TyWebbb

Some very opposing views on this topic. Makes for a nice discussion. One side will be eating crow by the end of Dan's project, that's for sure. I'll stick to my belief that Dan will get to a positive handicap. Where he goes from there is dependent on that six inch course between his ears. BTW some of the people/sports you all are comparing this to is kinda ridiculous. Bolt, Michaelangelo and Pavaratti are world renowned in their area of expertise (Mich and Pav actually don't fit into this discussion anyway because the judgment of their skills is subjective). I'm sure Van whatever is too. No one, not even Dan himself is saying that he's going to be the next Hagen, Palmer, Nicklaus, or Tiger Woods. Also I and everyone on the positive side of the argument I'm sure agrees with the Michael Jordan analogy. Haha Michael Jordan.....really??? The greatest basketball player ever? Nice. Again, he's not saying he can be world #1. Golf is not a game like the traditional sports in America. One doesn't have to be a great athlete to put together an effective golf swing. Definitely don't have to be an athlete to learn an effective putting stroke. The rest is in the head man. Knowledge of how to play the game as well as the mental ability to stay out of your own way. I mean really what else is there? Please someone enlighten me. Is it so unbelievable that Joe Blow who is a +.8 can do well in a Thursday pre-qualifier then go on to shoot the round of his life the following Monday and qualify for the PGA open event later that week? At that point why not him? He's in the field. If he's a + he physically has all the shots in his bag. So why can't he make the cut? Why can't he make some cash Sunday? I think it's great that he's only at 8 after two years. Now it is obvious that he's not some prodigy who can shoot 70 within nine months. He is as normal and average as it gets. The forum is full of people that want to tell him its impossible. People that are angered and bitter that some random dude with absolutely no experience in this game whatsoever is already better than they are after two years when they''ve been playing the game their whole lives.

The easy way to justify why one isn't great at something he/she wishes they could be is to say the top performers of that particular activity are born with more "talent". I can't speak for everyone on this site but I'd say the majority at one time or another in their golf life fantasized about getting paid to play golf for a living. Some had the dream at a young age, pursued it and fell short somewhere along the way. Some developed the dream later in life after they broke 80 for the first time and told themselves that "with a little practice......." The reality is that PGA Tour athletes play the game for a living. Their work week is spent on the range, putting green, and golf course. The rest of us can't afford to put in nearly that much time due to the fact we have to eat. Golf is a game that highly rewards consistency. Consistency in a golf swing cannot be built by going to the range for a few buckets whenever you get a chance and playing a bi-weekly nassau at the club with Bud, Ray, and Gary. Regardless a lot of us secretly wish we could be out there on Sunday instead of sitting on the couch watching. Not many can afford to give it a shot though so it's a lot easier on the psyche to just chalk it up to "Juvic Pagunsan and Russell Knox are just that much more talented at golf than I am". This way you convince yourself that no matter how much time you put in, there is NO WAY you could ever be that good. No way you can get better than that 4.3 or 1.8 handicap. Now you don't have to challenge yourself. Now you can remain safely on the couch and drool over how good those guys are. I've had this discussion plenty with various golf buddies of mine. Golf is not like basketball, football or baseball. Time and cash can't buy you the ability to dunk on a 10' high basketball goal, or the reflexes to snag a ground ball coming at you at over 100 mph. I honestly think that someone with relatively decent hand eye coordination can excel in his/her ability to strike a golf ball given the proper instruction and enough TIME and repetition. I also believe that same person, if they have the desire to, can develop great feel around the greens if given the TIME. That person could also learn to execute a consistent putt stroke. That stroke can be grooved....again, over TIME. Now let's send this person to an Aimpoint clinic. Taking the TIME to perfect the Aimpoint process will make this person an excellent reader of any green. Once all of this has been ingrained we'll have this player hit the course several times with an established master professional that will show him/her how to get around a golf course. Now when I say time, I essentially mean $$$$. In order to have the time this man/woman wouldn't be able to have a full-time job of course. The game of golf and all it's aspects would be their job. IMO, this person could get to a + handicap in a shorter period of time than most would think. This is where my argument stops. I believe that golf is such a head trip. Just because someone has all the skills I mentioned above and the physical ability to go low every time doesn't mean for a second that he/she will have it upstairs to do it when it counts. Will the Dan Plan be a success? I do think that he will get to better than scratch. I can't speculate anything past that. I don't know him. I am glad that he is doing what he is doing though. Finally I will be justified in what I've been saying for years. This guy didn't even know if he swung a golf club left or right-handed two years ago at age 30 and he's already an 8 handicap. He's barely over 1/4 of the way to the end of the project. That gives him roughly 3.5 to 4 years from now to get to positives. He is shooting for the Tour which is fine but my argument is that getting to + numbers is far from unattainable for someone that can afford the time and proper instruction . You really think Keegan Bradley was born a naturally great golfer. I don't buy it. I think that he grew up in a very nice country club and worked to develop his skill.

Not sure if Hagen is in Bagger but I recently watched "Stroke of Genius" and he is in that one. Very colorful character. I'd like to know more of his story as well.

Thanks!

I'm going to one in Texas this Sunday and was just wondering what to expect. I always like to be a little prepared going in to things like this so I can be sure to get the most out of my money. Also if any of you has been and thought of questions you wished you would've asked after you left the place let me know and I'll ask them for you. Thanks for any input!

Thanks for the advice!

Thank you all for your input. The info about the mobilegolfstats website is especially intriguing. I'm fairly certain that I'll try that out since I have wondered for a while what my handicap actually would be.

Clubs: My concern is that if I get fitted for a set of clubs with my current swing, it may need to be altered in the future. Will these clubs still be okay to use with a slightly different swing? Lessons: Or if I take the lessons first with my current clubs (bought used at a pro shop and cut 1/2 longer than standard) will my shots be the result of improper club fit or mechanical error? How will I really know unless I have the proper fit first? Am I over analyzing? Thanks for any help!

I've played recreationally since I was a kid with my father. I've never been a member anywhere or pursued getting a legit USGA handicap. I play about 3 to 4 times a month with various friends and to my knowledge none of them have handicaps either. This is probably why I've never heard of "capping" my score at double bogey or 7. I recently stumbled upon the Equitable Stroke Control system on the USGA website. This seems a bit odd to me. I was always under the impression that all the strokes had to be counted as they were. With this new information I no longer look at a single digit handicap as impressively as I once did. Nor does it seem out of reach anymore. Countless times I've had rounds in the 80-90 range that included taking 9's or 10's on individual holes. Does the majority of the golf community abide by the ESC?

What is the difference between these two? Is there even a difference? Bounce maybe?