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

[RandallT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil McGleno

I like his lower body action more there than in his regular swing.

Ouch.

He was way to close to the ball for that flat a swing plane.

Yah, I thought he was so close he had no choice but to get his hands ahead and open up the club face to spray it right.

And it seems like the alignment was off too. Was he trying to hit into the left woods? I've found with my toilet shots, it's important to get the john lined up toward the fairway.

[nevets88]

Quote:

Originally Posted by natureboy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil McGleno

I like his lower body action more there than in his regular swing.

Ouch.

He was way to close to the ball for that flat a swing plane.

Yah, I thought he was so close he had no choice but to get his hands ahead and open up the club face to spray it right.

And it seems like the alignment was off too. Was he trying to hit into the left woods? I've found with my toilet shots, it's important to get the john lined up toward the fairway.

Well, after a... crap shot , good as anytime for a #2. Anyone who recalls Homer Simpson and the combo recliner/toilet knows what I'm talking about.

[tdiii]

Dan could pick up a massive strength gain with a 3 to 4 month linear progression of the basic barbell lifts (back squat, dead lift, press, bench press, pullups/chinups, and power cleans).  He's received this advice on more than one occasion.  This regime would also provide him some mass to protect against injuries -- which he now seems to be suffering.  But, he either doesn't believe the advice or doesn't want to do a little bit of hard work.  I the context of 5 years, this short period is nothing.

[rolopolo]

so much criticism towards Dan and his lack of "dedication" and "hard work". what the man has accomplished is simply unbelievable and i think his experiment is already a big success.

[Lihu]

so much criticism towards Dan and his lack of "dedication" and "hard work". what the man has accomplished is simply unbelievable and i think his experiment is already a big success.

It was 1 and a half years ago when he got down to a 3. He should have stopped right there, and called it a day.

[Big C]

so much criticism towards Dan and his lack of "dedication" and "hard work". what the man has accomplished is simply unbelievable and i think his experiment is already a big success.

I don't necessarily agree with the bolded part of your statement, but I will give Dan credit for one thing. So many of the people that make it to 10,000 hours do so because they are inherently good at the task or sport that they practice. At 1,000 hours, the best violinist is head and shoulders better than his contemporaries who have put in the same amount of work. So he keeps practicing to 2,000 ....3,000.... etc.

Those that are average or worse see the hand writing on the wall. They realize very quickly that they don't have the talent to become elite, so they stop. The cause and effect of 10k is somewhat reversed. The 10,000 practice hours is a by product of an innate gift or talent, not the cause of that talent.

The hand writing is on the wall for Dan. He won't be a pro. He won't come close. But here he is, 5 years into the plan, continuing to grind it out, posting updates on his blog and keeping to the commitment that he made several years ago.

Whether you want to call him a success or not, that kind of commitment is rare to see these days.

[tdiii]

I don't necessarily agree with the bolded part of your statement, but I will give Dan credit for one thing. So many of the people that make it to 10,000 hours do so because they are inherently good at the task or sport that they practice. At 1,000 hours, the best violinist is head and shoulders better than his contemporaries who have put in the same amount of work. So he keeps practicing to 2,000 ....3,000.... etc.

Those that are average or worse see the hand writing on the wall. They realize very quickly that they don't have the talent to become elite, so they stop. The cause and effect of 10k is somewhat reversed. The 10,000 practice hours is a by product of an innate gift or talent, not the cause of that talent.

The hand writing is on the wall for Dan. He won't be a pro. He won't come close. But here he is, 5 years into the plan, continuing to grind it out, posting updates on his blog and keeping to the commitment that he made several years ago.

Whether you want to call him a success or not, that kind of commitment is rare to see these days.

I see what you are saying, and agree 100% with your analysis of the 10,000 hour theory (we could have a great discussion about how it is not accurately portrayed in the media, nor properly understood by Dan).  I feel, however, that for quite some time (at least the past year or so), Dan has just been going through the motions.  He recognizes the lack of strength, but won't do the proper things to address it.  He has shortcomings in his swing that are correctable but, again, won't take the necessary steps to address them.  And he started to cherry pick his scores just before he got injured recently.  So, I feel the commitment really has waned.

[iacas]

so much criticism towards Dan and his lack of "dedication" and "hard work". what the man has accomplished is simply unbelievable and i think his experiment is already a big success.

How do you figure it's already a big success?

He's not even in the top 95% of golfers who have handicap indexes.

[k14]

How do you figure it's already a big success?

He's not even in the top 95% of golfers ​who have handicap indexes.

Maybe he's taking the scientists point of view and making an early call that Dan has proven his hypothesis wrong?

[Big C]

How do you figure it's already a big success?

He's not even in the top 95% of golfers ​who have handicap indexes.

Come on now, that's a bit harsh. I'd be willing to concede that Dan is in the top 95%. Now the top 5% on the other hand.....

[Nosevi]

so much criticism towards Dan and his lack of "dedication" and "hard work". what the man has accomplished is simply unbelievable and i think his experiment is already a big success.

I used the word "dedication" so you may be refering to what I wrote. If so just read it again - I said after 5 years IF basic stregth is still a problem that could only be used as an argument for a lack of dedication. I'm not saying Dan isn't dedicated to his programme, I'm saying that after 5 years strength should no longer be an issue for a midle aged male who set out determined to become a golf pro. There may be all sorts of other reasons for not getting there (Erik has mentioned basic talent which is the counter argument to the 10,000 hours theorem and an argument I personally subscribe to) but strength shouldn't be one of them.

[rkim291968]

Dan had the courage to start what he did.   I will give him that.

[newtogolf]

Dan had the courage to start what he did.   I will give him that.

It takes courage to run into a burning building and save lives like fireman do, it takes courage to join the military and fight for your country.  I don't consider what Dan did as courageous, it was narcissistic.  He wanted the world the watch him become a pro golfer and support him financially under the guise of proving the 10,000 hour theory to be true.

Now that people have lost interest Dan is thrashing to regain their attention and their money.

[RFKFREAK]

It takes courage to run into a burning building and save lives like fireman do, it takes courage to join the military and fight for your country.  I don't consider what Dan did as courageous, it was narcissistic.  He wanted the world the watch him become a pro golfer and support him financially under the guise of proving the 10,000 hour theory to be true.

Now that people have lost interest Dan is thrashing to regain their attention and their money.

+1.

[rolopolo]

How do you figure it's already a big success? He's not even in the top 95% of golfers who have handicap indexes.

He's obviously going to fall short of his

[rolopolo]

Oops sorry phone died in the middle of me writing that. Here is what i wanted to say: Dan is testing a theory on whether one can become an expert or master in a field through 10k hours of deliberate practice. To me someone with a 2 or 3 handicap is very close to an expert and I would say someone with a scratch handicap has mastered the game of golf. I would consider a golf pro with a scratch handicap enough of an expert to go to him for instruction. Sure he did mention qualifying for the tour in his first few posts, but he has also said that the goal is to see whether he can become a pro. Halfway though his 10k hours, Dan was at a 4 handicap. That to me is not far from expert level when talking about golf. We all know that learning and skill aquisition is not linear and ive no doubt that Dan can reach a scratch handicap by 10k hours. That to me would prove that the 10k hours transformed him from knowing nothing to being an expert. Too many people focus on the PGA tour bit if his mission. That really is not the point of the exercise. I can become a great, expert lawyer, or an expert illustrator or graphic designer, but still would not be one of the top 1000 lawyers im the world. Id still be an expert and master of the law though.

[rolopolo]

It takes courage to run into a burning building and save lives like fireman do, it takes courage to join the military and fight for your country.  I don't consider what Dan did as courageous, it was narcissistic.  He wanted the world the watch him become a pro golfer and support him financially under the guise of proving the 10,000 hour theory to be true. Now that people have lost interest Dan is thrashing to regain their attention and their money.

Strange, the whole idea of writing a story or telling someone about your adventure is to provide entertainment and/or value. The very fact that you are writing about Dan on a golf forum tells me that he has contributed to entertaining you as you surely would not be spending time on this forum and replying if you did not enjoy it. So you are contributing to the succes of Dan's blog, yet you are at the same time complaining anout how stupid the whole idea is. I dont think Dan is living a life of luxury of his blog proceeds. And if it is so simple to only play golf for 5 years and not work and have the public support you, why arent more people doing it? Because their values dont allow it? Dan's work is very valuable for anyone involved in learning and development and those interested in this fascinating theory. I would welcome more experiments like this.

[nevets88]

With all due respect to The Dan Plan's efforts, even if he reached scratch, I would not let him touch my swing or recommend him as an instructor.

And I didn't learn much about deliberate practice from his endeavor.