Why are you not playing scratch?

[SloverUT]

Originally Posted by dereckbc

If golf was easy and everyone could play scratch, they would call it bowling.

When I see you playing in the PBA I'll take this quote as the truth.  Until then...

[patrick]

I think ppl have alluded to this, but not spoken directly to it:

It gets proportionately more difficult and requires more skill to get consistently lower scores.

I was hitting in the 110’s, took 5 lessons and was quickly in the 90’s.

So I’m straighter and consistent.

But now distance?

And putting?  You watch some TV golf and watch those pro’s drain a 25 footer.

More than once a round.  Putting definitely requires some time and coaching.

So knowledge about the swing and game and your body first, then you get more refined.

And really, you know some ppl can’t be refined, lol.

I like the line about golf is 90% mental and the other 10% is in your head.

Some ppl get low, and then some of those issues definitely come in to play.

Fun times, but every once in a while I walk off the course and say “Waht in the hell am I doing here?"

[SloverUT]

I think there is something in the mindset of people who pick up golf and I can't figure it out.   20 year old men don't pick up a baseball bat for the first time and think they'll be playing in the MLB.  Nor do they pick up a basketball for the first time and think there is a legitimate chance they'll be in the NBA.  And there are a lot more professional players in the NBA and MLB than 150.

I know this post is asking about scratch and not the tour, but I've seen so many like it that allude to becoming that good.  I wonder what causes this thought process.. lol.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by SloverUT

I think there is something in the mindset of people who pick up golf and I can't figure it out.   20 year old men don't pick up a baseball bat for the first time and think they'll be playing in the MLB.  Nor do they pick up a basketball for the first time and think there is a legitimate chance they'll be in the NBA.  And there are a lot more professional players in the NBA and MLB than 150.

I know this post is asking about scratch and not the tour, but I've seen so many like it that allude to becoming that good.  I wonder what causes this thought process.. lol.

I was thinking the same thing, but didn`t post it...even if you take those other sports up as a kid, it is unlikely you will make it even to the minor leagues or the D league.  This thread is sorta akin to asking everyone who ever played little league why they didn`t make it to the minor leagues multiplied by the fact that a lot of people take up golf as an adult.

[gwlee7]

A lot of has to do with "how hard can it be to hit a ball with a stick?".   Well, it ends up being a lot harder than you realize.

[AmazingWhacker]

Originally Posted by gwlee7

A lot of has to do with "how hard can it be to hit a ball with a stick?".   Well, it ends up being a lot harder than you realize.

Ironically - a lot of us struggle because we are trying to hit the ball with the stick - which we actually do pretty well - but isn't the goal.

[Paradox]

Originally Posted by MEfree

I was thinking the same thing, but didn`t post it...even if you take those other sports up as a kid, it is unlikely you will make it even to the minor leagues or the D league.  This thread is sorta akin to asking everyone who ever played little league why they didn`t make it to the minor leagues multiplied by the fact that a lot of people take up golf as an adult.

The difference is that being a scratch golfer means you're still well away from being even a "minor league" golfer while getting into minor league baseball is not nearly as "elite".  The main reason is that there are many more easily accessible and organized leagues and ways to reach minor leagues of other sports where in golf...its still pretty indvidual.  There is no little league golf.

[David in FL]

The difference is that being a scratch golfer means you're still well away from being even a "minor league" golfer while getting into minor league baseball is not nearly as "elite".  The main reason is that there are many more easily accessible and organized leagues and ways to reach minor leagues of other sports where in golf...its still pretty indvidual.  There is no little league golf.

I beg to differ. There's a TON of little league (junior) golf. Not so much 20 years ago, but these days, if a kid wants to play, or rather, if mom or dad wants them to play, there are lots of opportunities out there....

[Paradox]

Originally Posted by David in FL

I beg to differ. There's a TON of little league (junior) golf. Not so much 20 years ago, but these days, if a kid wants to play, or rather, if mom or dad wants them to play, there are lots of opportunities out there....

well I was speaking in relativity to basketball, baseball, football exposure.  I know there is junior golf and what not but its a much smaller community that those of other little leagues.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by Paradox

The difference is that being a scratch golfer means you're still well away from being even a "minor league" golfer while getting into minor league baseball is not nearly as "elite".  The main reason is that there are many more easily accessible and organized leagues and ways to reach minor leagues of other sports where in golf...its still pretty indvidual.  There is no little league golf.

I think you missed my point (and are likely wrong in any case).  My point was that most sports participants do not make it to the equivalent of a scratch golfer whether the sport is baseball, basketball, football, tennis, etc.  This is especially true for average athletes that take up these sports as adults.

[Williamevanl]

Easy, you don't keep getting better and at some point you might even get worse. I stopped getting better and even got worse at around a 5 handicap even though I was practicing as much as ever.

See http://www.thedanplan.com

I love referencing this site, guy practices 1000's of hours, 6 hours a day 6 days a week for years and it looks like his last 18 hole score was an 89.

[jshots]

Originally Posted by SloverUT

I think there is something in the mindset of people who pick up golf and I can't figure it out.   20 year old men don't pick up a baseball bat for the first time and think they'll be playing in the MLB.  Nor do they pick up a basketball for the first time and think there is a legitimate chance they'll be in the NBA.  And there are a lot more professional players in the NBA and MLB than 150.

I know this post is asking about scratch and not the tour, but I've seen so many like it that allude to becoming that good.  I wonder what causes this thought process.. lol.

Originally Posted by MEfree

I was thinking the same thing, but didn`t post it...even if you take those other sports up as a kid, it is unlikely you will make it even to the minor leagues or the D league.  This thread is sorta akin to asking everyone who ever played little league why they didn`t make it to the minor leagues multiplied by the fact that a lot of people take up golf as an adult.

Yeah but this thread isn't really about whether or not you will ever get scratch, it is about why you are not, which doesn't mean you think that you will get there. A few people have claimed to think they will get there (myself included) but not everyone.

Also a pro player and a scratch player are complete different, you can't compare them. Plenty of people who pick up sports as an adult get very very good at them. Maybe not quite what it takes to be a scratch golfer, but very good none the less.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by jshots

Yeah but this thread isn't really about whether or not you will ever get scratch, it is about why you are not, which doesn't mean you think that you will get there. A few people have claimed to think they will get there (myself included) but not everyone.

True, but the OP and some other posters seemed to point to lack of time and $ as the main reasons why more people are not scratch golfers.  My point was that while a lot of quality practice going forward could help a lot of people improve their golf, many who did not take up the game as a kid and/or were not very athletic as kids can practice 50+ hours per week the rest of their lives and will still never become a scratch golfer.

Those who are ~sub 5 capers might be able to point to one aspect of their game or a lack of time to practice as a reason they are not scratch.  For the rest of us, it likely comes down to a lack of overall golfing talent- something that is not easily remedied IMO.

[SloverUT]

Originally Posted by MEfree

True, but the OP and some other posters seemed to point to lack of time and $ as the main reasons why more people are not scratch golfers.  My point was that while a lot of quality practice going forward could help a lot of people improve their golf, many who did not take up the game as a kid and/or were not very athletic as kids can practice 50+ hours per week the rest of their lives and will still never become a scratch golfer.

Those who are ~sub 5 capers might be able to point to one aspect of their game or a lack of time to practice as a reason they are not scratch.  For the rest of us, it likely comes down to a lack of overall golfing talent- something that is not easily remedied IMO.

Most may not but you can overcome not having natural talent.  Pete Rose admitted he didn't have a lot of true baseball talent but became so good because he worked so hard,

[mdl]

Originally Posted by Yukari

Come back in a year and you would have answered your own question.

Haha.  Exactly.  I became a high-80s to mid-90s player basically instantly, then took a year, maybe 1.5 to get do do more straight 80s, and have been stuck hitting low 80s on a solid day and feeling like I played bad if I card an 87-89 (unless the course is new for me and very hard) for what feels like forever...  Golf is hard, and without unlimited time and money, it's very very hard.

[phillyk]

Adding to it being easier to go from a 39-9 than 9-0, the 39-9 is the building of a consistent swing that you can rely on with a good enough short game, the 9-0 is the mental toughness knowing that you can do that every time and build a strong short game.  Also, some of the talent required for golf is certainly hand-eye coordination.  I have friends that play others sports like baseball and hockey, and although some of the mechanics of the swing may be similar, the ability to hit a small white ball is hard.  But, I've seen them step up to the ball for the first time and hit it.  Might not have been straight or very far, but just the ability to have your mind, arms, and hands all in synch is necessary to build a great swing.

For me, I only recently got this 0.2 handicap.  My lowest handicap I've been at thus far in my golfing career.  The key for me this season has been making birdies and reducing double bogeys.  I averaged 4-5 birdies a round and an eagle every 3 rounds.  The beginning of the season, I made 1-3 double bogeys a round and it killed me, because its hard to make up that many strokes.  But, a bogey is almost nothing if I KNOW I can make birdies to make it up.  The reason for making those birdies all came from putting those approach shots closer to the pin giving better opportunities.  It was certainly not an easy road to reach this point, and I still have work to do to get to 0.0 and better.

[Pablo68]

Scratch?!!! You're talking scratch?!! (Jim Mora Sr. voice........)

I'm 44, married with full time job and having done too much manual labor for the first 20 years of my life.

Combined with poor practice habits (which I'm working on), being stubborn/cheap not to just suck it up to buy lessons (which I will do this winter) as well as taking 5 years off prior to this spring it's a wonder I'm a single digit handicap let alone think I can shoot par or below regularly.

[imtomtomim]

Right now,  I think the only reason I'm not scratch is because I don't get to play enough.  This past year, I only got to play a few streaks, but despite the lack of practice, the evolution of my mental game, approach to the course, and understanding of my tendencies got me scoring most of my rounds better than +3, going under par a handful of times.  The game has really seemed easier since I've gotten comfortable with the process of golf (still kind of new, 4th season) and understanding what leads to good scores.

When I first picked up the game, I practiced 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. While it helped me build a dependable swing, I found I hit a wall on scoring quite quickly.  To shoot lower numbers, I had to be more efficient in getting the ball in the hole.  A big part of it was learning how to read the movement on the greens, not only for putting, but on approach and recovery.  Additionally, it was learning the best angles to set up from.  I'm very technical in my thought process, especially when it comes to sports.  While the technique in my movements is quite important, getting away from that focus and re-applying that technicality towards my approach to the course has revamped my game for the better.  If I can get out there more next season and sharpen my physical control a bit, I think I can do it.  I'll also be done with grad school by then and I know exactly where I'm going to spend some of that time.  Experience pays off, and I'm ready to reap the benefits of that soon!