Mild rant + a little confusion...please reply

[TN94z]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyderJ

So you are a 2.8 and never really did ANY drills? That's impressive, to say the least. I think for most mid-high handicappers that don't have quite as much natural talent, drills are extremely beneficial in order to improve. There are two ways to improve at anything you are trying to accomplish in this world. The first is just being blessed with a natural ability and recognizing it. For those who aren't naturally gifted, however, hard work can still get you just as far...

I didn't say that.  I got there without doing any drills at home.  Every bit of my practice was done at the range and on the course.  Golf got on my ex-wife's nerves so practicing at home just caused stupid issues.  I kept it out of the house.  My reply was in reference to:

Quote:

doing 100% of your practice on the range and course doesn't really work in the long run.

The part of your quote I put in bold, I don't necessarily agree with.  I don't believe that hard work will get you just as far as natural talent.  There are a ton of guys on the Nationwide tour or even lower....say the mini-tours that practice just as much and just as hard as say Tiger, but will never be as good.  Some guys just have that ability to get to a different level.....hard work or not.

And don't get me wrong.  I am not saying you are wrong because I believe at home drills or whatever can be very important.  But to say that practicing at the range and course ONLY will not work out in the long run just isn't a true statement, IMO

[RyderJ]

You make my point for me, actually. There is a reason that Tiger is Tiger, Phil is Phil, and so on and so forth. Obviously there is only a small percentage of players out there that actually have a shot at turning pro, but even if you KNOW you will never make the tour, wouldn't you still want to be the best golfer you could possibly be? I dare say that most players that go out and shoot between 80-90 are not only passionate about the game of golf, but on a consistent conquest to improve their game, and that, is what the game is all about. That's the beauty of golf.

I believe in utilizing drills because I KNOW I don't have the talent of top tour players, but I still love the game. I don't have money to spend countless hours at the range, nor the time. I do, however, have 15 minutes here or thirty minutes there, and utilize those moments wisely by working on a drill to increase spin, or working on the consistency of my putting stroke...I don't need a ball, sometimes I don't even need a club. All I need is the love for the game and desire to improve. In four months I went from being back to a complete hacker to consistently shooting in the low-mid 80's now (still a hacker, just a better one). I have no intentions of stopping either. I know what I can do with my swing, and am constantly trying to fine tune those different aspects.

Hit the range/course as much as you want to, because, in the end who am I to judge? I'm just saying that doing drills has worked thus far for me, and I'm just an idiot hacker.

[TN94z]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyderJ

You make my point for me, actually. There is a reason that Tiger is Tiger, Phil is Phil, and so on and so forth. Obviously there is only a small percentage of players out there that actually have a shot at turning pro, but even if you KNOW you will never make the tour, wouldn't you still want to be the best golfer you could possibly be? I dare say that most players that go out and shoot between 80-90 are not only passionate about the game of golf, but on a consistent conquest to improve their game, and that, is what the game is all about. That's the beauty of golf.

I believe in utilizing drills because I KNOW I don't have the talent of top tour players, but I still love the game. I don't have money to spend countless hours at the range, nor the time. I do, however, have 15 minutes here or thirty minutes there, and utilize those moments wisely by working on a drill to increase spin, or working on the consistency of my putting stroke...I don't need a ball, sometimes I don't even need a club. All I need is the love for the game and desire to improve. In four months I went from being back to a complete hacker to consistently shooting in the low-mid 80's now (still a hacker, just a better one). I have no intentions of stopping either. I know what I can do with my swing, and am constantly trying to fine tune those different aspects.

Hit the range/course as much as you want to, because, in the end who am I to judge? I'm just saying that doing drills has worked thus far for me, and I'm just an idiot hacker.

This is the ONLY point I disagree on and the ONLY point I am arguing

Quote:

doing 100% of your practice on the range and course doesn't really work in the long run.

I disproved this and can name a list of my friends that do as well.  So, no I didn't prove your point.  My point is that you can do 100% of practice on the range and on the course ONLY with NO practice on ANY AT HOME DRILLS and still be the best you can be.   The only real thing that your argument amounts to is just spending more time on your swing.  30 minutes here or there....etc....you can spend just as much time working on your swing at the course.  It just comes down to where you want to practice.  The whole Tiger example was to say that hard work will not NECESSARILY get you to the same level as natural talent....but that's not what I was debating initially. I am also NOT saying that practicing at home is not worth it. I understand that people don't have the time and money to get to the range a lot.  It is easier for them to swing a club at home when they have spare time.  I am only talking about that one comment.  That's my opinion and that's really all I have to say about it because my argument will be the same over and over.  Ultimately, we are on the same page.  I think you are just misunderstanding my point as I may be yours.

And although reading my posts may sound like I'm upset, I am not.  The uppercase words are not meant to be "yelling."  Don't take those the wrong way.

[RyderJ]

No worries, I didn't take it the wrong way, it's just a debate and overall my personal opinion on improving one's game. In the end everyone is entitled try and improve their game however they want, I was stating how I felt. I suppose I should have waited and cooled down a bit before posting this anyways, perhaps then it wouldn't have been a "rant". I was frustrated from reading old threads and seeing people say " I tried that, but it didn't work".  I feel the reason it didn't work is because the average golfer can't "feel" a proper swing or flaw in a swing the way a pro can, I know I couldn't if it weren't for doing countless hours of drills. Now, when I'm on the range or playing a round and have trouble, I can think back to a drill I have done to diagnose my problem, as opposed to trying to recall a tip or some advice someone had given me at some point in time. I have developed a "comfort zone", if you will, and know exactly what I can and can't do, I know exactly what my swing should feel like, and I can tell most of the time what I am doing wrong.  In the end, that's how I end up scoring as well as I do (again, I'm just an idiot hacker who shoots low-mid 80's). There is a difference in KNOWING how to correct a problem and actually DOING it...imo.

[WWBDD]

Quote:

Golf got on my ex-wife's nerves ...

Heh.

[TN94z]

Originally Posted by WWBDD

Heh.

Yep...EX!! I can practice all day long at the house with my current wife.  That's been years ago now though.

[RyderJ]

Lol...that's what I call a good wife