Journey to the Mackenzie Tour: One Amateur's Pipe Dream

[TN94z]

14 hours ago, NM Golf said:

Yes they can and no there’s not. Basically two sports give full scholarships, football and basketball. Phil Mickelson is the only person I’ve ever heard of receiving a full golf scholarship. You just can’t do it you need 10 guys you have 4 scholarships. Do the math. 

Most schools will give 1/2 or even 1/4 scholarships for the most part but they will also hand out full. Just because you have 10 on a team doesn't mean that you have to fill all 10 spots with a scholarship every year, My son knows 2 kids that got full scholarships in our area alone.

Edited April 26, 2019 by TN94z

[TheWoodBoss]

This is just a suggestion, at your age the first thing you need to do is become financially independent. If that means the online business, get it going today. At the same time find a coach and get started with your lessons so you can pursue both objectives in parallel. If the pro golf career doesn't pan out at least you will be great at playing golf and have money to keep moving forward in your life. If the online business doesn't provide the money for the lifestyle you would like to live get a job that you can tolerate until you can do better. Just don't have kids and stay focused.

Edited April 26, 2019 by TheWoodBoss

[Slim_Pivot]

3 hours ago, Diece said:

I can see where you're coming from.

I suck at planning.

How would you plan for such a thing?

In my mind, I need to start winning small events and work my way up + find a coach. Which I think I've found now. What else can you plan? Doesn't it kinda come down to my performance?

Good points.

I worked almost all last year on my grip.

I noticed when I weakened my grip, I started slicing it worse than before. I think the strong grip is a compensation for a poor downswing and coming over the top. 

And the straight arm, again I agree. My lead arm is bent at impact.

Dude, don’t work on this stuff yourself.

Its like this. Instead of setting out on this golf goal, imagine your dream was to launch a rocket into space through hard work. You learn as much as you can and can do the math. But you don’t know of a material that exists that you need. Someone who builds rockets would tell you day one. Instead you spend 3 months trying to work it out-but can’t because a secret material makes it all possible.

Good coaches are like that. You have no idea how good they are. They tell you some easy ass movement and it fixes 3 problems in 2 minutes, then they set you toward a priority piece. You’re 5 steps ahead of yesterday instantly.

You are behind because you won’t get a coach. You cannot get that time back, it’s gone. 

Just because you can see the problem, bent arm? Doesn’t mean you’ll fix it. If you’re anything like me, you’ll use logic, come to a sensible conclusion on how to fix it-but it’s wrong and will make you worse! 

We (regular golfers who can play a tad) know so little about biomechanics and the swing that we don’t even know what we don’t know.

Now a crappy coach will hurt you, find a good coach...TODAY!!!

[Vinsk]

Find a job. Any job really. It would probably be helpful if you could find one at a golf course/club. List your expenses. Realistic expenses as accurate as you can. You’re going to have to make sacrifices somewhere in order to have money for golf. A coach plus the expenses of golf in general. 

Be very clear and honest with your coach. Tell him/her your goal(s). Set goals realistically. Don’t set yourself up for failure I.e. ‘ I plan to make 10k by the end of May.’ Give yourself three weeks to find a job if you have a place to live right now. If not, find one tomorrow. 

Take a hard look at what you can sacrifice. Cable, cell phone (can you cut that cost down at least). Is your transportation reliable? Do you have things to sell?

As for the golf many here are much more experienced than I regarding that path. But maybe your coach could help lay that plan out for you. 

[Diece]

2 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Find a job. Any job really. It would probably be helpful if you could find one at a golf course/club. List your expenses. Realistic expenses as accurate as you can. You’re going to have to make sacrifices somewhere in order to have money for golf. A coach plus the expenses of golf in general. 

Be very clear and honest with your coach. Tell him/her your goal(s). Set goals realistically. Don’t set yourself up for failure I.e. ‘ I plan to make 10k by the end of May.’ Give yourself three weeks to find a job if you have a place to live right now. If not, find one tomorrow. 

Take a hard look at what you can sacrifice. Cable, cell phone (can you cut that cost down at least). Is your transportation reliable? Do you have things to sell?

As for the golf many here are much more experienced than I regarding that path. But maybe your coach could help lay that plan out for you. 

Of course I'm looking for a job, I have a lot of customer service, sales and serving experience. So I'm not too worried about work. I'm fine with sacrifices. No real vices (just the occasional smoke).

On 4/26/2019 at 4:50 PM, Slim_Pivot said:

Dude, don’t work on this stuff yourself.

Its like this. Instead of setting out on this golf goal, imagine your dream was to launch a rocket into space through hard work. You learn as much as you can and can do the math. But you don’t know of a material that exists that you need. Someone who builds rockets would tell you day one. Instead you spend 3 months trying to work it out-but can’t because a secret material makes it all possible.

Good coaches are like that. You have no idea how good they are. They tell you some easy ass movement and it fixes 3 problems in 2 minutes, then they set you toward a priority piece. You’re 5 steps ahead of yesterday instantly.

You are behind because you won’t get a coach. You cannot get that time back, it’s gone. 

Just because you can see the problem, bent arm? Doesn’t mean you’ll fix it. If you’re anything like me, you’ll use logic, come to a sensible conclusion on how to fix it-but it’s wrong and will make you worse! 

We (regular golfers who can play a tad) know so little about biomechanics and the swing that we don’t even know what we don’t know.

Now a crappy coach will hurt you, find a good coach...TODAY!!!

I agree...sort of. Part of wants to play devils advocate here.

Am I really behind because I won't get a coach? I'd think the reason I am behind is not playing at all in highschool + never playing for more than a year straight (except the past 2 year).

I'm hesitant to get a coach because I don't want to be one of those guys who relies on their coach and can't figure their games out for themselves. Although, I do think getting some lessons to work on my major flaws is a good idea but I don't want to be glued to a coach. 

And in regards to your example, wouldn't that be flawed?

There's 1000 ways to swing a club and play great golf but presumably, there's a few "right" ways to build a rocket right? And there's probably a best way but there is no best way in golf. It comes down to the player. Bryson Dechambeau approached the game from a more scientific angle and Bubba Watson doesn't. Snead learned by feel, Hogan more so by mechanics. Nicklaus saw Jack Grout about 3 times a year, if that and he was never there on the practice tee with Nicklaus before a tournament.

Don't get me wrong here, I still will get a coach but I'm definitely not going to be one of those guys glued to the coach.

On 4/26/2019 at 4:17 PM, TheWoodBoss said:

This is just a suggestion, at your age the first thing you need to do is become financially independent. If that means the online business, get it going today. At the same time find a coach and get started with your lessons so you can pursue both objectives in parallel. If the pro golf career doesn't pan out at least you will be great at playing golf and have money to keep moving forward in your life. If the online business doesn't provide the money for the lifestyle you would like to live get a job that you can tolerate until you can do better. Just don't have kids and stay focused.

I agree and to answer, I've looked at some businesses and I have some ideas. One is to create an e-book (ebook at first and then physical book) that's a sort of compendium of the best players, from as far back as I can go to current times. I'm not quite sure the format but I want to have list of the books that the players have wrote too. So for example, Ben Hogans entry would be;

- Five Lessons

- Power Golf

Coach/Teacher?

None.

I think it would be a cool resource for players that want to learn more about the game could use, especially if I include instructors too and the books they have written.

I'd like to give a portrait of the player as well but I'm not sure if I could just use stories from other books and put them in mine (with credit) and I'd like to use photos of course but I'm not sure how that would work. It's just an idea right now but it's something I'd be interested in and I think players would be as well. 

If I get it printed, it would make a cool coffee table book for golf.

___________________

Now let's talk about my game.

I played the first 18 holes of the season today,

Shot 82. It was very windy and cold but I still think I could have broke 80, though I'm pleased with how my game "feels". A lot of the lost strokes were just the result of bad feel around the greens which I know I'll get back once the season is in full swing (the weather is still kinda crappy here).

One of the major lessons learned today was that I need to stop trying to be like the "greats". I'm not Snead, Hogan, Nelson, Knudson, Woods, etc. I'm Jason f***ing Coull. That's me. I need to play like Jason and not everyone else.

I'm athletic and I have talent for the game, I need to stop reading books and go out and play. I feel all of the books I've read in many ways, has been a waste. It's like it's stifled my natural talent for the game. I remember a guy I was playing with last year who was also an amateur asked me how I hit a high fade around the trees with my 3 wood and I couldn't tell him. My response was "Idk man, I just feel it and do it. I don't really think about it." The less I "think" the better I play, my problem is ever since I was 13 I've been reading books about golf, when in my case all I needed to do was go play. 

So that's what I'm doing this year, I'm not reading anything. I'll have my coach and that's it. The rest I'm going to just go out and play. Stop making what in my case shouldn't be complicated, complicated. I really think overthinking is one of my biggest problems in the game. I overthink everything and what is an easy 5 foot putt for par, I somehow see a hidden break that I think is there when it's not and I miss the putt. I need to trust myself more.

I've also decided what I'm doing this year, which is moving slightly upnorth to Ottawa, where I will golf + work and save money to play down in the states during the winter. When I'm not golfing, I will be working on an online business which I haven't quite decided what I'm doing yet but I'm almost 100% sure I want it to do something with golf. 

While I am in Ottawa I will be playing out of this course: (most likely)

Camelot Golf & Country Club - Private Golf Club Ottawa - Camelot Golf and Country Club

---

 

I talked to the GM and it seems the course has everything I want.

1. Good facilities

2. Good price

3. Grass driving range

4. Only 2 leagues a week + 1 tournament a month, which means I will be able to play whenever (previous courses I've belonged to were very hard to book tee times for and they had leagues almost everynight.)

5. Private

6. 7000+ yardage

7. 74.2 Rating (I wanted something higher than 72)

8. Decent amount of amateurs that compete.

9. Good price for membership, around $1800

I honestly don't see anything bad about this course, the clubhouse is a little tacky but I'm not there for the clubhouse. Maybe you guys might see something I'm missing?

I feel like this year is going to be my breakthrough year, My game and body feels like it's in a good spot right now. I know what I need to work on and where I'm headed.

[billchao]

Stay humble, kid. You wear it well.

My piece of advice - ignore anything anyone tells you that contradicts what you've already decided in your head. Contrarians don't know what they're talking about with their life experiences because they're not you. Look for validation. Validation gives you confidence. Confidence you can live off of.

This is what I lived by when I was younger and it's gotten me exactly where I am today.

[Diece]

Ill respond to you Bill later today. 

Heres just an updated version of my swing. I took this just now in our backyard.

 

[Double Mocha Man]

Love the Johnny Miller pajama pants. But you broke the general rule of wearing a white golf glove while in PJs.

[NationwideTourCrimsonTide]

On 4/16/2019 at 1:16 AM, Diece said:

 

Have you considered going to college in the US? If you’re good enough to play on the Mackenzie Tour, surely some college coaches would want you on their team? And there are all sorts of options depending on your academic prowess, don’t let that deter you. There’s nothing wrong with working on your game at the college level while learning some valuable business skills for life after golf. You’d be alongside teammates who share similar goals, and you can feed off of each other and your coaches to help you along in your journey.

I like your attitude- you’re resilient and confident. You’d be really good at sales.

As nicely as I can say this, having been an NCAA golfer, with six years on the mini tours and $150k+ in total earnings, your swing- when viewed through the lens of top amateur competition/ pro level- is awful. Worse though, at the pro level, everyone has good enough ball-striking. It’s really about who can score the best from 120 and in, which includes putting. I’m not saying you can’t improve. But you more closely resemble a 9th grader just taking up the game than you do a top amateur on the cusp of turning pro. You say you’re a good athlete, so that’s a start. Perhaps you can improve quickly. Going from shooting 90 to 80 is easy, and then from 80 to 72 not hard, just takes time to fine-tune everything. Breaking 70 consistently to tough pins at tough courses is a 100% different process.

I’d guess it’s the point in the game that 99% of aspiring tour pros reach and finally peak with no further improvement. I’m saying it’s a full-time job to get close to that level, which means you need all the resources in place to get there. To maintain it while improving each year and getting some lucky breaks along the way is a crap shoot. Everything must click at the right time, in the right events. There are thousands of aspiring players who’ve won at every level except for the professional major tours. They have no status anywhere, and it’s a tough grind to keep improving to finally get over the hump.

I hope you consider college golf. Also, if nothing else this year, be humble, read about humility, and make your number one goal to be finding a good mentor. Most kids your age don’t have everything figured out. That’s ok. It’s even ok to have a few pipe dreams. In the last year you’ve posted that you’re moving to BC, Ottawa, Florida, & California. Your jobs were ditch digger and waiter, but you were about to be a $10k per month photography consultant or internet guru, while living out of a van with no internet. Now you’re considering becoming an author / publisher along with your previous mentions of becoming a painter. But your main dream and job where all your time is supposed to be allocated is to play golf. Oh, and you have no money. You’d be the perfect college student. Tons of ambition in need of personal growth and guidance. And you’d finally get that golf coach you could work with. It’s not too late. Find a mentor, be humble, and look into college golf. You have plenty of time to figure out the world with four years of college, and you might fast track a realistic way to get to the Mackenzie Tour. Good Luck!

[klineka]

19 hours ago, NationwideTourCrimsonTide said:

Worse though, at the pro level, everyone has good enough ball-striking. It’s really about who can score the best from 120 and in, which includes putting.

Off topic but

Spoiler

What what you said simply isn't true.

Tiger Woods separates himself with his ball-striking, and plenty of that separation comes on mid and long iron shots well outside of 120 yds 

 

Rory McIlroy leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained, and here is how much each category contributes to his total strokes gained

Off-the-tee 47%

Approach the green 29%

Around the green 12%

Putting 12%

 

[Diece]

On 4/28/2019 at 1:19 PM, NationwideTourCrimsonTide said:

Have you considered going to college in the US? If you’re good enough to play on the Mackenzie Tour, surely some college coaches would want you on their team? And there are all sorts of options depending on your academic prowess, don’t let that deter you. There’s nothing wrong with working on your game at the college level while learning some valuable business skills for life after golf. You’d be alongside teammates who share similar goals, and you can feed off of each other and your coaches to help you along in your journey.

I like your attitude- you’re resilient and confident. You’d be really good at sales.

As nicely as I can say this, having been an NCAA golfer, with six years on the mini tours and $150k+ in total earnings, your swing- when viewed through the lens of top amateur competition/ pro level- is awful. Worse though, at the pro level, everyone has good enough ball-striking. It’s really about who can score the best from 120 and in, which includes putting. I’m not saying you can’t improve. But you more closely resemble a 9th grader just taking up the game than you do a top amateur on the cusp of turning pro. You say you’re a good athlete, so that’s a start. Perhaps you can improve quickly. Going from shooting 90 to 80 is easy, and then from 80 to 72 not hard, just takes time to fine-tune everything. Breaking 70 consistently to tough pins at tough courses is a 100% different process.

I’d guess it’s the point in the game that 99% of aspiring tour pros reach and finally peak with no further improvement. I’m saying it’s a full-time job to get close to that level, which means you need all the resources in place to get there. To maintain it while improving each year and getting some lucky breaks along the way is a crap shoot. Everything must click at the right time, in the right events. There are thousands of aspiring players who’ve won at every level except for the professional major tours. They have no status anywhere, and it’s a tough grind to keep improving to finally get over the hump.

I hope you consider college golf. Also, if nothing else this year, be humble, read about humility, and make your number one goal to be finding a good mentor. Most kids your age don’t have everything figured out. That’s ok. It’s even ok to have a few pipe dreams. In the last year you’ve posted that you’re moving to BC, Ottawa, Florida, & California. Your jobs were ditch digger and waiter, but you were about to be a $10k per month photography consultant or internet guru, while living out of a van with no internet. Now you’re considering becoming an author / publisher along with your previous mentions of becoming a painter. But your main dream and job where all your time is supposed to be allocated is to play golf. Oh, and you have no money. You’d be the perfect college student. Tons of ambition in need of personal growth and guidance. And you’d finally get that golf coach you could work with. It’s not too late. Find a mentor, be humble, and look into college golf. You have plenty of time to figure out the world with four years of college, and you might fast track a realistic way to get to the Mackenzie Tour. Good Luck!

Damn.

I really appreciate this post and I'm not saying that to be ironic or a dick. I really do. What really stood out to me is basically how you told me that my swing is terrible, in regards to the level I want to be. It's made me wonder..is this really something I can achieve? I mean, I look back at my younger days and I never won anything, I came close maybe once but surely if I was meant to play pro I should have won SOMETHING as a youngster. I have not considered college, but you make a good case for it. 

On 4/28/2019 at 9:33 AM, billchao said:

Stay humble, kid. You wear it well.

My piece of advice - ignore anything anyone tells you that contradicts what you've already decided in your head. Contrarians don't know what they're talking about with their life experiences because they're not you. Look for validation. Validation gives you confidence. Confidence you can live off of.

This is what I lived by when I was younger and it's gotten me exactly where I am today.

Thanks for the kind words man. I've always felt that the only person who knows your life is you, no one else really knows and the story you are writing is your own, no one elses.

__________

I want to take a chance to cut the bravado for a second, I've been thinking about this a lot.

What if I am never going to be good enough to play on the Mackenzie Tour?

I played with one of the best amateurs in the area yesterday and watching him play, made me question where my own head is at. He was hitting shots I have never really hit before, he was hitting a wedge and sucking it back a good 2-3 feet. I've never done that, not to that extent anyway. He was so consistent too. Driver in play, always hitting the green, good putting. Then there's my game, usually one lost ball, can't keep driver in the fairway, irons are decent. Short game usually saves me and putting is mediocre (if I'm being really honest). The guy I played with was also self-taught.

The more I think about my dream, the more I realize I need to make the decision. Do I continue going for it? Or do I stop and invest all of that time and money into something else? 

At the end of the 2017 season, I had shot some okay scores, had some good moments but I did wonder. What if I invested all of that time into a business or something else? Would I be further ahead in life? Would I be more "successful?"

And there's two things that keep me from packing it in.

1. I had a lesson with Henry Brunton in 2017. I told him what I wanted and he dropped some balls down, told me to hit to different targets at different distances. I was scared shitless because I thought for sure I was going to f*** up and make a fool out of myself. Surprisingly though, I didn't. He selected 3 target greens 100-150-200 yards away and I hit every single one. Then he had me hit to these large barrels at varying wedge distances. I hit the barrel on 3 of the shots. Then we went over to the putting green, he dropped 3 balls at medium, long and short distances. I drained all of them, then he put some balls in the bunker, I hit okay shots and he had me hit various chips. I drained one and the other 2 (or 3) from the rough I hit well. Then we went into the Titleist building and I hit some balls into the sim. After that, he sat down with me and told me what he saw. Which was essentially that I have the swing of a 30 handicapper but I have such good coordination and rotation that I'm able to work with it. He said when I get my swing fixed, I'll be hitting the ball 300 yards. He said my positions were very athletic and I was very athletic through the ball (or something along those lines). Now maybe he was blowing smoke up my ass but I see no reason why he would. He told me what he wanted me to do which was fix my swing path and that was it. So I went back home, (I drove 2 hours to see Henry) and worked on my game but I had no way knowing if my path was right or not, it seemed easy on the sim but on the range it was very hard. He told me to put a shaft a few yards in front of me and have the ball start on the right side of the shaft. (showing I had the right path). I did that for a week but still couldn't figure it out so I sort of gave up on it and went back to my old ways.....

I'm kind of embarrassed to say this but I gave up and looking back, probably squandered an opportunity to really get good. 

I wish I didn't but that's what happened, though his words still ring in my mind. Especially when I'm driving to work, wondering whether I even have the ability to play at the level I want.

2. I've never had a coach, I've had probably 5 lessons my entire life. I've been obsessed with figuring shit out myself...but I'm realizing I can't do that anymore. I'm wasting time. I've got major faults in my swing that aren't going to go away by more practice and continuing to be self-taught. I may not have won anything yet but with a year of coaching, perhaps I will get good enough to win some small amateur events. Maybe with my dedication and willingness to do whatever it takes, I'll improve lightning fast.

So what's the decision?

I can't give-up. I need to give this an honest shot and going to the range, trying to figure out everything myself is not giving it an honest shot. I got down to a 0.9 handicap last year through being self-taught but now I need the guidance. This year, I'm going to take lessons and get a coach. I'm moving still but I'm saying f*** it in the meantime and I'm signing up for Evolvr for now and I'm going to start taking this goal seriously.

Maybe with some serious work with a pro for a year will be what I need to start vastly improving. I don't know. Maybe by the end of the year I'm still going to struggle even with a coach. I have no idea.

But one thing for sure is this year, I'm going to stop f***ing around and give this thing 110% of my effort and direct that effort into the proper things.

Let's see where I end up.

Edit: Purchased Evolvr.

Edited April 29, 2019 by Diece

[phillyk]

1 hour ago, Diece said:

After that, he sat down with me and told me what he saw. Which was essentially that I have the swing of a 30 handicapper but I have such good coordination and rotation that I'm able to work with it. He said when I get my swing fixed, I'll be hitting the ball 300 yards. He said my positions were very athletic and I was very athletic through the ball (or something along those lines).

Look at my swing. 

 

Its not pretty but I hold my own very well. I know what i need to work on, and I’ll get to it. I was mainly self taught as well. I also have very good hand eye coordination and am relatively athletic.

As you take lessons, as a feel golfer, make sure you can feel the drills and changes they give you. Otherwise its worthless. Ask lots of questions if you cant create that feel.

[TussinMan]

1 hour ago, Diece said:

I need to give this an honest shot and going to the range, trying to figure out everything myself is not giving it an honest shot.

But one thing for sure is this year, I'm going to stop f***ing around and give this thing 110% of my effort and direct that effort into the proper things.

Absolutely. If you go all in then for sure go all in. 

One of my biggest regrets in life was not going all in for mixed martial arts. I would train/work hard enough to where I could beat the hobbyist and beat a good amount of the amateur fighters but I didn't work nearly as hard as I could of (there's easily 3 or 4 practice sessions a week more that I could of did but didn't). I ended with solid skills/experience but not high level/elite skills. 

I had ditched full time employment during this time so not only did I not get the elite skills I wanted from the sport but it's not like I had a ton of cash or a career to fall back on (I basically ditched a career to get elite skills and I ended with no career and no elite skills). 

If you want the Mackenzie tour then do every realistic thing you can to get there (lots of practice, coaching, flexible part time job, good training partners.....ect)

 

[NationwideTourCrimsonTide]

12 hours ago, klineka said:

Off topic but

  Reveal hidden contents

What what you said simply isn't true.

Tiger Woods separates himself with his ball-striking, and plenty of that separation comes on mid and long iron shots well outside of 120 yds 

 

Rory McIlroy leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained, and here is how much each category contributes to his total strokes gained

Off-the-tee 47%

Approach the green 29%

Around the green 12%

Putting 12%

 

It wasn’t used to compare Tiger vs. Rory, it was used to explain the difference between someone in the top 250 in OWGR vs. someone 750 in OWGR trying to move up into the top tier.

[klineka]

4 minutes ago, NationwideTourCrimsonTide said:

It wasn’t used to compare Tiger vs. Rory, it was used to explain the difference between someone in the top 250 in OWGR vs. someone 750 in OWGR trying to move up into the top tier.

I wasnt comparing Tiger to Rory. I was using their statistics to prove how your statement was not accurate.

There are more strokes to be gained from tee shots and approach shots (ball striking) than there is on inside 120 yds. 

It doesnt matter what the OWGR is, it's largely the same. Outside of glaring weaknesses, better players are better because they are better at ball striking.

[Vinsk]

24 minutes ago, klineka said:

I wasnt comparing Tiger to Rory. I was using their statistics to prove how your statement was not accurate.

There are more strokes to be gained from tee shots and approach shots (ball striking) than there is on inside 120 yds. 

It doesnt matter what the OWGR is, it's largely the same. Outside of glaring weaknesses, better players are better because they are better at ball striking.

Oh I’m sure he knows that. Anybody ‘into’ golf like that knows that. I think he was more meaning that of the good ball strikers it’s the 120yd in that separates them. Don’t the stats after a tournament usually show that the top 5 finishers had the best ball striking but it was the better putters of that group that finish on top?

[pganapathy]

11 hours ago, Diece said:

So what's the decision?

I can't give-up. I need to give this an honest shot and going to the range, trying to figure out everything myself is not giving it an honest shot. I got down to a 0.9 handicap last year through being self-taught but now I need the guidance. This year, I'm going to take lessons and get a coach. I'm moving still but I'm saying f*** it in the meantime and I'm signing up for Evolvr for now and I'm going to start taking this goal seriously.

Maybe with some serious work with a pro for a year will be what I need to start vastly improving. I don't know. Maybe by the end of the year I'm still going to struggle even with a coach. I have no idea.

But one thing for sure is this year, I'm going to stop f***ing around and give this thing 110% of my effort and direct that effort into the proper things.

Let's see where I end up.

Edit: Purchased Evolvr.

Most important thing is to realise that most professional golfers have the same ball striking position despite the varied backswings.  Find a coach who helps you find that in a way you understand.  There are two ways to do this.  One, the coach will just tinker with your existing swing and correct flaws enough that you swing well.  Second, you can rebuild your entire swing.

The next thing is to be realistic and work hard at your game.  Make no mistake, Vijay Singh for example has achieved success on the back of his hard work.  Anything less than 6 to 8 hours a day of golf related training will not be enough to elevate you to the level you desire.

The final bit of advice, is have a realistic plan and stick to it.  Figure out where your money is going to come from and how much you actually need.  Find a place where you can practice regularly.  A gym  and golf specific exercises are also important.  Also, get yourself a launch monitor.  The cheap ones are under 500 dollars.  The key is to understand your ball flight both visually and via the numbers.

[iacas]

9 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Oh I’m sure he knows that. Anybody ‘into’ golf like that knows that. I think he was more meaning that of the good ball strikers it’s the 120yd in that separates them. Don’t the stats after a tournament usually show that the top 5 finishers had the best ball striking but it was the better putters of that group that finish on top?

No. On the PGA Tour, they're all pretty great ball strikers. That's why they're there.

And no, not "the best" putters, but the guys who got hottest that week. Maybe that's the best putter, but putting has the largest fluctuation of any of the SG categories.

So:

• week to week, the hottest putter of the better ball strikers that week tend to win or finish high.
• overall, approach shots has the greatest separation top to bottom on the PGA Tour, then driving, then short game, then putting.

3 hours ago, pganapathy said:

Most important thing is to realise that most professional golfers have the same ball striking position despite the varied backswings.

No they don't. Not unless you're getting pretty darn vague. Impact positions vary quite a bit, really.

3 hours ago, pganapathy said:

The next thing is to be realistic and work hard at your game.  Make no mistake, Vijay Singh for example has achieved success on the back of his hard work.  Anything less than 6 to 8 hours a day of golf related training will not be enough to elevate you to the level you desire.

I think someone could get away with less than that. But yes, it's gonna take some time.

3 hours ago, pganapathy said:

The final bit of advice, is have a realistic plan and stick to it.  Figure out where your money is going to come from and how much you actually need.  Find a place where you can practice regularly.  A gym  and golf specific exercises are also important.  Also, get yourself a launch monitor.  The cheap ones are under 500 dollars.  The key is to understand your ball flight both visually and via the numbers.

I wouldn't get a "cheap" launch monitor unless it was the Mevo. None of the others are very good at all.