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

[flopster]

What is missing from his "mental game" is a "solid swing".

Judging by his dispersions on the Trakman results, it is easy to see his discomfort with making an approach shot. He has no confidence that the ball will go roughly where he hit it outside of 130 yards. If he were at least confident with all his shots up to 200 yards or so, it would make his mental game much better even off the tee. Tee shots would be much more comfortable because messing one up is not going to ruin the hole for him.

I think his latest purchase of those clubs with the "X100" shafts in them is a step towards improving his confidence with his irons. Although, I'm not sure how he determined that he needs an extra stiff really low flight Dynamic gold X100 shaft with a even higher kick than the S300 shaft and will tend to hit the ball much lower. He would need a lot of speed to get enough distance with them. I think his AP2 distances with the S300 shafts were a little bit short already, but the fitter should have known so IDK?

At least he is making attempts to improve his iron game which will affect his "mental game" directly.

Looks like an ego move there, Dan is obviously learning the "hard way" like so many others do by thinking they somehow need equipment heavier and more difficult to hit to get better at this game, I know someone who insists upon s400 shafts with blades that rarely breaks 90 and swing speed is only in the 90's but what do you do? Just got to let them figure it out on their own I guess.

[Pretzel]

I missed this, and I laughed really hard when I heard that he had X100 shafts in his wedges and KBS x-stiff in his irons. His fitter must have been smoking something really good when he got fitted, because I can guarantee that his swing is not fast/hard enough that a fitter would normally place those into his clubs.

Dan has an average 7i speed of 84 mph according to Trackman and a driver swingspeed of 102.4 mph. I have an average 7i swingspeed with my current irons of 92.8 mph (a good 9 mph faster) and a driver swingspeed of 115 mph. I was fitted into soft-stepped KBS tour x-flex irons and my swing has been described as "violent and rapid" by my high school teammates (they used to poke fun at me when I said I'd hit a smooth such and such). My Mizuno shaft fitter tempo average was 8, toe down was 7, kick angle was 8, and release factor was 9, so that backs up the description. All of this and I wasn't fitted into a standard KBS tour x-flex. I don't think people really realize that that particular shaft is quite beefy, equivalent to a Project X 7.0 or the mentioned x100.

Dan's fitter has done him quite the disservice I feel by recommending shafts that are that stiff unless they did extensive testing and found them to be the best option in terms of performance. I would very much like to see his order process (similar to how I documented my order of new irons) and check out what his dispersion/ballflight looks like with the different shafts he tested, because I hope he didn't just go with the x-stiff without even testing anything.

If he did test those and found them to work best, great, go for it. I just hope he did testing and empirically found those to have superior performance to the other offerings before he ordered them. They (like the KBS C-tapers that I work horrendously for me but others love) are shafts that fit some people and works awful for others.

I'm looking forwards to seeing a new Trackman combine this winter to compare his new clubs to the old and see how he's improved over the last year. Does anyone know if a Flightscope (which he said he has access to) has a similar feature?

[RFKFREAK]

[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/drh3xc6Haek[/VIDEO] He has a decent swing, just lacks power in my opinion.

The fact he didn't shoot this video in landscape annoys me.

[Lihu]

Looks like an ego move there, Dan is obviously learning the "hard way" like so many others do by thinking they somehow need equipment heavier and more difficult to hit to get better at this game, I know someone who insists upon s400 shafts with blades that rarely breaks 90 and swing speed is only in the 90's but what do you do? Just got to let them figure it out on their own I guess.

It's not like I'm guilt free of this, but I got my clubs used and really cheap. Even though in the last three months my swing speed has gone up, I'm sure my clubs are still too heavy for me. I do have 8 sets of clubs from a light R flex graphite all the way to Rifle 6.5. I can choose a lighter flex any time, and do take them out on the course now and then.

However, I hope for his sake that he actually has R300-S300 shafts. Maybe the fitter cut some S300 down to his size then told him they were like X100?

I missed this, and I laughed really hard when I heard that he had X100 shafts in his wedges and KBS x-stiff in his irons. His fitter must have been smoking something really good when he got fitted, because I can guarantee that his swing is not fast/hard enough that a fitter would normally place those into his clubs.

Dan's fitter has done him quite the disservice I feel by recommending shafts that are that stiff unless they did extensive testing and found them to be the best option in terms of performance. I would very much like to see his order process (similar to how I documented my order of new irons) and check out what his dispersion/ballflight looks like with the different shafts he tested, because I hope he didn't just go with the x-stiff without even testing anything.

Good one. ROFL

I suppose the bottom line is how far and accurately does he hit these new clubs?

[Pretzel]

Quote:

I had a few block shots (left push), which Neff said I would as that’s what happens when you go from too upright for your swing/body for 1.5 years to having a set that fits your swing.

Hmmm, maybe the block shots were something else?

Anyways, I'll get off Dan's back and say that he has excellent choice in grips and wedge finish. I use the same grips (in white instead of red though) and have the same finish on my new wedges (though a different grind).

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pretzel

Quote:

I had a few block shots (left push), which Neff said I would as that’s what happens when you go from too upright for your swing/body for 1.5 years to having a set that fits your swing.

Hmmm, maybe the block shots were something else?

Anyways, I'll get off Dan's back and say that he has excellent choice in grips and wedge finish. I use the same grips (in white instead of red though) and have the same finish on my new wedges (though a different grind).

This might be a dumb question, but what is the actual cause of a blocked shot?

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFKFREAK

The fact he didn't shoot this video in landscape annoys me.

Yeah, I did a video like this too.

[nevets88]

[quote name="Lihu" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/2100_100#post_1080896"] [VIDEO]http://youtu.be/drh3xc6Haek[/VIDEO] He has a decent swing, just lacks power in my opinion.

The fact he didn't shoot this video in landscape annoys me.[/quote] I noticed more than a few seasoned instructors who are good with tech use portrait mode. As long as the angle is good, works for me. I'd be more concerned with the camera angle. It seems to be pointed down and left? Camera could be closer. It doesn't seem ideal. Also if you are gonna compare swings, use the same camera angle if you can, which he didn't do. Wasn't he a photographer in his former life? This is how it's done. [VIDEO]http://youtu.be/FopnOW_-UCw[/VIDEO] CAMERA ANGLES, BABY! [VIDEO]http://youtu.be/pVvCWuSK8GM[/VIDEO]

[Pretzel]

This might be a dumb question, but what is the actual cause of a blocked shot?

Well, it can be caused by having a shaft that's to stiff. That doesn't mean too stiff a shaft will always cause it or that it always means the shaft is too stiff, but it's a potential cause.

[Lihu]

[quote name="Lihu" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/2220#post_1082074"] This might be a dumb question, but what is the actual cause of a blocked shot?

Well, it can be caused by having a shaft that's to stiff. That doesn't mean too stiff a shaft will always cause it or that it always means the shaft is too stiff, but it's a potential cause.[/quote] Interesting. I suppose it could be caused by insufficient shaft deflection?

[Pretzel]

With Dan's limited lesson budget, maybe he should try evolvr? With the monthly plan he could get feedback on his swing once a week, and it would also make it easier for him to post more swing videos and keep people updated on his progress.

[nevets88]

With Dan's limited lesson budget, maybe he should try evolvr? With the monthly plan he could get feedback on his swing once a week, and it would also make it easier for him to post more swing videos and keep people updated on his progress.

I did a search on his blog for "online lessons". No results. All these years of doing this and he never even tried it or didn't write about it. I would have tried a whole bunch of teachers just to see the results, like doctors and second opinions. At least it would have forced him to get his camera angles better.

[garybbq]

I did a search on his blog for "online lessons". No results. All these years of doing this and he never even tried it or didn't write about it. I would have tried a whole bunch of teachers just to see the results, like doctors and second opinions. At least it would have forced him to get his camera angles better.

Dan is not interested in lessons, he seems to think he has the swing down and his problems are equipment or mental.

[nevets88]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevets88

I did a search on his blog for "online lessons". No results. All these years of doing this and he never even tried it or didn't write about it. I would have tried a whole bunch of teachers just to see the results, like doctors and second opinions. At least it would have forced him to get his camera angles better.

Dan is not interested in lessons, he seems to think he has the swing down and his problems are equipment or mental.

I read at least two posts I forget where where a scratch golfer - different ones - who met him in person tried to help him with his swing. He must have an inkling.

[Pretzel]

I read at least two posts I forget where where a scratch golfer - different ones - who met him in person tried to help him with his swing. He must have an inkling.

He has to know at this point, even if he's not sharing it. If the guy was in touch with reality it would help.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevets88

I read at least two posts I forget where where a scratch golfer - different ones - who met him in person tried to help him with his swing. He must have an inkling.

He has to know at this point, even if he's not sharing it. If the guy was in touch with reality it would help.

He interviews with television media all over the world. He thinks he's a golf celebrity. Just looking at his blogs, it appears that he is surprised that he doesn't get lots of endorsements.

Reality is for the people who actually want to improve their golf skills.

[nevets88]

[QUOTE name="Pretzel" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/2232#post_1082244"]   [QUOTE name="nevets88" url="/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer-dan-mclaughlin/2220#post_1082237"] I read at least two posts I forget where where a scratch golfer - different ones - who met him in person tried to help him with his swing. He must have an inkling.[/QUOTE] He has to know at this point, even if he's not sharing it. If the guy was in touch with reality it would help.[/QUOTE] He interviews with television media all over the world. He thinks he's a golf celebrity. Just looking at his blogs, it appears that he is surprised that he doesn't get lots of endorsements. Reality is for the people who actually want to improve their golf skills.

He has to do that for funding. It's a necessity. I'm tempted to send in his video to evolvr and a couple of other good pros I know pro bono, it pains me to see a guy banging his head on the wall, but this is happening at golf ranges everywhere. Not gonna do it. [video]http://youtu.be/6ul-cZyuYq4[/video]

[Shorty]

When are people going to realise that it's not about golf.

It's about an egomaniac without a connection to reality wanting to be famous.

He wants media coverage, free stuff and recognition. The so-called "goal" is a sideline because when it's clear that he isn't even 1% towards achieving it, the "journey" is over and the gravy train he wants to ride leaves the station without him.

[golf-noob-bruce]

Interesting. I suppose it could be caused by insufficient shaft deflection?

Given that you hold the club on the end, getting enough torque to actually bend a shaft such that it would make any real difference seems like it would be quite difficult to me. This effect must be very small.