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

[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.

[Pretzel]

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.

Holding it at the end with a weight on tree other end is the near optimal condition for bending it if you're only holding it in one spot actually. You can actually see a Senior flex club flex back and forth if you waggle it firmly. Stiffer iron shafts are just more resistant to this flexing and it doesn't flex without a high swing speed. The amount of flex in a properly fitted shaft will be similar for people of all setting speeds.

[iacas]

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

This.

[flopster]

Who here thinks he has actually taken a look in here? When Dan Plan gets googled this website is on the front page. I'm sure he's looked at some point but will not engage us in any discussion.

[mchepp]

Who here thinks he has actually taken a look in here? When Dan Plan gets googled this website is on the front page. I'm sure he's looked at some point but will not engage us in any discussion.

He may have read the first few pages and moved on. As I said before all the comments get to a point where they are mostly noise. He can't tell good ideas from bad ones. The internet is full of bad information, you need to find the good sources and stick with them.

[Lihu]

If you make no progress for this many years of playing 6 hours a day, most people would lose interest. In other words, accept defeat.

The main issue with the Dan plan is that he is not even built correctly for the task at hand. It's like saying a person 4'10" can play in the NBA if he puts 10,000 hours into it. If his plan was to become the CEO of a major Software corporation with 10,000 hours of work, I would say he has a really good chance of success.

If you have an affinity to any activity, generally, it means that you could do well in it if you spent the time to get good. If you never even tried it and just out of the blue decide that you can do well if you put 10,000 hours into it, that's not going to happen. For example, if he were a baseball player or some kind of athlete in the past, he could stand a chance.

This project was doomed from the start, because he did not choose something he was enjoying already.

I'll go further to say that he might not even make a good instructor.

He might still become a golf professional by taking his analytical skills into play, somehow.

I pulled up my first post in this thread, and I was about to state something like "I though it would have a chance to succeed. . ." Actually, I never thought this project could succeed .

To be honest, though, I had no idea what it takes to become a pro, much less to even become a 12.8 handicap at the time either. I only looked at the other sports where there are really good athletes.

An example I can relate to is Olympic Archery. First I need to somewhat establish that archery is a "sport". It entails pulling a 50 pound recurve bow back and holding it for 4-7 seconds 300-700 times a day and shooting it into a quarter sized target from 18m or a personal sized pie sized target from 70m/90m. I would say it takes physical strength and accuracy, and there are people who have struggled for decades to get better at this sport. They shoot 100-200 arrows per day, and never really get better than shooting a 15cm grouping from 18m. They shoot in the 240-250s. I suppose this is comparable to shooting bogey golf. The ones who are good get to the 250s within a year or so, and into the 270s in another one or two years. They start shooting perfect 300s within 3-4 years. If I were to look at Dan's golf performance, I would say that he dedicated his life to shooting in the 270s which is really good, but not competitive to people who shoot 1190s with almost 4 perfect scores over two days. There is a world of difference between the two.

Another example is skiing, which I hope no one questions as a sport. I know a good number of people who ski at a very high level of competency, and they are not even close to the speeds that Olympic skiers can go. I would say much slower. The difference in the entire field of some Olympic events is something like

Some people can take up a new sport like golf and start getting really good within a relatively short period of time. Other people struggle for one reason or another for more. Then there are the rare prodigies who start shooting well within a year of taking up the game and can even get to the highest levels of performance. I would guess that there are people who have shot 72 on a 72 CR course within a year of starting?

In any case, the people who have some affinity to doing well in a sport end up demonstrating it right away. No amount of practice can replace this talent. However, no amount of talent can overcome the need to do concerted and effective practice as mentioned in "The Talent Code" and, of course, LSW. This is because many other talented people are already practicing effectively, and raised the bar for excellence. For instance, shooting in the mid-60s seems to be what most of the top 2000 golfers can already do on standard regulation courses?

So, I have a difficult time being fair to Dan, because he started with a premise that with no particular talent he could become one of the top players in the world. Whereas, my experience has shown that one needs the natural talent and the "10,000" hours of practice to be within, let's say, the top 2000 players.