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

[nevets88]

I was hoping the plan might help in the instruction sense. Obviously I don't think it does and there is potential for misleading people, yes, but I don't think his sphere of influence is that broad and anyone looking deeper into his methodology, with common sense, should be able to figure out not to follow it. From someone with more than a superficial knowledge of golf and instruction, I think he makes golf look harder than it is, although it is hard to begin with. I'm glad for anyone's he's inspired, I just won't let them know, if unaware, his achievements are not as great as they seem.

[garybbq]

I was hoping the plan might help in the instruction sense. Obviously I don't think it does and there is potential for misleading people, yes, but I don't think his sphere of influence is that broad and anyone looking deeper into his methodology, with common sense, should be able to figure out not to follow it. From someone with more than a superficial knowledge of golf and instruction, I think he makes golf look harder than it is, although it is hard to begin with. I'm glad for anyone's he's inspired, I just won't let them know, if unaware, his achievements are not as great as they seem.

What achievements are you referring to?

[nevets88]

12/7: http://thedanplan.com/better-late-than-never/

Quote:

Better late than never, I keep telling myself.

Potentially, this could be a honeymoon period, but from what I have seen and felt thus far I’d say I have finally found gear that truly fits my swing.  I think for the past 1.5 years I have been trying to adapt my swing to my sticks, but my eyes have been opened and I now truly appreciate how much of a difference small changes can make in your equipment.

...

the divots are flush in the sod creating nice rectangular pelts and I don’t have to hold on to prevent the ball from hooking.  I can really get through it and my two shots are either a nice little draw or a miss of a slight push.  It’s remarkable and the best thing that’s happened to my game in quite some time.

...

The point that I have learned from all of this is that if you have been struggling with something for some time it’s good to look at all of the reasons that may be getting in your way.  At the level that I am currently, a slight change in gear can be a stroke or two per round either way.  In golf, a couple of strokes makes a huge difference.  Now if I can also gain some confidence in my tee shots by having a driver and 3-wood that I trust I can potentially gain a stroke or two there as well.  It won’t make an overnight change, but confidence is key and I now have that from 3-iron to 58 degree wedge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by garybbq

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevets88

I was hoping the plan might help in the instruction sense. Obviously I don't think it does and there is potential for misleading people, yes, but I don't think his sphere of influence is that broad and anyone looking deeper into his methodology, with common sense, should be able to figure out not to follow it. From someone with more than a superficial knowledge of golf and instruction, I think he makes golf look harder than it is, although it is hard to begin with. I'm glad for anyone's he's inspired, I just won't let them know, if unaware, his achievements are not as great as they seem.

What achievements are you referring to?

Handicap, deliberate hours practiced.

[garybbq]

Oh, well I guess I don't really see practicing for 4+ years and getting to a 7 handicap that much of an accomplishment.

[nevets88]

Oh, well I guess I don't really see practicing for 4+ years and getting to a 7 handicap that much of an accomplishment.

It is, but full time? Many people work full time jobs and accomplish the same. It's an achievement, but imho, he could have done it faster.

[RandallT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevets88

12/7: http://thedanplan.com/better-late-than-never/

Quote:

Better late than never, I keep telling myself.

Potentially, this could be a honeymoon period, but from what I have seen and felt thus far I’d say I have finally found gear that truly fits my swing.  I think for the past 1.5 years I have been trying to adapt my swing to my sticks, but my eyes have been opened and I now truly appreciate how much of a difference small changes can make in your equipment.

...

the divots are flush in the sod creating nice rectangular pelts and I don’t have to hold on to prevent the ball from hooking.  I can really get through it and my two shots are either a nice little draw or a miss of a slight push.  It’s remarkable and the best thing that’s happened to my game in quite some time.

...

The point that I have learned from all of this is that if you have been struggling with something for some time it’s good to look at all of the reasons that may be getting in your way.  At the level that I am currently, a slight change in gear can be a stroke or two per round either way.  In golf, a couple of strokes makes a huge difference.  Now if I can also gain some confidence in my tee shots by having a driver and 3-wood that I trust I can potentially gain a stroke or two there as well.  It won’t make an overnight change, but confidence is key and I now have that from 3-iron to 58 degree wedge.

He sounds pretty upbeat about his equipment matching his current swing. He should acknowledge at some point, however, that his swing will need to evolve, and that it will likely be an iterative process. And an expensive one at that:

- Analyze swing

- Make specific improvements to small things based on expert feedback

- Solidify swing (takes time, not just a one or two blog posts, as he gives the impression sometimes)

- Repeat above swing fixes as needed... or continue below...

- Analyze equipment

- Make improvements and purchases based on expert feedback to match the current swing

- Repeat from the top and hope that none of the paths you went down were dead-ends or steps backward (if expert feedback wrong, or you implemented wrong)

The expert feedback and equipment purchases are not cheap. And let's face it, his swing is likely not in a place that will take him to top levels, so there's an immense amount of work to do (and money to spend).

The "better late than never" comment gives the impression that he's done, and has checked that box needed to have the correct iron set to achieve his goal. In reality, it will likely be iterative small steps.

Good for him for staying positive though. Time is relentlessly ticking.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandallT

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevets88

12/7: http://thedanplan.com/better-late-than-never/

Quote:

Better late than never, I keep telling myself.

Potentially, this could be a honeymoon period, but from what I have seen and felt thus far I’d say I have finally found gear that truly fits my swing.  I think for the past 1.5 years I have been trying to adapt my swing to my sticks, but my eyes have been opened and I now truly appreciate how much of a difference small changes can make in your equipment.

...

the divots are flush in the sod creating nice rectangular pelts and I don’t have to hold on to prevent the ball from hooking.  I can really get through it and my two shots are either a nice little draw or a miss of a slight push.  It’s remarkable and the best thing that’s happened to my game in quite some time.

...

The point that I have learned from all of this is that if you have been struggling with something for some time it’s good to look at all of the reasons that may be getting in your way.  At the level that I am currently, a slight change in gear can be a stroke or two per round either way.  In golf, a couple of strokes makes a huge difference.  Now if I can also gain some confidence in my tee shots by having a driver and 3-wood that I trust I can potentially gain a stroke or two there as well.  It won’t make an overnight change, but confidence is key and I now have that from 3-iron to 58 degree wedge.

He sounds pretty upbeat about his equipment matching his current swing. He should acknowledge at some point, however, that his swing will need to evolve, and that it will likely be an iterative process. And an expensive one at that:

- Analyze swing

- Make specific improvements to small things based on expert feedback

- Solidify swing (takes time, not just a one or two blog posts, as he gives the impression sometimes)

- Repeat above swing fixes as needed... or continue below...

- Analyze equipment

- Make improvements and purchases based on expert feedback to match the current swing

- Repeat from the top and hope that none of the paths you went down were dead-ends or steps backward (if expert feedback wrong, or you implemented wrong)

The expert feedback and equipment purchases are not cheap. And let's face it, his swing is likely not in a place that will take him to top levels, so there's an immense amount of work to do (and money to spend).

The "better late than never" comment gives the impression that he's done, and has checked that box needed to have the correct iron set to achieve his goal. In reality, it will likely be iterative small steps.

Good for him for staying positive though. Time is relentlessly ticking.

I agree that he sounds pretty upbeat. He stated that shot a 74 one of the days, and that's pretty substantially good considering he also stated that he missed a few 8-10 foot birdies. It was an "easy" 74.

What would be interesting if some people asked him to update some videos with his new "sticks". Maybe even some random swing videos on the course or at the range or even into a net.

[bkuehn1952]

Has anyone offered some direct advice to Dan?  Posted on his website?

[Pretzel]

Has anyone offered some direct advice to Dan?  Posted on his website?

Yes. He glosses over all the comments except those that lavish praise upon him for his "hard work and dedication".

I suggested that he use the Flightscope he is borrowing to give people an idea of his progress since last January's Trackman combine. He brushed me off without even a reply.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkuehn1952

Has anyone offered some direct advice to Dan?  Posted on his website?

Yes. He glosses over all the comments except those that lavish praise upon him for his "hard work and dedication".

I suggested that he use the Flightscope he is borrowing to give people an idea of his progress since last January's Trackman combine. He brushed me off without even a reply.

Even without Flightscope, as he might not be able to keep it long enough, he should be able to post some simple swing videos.

BTW, a combine test is something like $50 to $125. On a side note, I was thinking of starting to do it to track my progress this up coming year, if I can find a cheap enough one to do every three or four months.

[Pretzel]

Even without Flightscope, as he might not be able to keep it long enough, he should be able to post some simple swing videos.

BTW, a combine test is something like $50 to $125. On a side note, I was thinking of starting to do it to track my progress this up coming year, if I can find a cheap enough one to do every three or four months.

I'm somewhat interested in trying one of those combines next year just to see what the results would be like. How would I find a location that offers a service such as that?

I didn't realize it was something you had to pay to do. I just figured that Dan could chart the same type of shots and compared averages to the averages he had listed from last January. The swing videos would be a nice touch as well.

[garybbq]

I commented that he complained about his driver swing but never posts a swing video and all he needs is a phone to do it. No reply

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Even without Flightscope, as he might not be able to keep it long enough, he should be able to post some simple swing videos.

BTW, a combine test is something like $50 to $125. On a side note, I was thinking of starting to do it to track my progress this up coming year, if I can find a cheap enough one to do every three or four months.

I'm somewhat interested in trying one of those combines next year just to see what the results would be like. How would I find a location that offers a service such as that?

I didn't realize it was something you had to pay to do. I just figured that Dan could chart the same type of shots and compared averages to the averages he had listed from last January. The swing videos would be a nice touch as well.

I forgot where in CO you are located, but here is one place outside of Denver, http://redskygolfclub.com/info/acd.index.asp

There are a few more that I found. I am lucky to have one about 20 miles away from me, but it is more expensive.

Use this link to search in general: http://mytrackman.com/public/locator

This is the person in my area: http://georgepinnell.com/trackman-combine/

[garybbq]

I doubt that Dan has read this thread or any others for that fact, it just seems to me that he doesn't know much about the golf swing and doesn't care to learn... I mean if it was your full time job to improve at golf, how could you not have a library of swing videos, books read, recaps of lessons, stats etc. most my swing threads here have posted more videos. Dan is playing golf as a hobby and pretending it is something different.

[flopster]

It is, but full time? Many people work full time jobs and accomplish the same. It's an achievement, but imho, he could have done it faster.

For the amount of time put in he really didn't progress very far. There are plenty of members just on this site that probably would have improved by leaps and b

Oh, well I guess I don't really see practicing for 4+ years and getting to a 7 handicap that much of an accomplishment.

Your right it's not, in fact it's pretty much laughable, I think what this whole so called plan is showing is the test subject "Dan" is uncoordinated/ unathletic and is really more into self promotion now than actually trying to learn this game since he probably now realizes he's not cut out for it, at least for playing with the best players in the world.

[Cardfather]

Every now and then Dan reveals how he really views himself. This one had me laughing hysterically!

[Lihu]

What would be interesting if some people asked him to update some videos with his new "sticks". Maybe even some random swing videos on the course or at the range or even into a net.

Looks like he plans to post new results sometime soon.

dan says:

December 9, 2014 at 9:00 am

Alcw,

So far I think my yardage is the same. It is hard to say if that will change or what it is right now as it’s winter and you need to club up to get the same yardage as in the summer. Next dry day I’ll take FlightScope out and hit a handful of balls with each new club and post the results.

Dan

[flopster]

Every now and then Dan reveals how he really views himself. This one had me laughing hysterically!

Dan said:The first day I had them I went out and despite having a couple small chipping duffs, a-la Tiger last Thursday, due to not being used to the different grinds and bounces.

Is he serous? No Dan of course your technique is spot on perfect what else could it be? Furthermore you should be willing to donate a large amount of your anatomy to even have 1/1,000,000th the skill Tiger has. Statements like that are what peeve off golfers, it's fine that he wants to do this experiment and all but whenever he uses Tiger as a comparison to himself it's just beyond absurd.