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

[iacas]

Yeah I have to agree it is a bit negative in here. Past the point of reasonable discussion.

Then contribute something positive.

Here's a golfer who claims to be a 2.4 who has not broken 85 in his last four tournament rounds. What positive can you say about that? Please show us.

[GHIN0011458]

Then contribute something positive.

Here's a golfer who claims to be a 2.4 who has not broken 85 in his last four tournament rounds. What positive can you say about that? Please show us.

Really? Oh the contradictions..

[Lihu]

Really? Oh the contradictions..

I was beginning to wonder where you went for the past couple weeks.

No contradictions, some of us think Dan plays like an 8-13 handicap, really.

[GHIN0011458]

I was beginning to wonder where you went for the past couple weeks.

No contradictions, some of us think Dan plays like an 8-13 handicap, really.

I have been playing in tournaments the last couple of weekends.. won a club championship last weekend, then put myself into contention with a 70 on day one this weekend and followed it up with a sloppy 75 to finish 7th. Not too much time for the old sand trap lately lol.

[Lihu]

I have been playing in tournaments the last couple of weekends.. won a club championship last weekend, then put myself into contention with a 70 on day one this weekend and followed it up with a sloppy 75 to finish 7th. Not too much time for the old sand trap lately lol.

Nice job. Keep us updated on all your achievements, you should start a "Dan G." plan and get sponsored.

[GHIN0011458]

Nice job. Keep us updated on all your achievements, you should start a "Dan G." plan and get sponsored.

I have too many haters already on this site lol.   I think I have around 4000 hours logged to this point(I have done the math after reading about the Dan Plan).

[Gunther]

I have too many haters already on this site lol.   I think I have around 4000 hours logged to this point(I have done the math after reading about the Dan Plan).

God, we golfers are freaks, aren't we? I wouldn't have a clue how to count the hours I've spent over the 26 years I've been playing. I did, however, once try to figure out exactly how many times I had hit a driver I had owned for 7 years. Stupid, I know but I just had to figure it out. Funny.

[Lihu]

I have too many haters already on this site lol.   I think I have around 4000 hours logged to this point(I have done the math after reading about the Dan Plan).

Let's compare: Dan M. 6000 hours and roughly a 10 handicap (but let's just say 4 handicap with no tournament pressure), Dan G 4000 hours and a +0.1 handicap (with tournament scores).

I think you have a good opportunity to prove the actual theory than Dan M. on his version of the theory. You just need to start believing it can be done.

God, we golfers are freaks, aren't we? I wouldn't have a clue how to count the hours I've spent over the 26 years I've been playing. I did, however, once try to figure out exactly how many times I had hit a driver I had owned for 7 years. Stupid, I know but I just had to figure it out. Funny.

I just calculated that I spent a bit over 2000 hours over the past 3.5 years or so. Less these days, because I am hitting way less balls. Of course, if you include the time on this site. . .

[Jeremie Boop]

I have too many haters already on this site lol.   I think I have around 4000 hours logged to this point(I have done the math after reading about the Dan Plan).

You don't have any haters, everyone wishes you the best and we are all interested in how you progress and improve. It was just the aggressive/attacking manner of your posts towards another forum member that we didn't like, there was nothing personal about it.

[iacas]

You don't have any haters, everyone wishes you the best and we are all interested in how you progress and improve. It was just the aggressive/attacking manner of your posts towards another forum member that we didn't like, there was nothing personal about it.

Bingo.

You were being a jerk. Doesn't mean we all assume you're always gonna be one. We'd probably have already all moved on if you didn't keep bringing it up.

Back to topic, eh?

[Todd Ruggere]

You have to be an amazingly gifted athlete in my opinion to do what Dan is doing and become scratch or better. I predict at the end of the 10,000 hours he won't be much better than he is now. He still won't be able to break 80 in a tourney. I guess we will have to wait and find out.

[Big C]

You have to be an amazingly gifted athlete in my opinion to do what Dan is doing and become scratch or better. I predict at the end of the 10,000 hours he won't be much better than he is now. He still won't be able to break 80 in a tourney. I guess we will have to wait and find out.

Nah, in fact I would take the opposite position. You have to be amazingly un-athletic/un-coordinated to do what Dan is doing and NOT become scratch or better.

And that's not to say that Dan is any of the above - he may still become a legitimate scratch golfer. He's got 4thousand some odd hours left to do so. But I think even his ardent supporters must be now coming to the realization that he doesn't have the talent to ever get a sniff of the PGA tour.

[Jeremie Boop]

Nah, in fact I would take the opposite position. You have to be amazingly un-athletic/un-coordinated to do what Dan is doing and NOT become scratch or better.

And that's not to say that Dan is any of the above - he may still become a legitimate scratch golfer. He's got 4thousand some odd hours left to do so. But I think even his ardent supporters must be now coming to the realization that he doesn't have the talent to ever get a sniff of the PGA tour.

I don't know about that, I don't necessarily think that everyone has the ability to become a scratch or better player even if they dedicated their entire lives to that pursuit. It doesn't necessarily have to do with athletic ability or coordination either. To golf at that level requires a consistency that not even all pro athletes can achieve.

[trackster]

It pains me but I am going to have to eat my words from earlier in this thread.  I was a huge fan of "The Dan Plan" and I strongly believed that he was going to get at least a scratch handicap out of this ordeal, but now I am highly doubting this.  He is definitely vanity capping (by at least 7-10 strokes).

I will say that at the start of the plan, his methods were much better.  He had daily video logs, club fittings, and a credible coach.  You could actually see the progress and his handicap seemed to fit with his video swings and golf scores.  However, soon into the program he stopped with the video logs (I'm not sure if he lost the financial capability to do this or he lost interest) and since then I feel like the plan has taken a turn for the worst.  He keeps a periodic blog but it is the words of a defeated man, always trying to see the "bright side" and trying to justify failure.

I strongly believe that no matter how his golf game is at the end, his handicap will read 0.0.  He won't be playing to a 0.0 but I feel like Dan has become a bit of a compulsive liar and the vanity capping is his way of justifying this journey to himself as well as keeping the uninformed interested.

It's a shame that the plan is in this shape over half way through.  Most people who followed him from the beginning could see that he was making incredible strides.  His swing was not that bad.  There is still a long ways to go, but I can't really believe anything he posts anymore due to the blatant vanity capping.

[flopster]

Dan will get better, problem right now is we don't even know where he's at ability wise, he's posting casual rounds that put him at 2.6 but when he plays in an event that will measure himself against other golfers in the same index range he performs very poorly, He put himself in this embarrassing predicament by not playing tournament golf nearly enough for someone who aspires to play tournament golf on the biggest stage, this is a big mistake he has made.

[nevets88]

At the beginning I was piqued and while I was dubious, I gave Dan the benefit of a doubt and thought, ok, the twist on this is that he's kind of melding this deliberate practice 10K hypothesis together with the old some guy dropping out of work and doing golf full time schtick and it's not some plain old just let people follow me vicariously bit so I was positive on the plan. PGA tour, no, but scratch, maybe. But he really didn't post much in terms of the deliberate practice angle on his website. I don't see even one high frame rate video of his swing. Nothing that I haven't seen before on long, short game, putting with regards to learning. He added nothing new to how we learn. All I see is a stopwatch counting down the hours.

Let's say he gets to legitimate scratch or better. We really didn't learn much about how he got there. In an age where it's so easy to record and post data, he took little advantage of this with respect to the learning angle. He has yet to write anything reconciling his recent putting performance and the two months he dedicated to just putting. I see a person who working folks desk and cubicle bound are living vicariously through, who don't care or aren't aware of improving the way we learn, it's just a superficial distraction - can he do it?

[garybbq]

Hey guys, sorry if this is a stupid question but when I search for Dan McLaughlin on GHIN I get 3 results, 2.6,10.4,2.6 and it looks like each has rounds played in May of 2014.

Why is there 3 index's?

Thanks,

[Big C]

Dan will get better, problem right now is we don't even know where he's at ability wise, he's posting casual rounds that put him at 2.6 but when he plays in an event that will measure himself against other golfers in the same index range he performs very poorly, He put himself in this embarrassing predicament by not playing tournament golf nearly enough for someone who aspires to play tournament golf on the biggest stage, this is a big mistake he has made.

I agree with your comment about not playing enough tournament golf. The ability to play your best under pressure filled conditions is the "secret sauce" that separates a PGA pro from the thousands of others who have beautiful swings, but can never break through.

I will take it one step further and say that from this point on, any casual round Dan plays should be deemed a "practice" round. Only tournament rounds should contribute towards his handicap. Sure, his index would likely shoot up by 7-8 strokes immediately, but at least the progress would be real. Right now, claiming a 2.6 makes him basically a laughingstock, which is the worst position somebody in his situation (I imagine he is still looking for support to keep the project going) can be in.