaging to many people who love a tilting at windmills story. Wasn't 'Man of La Mancha' pretty popular? Are people fools for paying real cash money to enjoy the tale of a crazy 'knight'? I feel the same about Chad Pfeifer's journey.

I can't (nor can you) read Dan's actual intentions, but only how he comes across to you individually. But your personal reaction is valid for you. His early vids seemed pretty sincere to me. He does seem a little unrealistically confident in many of his quotes, but maybe that and some 'showiness' is what he thinks he needs to stay on track. Doesn't grab me (though I pull for him to reach some breakthroughs) or you, but I guess that means we're not his audience. Paige Spirinac doesn't appeal to every golfer either.

I agree about the long game: "If you can't putt you can't score...if you can't drive you can't play." So are you implying that Dan 'concocted' the putting first approach? I don't buy that. The first coach either sincerely thought 'this is what the pros did starting as kids so it's a good way given he wants to play like them', or he was insincerely trying to 'test' Dan and / or maybe make him go away. I don't think that part of the plan came from Dan at all. I don't think he knew much about golf training at that point (and I would say hasn't learned enough still). That said, I think Dan did build valuable touch with all that time on short-game, but he could have been doing short in the AM and long in the PM to make better use of his time.

As to 'quitting'. I don't see that he's given up. He's got an e-book for sale so maybe he's gauging how well that does before he digs into more savings to continue.

Idk, if his first instructor was serious or not. Let's say some walks up to you and tells you he plans to be one of the top 125 golfers out of 50,000,000 golfers in the world. Then that same person asks you where to start?

How would you react?

He's no longer blogging or communicating with anyone. That's how we know he quit. If he didn't, I would be pretty surprised.

[Nosevi]

I think the coach did what he thought was best and Dan followed the advice. I don't personally think it was the best way to go but don't blame Dan for that. Don't really blame the coach either I just think it was the wrong approach. It's not dissimilar to how loads of people go about learning the game, albeit from a young age. But then again the vast majority don't make it to playing on tour. I just think if you want the same chance of everyone else (ie extremely slim) you do the same as everyone else. If you want to stack the deck in your favour you have to do something a bit different. 

[natureboy]

Idk, if his first instructor was serious or not. Let's say some walks up to you and tells you he plans to be one of the top 125 golfers out of 50,000,000 golfers in the world. Then that same person asks you where to start?

How would you react?

He's no longer blogging or communicating with anyone. That's how we know he quit. If he didn't, I would be pretty surprised.

What's the '1.75 out of 5 swing' mean?

Also want to understand your comparison. You've gone from beginner to 11 handicap in 3 years? About how many hours per year would you estimate in practice & play?