TyWebbb

But hey, why let facts get in the way when you REALLLLYYYYY want to call someone a bigot? No what you saw was "Christian" and you immediately went on some ignorant tirade without stopping to look at the material presented. Talk about closed minded... +1

I'll be there for work until about December and was wondering if anyone on here is from the area or has played there much. Any places with nice practice areas? Nice courses with reasonable rates? I'll be staying in Kemah, close to League City and Clear Lake. Thanks for replies!

In "The Elements of Scoring" Raymond Floyd advocates a shallower plane and picking the ball over trapping. Not really sure why. Possibly because he feels it leads to fewer fat misses. I'm guessing that if one must miss, then thin is the way to go. However the majority of professionals I see have a steeper plane and usually take a nice divot. I personally prefer the steeper angle to trap the ball.

I love wearing them. Throws off the competition.......

+1

Because its taken him over two years and 2,700 hours of deliberate practice to break 80.......on a 6,000 yard course. Also, have you seen his swing? He's done a great job of documenting his quest with written word and video. Do you see anything in his videos from day one to now that looks anything close to "natural talent"?

Not sure about any drills man but best of luck on your quest. A 4 is definitely reachable. Natural talent in golf is a bit overrated IMO.

Exactly. Note that there is a difference between "not fun because you played terribly" and "not fun because you're legitimately burnt". After I throw up a stinker I feel awful immediately after and sometimes into that evening. A part of me wants to go pawn my entire bag and shoes. Then I'll just talk myself into believing that that last round wasn't my game. That I am capable of playing a LOT better and I reaffirm those thoughts by remembering great rounds I've had. Sounds like you've played some pretty nice rounds in your day. That's the golfer you are, the 70's guy. Definitely not the 100+ guy. Since you're having such trouble hitting the fairway give the lumber a break for a while. Stick it in the closet for the rest of the summer even. Better a 215 hybrid down the middle than hitting 3...5...7.... off the box. Spend some time around the chipping green. That's my favorite place to practice. Gaining a little confidence in your short game will relieve some pressure on your approach shots and even off the tee. All of that being said, if you're legitimately burnt then you do need to take a break from the game for a while. You're 18, go chase girls and enjoy being with your friends. Golf will always be there when you're ready to go back. Good luck to you and God bless!

Another thing. There's lots of naysayers. Let's say he is successful. What does that prove though? It's only a sample space of one. You need talent and practice, practice alone won't do it. The amount of talent, that's another can of worms to open. IF he is successful........ Since he clearly had ZERO talent for golf or experience before the experiment it will prove that the average joe can be great at the sport of golf. It'll prove that natural talent in golf is overrated. If a guy with ZERO talent and experience can do it, then essentially anyone with enough time and cash would have a legitimate chance at doing the same.

He played his first competitive tournament today. Shot an 86 with 2 birdies and three rough holes totaling 10 over according to his twitter feed. He also had 2 cameras and an AP reporter following him all day. Could've been a lot worse.

Is Harvey Penick still alive?

+1

As long as you don't get too discouraged by the mis-hits keep it up. The Cobra's will be more honest with you.

The calculator was pretty spot on for me. Also, I plan on going to a local thrift store and picking up a #2 WOOD just so I can have a "Brassie" in my bag....

I like using a net in the backyard for convenience. I also like being able to focus on my swing, not where the ball goes. One other thing you might consider if you have an average sized backyard is setting up a little chipping range. I bought three small chipping practice target nets for $7 a piece on amazon and I set them up anywhere between 5' to 50' and chip away. This can become addicting. If its cold or rainy outside I just set them up inside a few yards apart. Being new to the game you will really, really benefit from short game improvement.

Thank you both. You're right, the more I practice with it the more comfortable I'm getting. It was just a little overwhelming at first because it was new.

I enjoy the Harvey Penick drill using only one ball and getting up and down from various positions around the practice green. The situations you can put yourself in are limitless. I'll have intentions of working on 3 or 4 drills in a practice green session only to look up three hours later and see the sun setting while still doing the same drill! I really like that drill.

For those of you that have been to a clinic or teach a clinic...... What EXACTLY do you do to get the read during a round? Please be precise. I went to a clinic in February and have been to the practice green a few times since when the weather permitted to play around with it. When practicing I use an eez-read circular level to determine the mid-line, then get the slope with my Husky. After that I just look it up in my booklet and its amazing how accurate it is! I've played a few times since but haven't implemented the technique in an actual round yet. I don't want to hold up the group as it takes me some time to find the mid-line using my feet. What do you all look for as you're walking up to the green? Do you go on the other side of the hole and take a look? Any tips that could help me find the mid-line in a timely fashion would be greatly appreciated. Also how do you estimate the slope? I'm really, really excited about the day that I can implement this tool in a round of golf. I just want to make sure I know exactly what I'm doing before I do. Thanks for any help!

Interesting thread. I've found doing putting drills inside on the carpet or rug to be inaccurate in my experience. I recently started taking the game more seriously and was fit for a putter using the SAM system. I went home and began practicing inside. It was remarkable how many putts I was hitting directly over a Quarter that I'd placed exactly 8 feet away (Pelz's Golden Eight rule). I was so curious about my success rate that I experimented by putting extremely nonchalant with one hand and they still hit the target! This was some putter I thought! After doing this for a few days I took my practice and new magic flat stick to the course putting green. Haha, not so much success there. I thought it was weird that I was rolling it so well in my living room. I seriously doubt that many amateurs can sink 20 10 footers in a row on an outside green. Regardless of break. Something about putting inside lies. Maybe the carpet/rug has some groove in it or something.

A 250 yard 3i is hardly common. Good for you man!

I know that Master Professional is the highest. How many levels are there? What is a "Certified United States Golf Teacher Master Teaching Professional?" Is it the same as a PGA Master Pro?

Yeah hasn't he come a long way! Granted he's no McElroy but he had never swung a golf club in 30 years of life. The dude didn't even know if he would play right or left-handed. I'm fascinated by this project. Especially since its this particular guy. He clearly wasn't born with a spec of golf talent and he's already a single digit. The project wouldn't be nearly as interesting if he was able to pick up on the game any faster. I'm excited to see how low he can actually go. He's only a quarter of the way done. If he does get to +, just think about how low someone that does have a little natural ability can get. I was simply using that as an example. Obviously having a 110 MPH club head speed doesn't amount to squat if you can't utilize properly. Since you played collegiate baseball, you should know that there is a HUGE difference between a 90 and 95 MPH fastball. I used 95 to make my point. There absolutely are not "TONS" of guys that can throw 95. I doubt there are as many 90+ guys in the world as you think either. I played in college myself and I know all too well how the story telling about "how fast that one guy threw" goes. I equate it to guys talking about how far they've driven a golf ball and the biggest fish they ever caught stories. Boys will be boys. I'm not saying......I'm just saying Thank you for the essay recommendation.

One more thing about natural talent.... I absolutely believe it exists. It's ridiculous not to. I just don't equate the level of natural talent it takes to excel in other sports such as basketball, football, hockey, soccer, or even tennis as I do with professional golf. Therefore I don't place nearly as high of a premium on "natural talent" in golf as I do for other sports. There are obvious physical barriers involved in the other sports that I listed. Not so much with golf. Some? Yes. But not as many. In other words a lot more people can be taught to develop a controlled 110 MPH club head speed than can be taught to throw a baseball 95 MPH. Actually when I think about this topic I suppose that natural talent for a golfer isn't nearly as much physical as it is mental. I can see how the Chinese and Russian children that can stack 13 bullets in their hand would be a better putter than the child that can only stack 6 or 8. That mental ability to calm their nerves would definitely come in handy when standing over a 12-footer for birdie. I'm guilty of looking at this in mainly a physical sense. I don't retract any of my former posts or thoughts as I still believe that the physical aspects can be learned and grooved by a good percentage of would be golfers. I do however acknowledge that there could be some innate ability to silence ones nerves regardless of the situation at hand, thereby allowing oneself to properly strike the golf ball when needed as opposed to the "not as naturally gifted" opponent that doesn't have the mental capabilities of the former.

Effective points made by both sides. This is a nice discussion. I'm sure it will be resurrected every 6 months or so until Dan's project is over. Whoever said that it really won't prove anything is right though. If he doesn't succeed it will be blamed on his routine/coach/nutritionist/trainer by the Positives. If he does, then he will be seen as an exception to the rule by the Negatives. Whatever though, friendly banter is fun. Personally I appreciate the valid points a lot more than the more offensive ones that sort of drag us away from the issue. I guess you have to take the good with the bad though. Kudos to the gentleman (or lady) that hit us with all the stats. 1:20000 in the Puerto Rico Open and all that. Interesting info. Numbers don't lie I suppose. And just for the record I'd like to say that I believe Dan WILL get to a + handicap meaning that he will have the physical ability to compete as a professional. I am not sure where his mental game will take him past that. My argument never has been that he will be a member of the PGA Tour which is what he is aspiring to. I'm just saying that an effective golf swing and putting stroke can be learned and grooved by the Average Joe given enough time and proper instruction of which Dan has plenty. Average Joe can also be taught to play the game of golf (how to get around a course). Dan is very average. If he's able to stay healthy and funded for the remaining 7,500 hours then I will stand by the first sentence in this paragraph.

Everyone starts off thinking the sport is all about hard work. If I went from a 30 to 20 in 100 hours of practice, a 15 in the next 200, and a 10 with another 500 and to a 5 with another 1000. Just another 8k hours and I will be a pro right? Not likely, somewhere you run into a barrier where improvement stops. You spend 2 years playing and working on your game and your index goes from 5 to 4. Coyne went from either a 15 or an 18 I can't remember which to + handicap in one year while writing the book Paper Tiger.