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

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by pumaAttack

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shorty

9000 guys trying to qualify for U.S. Open this year. Maximum handicap 1.4.

Does anyone seriously think that in a couple of years Dan would be within 15 shots of any of those 9000? NINE THOUSAND!!!!

And  that's guys going for a few spots at the Open. Nearly 9000 will fail (not that that's an appropriate term) - but still, there are folk here who wouldn't bet against him "making it".

We all know its a long shot, no denying that.  But I think you are failing to see how much more time that really is.  Thousands of hours is a LONG time to practice and work on one thing.

I think you're failing to see that a lot of people on this forum are actual golfers who recall where they were at that point in the process. He should be an amazing putter right now, but bas on his videos he has no aptitude of any kind the closer he gets to the hole - sort of says a lot considering he spend a lot of time on that "one thing". Every example cited where somebody seemed to unlock some secret golf talent in a relatively short amount of time, it's a person who already was proficient at another type of stick and ball sport and transitioned to golf. At 30 years old he didn't even know whether he'd play right or left handed. That tells me he's not an athlete in any other stick and ball sport either.

I'm nowhere near professional level and I never will be, but after my first full summer of playing I would have handed Dan his a** on a platter in a head to head match. Dan will not make it.  If he had any chance, it was to start 15 years ago.

[RichWW2]

I think some people on here still believe they could be pro golfers if they could just quit their day job...it's just not that easy.

[x129]

A couple things. The guys that don't think he will be within 15 shots of 1.4 are nuts. Golf isn't that hard. And yes I have seen his swing. But you don't need that pretty of a swing to be a 15 or so handicap. Go to florida in winter and see how well guys can play with s swing that keeps you out of trouble and advances the ball. Driving it 300 yards is sexy. Driving 230 yards straight isn't. 230 straight though is all you need to be a single digit guy. Go through your course sometimes and see what being able to hit 230 straight, 150 more less accurate (say 5-10%), chip/lag putt everything to with in 10% and sink 80% of your 5 footers gets you. Now doing those things is a lot tougher than writing it down but that is where those 10k hours of practice comes from.

Personally I think muscles confusion is marketing crap but the idea that adapt to stress and need to change the stress to continue to achieve results is solid. Most golfers don't do that. They play once a week and hit the driving range for an hour every other week. That is why my dad has been shooting 85s for 20 years.  After 2 years they are not going to get much better without changing the routine. Switching to practing for 5 hours one week, and playing the other week might help them be better golfers. Or lessons.

For most of us the limiting factor is time and desire. Few of us can spend 15+ hours a week working on our  golf game . And even fewer would want to spend that time practicing instead of playing. Obviously without knowing your exact situation we are just guessing but in general pick on weakness and figure out a plan of attack. For example, you think you suck at putting. That isn't enough. Is it sucking at 3 footers or 20 footers? Is it because you mishit the ball, your speed is off, your aim is off or your read is wrong? Most likely it is a combo of all of them but one area tends to be worse than others.  A focused approach would be to find that one or two weakness and do drills to solve them. What most of us to is say "my putting sucks" and then spend 30 mins hitting balls around on the green. Sure it helps. But probably not as much as alternating 5,10,15,20 footers, up and downhill to learn how to hit balls exact distances.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M2R

Again that is the weird thing he "talks" about deliberate practice but I only see on video what looks more like structured practice.  But I think that goes back to x129s point about for golf how do you split up and/or organise practice to achieve optimal results?  One concrete example I can think of that might be similar to the "deliberate practice" idea is the P90X program where the claim is "Muscle confusion supposedly prevents the body from adapting to exercises over time, resulting in continual improvement without plateaus.".  For something as simple as getting in shape OK but for something as complex as golf how do you go about training so as to ensure "continual improvement without plateaus"?  Add another big question mark to my list I guess.

This was my exact reaction regarding myself after reading x129s post.  Will I ever be a legitimate single handicap? If not what is limiting me?

On the one hand there is this nice research that I respond to on some rational level and on the other hand is the every day tangible reality of my true golf game.

What are the specific and measurable steps I personally need to take beginning today to move toward a legitimate single handicap?  And then I wrote ugh!!!

[Jmdmbike]

Read the article in the golf mag that ran the story. It will be interesting to see where he ends up after he completes the plan. I do not believe that simply putting in the time is enough & don't believe he has a real chance of making it as a pro. It's an interesting experiment though.

[pumaAttack]

Originally Posted by Jmdmbike

Read the article in the golf mag that ran the story. It will be interesting to see where he ends up after he completes the plan. I do not believe that simply putting in the time is enough & don't believe he has a real chance of making it as a pro. It's an interesting experiment though.

Somebody reads Golf Magazine!

[clubchamp]

I just finally got caught up on this story and thread wow was that a lot of stuff. I agree with Shorty I don't think he will ever hit it far enough to get the pro level now he might become a very good player but I don't think he makes it.

[I-league]

He will not make tour pro. Most pros are way ahead of him in terms of practice hours. My guess is that he will eventually get to scratch and will enter some sort of mini tour event, where he will probably get a bit of a lesson.

Interesting experiment though. Good on him for trying.

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by I-league

He will not make tour pro. Most pros are way ahead of him in terms of practice hours. My guess is that he will eventually get to scratch and will enter some sort of mini tour event, where he will probably get a bit of a lesson.

Interesting experiment though. Good on him for trying.

I don't know.  Maybe this guy's completely brilliant, has absolutely no delusions of ever getting really good, and just wants to write a book about how to become a scratch golfer and is using this whole thing for publicity.

[mikelegacy]

10,000 hours is more than most people golf in their entire life. The chances are definitely slim, but dedication can do a lot of things. Yes, a betting man would bet against him, but there's no reason to blaspheme a person for having a dream.

There wouldn't be any pro athletes if that were the case.

Someone like Tiger shooting a 40 on 9 at age 4 is the EXTREME rare case. Most athletes don't blossom until high school or later.

[nevets88]

Call me cynical, this guy found a way to not work for a living by taking advantage of the sympathies of golfers who live vicariously through him. On the other hand, he did figure a way to exploit it. A sample space of one proves nothing and I don't think he's getting the best instruction.

[NuclearMike]

I read the article as well and hope that the guy can do it.  With him finally hitting balls with a full club selection he should find out pretty quick where he is.  I'm still trying to imagine how hard it would be to hit nothing but one foot putts for a whole day, though.

[x129]

I think he is planning a documentary so I figure a lot is for publicity. See http://polarastudio.com/blog/uncategorized/dan-plan/

Originally Posted by bunkerputt

I don't know.  Maybe this guy's completely brilliant, has absolutely no delusions of ever getting really good, and just wants to write a book about how to become a scratch golfer and is using this whole thing for publicity.

Other than Nike and some golf clubs donating access, he is paying for this out of his pocket AFAIK.  I think he has started asking for donations on the website but I doubt he is going to get much money out of that.  I don't know anything specific about Chris Smith (well other than the speed golf record) teaching methods but he has decent creditianals. He may or may not fit into you swing school thoughts (i.e. I don't agree with Hank Haney about a bunch of stuff but I can't really argue with his results). I would be more concerned that Dan doesn't get enough instruction time. I also have a lot of quibbles about how he is doing certain things but I don't think they will mean much in the end.

Originally Posted by nevets88

Call me cynical, this guy found a way to not work for a living by taking advantage of the sympathies of golfers who live vicariously through him. On the other hand, he did figure a way to exploit it. A sample space of one proves nothing and I don't think he's getting the best instruction.

[Brian Lovegren]

I played golf with Dan and am impressed with his plan. Check out my blog about the experience:
http://w ww.golfswingfreak.com/ news/?p=294

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Brian Lovegren

I played golf with Dan and am impressed with his plan. Check out my blog about the experience:

http://www.golfswingfreak.com/news/?p=294

Since you and dan are tight, maybe you can answer this question?

http://thedanplan.com/transform/topic.php?id=414

[tefunk]

Sean, are you jealous of Dan, or the guy who played a round with him?

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by Brian Lovegren

I played golf with Dan and am impressed with his plan. Check out my blog about the experience:

http://www.golfswingfreak.com/news/?p=294

You can be impressed with the "plan" but that is all.

He is not a 6 handicap.

His plan is an interesting concept but anyone who thinks that he is capable of become better than just a reasonable weekend player knows very little about the game.

Does that make me "angry", as you put it? How can you possibly think that this guy has a chance to make it on the PGA Tour?

[x129]

http://m.ghin.com/HLR.aspx?ghinnokey=w4sQX7i9PY8%3d&Assoc;=23&Club;=190&State;=OR&LN;=McLaughlin&FN;=Dan&SearchResults;=1

Obviously you are free to believe he is lying but in general I give people the benefit of the doubt on things that don't matter. Doesn't change the fact he has shown zero pro ability so far.

Originally Posted by Shorty

You can be impressed with the "plan" but that is all.

He is not a 6 handicap.

His plan is an interesting concept but anyone who thinks that he is capable of become better than just a reasonable weekend player knows very little about the game.

Does that make me "angry", as you put it? How can you possibly think that this guy has a chance to make it on the PGA Tour?

[newtogolf]

With the new changes made by the PGA Tour Dan has zero chances of becoming a PGA Tour pro by what he's shown so far.   He'll be a very good golfer and maybe win some money in tournaments but can't see him competing in a Major any time soon.