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

[Lihu]

I don't think it's that Dan doesn't play by the rules, it's that he plays his home course possibly daily and only posts every 10th round or so to his index. If any golfer only posted their best rounds it's pretty easy to drop your cap.

The odds of him shooting that much lower than his handicap still seem pretty slim.

If I shoot 4 strokes better than my handicap it's because my putting is 36.2 and my index is 13.7, and if I have a good putting day I could sometimes end up with 32 putts for a 9 differential. His putting is at 29-30 putts. He has at most only a stroke or 2 to gain? That implies that for him to shoot 7-8 strokes below his index (estimating it at 10 with a target of 2-3) he would need to shoot 5-8 more GIR on that day than his normal 4-6.

I don't think the odds are that high?

[garybbq]

The odds of him shooting that much lower than his handicap still seem pretty slim.

If I shoot 4 strokes better than my handicap it's because my putting is 36.2 and my index is 13.7, and if I have a good putting day I could sometimes end up with 32 putts for a 9 differential. His putting is at 29-30 putts. He has at most only a stroke or 2 to gain? That implies that for him to shoot 7-8 strokes below his index (estimating it at 10 with a target of 2-3) he would need to shoot 5-8 more GIR on that day than his normal 4-6.

I don't think the odds are that high?

hmm I think you have that backwards?... I am saying that he posts every 10th round and as you said he happens to hit 5 - 8 more GIR then his usual. Then when he plays a tournament, plays a new course, plays in the rain, plays in wind etc. he shoots his usual if not less then say 4 GIR.

If he is only posting great days at his home course a tournament blowup is almost a guarantee.

[Lihu]

hmm I think you have that backwards?... I am saying that he posts every 10th round and as you said he happens to hit 5 - 8 more GIR then his usual. Then when he plays a tournament, plays a new course, plays in the rain, plays in wind etc. he shoots his usual if not less then say 4 GIR.

If he is only posting great days at his home course a tournament blowup is almost a guarantee.

I wasn't really clear.

What I meant to say is that he does not seem to have a lot of potential for strokes to be gained for those "great days". The odds of him having great days are less than 1:10 at least from my rough estimates.

[garybbq]

I wasn't really clear.

What I meant to say is that he does not seem to have a lot of potential for strokes to be gained for those "great days". The odds of him having great days are less than 1:10 at least from my rough estimates.

Ok, so you are saying:

- he is outright lying about his scores and posts a great day?

- he does not play by the rules and posts a great day?

[Lihu]

Ok, so you are saying:

- he is outright lying about his scores and posts a great day?

- he does not play by the rules and posts a great day?

IDK, but something doesn't add up.

[pullfade]

As I have previously mentioned in this thread, Dan plays like a 7-8 handicap. I've played about 20 rounds with him, two of which were tournament rounds.

Can he put up a 73 on a course he's familiar with every so often? Yes. Does he shoot high 80's in tournaments? Yes. He's an inconsistent high single digit unfamiliar with how to play and score in tournament golf. I'd venture to guess this is a pretty common scenario among golfers who pick up the game as adults.

[Lihu]

As I have previously mentioned in this thread, Dan plays like a 7-8 handicap. I've played about 20 rounds with him, two of which were tournament rounds.

Can he put up a 73 on a course he's familiar with every so often? Yes. Does he shoot high 80's in tournaments? Yes. He's an inconsistent high single digit unfamiliar with how to play and score in tournament golf. I'd venture to guess this is a pretty common scenario among golfers who pick up the game as adults.

Sorry, I forgot that you stated this before. Thanks for the correction/verification.

[RFKFREAK]

As I have previously mentioned in this thread, Dan plays like a 7-8 handicap. I've played about 20 rounds with him, two of which were tournament rounds.  Can he put up a 73 on a course he's familiar with every so often? Yes. Does he shoot high 80's in tournaments? Yes. He's an inconsistent high single digit unfamiliar with how to play and score in tournament golf. I'd venture to guess this is a pretty common scenario among golfers who pick up the game as adults.

Why do you think this is?

[acerimusdux]

Yeah, I don't see what the confusion here is. He regularly plays a course with a 73 rating, where he is almost always under 80, and only occaisionally under 75. That's what got his handicap down to around 3. Take him off the home course and it would likely be 6-8. Tournament golf is another animal, and something he will have to get used to at some point, but really isn't his priority yet.

And he clearly posts every round he plays on his website, so why would anyone think he was leaving rounds off his handicap? How many rounds do you think the guy plays?

Remember, simply playing golf doesn't really count as "deliberate practice". People suggesting he should be putting more emphasis on playing tournaments, or simply playing more rounds, are kind of missing the point of the project. Many people would likely be doing those things, but Dan believes continuing with regular intense daily practice is still more important right now. He'll likely continue to play every week, and play occasional tournaments, but he believes his improvement will come more from deliberate practice.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pullfade

As I have previously mentioned in this thread, Dan plays like a 7-8 handicap. I've played about 20 rounds with him, two of which were tournament rounds.

Can he put up a 73 on a course he's familiar with every so often? Yes. Does he shoot high 80's in tournaments? Yes. He's an inconsistent high single digit unfamiliar with how to play and score in tournament golf. I'd venture to guess this is a pretty common scenario among golfers who pick up the game as adults.

Why do you think this is?

I was going to ask the same question. I'm not clear which item is a consequence of taking up the sport later in life. "Inconsistency" or the "Tournament" part?

Yeah, I don't see what the confusion here is. He regularly plays a course with a 73 rating, where he is almost always under 80, and only occaisionally under 75. That's what got his handicap down to around 3. Take him off the home course and it would likely be 6-8. Tournament golf is another animal, and something he will have to get used to at some point, but really isn't his priority yet.

And he clearly posts every round he plays on his website, so why would anyone think he was leaving rounds off his handicap? How many rounds do you think the guy plays?

Remember, simply playing golf doesn't really count as "deliberate practice". People suggesting he should be putting more emphasis on playing tournaments, or simply playing more rounds, are kind of missing the point of the project. Many people would likely be doing those things, but Dan believes continuing with regular intense daily practice is still more important right now. He'll likely continue to play every week, and play occasional tournaments, but he believes his improvement will come more from deliberate practice.

You gave him a stroke?

If it's not his priority yet, then what do you think should be his deliberate practice priority?

Not sure how deliberate practice in the comfort of his own driving range is going to help him with competitive golf. The only training for competition is to compete. Even if he plays skins daily for $5-$10 a hole, he still competes. The more he does it the more comfortable he gets with playing for stakes.

Learning to play by the rules and deliberate and competitive playing might teach him more than hitting more balls on a driving range (although he needs to tighten up his iron accuracy). I'm not really sure he's competed in anything prior to this endeavor?

[garybbq]

Yeah, I don't see what the confusion here is. He regularly plays a course with a 73 rating, where he is almost always under 80, and only occaisionally under 75. That's what got his handicap down to around 3. Take him off the home course and it would likely be 6-8. Tournament golf is another animal, and something he will have to get used to at some point, but really isn't his priority yet. And he clearly posts every round he plays on his website, so why would anyone think he was leaving rounds off his handicap? How many rounds do you think the guy plays? Remember, simply playing golf doesn't really count as "deliberate practice". People suggesting he should be putting more emphasis on playing tournaments, or simply playing more rounds, are kind of missing the point of the project. Many people would likely be doing those things, but Dan believes continuing with regular intense daily practice is still more important right now. He'll likely continue to play every week, and play occasional tournaments, but he believes his improvement will come more from deliberate practice.

Well since his full time job is playing golf, this doesn't seem like many rounds posted.

[Lihu]

[quote name="acerimusdux" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/2130#post_1078672"]Yeah, I don't see what the confusion here is. He regularly plays a course with a 73 rating, where he is almost always under 80, and only occaisionally under 75. That's what got his handicap down to around 3. Take him off the home course and it would likely be 6-8. Tournament golf is another animal, and something he will have to get used to at some point, but really isn't his priority yet. And he clearly posts every round he plays on his website, so why would anyone think he was leaving rounds off his handicap? How many rounds do you think the guy plays? Remember, simply playing golf doesn't really count as "deliberate practice". People suggesting he should be putting more emphasis on playing tournaments, or simply playing more rounds, are kind of missing the point of the project. Many people would likely be doing those things, but Dan believes continuing with regular intense daily practice is still more important right now. He'll likely continue to play every week, and play occasional tournaments, but he believes his improvement will come more from deliberate practice.

Well since his full time job is playing golf, this doesn't seem like many rounds posted. [/quote] 12 out of 20 scores are at or above 80 too. We also should note that you don't need to post every round you play.

[Pretzel]

12 out of 20 scores are at or above 80 too.

We also should note that you don't need to post every round you play.

How does he carry a 3.1 handicap with that many scores in the 80's?

It's like he sees that he's posting too many bad rounds, so he tosses a 73 or 74 in there every couple rounds to make sure his handicap stays where it's at.

[pullfade]

How does he carry a 3.1 handicap with that many scores in the 80's?

It's like he sees that he's posting too many bad rounds, so he tosses a 73 or 74 in there every couple rounds to make sure his handicap stays where it's at.

Handicap measures your potential, you don't need to be consistent at all to carry a low cap.

[Pretzel]

Handicap measures your potential, you don't need to be consistent at all to carry a low cap.

Note the 2 scores in the 80's among his lowest 10. Something is definitely fishy about that handicap to me. You don't go from posting positive handicap scores to shooting 80's on consecutive weeks or days. It isn't done.

[Shorty]

Handicap measures your potential, you don't need to be consistent at all to carry a low cap.

Yes you do. Of course you do. The better you become, the more consistent you will be.

Potential doesn't mean what you might do one day, it means what you're expected to do a certain percentage of the time.

I've never met a 3 handicapper who wouldn't be embarrassed to shoot in the 80s. Not to say they don't do it, but 2 markers are shooting around par a lot of the time. They have to to maintain their handicap.

[pullfade]

Yes you do. Of course you do. The better you become, the more consistent you will be.

Potential doesn't mean what you might do one day, it means what you're expected to do a certain percentage of the time.

I've never met a 3 handicapper who wouldn't be embarrassed to shoot in the 80s. Not to say they don't do it, but 2 markers are shooting around par a lot of the time. They have to to maintain their handicap.

Take Dan's home course for example. Rated a 73, in the US handicap system you're only expected to shoot your handicap or better 1 out of 5 rounds. That would mean that Dan, with his 3 handicap is only going to shoot around 76 or better 1 out of 5 rounds. I know it's different in Australia but a 2 handicapper here is not shooting around par a lot of the time, of course it depends on the rating and slope of the course but in the US handicap system, taking everything into account I would say a 2 handicapper is generally averaging about 5 over par a round.

And, as I'm sure you're aware, the US handicap system only takes the best 10 scores of your last 20. Theoretically I could shoot 10 rounds over 100 and 10 rounds at 70 and still be a +2 cap. That's why I said you don't need to be consistent to carry a low handicap.

[newtogolf]

Are you saying that if people don't play in tournaments that they don't always play by the rules?

I don't like to accuse anyone of cheating if I don't witness it personally so I won't go that far but his handicap doesn't seem right given how poor he performs in tournament unless he really can't handle pressure.  It could be as others suggest he just doesn't post his bad rounds where as in a tournament you must post your round unless you withdraw.