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

[Pretzel]

I wonder if Dan Plan counts a practice round as 4-5 hours or ~10 minutes. Because while you're out there for 4-5 hours, you spend a fraction of that time actually hitting a ball.

I guarantee it's the former. Not that it's necessarily wrong to do so. I know I would count it for that long because, while he may not be hitting the ball, he's practicing for tournaments. Or at least I hope he's practicing like he's in a tournament.

[newtogolf]

Yeah, I see. Dan really puts himself into a vacuum, and doesn't spend a lot of time playing against other people. I suppose you are suggesting that playing against other players is one of the training methods to get used to actual tournament play?

It seems like if he was really a 2-3 handicap, he could have a field day making money playing stakes rather than begging for money on the internet.

Dan has a vanity cap so he's not going to take money from anyone that has a legit handicap.   First rule of gambling is don't put money at risk you can't afford to lose.  Based on his level of online panhandling I'd say he doesn't have much money he can afford to lose.

[GHIN0011458]

I guarantee it's the former. Not that it's necessarily wrong to do so. I know I would count it for that long because, while he may not be hitting the ball, he's practicing for tournaments. Or at least I hope he's practicing like he's in a tournament.

Dan has played in like 6 tournaments in however many years.. its a joke. Play in tournaments or don't plan on going to the PGA tour. I highly doubt there are many true scratch golfers who have never played at least one or two full seasons of tournament golf.

[flopster]

[QUOTE name="Lihu" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/2016#post_1074875"]   Just looked through the threads. I remember thinking that shooting 82 was a phenomenal feat, and that he must be getting close to scratch. :-D Yeah, I wonder how he's doing now? [/QUOTE] Not tearing up the junior circuit like he said he was going to do, I guess when people here all ganged up on his fragile ego he couldn't keep that focus alive from the dead of winter into summer, he was the one that told us how easy golf was if you worked hard and he's just "wired" for the game of course. The best part was when he said he could hit his drives with 325 yards carry consistently. [URL=http://jganc.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/jganc14/event/jganc149/contest/71/profile/kmcnanie/tresults.htm]http://jganc.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/jganc14/event/jganc149/contest/71/profile/kmcnanie/tresults.htm[/URL]

[RandallT]

http://thedanplan.com/an-early-winter/

... I have been thinking lately about how to realistically keep this journey moving forward.  There are a lot of options out there and I just need to figure out what makes the most sense. ...

...Today I started a process of looking for part time work.  For ages I’ve been thinking about how to gain sponsorship for the project so that I can solely focussing on practice, but the longer I get into the 10,000 hours the less likely that becomes, as Steven Levitt told me a couple of years ago.  From his point of view the longer I went unsponsored the less likely I would find a sponsor because the focus of the story transitions from the journey to outcomes.  At this point I need to win a tournament of some repute in order to gain credibility in the golfing world.  While that is definitely something that can and will happen, I do not currently have the funds to enter a series of these events which is a somewhat self-defeating cycle....

...I love what I do and will continue it however possible; it’s just time for some small changes to alleviate specific stresses and allow for a more wholehearted pursuit during the time where that is the focus.  Things don’t always work out exactly as planned, but if we are willing to be flexible along the way the potential for success exponentially increases.

Is this the start of the project wind-down?

He realizes he needs to start winning tournaments, so that's good. He's still hopeful that's possible, so his optimism remains. I guess that's good.

It looks to me like he is also saying (rationalizing to himself?) that this new flexibility in his plan of finding some work and putting golf on the back-burner a bit for the winter will make his potential for success rise "exponentially."  Doubt it rises exponentially (as in y=x^2), but whatever it takes to keep yourself motivated!

[mchepp]

He should get a job at a golf course. Picking up balls on the range, cleaning carts, whatever. It won't pay much but he can get free golf, free range balls, etc.

[iacas]

He should get a job at a golf course. Picking up balls on the range, cleaning carts, whatever. It won't pay much but he can get free golf, free range balls, etc.

Seriously. Best idea he'll ever get on this topic.

He "definitely will" begin winning tournaments of some repute? Hmmmmmmm…

[GHIN0011458]

Is this the start of the project wind-down?

He realizes he needs to start winning tournaments, so that's good. He's still hopeful that's possible, so his optimism remains. I guess that's good.

It looks to me like he is also saying (rationalizing to himself?) that this new flexibility in his plan of finding some work and putting golf on the back-burner a bit for the winter will make his potential for success rise "exponentially."  Doubt it rises exponentially (as in y=x^2), but whatever it takes to keep yourself motivated!

He should have started tournaments immediately. No one should feel sorry for him for waiting this long. What BS. He will not win a tournament of credibility anytime soon because he doesn't know how to play golf in a tournament.

[newtogolf]

http://thedanplan.com/an-early-winter/

Is this the start of the project wind-down?

He realizes he needs to start winning tournaments, so that's good. He's still hopeful that's possible, so his optimism remains. I guess that's good.

It looks to me like he is also saying (rationalizing to himself?) that this new flexibility in his plan of finding some work and putting golf on the back-burner a bit for the winter will make his potential for success rise "exponentially."  Doubt it rises exponentially (as in y=x^2), but whatever it takes to keep yourself motivated!

Seems like a last ditch effort by Dan to secure some sponsorship money.  I think Dan's hoping that if any potential sponsors see this post they may step up with some money to keep Dan's journey alive.  Dan's not good enough to win a tournament that people will care about and once he starts working part-time (unless he takes Mike's advice) he's going to lose time and motivation to practice.

[Lihu]

This is the only response on his blog, and I though the highlighted was pretty much to the point and funny!

November 17, 2014 at 9:15 pm

Hey Dan,

I’m a supporter of your plan, but can’t get past one thing…….

According to the website, the first time you played 18 holes was about 20 months into your plan.

That’s a pretty darn long time from first starting. I guess my point is, was your structured practice in the first 20 months realistic practice?

For example, I get that putting is important, but if I was going to take up soccer, I wouldn’t have practiced for five months standing in front of a goal.

Curious in your thoughts.

[iacas]

This is the only response on his blog, and I though the highlighted was pretty much to the point and funny!

Plus, putting isn't all that important. :)

[Shorty]

The predictions have come to pass.

Needs to win tournaments.

Can't afford to enter them.

Can't win them if he's not in them.

Surely could win them, though.

Not his fault.

Mission accomplished.

[GHIN0011458]

It would have been an awesome story though if it worked out.

[chasm]

The predictions have come to pass. Needs to win tournaments. Can't afford to enter them. Can't win them if he's not in them. Surely could win them, though. Not his fault. Mission accomplished.

Spot on.

[nevets88]

This is the only response on his blog, and I though the highlighted was pretty much to the point and funny!

Quote:

Nickos says:

November 17, 2014 at 9:15 pm

Hey Dan,

I’m a supporter of your plan, but can’t get past one thing…….

According to the website, the first time you played 18 holes was about 20 months into your plan.

That’s a pretty darn long time from first starting. I guess my point is, was your structured practice in the first 20 months realistic practice?

For example, I get that putting is important, but if I was going to take up soccer, I wouldn’t have practiced for five months standing in front of a goal.Curious in your thoughts.

To this I'd like an answer. I don't have to patience to check whether he answered this straight up. Plus whether he thought putting and chipping only for the first 6 months - 1 year was the best use of time.

I think that working with the 10K deliberate practice professor might not have been a good idea. If a golf pro was working in conjunction with him and the professor, that pro during the putting only phase should have straight out said don't do this.

[Lihu]

To this I'd like an answer. I don't have to patience to check whether he answered this straight up. Plus whether he thought putting and chipping only for the first 6 months - 1 year was the best use of time.

I think that working with the 10K deliberate practice professor might not have been a good idea. If a golf pro was working in conjunction with him and the professor, that pro during the putting only phase should have straight out said don't do this.

If we take Dan from 4 years ago, and assume that he can be a stupid monkey and listen to good instructors. How good a golfer do you think Dan could be at this point?

Taking it further, what do you think is his current handicap? And what do you think his handicap could be with a stupid monkey approach?

[nevets88]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevets88

To this I'd like an answer. I don't have to patience to check whether he answered this straight up. Plus whether he thought putting and chipping only for the first 6 months - 1 year was the best use of time.

I think that working with the 10K deliberate practice professor might not have been a good idea. If a golf pro was working in conjunction with him and the professor, that pro during the putting only phase should have straight out said don't do this.

If we take Dan from 4 years ago, and assume that he can be a stupid monkey and listen to good instructors. How good a golfer do you think Dan could be at this point?

Taking it further, what do you think is his current handicap? And what do you think his handicap could be with a stupid monkey approach?

Who knows. I stick by what I said. If he was instructed by a pro who got the best out of his swing, practiced full swing, pitching/chipping and putting deliberately from the very beginning, I think he could have been a legit 0 to 5 in a lot less time than his original plan. Maybe 2 years? But after that I'd bet he'd hit a wall, plateau, whether he improves after that, wins an amateur tournament of repute, is anyone's guess.

[newtogolf]

Who knows. I stick by what I said. If he was instructed by a pro who got the best out of his swing, practiced full swing, pitching/chipping and putting deliberately from the very beginning, I think he could have been a legit 0 to 5 in a lot less time than his original plan. Maybe 2 years? But after that I'd bet he'd hit a wall, plateau, whether he improves after that, wins an amateur tournament of repute, is anyone's guess.

I agree but I think his original plan was to follow concepts similar to what was discussed in the Talent Code which called for breaking up the swing into parts which I believe led to him starting with putting, then chipping, pitching etc.  I've read other golf instructional books that also suggested that method as well so it's not completely unfounded.

I think there was an expectation that by the time he got to the full swing he'd have all the other pieces of the swing in place and he'd start to progress really quickly but that didn't happen.