Is it possible for Mr Average to become a scratch golfer in just 12 months?

[ScratchInAYear]

Hello all,

Question for you.

Is it possible for Mr Average to become a scratch golfer in just 12 months?

That's the challenge I'm facing after I took on a challenge from my brother and started officially on May 11th.

I currently play off around 20-25, putting him in the distinctly average category. But I'm a trier, have self-belief, and dedication to do it.

I'm currently playing at a particularly difficult course in Kent called Westerham (well I think it's difficult).

Anyway, thought I'd pop along here and get your thoughts. What do you guys think, is it achievable?

Cheers Folks

Jimmy

[David in FL]

No, it's not. A couple of interesting threads for you. [CONTENTEMBED=/t/45853/the-dan-plan-10-000-hours-to-become-a-pro-golfer layout=block][/CONTENTEMBED] [CONTENTEMBED=/t/71817/the-kyleanthony-golf-opera-thread layout=block][/CONTENTEMBED] Regardless, enjoy your time on the course, and welcome to the site though! :beer:

[joekelly]

Well, one size does not fit all but have you won the lottery lately?  Take a meter stick, with 1000 millimeters marked along the edge, and draw a line. Make a square with the stick;  square meter x meter or 1000 mm x 1000 mm. That now is 1,000,000 (1 million) tiny mm boxes. I will choose one box, secretly. Now you guess which box i have chosen.

Somewhere in the past, the present or the future a man like you may shoot par in one year.  The chances of you doing it are close to zero. Golf is not all about par.  Any more than the man who wishes to play the piano can only believe playing Liszt is the only measure of piano music.

[jsp9999]

Golf is one sport that looks so easy before you get into but once you get in, it is one of the hardest ones.

First, I'm not sure your personal circumstances but most adults have other obligations than gunning for scratch in golf. Second, even if you can breathe, eat, and live with golf, it is probably darn near impossible in short amount time unless you were trained early days in your life.  I feel that there are so many subtleties in golf that simply can't be crammed.  Try out and in 5-6 month, if you can get to hc 5-7, I think you may have legit chance to get there?  If not, take it slow and enjoy.

[billchao]

@ScratchInAYear , I wish you the best of luck. You are faced with a truly uphill battle. I'd just like to point out that, as a 20-25 handicap, you are not an average golfer. The average golf handicap is somewhere around 15 or 16 IIRC. You have a way to go just to be average.

[MS256]

[flopster]

If you already are vey athletically coordinated then single digits could be attainable but you will still have to work at it, if your not then I would just ditch the whole plan now and just take your improvements at a comfortable pace. You say difficult course, well if the slope rating isn't at least 130 from the tees you play then it's not that difficult,

[Strandly]

Hello all,

Question for you.

Is it possible for Mr Average to become a scratch golfer in just 12 months?

That's the challenge I'm facing after I took on a challenge from my brother and started officially on May 11th.

I currently play off around 20-25, putting him in the distinctly average category. But I'm a trier, have self-belief, and dedication to do it.

I'm currently playing at a particularly difficult course in Kent called Westerham (well I think it's difficult).

Anyway, thought I'd pop along here and get your thoughts. What do you guys think, is it achievable?

Cheers Folks

Jimmy

Single digit?  Maybe.  Scratch?  No.

[Gary L]

Pay off the bet and come up with one you can win.

[JoePete]

Is it possible for Mr Average to become a scratch golfer in just 12 months?

That's the challenge I'm facing after I took on a challenge from my brother and started officially on May 11th.

Back in the late 90s or so, a man named Michael Oliff wrote a book "From Hacker to Hero in 12 months" The short of it is Oliff, a rather wealthy management consultant, took a year off of life to work on his golf game. You might find some insights about his strategy. Most people, should be able to get to a 10 or lower at some point in their life - it's just a matter of some instruction and a lot of practice. Of course you are also dealing with a mathematical formula. You will want to frontload your practice time and intend to play a lot of rounds later. A more plausible challenge is to focus on a round of par or better in a year. In any case instruction may become a lot more important to get from that 10 down to a 5, say.  Most people, just through practice, will find the consistency to par every other hole (about), but if you have flaws in your swing, you're not going to get much better until you fix those things. Getting from a 5 down down to a scratch - that can be an epic journey on its own. You need to be playing a fair amount and plugging almost every hole in your game. Obviously, short game is a huge factor. You need to be getting up and down almost every time. That is practice, feel, and course management. Course management alone, for some golfers is an insurmountable hurdle; recognizing when to play to the middle of green can require a lifetime of being beat up by sucker pins. Good luck, just remember have fun with it. Don't sacrifice your enjoyment of the game (or say your job or marriage!) over a bet.

[Jeremie Boop]

@ScratchInAYear, I wish you the best of luck. You are faced with a truly uphill battle.

I'd just like to point out that, as a 20-25 handicap, you are not an average golfer. The average golf handicap is somewhere around 15 or 16 IIRC. You have a way to go just to be average.

I still say that isn't accurate. It may be accurate for people who actually keep a handicap, but people who keep handicaps aren't exactly the average golfer. The average golfer on the course shoots mid 90's to low 100's from what I've seen.

[Dinoma]

Firstly, Good luck ;)

I used to be a member at Westerham and it's not a bad course to have picked, while as a high handicapper it looks terrifying with trees everywhere, when you look at it objectively at a slightly lower handicap it is very short, so easy to navigate without using the longer clubs. So you will need to work on your irons being very accurate. I only used to take the driver on the par 5's and the 18th from the winter tees when I was playing there, and at mid to high handicap have broken 80 from the Yellow tees.

As I am still on their mailing list I saw your first round and you tube videos and without sounding too downbeat on your chances I think you are going to be hard pushed. When I first took up golf 3 years ago I flew to 28 handicap and then hardly stopped for breath as I got to 18, then boom I hit the buffer than requires a mixture of more tuition, more practice and more course time, all which require that most precious of commodities..time. I went to 18 in a year and in two more years have only dropped to a 14.

You may hit a few pars and think you are nearly there but to get that level par consistency is another ballgame. The difference between 20 handicap and hitting a scratch round (I'd guess being at least a 10 handicap to make that likely) whilst 'only' 10 shots is worlds apart.

I would love to eat humble pie though and will watch your progress.

[newtogolf]

If  you're a 22 I'd say you have no chance of becoming a scratch golfer in 12 months.  If you get down to single digits you should be thrilled with your accomplishment.

[Maddog10]

I agree with others that there is basically no chance of you being able to do it. Even if you live in an area that allows you to play year-round, that is just too much progress and too little time. You will progress very quickly at first and it will seem attainable, but the journey of getting from a 5 handicap to a scratch golfer is typically a multi-year process. To go from a 22 to a 0 is just too ambitious. I would say you could get down to an 8-10 and should be thrilled with that if you do, but even then you are a looooong way from being scratch. A 22 to scratch in 3 years would have been a better bet. That would still be quite ambitious and would be difficult to do, but if you could dedicate as much time as you say then it's at least possible.

[Yukari]

I've been trying to get down to 5 (from 10 about two years ago).

Unfortunately, I can't practice as much as I like.  Maybe once a month on the range.  That is not going to cut it.  One needs to practice at least 2-3 times a week to get to 5 or lower, IMHO.

Last year, I practiced 2-3 times a week on the range and got it down to 7.2.

I've gotten it down to 6.7.  But man, it is hard to save a stroke once I got down to a single digit.

That reminds me, I need to update my HC on my profile.

[BuckeyeNut]

Lloyd Christmas has a better chance of getting laid than you getting to scratch in 1 year...............................but it's still possible! LOL

I've read that Greg Norman got to scratch in 1 year....so I guess it's possible.  Realistic?...not by a long shot. If you play every day, I challenge you to get in the single digits.......  I couldn't do it that quick...  I challenge you to do it!!  Bring it.............

[flopster]

Hello all,

Question for you.

Is it possible for Mr Average to become a scratch golfer in just 12 months?

That's the challenge I'm facing after I took on a challenge from my brother and started officially on May 11th.

I currently play off around 20-25, putting him in the distinctly average category. But I'm a trier, have self-belief, and dedication to do it.

I'm currently playing at a particularly difficult course in Kent called Westerham (well I think it's difficult).

Anyway, thought I'd pop along here and get your thoughts. What do you guys think, is it achievable?

Cheers Folks

Jimmy

That course is only 6270 from the tips, the longest par 5 is only 502 and one of them is 455, sure part of it is tree lined but if your not forced to at least hit 3 wood from the tees most of the time I can't see a rating much higher than 70 and a slope of 125 at the highest, most courses are not even considered challenging unless the slope is at least 130.

[joekelly]

Hmm.  I believe Greg Norman took 2 years from H'cap 36 to zero.  He was a gifted athlete, had lots of support, time, facilities, encouragement and an strong teen aged body.  He did start golf  late in life, at age 16 , and most TV pros begin golf under age 10.