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

[Shorty]

You could argue that he's statiscally closer to the target  market than the pros, also his potential in representing  a brand might be more to do with how poular his blog and his overall plan are. I mean he's been talked about on this very thread for 141 pages!!!

So you think that any type of publicity is good publicity?

His only supporters know nothing about golf.

[Oz Max]

So you think that any type of publicity is good publicity?

His only supporters know nothing about golf.

As long as he says nice things about his gear, or at lest doesn't complain about it, I don't see it as bad publicity. But then again, I'm not the company trying to sell clubs! It's exposure as far as they're concerned.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shorty

So you think that any type of publicity is good publicity?

His only supporters know nothing about golf.

As long as he says nice things about his gear, or at lest doesn't complain about it, I don't see it as bad publicity. But then again, I'm not the company trying to sell clubs! It's exposure as far as they're concerned.

He complains about his gear in his blogs. . .

[Oz Max]

He complains about his gear in his blogs. . .

I read when he broke his shafts, really amazing he had so many break like that!

At the moment he seems happy with this new Titleist gear.

Are we even sure he gets free clubs?? I didn't read the WHOLE blog

[flopster]

That's beyond excessive.  I've had three sets of irons since 1989.  And I'd have to go back to my mom's hand-me-down clubs to get to 4 sets of wedges, and that would be around 1986 maybe?

He's spending way too much time worrying about stuff that just doesn't matter to him at this point.

Maybe for us but Dan plays quite a bit more than we do so I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt some to him but if that were just a normal 50 rounds a year guy then yes that's a lot of gear changing going on.

[Lihu]

[QUOTE name="Lihu" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/2538#post_1097327"]   He complains about his gear in his blogs. . . [/QUOTE] I read when he broke his shafts, really amazing he had so many break like that! At the moment he seems happy with this new Titleist gear. Are we even sure he gets free clubs?? I didn't read the WHOLE blog

I think he hits the ground too hard.

[nevets88]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevets88

Maybe he's getting high pressure pitches from manufacturers, reps, salesmen. He's getting them for free I think so I guess the attitude is take it, why not, not paying for it?

Do you really think they give  a crap about this guy?

They aren't going to be encouraging an occasional 70s shooter to represent them.

They give Dan him a  few hundred dollars worth of stuff. So what?

He's hardly a good advertisement for anything golf related. Especially when he's snapping perfectly good shafts left right and centre.

If anything, he's the opposite.

It's what Titleist perceives how its demographic views The Dan Plan. Or maybe it's a rep that has to meet a quota. The fitter is local I think. If you're not a national brand, I'd guess you'd be more prone to take advantage of as much publicity as you can get. His latest Tweets, he says he's a 3, so I would imagine a casual observer thinks he's a very good player.

[Lihu]

[QUOTE name="Shorty" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/2520_40#post_1097289"]   [QUOTE name="nevets88" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/2520#post_1097016"] Maybe he's getting [COLOR=FF0000]high pressure pitches[/COLOR] from manufacturers, reps, salesmen. He's getting them for free I think so I guess the attitude is take it, why not, not paying for it?[/QUOTE] Do you really think they give  a crap about this guy? They aren't going to be encouraging an occasional 70s shooter to represent them. They give Dan him a  few hundred dollars worth of stuff. So what? He's hardly a good advertisement for anything golf related. Especially when he's snapping perfectly good shafts left right and centre. If anything, he's the opposite. [/QUOTE] It's what Titleist perceives how its demographic views Dan. Or maybe it's a rep that has to meet a quota. The fitter is local I think. If you're not a national brand, I'd guess you'd be more prone to take advantage of as much publicity as you can get. His latest Tweets, he says he's a 3, so I would imagine a casual observer thinks he's a very good player. [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/112686/] [/URL]

According to the data Randall posted he's somewhere around 3-5? I suppose that's not too bad? Are you inspired?

[bbwrenn]

To the average player who might look up some tour news, swing mechanics, mental game tips, or what have you on the internet, I think Dan probably comes off as fairly inspiring. They won't read the entire blog unless they're incredibly bored and won't be able to see that he's fallen rather sharply behind where he needs to be to meet his goal. I think if Titleist is indeed giving him clubs and equipment, they could probably spend their money a lot worse. A few sets of equipment isn't that big of an investment. I don't think Dan is going to bring in a boatload of sales for them, but I still think he comes off as a conscientious, hard worker, if you don't delve too deep into the details of TDP. That's something that part of the market would be inspired by.

On a personal level, I like what Dan has done, I think it's mildly inspiring, but at the same time you have to be grounded in reality. I think he's done decently well, but would add that his plateauing off seems to suggest exactly what he set out to disprove - there is definitely some talent involved in being Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy. Even if you don't think there's specific "golf talent", at the very least I think athleticism is a huge factor in developing a tour level swing. I just picked up this game recently, but even if I had started as a child, I just don't see myself swinging the club the way those guys do - it's not in me. I could be wrong, but that's what I see. My six pence.

The other problem I have with TDP on a personal level is what others have pointed out - as his skills have plateaued out, it seems like his drive and determination has done the same. At this point he's either got to make some major changes so he can try and at least become a scratch golfer, or he can be a good recreational golfer like he is now and milk this thing for what it's worth.

[Lihu]

To the average player who might look up some tour news, swing mechanics, mental game tips, or what have you on the internet, I think Dan probably comes off as fairly inspiring. They won't read the entire blog unless they're incredibly bored and won't be able to see that he's fallen rather sharply behind where he needs to be to meet his goal. I think if Titleist is indeed giving him clubs and equipment, they could probably spend their money a lot worse. A few sets of equipment isn't that big of an investment. I don't think Dan is going to bring in a boatload of sales for them, but I still think he comes off as a conscientious, hard worker, if you don't delve too deep into the details of TDP. That's something that part of the market would be inspired by.

On a personal level, I like what Dan has done, I think it's mildly inspiring, but at the same time you have to be grounded in reality. I think he's done decently well, but would add that his plateauing off seems to suggest exactly what he set out to disprove - there is definitely some talent involved in being Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy. Even if you don't think there's specific "golf talent", at the very least I think athleticism is a huge factor in developing a tour level swing. I just picked up this game recently, but even if I had started as a child, I just don't see myself swinging the club the way those guys do - it's not in me. I could be wrong, but that's what I see. My six pence.

The other problem I have with TDP on a personal level is what others have pointed out - as his skills have plateaued out, it seems like his drive and determination has done the same. At this point he's either got to make some major changes so he can try and at least become a scratch golfer, or he can be a good recreational golfer like he is now and milk this thing for what it's worth.

I think he will make a 3 handicap and play pretty well, but scratch does take a lot of talent (I'm going to say it explicitly, he would need a lot more distance while employing a very comfortable swing).

[Osmond]

That's beyond excessive.  I've had three sets of irons since 1989.  And I'd have to go back to my mom's hand-me-down clubs to get to 4 sets of wedges, and that would be around 1986 maybe? He's spending way too much time worrying about stuff that just doesn't matter to him at this point.

Well, I bought six sets of irons last year. And a couple of drivers, three or four I think. The previous year wasn't much different. Why? Some people like buying things more than others. It's not like I don't know changing equipment won't suddenly make me a better player.

[nevets88]

[quote name="Golfingdad" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/2520#post_1096979"]That's beyond excessive.  I've had three sets of irons since 1989.  And I'd have to go back to my mom's hand-me-down clubs to get to 4 sets of wedges, and that would be around 1986 maybe? He's spending way too much time worrying about stuff that just doesn't matter to him at this point.

Well, I bought six sets of irons last year. And a couple of drivers, three or four I think. The previous year wasn't much different. Why? Some people like buying things more than others. It's not like I don't know changing equipment won't suddenly make me a better player.[/quote] But TDP thinks it will. Whereas imho, and I'm sure others in this thread will agree with me, time, effort and money are better spent with an instructor who knows what he/she is doing.

[flopster]

But TDP thinks it will. Whereas imho, and I'm sure others in this thread will agree with me, time, effort and money are better spent with an instructor who knows what he/she is doing.

That is a problem that someone will need to enlighten Dan about, it's one thing if certain aspects of the club isn't allowing the player to perform at his best but Dan isn't very close to that level, other than a slight bend flat or upright on a standard set he's still got a ways to go that fine tuning a set would make any difference. Until a player gets near scratch or better most off the shelf sets will do just fine other than minor adjustments, a slice of humble pie may be what's needed. Also does he still have a pro working with him on a regular schedule or does he think going at it alone will work? I also notice Dan really gravitates towards all the mental techniques/theories in golf rather than the blood sweat and tears, most of his money/time seems to go towards that vision 54 class and other positive thinking clinics. I'm not saying those can't help but he seems to rely on a positive mindset too much IMO, golf is a physical sport, not like football or basketball physical but physical in the sense that you still have to make your body swing the club in an efficient manner, Dan needs to stop worrying about all these technical aspects and get the basics down which he doesn't have, if I  were a teacher I would tell Dan to forget everything he knows or thinks he knows about the golf swing right now and rebuild his swing off of the best basic teaching techniques out there 5SK would be a good way to go.

[nevets88]

[QUOTE name="nevets88" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/2538#post_1098157"] But TDP thinks it will . Whereas imho, and I'm sure others in this thread will agree with me, time, effort and money are better spent with an instructor who knows what he/she is doing.[/QUOTE] That is a problem that someone will need to enlighten Dan about, it's one thing if certain aspects of the club isn't allowing the player to perform at his best but Dan isn't very close to that level, other than a slight bend flat or upright on a standard set he's still got a ways to go that fine tuning a set would make any difference. Until a player gets near scratch or better most off the shelf sets will do just fine other than minor adjustments, a slice of humble pie may be what's needed. Also does he still have a pro working with him on a regular schedule or does he think going at it alone will work? I also notice Dan really gravitates towards all the mental techniques/theories in golf rather than the blood sweat and tears, most of his money/time seems to go towards that vision 54 class and other positive thinking clinics. I'm not saying those can't help but he seems to rely on a positive mindset too much IMO, golf is a physical sport, not like football or basketball physical but physical in the sense that you still have to make your body swing the club in an efficient manner, Dan needs to stop worrying about all these technical aspects and get the basics down which he doesn't have, if I  were a teacher I would tell Dan to forget everything he knows or thinks he knows about the golf swing right now and rebuild his swing off of the best basic teaching techniques out there 5SK would be a good way to go.

I'm sure the TDP's head is spinning from unsolicited advice. How do you tell who is legit? It's not trivial for anyone to figure out. Let him try and sort it out, see what happens. Pretty sure the good pros out there are already busy and have their plates full.

[golfbarefoot]

Flopster is pissed off at this Dan guy?

[Lihu]

Flopster is pissed off at this Dan guy?

Probably doesn't like all the hot air Dan is blowing.

[Shorty]

You'll all be glad to know that Dan empathises with Tiger when it comes to chipping woes in a blog entitled

Inspiration from another man’s worst round to date

You see, Dan's been there, done that, and the fact that Tiger has lost his ability to chip means that Dan is closer to his goal than ever. He writes:

In my attempts to improve my game I switched wedges about two months ago.   For the entire time trying to adjust to them I kept hitting 3 or 4 fat shots per round that literally didn’t go anywhere and then I would overcompensate and blade it over the green a couple of times.  I hadn’t a clue what was going on and kept sticking to the new sticks thinking that I would eventually adjust to them.

This guy loves making silk purses out of sows' ears and finding hope in what should be desperation.

If you read this thread, Dan, (and I know you do), answer this quetion.

How are you going to leapfrog all the players on the European Tour, Australasian Tour, Canadian Tour, Web.com Tour to make it to the PGA Tour?

All of those guys are serious plus handicappers. You can't make the top half of a "tournament" where half the guys don't break 80.

But you go on TV and tell people your'e headed for the PGA Tour, the goal hasn't changed and behave as if you believe it.

Better still, how will you break into the top 500,000 players in the world? Just curious to know.

[nevets88]

This was a comment in the most recent blog post:

Quote:

I can’t help it but I keep on wondering what it is that you’re working on. In your posts you talk a lot about deflattening your swing and how it is important that your clubs match your swing. You get yourself measured again, new clubs are proposed and ordered, and then after two months of trying them out you decide to revert back to your old wedges (that apparently don’t fit your new swing). So what exactly have the last months brought you in terms of progress and where is your focus?

Without disrespect, but it seems to me that you’ve been standing still for a long time when it comes to the main idea of becoming a better golfer: getting a swing that you trust and that you can reproduce in all circumstances. I nstead of focusing on your swing mechanics (perhaps also because you don’t have the funds to work with a coach regularly anymore) you seem to switch towards the mental side of the game (Vision54) and towards new gear. Important, but it’s not going to fix the fundamental flaws in your game.

To be frankly honest: your statistics in terms of fairways hit (almost 10% worse than the worst player on the PGA tour), GIR and your handicap combined with what you describe (I do not understand that a handicap 3 seems to be very regularly struggling to break 80) do not suggest that you will ever make your goal if you keep on proceeding the way that you’re doing. That leaves you, in my opinion, with two choices: the first is to guarantee new funds and to start working with a good coach again several days a week and focus on fixing your swing . The second is to call it quits and come to terms with the fact that golf isn’t a game you can become great in by just having the determination to practice for 10.000 hours.

Again, I do not mean to disrespect you and the tremendous effort you’re putting in, but it really seems to me you’re not in any way on the right track to becoming the golfer you want to be.

Another one, 2 days old, unanswered:

Quote:

When was the last visit with your professional? Did the two of you put together the drills you are using to re-work your swing? If I recall, you developed a too flat swing. Late in 2014 you realized there was a problem and have been working on a solution through new equipment and practice. Are you concerned that without professional advice you may be marching down the wrong road?