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

[Lihu]

LOL He can't find sponsors and can't figure out why? It's because he's not worth marketing. He's a novelty. The William Hung of golf. He apparently has an overinflated opinion of himself on more than just his golf skills. I'd forget he even existed at all if it wasn't for this thread.

Like most marketing people. . . [quote name="nevets88" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer/1908#post_1072155"] Wait, did I say I was gonna stay away from this thread? FFFF******#####&&&&& !!!!!! :doh: [/quote] Gotcha. . .:-D

[golf-noob-bruce]

"Spielt er 2018 gegen Tiger Woods?".

(You missed the question mark).

Die antwort ist nein.

[nevets88]

William Hung of golf, @billchao , Ouch! I'm gonna have to file that for later.

You want inspiration, there are whole industries and that omniscient being people worship.  You want golf inspiration, subscribe to YT, FB, Twitter feeds of good pros who provide before and after videos.  And they won't ask you to donate. Way less time spent reading wall of texts.

[RandallT]

Anyone else bored of people doing things just so they can inspire others to do other things? Maybe "bored" is wrong word. "Skeptical?" "Numb?" "Uninspired?"

I caught part of that tight-rope walk on the Chicago skyscrapers. Nuts! Nik Wallenda was asked why he does it.... basically to be an inspiration to others.

I think one of the contestants on Big Break last week was asked why she continues her struggle with golf, despite it not going well.. you guessed it: to inspire other little girls to chase their dreams, no matter how crazy.

Dan's blog is filled with this kind of talk. Inspire others that they can do what they want. There's no limit. Just do it.

Maybe I've just gotten way too cynical, but that's not how I've raised my kids. Work hard, stay focused, set goals, have integrity, but be grounded and realistic. Hmmm, not exactly a bumper sticker.

[nevets88]

Anyone else bored of people doing things just so they can inspire others to do other things? Maybe "bored" is wrong word. "Skeptical?" "Numb?" "Uninspired?"

I caught part of that tight-rope walk on the Chicago skyscrapers. Nuts! Nik Wallenda was asked why he does it.... basically to be an inspiration to others.

I think one of the contestants on Big Break last week was asked why she continues her struggle with golf, despite it not going well.. you guessed it: to inspire other little girls to chase their dreams, no matter how crazy.

Dan's blog is filled with this kind of talk. Inspire others that they can do what they want. There's no limit. Just do it.

Maybe I've just gotten way too cynical, but that's not how I've raised my kids. Work hard, stay focused, set goals, have integrity, but be grounded and realistic. Hmmm, not exactly a bumper sticker.

@RandallT you have a knack for expressing my thoughts better than anything I can put to paper. Maybe we're also overwhelmed as well, with instant, ubiquitous and easy communication.

[RandallT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandallT

Anyone else bored of people doing things just so they can inspire others to do other things? Maybe "bored" is wrong word. "Skeptical?" "Numb?" "Uninspired?"

I caught part of that tight-rope walk on the Chicago skyscrapers. Nuts! Nik Wallenda was asked why he does it.... basically to be an inspiration to others.

I think one of the contestants on Big Break last week was asked why she continues her struggle with golf, despite it not going well.. you guessed it: to inspire other little girls to chase their dreams, no matter how crazy.

Dan's blog is filled with this kind of talk. Inspire others that they can do what they want. There's no limit. Just do it.

Maybe I've just gotten way too cynical, but that's not how I've raised my kids. Work hard, stay focused, set goals, have integrity, but be grounded and realistic. Hmmm, not exactly a bumper sticker.

@RandallT you have a knack for expressing my thoughts better than anything I can put to paper. Maybe we're also overwhelmed as well, with instant, ubiquitous and easy communication.

Overwhelmed, yes, but yet we can hardly avert our eyes from the the maddening things that drive us nuts. Don't leave the thread!

I oddly like Dan still, but cannot avoid watching this project sink further and further into despair. It'll be interesting to see how he salvages much out of this whole thing. Your catch about his quote being "befuddled" that few sponsors were catching on to his grand project was definitely worth a good chuckle this morning. Thanks for the comic relief.

[nevets88]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevets88

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandallT

Anyone else bored of people doing things just so they can inspire others to do other things? Maybe "bored" is wrong word. "Skeptical?" "Numb?" "Uninspired?"

I caught part of that tight-rope walk on the Chicago skyscrapers. Nuts! Nik Wallenda was asked why he does it.... basically to be an inspiration to others.

I think one of the contestants on Big Break last week was asked why she continues her struggle with golf, despite it not going well.. you guessed it: to inspire other little girls to chase their dreams, no matter how crazy.

Dan's blog is filled with this kind of talk. Inspire others that they can do what they want. There's no limit. Just do it.

Maybe I've just gotten way too cynical, but that's not how I've raised my kids. Work hard, stay focused, set goals, have integrity, but be grounded and realistic. Hmmm, not exactly a bumper sticker.

@RandallT you have a knack for expressing my thoughts better than anything I can put to paper. Maybe we're also overwhelmed as well, with instant, ubiquitous and easy communication.

Overwhelmed, yes, but yet we can hardly avert our eyes from the the maddening things that drive us nuts. Don't leave the thread!

I oddly like Dan still, but cannot avoid watching this project sink further and further into despair. It'll be interesting to see how he salvages much out of this whole thing. Your catch about his quote being "befuddled" that few sponsors were catching on to his grand project was definitely worth a good chuckle this morning. Thanks for the comic relief.

I'm wondering like you, his exit strategy. I see no choice but to pivot into marketing - he's good at that. And I'd even guess completely out of golf. Or with all the traveling he's doing - travel golf? If he goes anywhere near instruction though, shudder, I don't want to think about that.

[newtogolf]

From the latest blog post. Can't find a sponsor other than equipment. And he's a little frustrated.

No company wants to be involved in a farce or a failure even if it gets their name mentioned in some press.  The golf industry knows Dan has no chance in accomplishing his goal, if he did they'd "buy in" for the opportunity to own the marketing rights when he makes it.  The fact Dan can't get more than a set of clubs and some balls from golf companies shows how little they think of him.  I'd bet the cost to fund Dan for an entire year would be less than one days commercials during a PGA Tour event on CBS or NBC.

Instead of being "befuddled" Dan needs to accept the reality he's not getting a full sponsorship because they aren't interested in the concept, they just aren't interested in him.

His best chance of getting any kind of money is pitching the BackNine network on featuring him as part of a reality show that tracks his remaining 5000 hours.

[MS256]

I occasionally come back and read this thread simply because I'm fascinated that some people think anybody can reach the top levels simply because they put in 10,000 hours.

I would figure that anybody and everybody would have enough life experiences (either in or outside of athletics) to throw that completely out the window at first glance.

Using only what I have personally seen and experienced there are too many examples to even begin to count up where people put in many more hours and certainly much more effort to become an elite athlete and in the end they simply didn't have the talent.

[billchao]

The golf industry knows Dan has no chance in accomplishing his goal, if he did they'd "buy in" for the opportunity to own the marketing rights when he makes it.

Good point. They'd want to buy in early, hoping to catch a good price and cash in when the player becomes successful. Like Nike did, with Michelle Wie.

[Lihu]

(You missed the question mark).

Die antwort ist nein.

Hoopla, und genau.

[nevets88]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevets88

From the latest blog post. Can't find a sponsor other than equipment. And he's a little frustrated.

No company wants to be involved in a farce or a failure even if it gets their name mentioned in some press.  The golf industry knows Dan has no chance in accomplishing his goal, if he did they'd "buy in" for the opportunity to own the marketing rights when he makes it.  The fact Dan can't get more than a set of clubs and some balls from golf companies shows how little they think of him.  I'd bet the cost to fund Dan for an entire year would be less than one days commercials during a PGA Tour event on CBS or NBC.

Instead of being "befuddled" Dan needs to accept the reality he's not getting a full sponsorship because they aren't interested in the concept, they just aren't interested in him.

His best chance of getting any kind of money is pitching the BackNine network on featuring him as part of a reality show that tracks his remaining 5000 hours.

Could be that he's just not pulling in enough eyeballs? Certainly there are enough examples of not so great quality content out there with massive viewership. He only has ~400 subscribers on his YT channel. TST's YT channel has more subscribers. Just looping through his YT videos, they average ~1.5K views? Now if he had 25K subscribers and an average of 50K views on each video, that's a different story. On Twitter, ~6K followers. A niche internet podcaster has 10 times the followers. The fact that the golf audience, though a desirable one to advertisers, is a small demographic doesn't help. I don't think he gets enough coverage on print/tv media to garner enough interest. Most stories are one shot deals, there's no repeatability compared to say like a tech personality who reviews new products.

I don't know enough about marketing to judge. If someone in marketing can give an idea whether his metrics warrant more sponsors, please chime in.

[newtogolf]

Could be that he's just not pulling in enough eyeballs? Certainly there are enough examples of not so great quality content out there with massive viewership. He only has ~400 subscribers on his YT channel. TST's YT channel has more subscribers. Just looping through his YT videos, they average ~1.5K views? Now if he had 25K subscribers and an average of 50K views on each video, that's a different story. On Twitter, ~6K followers. A niche internet podcaster has 10 times the followers. The fact that the golf audience, though a desirable one to advertisers, is a small demographic doesn't help. I don't think he gets enough coverage on print/tv media to garner enough interest. Most stories are one shot deals, there's no repeatability compared to say like a tech personality who reviews new products.

I don't know enough about marketing to judge. If someone in marketing can give an idea whether his metrics warrant more sponsors, please chime in.

It's Dan's job to get the followers and he hasn't made an effort.  I'm sure he knows about this site (all he'd have to do is Google his name) but he hasn't come on here to participate in the discussions.  He seems to only post information on social media to promote a business that recently gave him something free otherwise he uses his blog to communicate which he likely can't translate into actual followers.

He's not a marketing guy and nothing he's done would be considered close to viral.  If you want people to follow you on YT, Twitter, etc you have to work at putting the content out there to attract people, his blog isn't cutting it.

[18rounds]

If I were Golftec* I would talk to him. Here is the plan... Quietly start working with him in a very intensive way. Classes twice or three times a week with supervised practices every day. In the beginning no announcement gets made. Wait to see if he can turn the corner. If he get better have Dan announce who he has been working with and become their spokesman. It would advertise well: "Even after 5000+ hours of practice my game was not progressing. Golftec changed that"

If I were Golftec I would structure the deal so that Dan gets paid by the hour based on hours of lessons and supervised practices with substantial bonuses for reaching certain handicap levels.

Could be a win/win because Dan's story is interesting but only if he gets very very good at golf.

*I am using Golftec as an example only because that is the only huge corporate nationwide golf school I know of.

[Pretzel]

He's not a marketing guy and nothing he's done would be considered close to viral.  If you want people to follow you on YT, Twitter, etc you have to work at putting the content out there to attract people, his blog isn't cutting it.

This is pretty evident, that he isn't really someone familiar with marketing. If he was he would know that his blog wasn't enough, he needs to put content out through sources that people check every day and don't have to search for. It's easier for someone to go to YouTube and have it suggest his video, on a site they already visit, than it is for that person to stumble across his blog.

Making himself more visible could attract more sponsors, but it could also scare them away if his play didn't show improvement. It's a situation where he could win big, or lose nothing (he already has no sponsors besides two sets of clubs in two years) so there's really not a large risk. It just takes a small time investment to record a daily 10 minute video on something he's practicing, or making tweets with a link to a drill or two that he's been using with success recently. For an added hour or so a day of time put in, he could get some great benefits (such as other sponsors and more people who would be willing to contribute via watching videos with advertisements or direct donations).

[Lihu]

This is pretty evident, that he isn't really someone familiar with marketing. If he was he would know that his blog wasn't enough, he needs to put content out through sources that people check every day and don't have to search for. It's easier for someone to go to YouTube and have it suggest his video, on a site they already visit, than it is for that person to stumble across his blog.

Making himself more visible could attract more sponsors, but it could also scare them away if his play didn't show improvement. It's a situation where he could win big, or lose nothing (he already has no sponsors besides two sets of clubs in two years) so there's really not a large risk. It just takes a small time investment to record a daily 10 minute video on something he's practicing, or making tweets with a link to a drill or two that he's been using with success recently. For an added hour or so a day of time put in, he could get some great benefits (such as other sponsors and more people who would be willing to contribute via watching videos with advertisements or direct donations).

At first, there was a lot of attention, and he is still getting TV appearances. The fact that he does not have that much attention is because he did not win the tournaments. People like the winners, and if there is a story behind the win, it can become viral.

[nevets88]

New quote from recent piece: "I'd say the chances of me playing an event on Tour are now 25 per cent." What are the chances he could get a sponsor's exemption?

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/golf/528158/Dan-McLaughlin-golf-target-path-perfection

[flopster]

This is part of a  response by someone in his blog, people are more aware of his lack of progress than he is it seems.

I understand you did not intend to get on a soap box about the lack of interest by golf organizations in helping you out. Still it came across as whining. At this point there have not been any significant achievements that would earn you the financial support from the golfing community. There are a lot of 3-5 handicappers out there. Until you work your way on to the national stage with your golf skill, you won’t garner much attention except as a human interest story .