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

[Gresh24]

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

I don't know about hatred, but there are definitely some haters in this thread.  I hope the dude accomplishes his goal.

Has anyone said they hope he doesn't?  That may be "hating".  But I'm sorry, having the opinion he won't make it, or being critical of his progress and or performance, is not "hating".  It is simply having a different opinion.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by pumaAttack

I think there is a lot of jealousy in this thread...

So what if he never makes it to the PGA Tour, at least he is giving it a shot.  We are all envious that he can spend 6 hours a day, 6 days a week playing and practicing golf.

There is no need to put the guy down, he is doing what he wants to do.  I think it makes for a great story and wish him the very best.  Maybe one day I can have enough income to finance such a dream.

Envious of being able to play golf instead of work all day, definitely.  But I wouldn't go so far as to say the people in here saying he can't do it are jealous of him.  It is just their opinion that he is not capable of accomplishing his goal.  I don't see any hatred in that.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by Gresh24

Has anyone said they hope he doesn't?  That may be "hating".  But I'm sorry, having the opinion he won't make it, or being critical of his progress and or performance, is not "hating".  It is simply having a different opinion.

Eh, there's a lot of negativity in this thread towards the guy.  Obviously it's a long shot for him to make it.

[Miickster]

Quality time and practice, it can be done. I play and practice 5 days a week. I'm going to give it a go. I starting really playing in January. I'll keep u's posted :-P

[pumaAttack]

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

I don't know about hatred, but there are definitely some haters in this thread.  I hope the dude accomplishes his goal.

Me too!  I don't see why people are putting him down for having an 8.6 handicap after just 2 years of playing...  He is only 1/4 of the way there!

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by pumaAttack

Me too!  I don't see why people are putting him down for having an 8.6 handicap after just 2 years of playing...  He is only 1/4 of the way there!

The guy has made incredible gains and shown some serious dedication.  How someone can spend that kind of time on really short putts amazes me.

[pumaAttack]

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

The guy has made incredible gains and shown some serious dedication.  How someone can spend that kind of time on really short putts amazes me.

No kidding!  I wish I had that dedication to practice putting that much.  I always intend to practice putting but rarely spend enough time on it.

[pumaAttack]

Originally Posted by Gresh24

Has anyone said they hope he doesn't?  That may be "hating".  But I'm sorry, having the opinion he won't make it, or being critical of his progress and or performance, is not "hating".  It is simply having a different opinion.

There is a lot of negativity for no reason.  Whatever, I will stay positive and root him on.

[Domenic]

what's all this crap about "The Dan Plan." Hell, what about The Domenic Plan. "20 minutes online can save you a lifetime of giving a sh*t"

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by pumaAttack

There is a lot of negativity for no reason.  Whatever, I will stay positive and root him on.

There isn't that much negativity towards Dan.

There is a bit of negativity directed towards those who think that there is even the slightest possibility that he could become a profesional.

I don't even think Dan himself has that expectation, yet there are people here who think that it's a possibility and that he has as good a chance as anyone, which is clearly not true if you look at the videos.

If someone went on an aviation forum and said they were 30 years old, have not yet learnt to fly but wanted to be an astronaut, would people on that site be saying. "I think he might be able to do it - he has lots of determination and that's really important", they'd be scoffed at.

Notice with the videos it's what he DOESN't show - like actual shots. All we see is an ungainly swing from a distance and then him saying "That'll work", or a montage of chips with technique that resembles that of a person who's been playing for 3 weeks.

There is not a single video of actual ball flight  - just him philosophising and a few edited pieces that clearly show that he is improving.

Yet.....people are accused of negativity because they say that a person who has no poissibility of doing what he might not even plan on doing has no chance of doping it.

I'm all for positivity, but anyone who seriously thinks that he is going to be on any tour hasn't seen much golf.

Go and watch a good amateur hit a 4 iron and then see if anything that Dan is doing is within a mile of that.

Realistic. Not negative.

What's more bizarre is the aparrently common assumption here that if you had the chance to do what he's doing, you could "make it".

[newtogolf]

Because some of us are skeptical of his ability to turn pro doesn't mean we're rooting against him or hating on him.  His turning pro will have zero impact on my life so I wish him well.

The point of the Dan Plan is to prove that 10,000 hours is what's required to master a particular skill, in this case becoming a pro golfer.  Some of us don't believe such an accomplishment can be achieved with just hard work and that there needs to be some natural talent as well.   As for being jealous of having that much time to play golf and get good, sure I'd like to be able to ditch all my responsibilities and be able to focus on golf but that's not realistic given my personal responsibilities.  I'm content to improve at my own pace and don't have any aspirations to turn pro.

I do doubt Dan will get to a +3 to +6 in his remaining time, but I do wish him luck, given his progress so far I think he'll need it.

[soon_tourpro]

Originally Posted by Shorty

There isn't that much negativity towards Dan.

There is a bit of negativity directed towards those who think that there is even the slightest possibility that he could become a profesional.

I don't even think Dan himself has that expectation, yet there are people here who think that it's a possibility and that he has as good a chance as anyone, which is clearly not true if you look at the videos.

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Because some of us are skeptical of his ability to turn pro doesn't mean we're rooting against him or hating on him.  His turning pro will have zero impact on my life so I wish him well.

The point of the Dan Plan is to prove that 10,000 hours is what's required to master a particular skill, in this case becoming a pro golfer.  Some of us don't believe such an accomplishment can be achieved with just hard work and that there needs to be some natural talent as well.   As for being jealous of having that much time to play golf and get good, sure I'd like to be able to ditch all my responsibilities and be able to focus on golf but that's not realistic given my personal responsibilities.  I'm content to improve at my own pace and don't have any aspirations to turn pro.

I do doubt Dan will get to a +3 to +6 in his remaining time, but I do wish him luck, given his progress so far I think he'll need it.

Do you need 10k hours to become an expert alone?

You need a good strategy and improvement plan.

You also need good evaluation skills of the progress your making and matching that agaisnt the needed skills requried of the Pro level.

I dont take note Dan is doing that currently.

[newtogolf]

That's too easy a cop out.  I'd guess most people that take on such a challenge believe they have a good plan in place before they start.  I highly doubt he decided to dedicate 10,000 hours of his life to golf with a plan he didn't believe was good or that instructors he consulted with didn't endorse.

If he fails to turn pro after 10,000 hours you'll justify it by saying he didn't have a good plan rather than acknowledge he lacked the talent required to become a pro.

Originally Posted by soon_tourpro

Do you need 10k hours to become an expert alone?

You need a good strategy and improvement plan.

You also need good evaluation skills of the progress your making and matching that agaisnt the needed skills requried of the Pro level.

I dont take note Dan is doing that currently.

[soon_tourpro]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

That's too easy a cop out.  I'd guess most people that take on such a challenge believe they have a good plan in place before they start.  I highly doubt he decided to dedicate 10,000 hours of his life to golf with a plan he didn't believe was good or that instructors he consulted with didn't endorse.

If he fails to turn pro after 10,000 hours you'll justify it by saying he didn't have a good plan rather than acknowledge he lacked the talent required to become a pro.

You need a good strategy.

Matching the progress vs a tour pro with for example trackman combine shows how good you are.

I dont believe in the talent talk people have due to many who simply dont do things right.

Dan can make it even with current approach but I dont see the skill increase yet that should be there judging by his game.

If he is not improving just shows he needs a better practice plan.

I expect him to increase the skill increase by 2 times if he did it right.(he havent)

so, yea with a better coach he be better off with the current time spent in practice.

[TyWebbb]

He played his first competitive tournament today.  Shot an 86 with 2 birdies and three rough holes totaling 10 over according to his twitter feed.  He also had 2 cameras and an AP reporter following him all day.  Could've been a lot worse.

[Williamevanl]

^ Yep had a quad and a couple triples. It looked like a really short course overall (270 yard par 4?) Maybe ~6000 yards? It could have been worse though, I think he probably enjoyed the extra attention as it is just as much about the publicity as it is the golf.

He needs to think though that he was beat by a bunch of people that have not invested nearly as much time as he has into golf.

[newtogolf]

Few observations on his 1st tournament blog.

• He started out well, but as the round progressed his scoring got much worse.  I'm not sure if that's due to the course design (he started on 12) where the front is tougher than the back or if he lacks physical and/or mental stamina.
• If he's hitting a 5w and 3h on a Par 3 201 and 190 he's got a lot of work to do if he wants to become a pro as I'd use a 3h and 4h from that distance.
• He's at 2700 hours equivilent to 600 rounds of golf and he's shooting an 86 on a amatuer course that was 5,940 yards which is well short of a pro course.
• I give him credit for going out there with a camera crew and reporter on his first tournament.  I'd not want the extra attention and awkwardness of having my own gallery of cameras following me on my first attempt at competitve golf.
• He claimed to be "stoked" with his play and score, which I'm not sure is due to positive thinking, low expectations or both.  I would be disappointed if I dedicated 2700 hours to practice and playing golf and didn't play better.

Originally Posted by TyWebbb

He played his first competitive tournament today.  Shot an 86 with 2 birdies and three rough holes totaling 10 over according to his twitter feed.  He also had 2 cameras and an AP reporter following him all day.  Could've been a lot worse.

[jamo]

Few observations on his 1st tournament blog.  [LIST] [*] He started out well, but as the round progressed his scoring got much worse.  I'm not sure if that's due to the course design (he started on 12) where the front is tougher than the back or if he lacks physical and/or mental stamina.  [*] If he's hitting a 5w and 3h on a Par 3 201 and 190 he's got a lot of work to do if he wants to become a pro as I'd use a 3h and 4h from that distance.  [*] He's at 2700 hours equivilent to 600 rounds of golf and he's shooting an 86 on a amatuer course that was 5,940 yards which is well short of a pro course.  [*] I give him credit for going out there with a camera crew and reporter on his first tournament.  I'd not want the extra attention and awkwardness of having my own gallery of cameras following me on my first attempt at competitve golf.  [*] He claimed to be "stoked" with his play and score, which I'm not sure is due to positive thinking, low expectations or both.  I would be disappointed if I dedicated 2700 hours to practice and playing golf and didn't play better.  [/LIST]

He's played more rounds of golf than I have in my entire life, over a shorter time (which means fewer long breaks, less mechanical deterioration, etc.), and I would be extremely frustrated with an 86 on that sort of course. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say there's no way he reaches his goal. I might even be surprised if he gets to 10,000 hours without hating golf out of frustration. I wonder if he would count weightlifting as part of the 10,000 hours, because he needs it badly.