We're All Pretty Amazing if you Think About It

[iacas]

Occasionally I like to consider this as a little thought experiment.

Consider this scenario. You find a 16-year-old kid from some place that has no real organized sports at all and who most definitely has never seen of or heard of golf or anything like it (I tend to picture some kid in Ethiopia or something, but for all I know, they have plenty of golf there).

And you describe golf to him. You say things like:

• You hit this little ball with some fairly long sticks that are bent and angled.
• You have to avoid trees, sand, water, etc.
• The hole is 450 yards away.
• And, oh yeah, the hole is 4.25" in diameter.

How many strokes do you think he'd estimate it should take a reasonably skilled (an average golfer) person?

[Dave2512]

Honestly I don't know what someone would think. I do know that golf is difficult, even for those that have been at it a while. Like anything some people have "it" and some people don't. I've seen people pick it up and shoot sub 100 rounds the first time out and I play with people now that only break 100 in their minds after lot's of creative scorecard manipulation.

[bwdial]

Given the criteria, the biggest challenge would be making the Ethiopian understand why he would want to stay out of the water.

Horrible... I know.

[newtogolf]

I'd think he'd guess quite high given he has no comprehension of the technology.  Long sticks would cause him to reference branches from a tree so I'd think he'd guess between outright misses and mishits he'd be happy to average 20 yards per stroke.  The trees, sand and water wouldn't probably factor into his equation because he's not expecting to hit it long distances where he'd lose control over direction.  Putting would be a series of taps until he got the ball in, I guessed between 20 - 30

[uttexas]

If the hypothetical 16yo has not seen or heard of golf, I imagine someone that has grown up in an environment without television or newspapers (Tiger Woods, I believe, is the world's most known athlete) I imagine one of those remote tribes in the deep Amazon without contact with the outside world. His or her frame of reference would be hitting a round piece of rubber or a round nut with a tree branch. A really good stick striker could maybe hit the round object 30 yards. If 100% accurate, the hypothetical "golfer" would take fifteen strokes to go 450 yards on a smooth playing surface with no obstacles.. Double the fifteen to thirty to account for less accuracy (average golfer), then add ten for avoiding obstacles/miss hits/getting out of hazards (average golfer)

[sean_miller]

Hit the ball about 150 paces 3 times. Then hit one close to the hole, and if it doesn't go in, tap in the next one.

[xxsoultonesxx]

Well I think once you show him how it's done, it's merely a matter of replication.

I'm not trying to say the game is easy, but I bet if you could communicate with the kid, and maybe sat him down and watched a PGA Tour event on TV for a little bit to demonstrate the idea of golf, the basics, and what is possible the kid would take off.

Humans are impressive creatures. In this case, maybe a clean slate would be a great starting point to learn the game.

Oh, and I picked the 10-15 option...assuming you were nowhere near any way of showing or demonstrating him the game.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by xxsoultonesxx

Well I think once you show him how it's done, it's merely a matter of replication.

I'm not trying to say the game is easy, but I bet if you could communicate with the kid, and maybe sat him down and watched a PGA Tour event on TV for a little bit to demonstrate the idea of golf, the basics, and what is possible the kid would take off.

Humans are impressive creatures. In this case, maybe a clean slate would be a great starting point to learn the game.

Oh, and I picked the 10-15 option...assuming you were nowhere near any way of showing or demonstrating him the game.

Nobody is teaching him the game. They're asking him a survey question -the same one we're voting on.  When I was a kid I thought athletic adults could move mountains. I was naive.

[poser]

Originally Posted by bwdial

Given the criteria, the biggest challenge would be making the Ethiopian understand why he would want to stay out of the water.

Horrible... I know.

hahaha awesome...

[Mattplusness]

I don't speak Ethiopian so... click clack cluck