Will I ever be a great golfer?

[Lihu]

I never asked people to lie to me. I believe everything I'm saying is being mis-constrewed. Everyone keeps acting like I want them to tell me everything is going to be fine and I'll be rich and famous. Where did you get that notion from?

Usually, the kids who go to schools that allow you to specialize in some sport or activity showed large amounts talent in it almost immediately. I'm curious why you chose golf as a potential sport you could excel in? As for vlogs, that's a nice idea, but it should be something that benefits you.

[iacas]

A book written by Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriot (Ex-coaches of Annika), called "Every Shot Must Have A Purpose", includes foreword by Annika herself. It is there that she describes in her own words that tremendous commitment. Look the book up, it's actually really great, it explains the idea of VISION54 and GOLF54. I'm sure you've heard of the names if your knowledgable in coaching, they are quite well known.

Then she probably could have used her time better.

And of my entire response, that little bit is the thing to which you chose to respond? And only that little bit?

[dkolo]

I never asked people to lie to me. I believe everything I'm saying is being mis-constrewed. Everyone keeps acting like I want them to tell me everything is going to be fine and I'll be rich and famous. Where did you get that notion from?

Well, in fairness, you've already said you screwed up 2 months and 2 years, so it's reasonable for people to question other statements you've made that sound outlandish. But look, let's try to steer this back to being productive. What are you looking to get out of this forum / thread? You're rejecting caution from experience that's being recommended and you're almosy stubbornly arguing against solid instructional advice from people who literally do this for a living at the highest levels. So if you know better, God speed. Go for it and at least have some tangible progress to show before you ask us to blindly accept your highly optimistic goals.

[Mr. Desmond]

Tough question ... Great golfer relative to ... ?

PGA Tour - a lofty goal -- believe in yourself.

Too late? No. Some have made it to the PGA Tour starting later than you.

Raising two golfers, I have seen that you need

Desire

Good instruction/coaching

Talent - hard work can trump talent but you need a level of talent

Physically Fit

A certain mentality on the course -- confidence, no fear, belief, outstanding focus, intelligence, ability to know when to stop thinking and let your athleticism take over the shot (my older son had a gambler's mentality and unbelievable confidence - he also allowed his athleticism to take over -- but he lacked focus and desire)

Play Golf - as much as possible

Practice intelligently

Read about Strategy

(you can find the above two at TST)

Know your yardages

Versatile short game

Use technology to help you (Video, lessons, Fitness, Trackman/sim, Aimpoint, et al)

among other things...

[rkim291968]

Tough question ... Great golfer relative to ... ?

PGA Tour - a lofty goal -- believe in yourself.

Too late? No. Some have made it to the PGA Tour starting later than you.

Raising two golfers, I have seen that you need

Desire

Good instruction/coaching

Talent - hard work can trump talent but you need a level of talent

Physically Fit

A certain mentality on the course -- confidence, no fear, belief, outstanding focus, intelligence, ability to know when to stop thinking and let your athleticism take over the shot (my older son had a gambler's mentality and unbelievable confidence - he also allowed his athleticism to take over -- but he lacked focus and desire)

Play Golf - as much as possible

Practice intelligently

Read about Strategy

(you can find the above two at TST)

Know your yardages

Versatile short game

Use technology to help you (Video, lessons, Fitness, Trackman/sim, Aimpoint, et al)

among other things...

Regards to your bold statement above ... those folks have extra ordinary motivation, work ethic, talent, backing from family/relatives, ..., and very likely didn't post in golf forum to get their career started .   And even then, they make up very handful of PGA tour pros in the tour history.   I know of KJ Choi who started his golf career at age 13.  But he went from one sport (weight lifting), found out he can't succeed there, and made a desperate try at golf.  I.e, he was already disciplined at training when he made a jump to golf.  I seriously doubt if he saw much of school at age 13 and on.   He was very likely a full time golf trainee with work ethic and motivation to match.

Have you been tracking the OP's posts closely?   He is in a "child" fantasy land or having fun with us.

[Lihu]

Regards to your bold statement above ... those folks have extra ordinary motivation, work ethic, talent, backing from family/relatives, ..., and very likely didn't post in golf forum to get their career started .   And even then, they make up very handful of PGA tour pros in the tour history.   I know of KJ Choi who started his golf career at age 13.  But he went from one sport (weight lifting), found out he can't succeed there, and made a desperate try at golf.  I.e, he was already disciplined at training when he made a jump to golf.  I seriously doubt if he saw much of school at age 13 and on.   He was very likely a full time golf trainee with work ethic and motivation to match.

Have you been tracking the OP's posts closely?   He is in a "child" fantasy land or having fun with us.

I didn't know this about K J Choi, thanks for sharing.

As far as the OP is concerned, at least on this site only he knows what is his potential. . .

[rkim291968]

As far as the OP is concerned, at least on this site only he knows what is his potential. . .

The OP already believes he has a potential to succeed in PGA tour but, IMO based on his posts, his story does not back that up.   I wish him the best and made a few suggestions in previous posts but highly doubt if he is going to give them a try.

[Lihu]

The OP already believes he has a potential to succeed in PGA tour but, IMO based on his posts, his story does not back that up.   I wish him the best and made a few suggestions in previous posts and highly doubt if he is going to give them a try.

Agreed, and just think of all the competition he has in his age group. They even had to create a mid-AM category just so the 25+ year old men could win at least some of the time.

[newtogolf]

Let's not forget, he's a kid.  Kids make outrageous statements all the time without any real insight as to what it actually takes to accomplish a stated goal.

When I was a kid I didn't want to play golf because it was something old out of shape people played when they couldn't play other sports.  I now have a great appreciation for the athleticism and commitment required to be a decent golfer, no less a scratch golfer or pro.

At this point it's been all talk and speculation.  I wish him the best, but debating the potential of him becoming a scratch golfer is a waste of time until he drops his handicap into single digits which is a long way off if he ever gets there.

[Mr. Desmond]

Regards to your bold statement above ... those folks have extra ordinary motivation, work ethic, talent, backing from family/relatives, ..., and very likely didn't post in golf forum to get their career started .   And even then, they make up very handful of PGA tour pros in the tour history.   I know of KJ Choi who started his golf career at age 13.  But he went from one sport (weight lifting), found out he can't succeed there, and made a desperate try at golf.  I.e, he was already disciplined at training when he made a jump to golf.  I seriously doubt if he saw much of school at age 13 and on.   He was very likely a full time golf trainee with work ethic and motivation to match.

Have you been tracking the OP's posts closely?   He is in a "child" fantasy land or having fun with us.

No - as you may have assumed, I spend a lot less time on forums for the past year, and now primarily during March-October.

I did not go through the 74 (more or less) posts before me, but answered this initial post assuming sincerity and honesty.

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

Regards to your bold statement above ... those folks have extra ordinary motivation, work ethic, talent, backing from family/relatives, ..., and very likely didn't post in golf forum to get their career started .   And even then, they make up very handful of PGA tour pros in the tour history.   I know of KJ Choi who started his golf career at age 13.  But he went from one sport (weight lifting), found out he can't succeed there, and made a desperate try at golf.  I.e, he was already disciplined at training when he made a jump to golf.  I seriously doubt if he saw much of school at age 13 and on.   He was very likely a full time golf trainee with work ethic and motivation to match.

Have you been tracking the OP's posts closely?   He is in a "child" fantasy land or having fun with us.

No - as you may have assumed, I spend a lot less time on forums for the past year, and now primarily during March-October.

I did not go through the 74 (more or less) posts before me, but answered this initial post assuming sincerity and honesty.

The OP has made some inconsistent statements:  He scores +40 in one thread, corrected in another thread as being 100 golfer.   He can get to scratch in 2 months with improvement in short game and later changed to say that he meant 2 years.   He want advice but can't seem to take the honest (but realistic, harsh) ones.   Things just don't add up to me.

[Shorty]

Let's not forget, he's a kid.  Kids make outrageous statements all the time without any real insight as to what it actually takes to accomplish a stated goal.

To a point, yes. But these children have seen golf played on TV and they have seen their own scorecards.

This is really like the 4 year old wanting to be  a fireman or a 12 year old girl wanting to be a marine biologist.

This boy is reasonably articulate, so I'm not giving him a pass. He is old enough and smart enough to know better.

It does seem that he thought better of the 2 months bit and changed it to 2 years. Not that it makes a scrap of difference.

What is more irritating is the adults who get on board a thread and carry on about grumpy old underachievers taking out their frustration at being a failure in life out on bright eyed, enthusiastic and impressionable kiddies.

[Lihu]

. What is more irritating is the adults who get on board a thread and carry on about grumpy old underachievers taking out their frustration at being a failure in life out on bright eyed, enthusiastic and impressionable kiddies.

This is also wrong, how do they know someone didn't quit golf to do and become successful at something else? The logic is not clear. . .

[a456bt]

It seems as if everyone has forgotten the point of this thread and jumped on the same train everyone else has, so I suggest we drop the topic. I realize it might be easy to misinterpret my "arguing" as being displeased with the answers I am receiving, but this is far from the case. It's in my nature to defend and do what I can to have myself be right. Say what you want about that trait, but that is who I am, I am not perfect. Truth be told I don't necessarily sit down with popcorn in one hand to read the comments of people telling me about how I probably won't live up to my dreams, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate them. There are many tips I have taken from this thread that I have already put into practice. I am a perfectionist, and I try to make things as perfect as possible in my mind, the fall back being it is generally in the short term. This means that I tried to make many quick fixes in this thread that were not ultimately good decisions. I did actually mean 2 months, because I do believe it, but there's some part of me that wanted to impress you people for whatever reason. Why might I be trying to impress or please random strangers on the internet? No one will probably ever know, it's most likely one of my more dislikable qualities, but none of this changes my appreciation for the comments I have received. Was I discontent with shorty's previous comments, or possibly others? Yes, I think I made that quite clear, but I also pointed out that it was not his message that put me off, it was the method he chose to deliver it. Despite this, I am completely over it, I'm only trying to make a point, which is that I have not disliked any comment made here. I am a perfectionist, people pleasing, strongly opinionated, stubborn kid, and I believe that makes it very easy to misconstrue anything I say in a written format. As said at the beginning of this paragraph, I believe it would be in everybody's best interest to leave this thread alone, as it has turned into conversation that isn't really staying true to the topic, and doesn't necessarily benefit me, which was the point of this thread in the first place. Thank you everyone, I hope what I just said doesn't just make things worse in terms of peoples view on the situation, I wish you the best.

[Lihu]

It seems as if everyone has forgotten the point of this thread and jumped on the same train everyone else has, so I suggest we drop the topic. I realize it might be easy to misinterpret my "arguing" as being displeased with the answers I am receiving, but this is far from the case. It's in my nature to defend and do what I can to have myself be right. Say what you want about that trait, but that is who I am, I am not perfect. Truth be told I don't necessarily sit down with popcorn in one hand to read the comments of people telling me about how I probably won't live up to my dreams, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate them. There are many tips I have taken from this thread that I have already put into practice. I am a perfectionist, and I try to make things as perfect as possible in my mind, the fall back being it is generally in the short term. This means that I tried to make many quick fixes in this thread that were not ultimately good decisions. I did actually mean 2 months, because I do believe it, but there's some part of me that wanted to impress you people for whatever reason. Why might I be trying to impress or please random strangers on the internet? No one will probably ever know, it's most likely one of my more dislikable qualities, but none of this changes my appreciation for the comments I have received. Was I discontent with shorty's previous comments, or possibly others? Yes, I think I made that quite clear, but I also pointed out that it was not his message that put me off, it was the method he chose to deliver it. Despite this, I am completely over it, I'm only trying to make a point, which is that I have not disliked any comment made here. I am a perfectionist, people pleasing, strongly opinionated, stubborn kid, and I believe that makes it very easy to misconstrue anything I say in a written format. As said at the beginning of this paragraph, I believe it would be in everybody's best interest to leave this thread alone, as it has turned into conversation that isn't really staying true to the topic, and doesn't necessarily benefit me, which was the point of this thread in the first place. Thank you everyone, I hope what I just said doesn't just make things worse in terms of peoples view on the situation, I wish you the best.

Just do your best to learn golf, and let the cards fall where they may. . .best wishes on your endeavor. . .:-)

[Shorty]

No point anyone returning, really is there?

This makes Dan look like he has set the bar too low.

All the best to you, young man, but there are certain character traits that you need to get rid of, not embrace or accept. It is not good enough to just say "this is who I am", because you are capable of changing. You have to want to change, and there is nothing positive about claiming to be a perfectionist but not having the tools to approach perfection where it counts for you. You are destined to a lifetime of disappointment unless you have a long, hard look at yourself.

I am sure you are a really lovely young bloke, but the bit I have quoted is quite possibly the most outrageous and insane claim I have EVER seen. It would make Tiger Woods look like a hacker and Jack Nicklaus look like a joke.

Have some respect for the game and seriously, get some perspective. Go and watch some live PGA Tour pros. See what they do. Learn from them.

My final words on the subject - and perhaps you could actually try a little harder to interpret them, because you have misrepresented what I have said to you and a dozen other ambitious but misguided young players over the years:

Get to a handicap of 10 in three years and you will be doing exceptionally well. You may be able to do it.

[Ernest Jones]

Can we just start moving all these threads into one big meta-thread of all the, "I just started to play golf and will be Pro by next summer" threads?

[GolfMaineiac26]

@ a456bt There is nothing wrong with aspiring to be a PGA Tour pro, and at your age your plenty young to do so, those that say you have to win a certain number of Tournaments by a certian age are most likely trying to say that that is the norm rather then a requirement. Jim Rutledge was 47 when he finally got his PGA Tour card even though he turned professional in 1978 at 19 years old and was the second oldest rookie ever to get his PGA tour card, that being said you can still play at the professional level and go on other tours such as the Asian Tour, Web.com Tour and many state and regional tours as well, if you want too.

Your really at the age in your life where you have that drive to pursue your passions and have unlimited options, I'm 26 and it is amazing even at my young age how many things I missed out on but yet there are so many things I can still do, you just gotta set your mind to it and give it your best effort, and focus less on whether or not you can, you have to tell yourself you can, you have to believe you can. I was unfortunate that I grew up with people telling me what I could and couldn't do, I eventualy proved them wrong. I hope you have people who support your ambitions and want to see you succeed, though as long as you believe in yourself you'll do great no matter what others may say.

I don't know you, but I want to see you succeed and to live your dream, and hope you have many memories along the way!