marvin

Who is the girl on the right? She looks cute.

Hambrick and his team say these 10,000 hours claims are simply "incorrect". Their findings suggest that " some normally functioning people may never acquire expert performance in certain domains, regardless of the amount of deliberate practice they accumulate. " This may sound disheartening, but there is a "silver lining". People can avoid wasting time on futile dreams, say Hambrick et al, and "gravitate towards domains in which they have a realistic chance of becoming an expert through deliberate practice."

But now a team led by David Hambrick have published a forceful challenge to the 10,000 myth. " We found that deliberate practice does not account for all, nearly all, or even most variance in [elite music or chess] performance, " they write. ... The take-out was clear - some people failed to achieve the highest level even after completing substantially more than 10,000 of practice ; others achieved the highest level with only relatively modest practice. ... "The bottom line," write Hambrick and his colleagues, "is that deliberate practice is necessary to account for why some people become experts in these domains and others fail to do so, but not even close to sufficient ." What else matters? Another relevant factor, they say, is starting age. This correlates with amount of completed practice, but crucially, it remains a predictive factor even after subtracting the influence of practice. "This ... suggests that there may be a critical period for acquiring complex skills ," the researchers said. Source: http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2014/06/exploding-10000-hours-myth-its-no.html

I'm a 25 HCP and I play MP33. I bought MP33 two years ago when I started playing golf. I didn't know SGI/blades/cavity and which irons that were suitable for me at that time. I bought them just because it looks good, came from a company that I'm familiar, and it was ridiculously cheap. I've been through various ups and downs with MP33. I enjoyed hitting pure shot with this blade. I have no problem with 5-PW, but mishits on long irons (3 and 4) were awful. My highest round so far was 116, while my lowest was 94. I don't really care with other people's opinion. If I have money, I will probably trade them with newer CB irons such as JPX EZ. Dunno. Paiste, I hope you enjoy your blades and let us here know your updated experience with the MP68. Have fun!

Haven't read all the post here. But, is this basically a 3-wood off the tee? How does it perform off the fairway (compared to regular 3-wood)?

I took up golf in late 2012 when I was 28. I just got a divorce and need a kind of escape to cleared up my mind. I chose golf simply because the company that I worked for has a lot of golf events and I thought it would be embarrassing for me if I couldn’t participate. I took 5 x 2 hour lessons from a pro. Basically I learned everything from zero: grip, stance, posture, swing, and other fundamental aspects of golf. I’m not an athlete guy and not muscular either but I tried to give my best. After the lessons finished, I went to the range and spent hundreds of balls. I also spent a lot of time chipping, pitching, and putting on the green. About a year later, I decided to take an 18-hole for the first time. I scored 116, due to my driving (mostly OB), my poor second shot (topping, fat shot, thin shot, you name it), and 3-4 times putting per hole. In late 2013, I became more obsessed with golf. I found this forum. I spent a lot of time watching Youtube tutorials and swing analysis. I also watched almost every golf tournament on the weekend. Nowadays, I’m playing regularly: 2 times a month 18-hole and driving range every weekend. At home, I always practice my swing and putting. Whenever possible, I always try to video/record my swing to be analysed later. I decided to stop hoing and stick with my clubs. I always play by the rule and keep my stats. My score usually 95-105 and my best so far is 93. I guess I’m a slow learner, but I enjoy every second of my time on the course.

Thanks for your lavish explanation, guys. It cleared up my doubt and confusion. It seems that I have to stick with 10* driver and regular shaft. I realised that with stiff shaft, I tend to try to overswing and hit the ball as fast/hard as I can, that result in losing balance and control. With regular shaft, I assume that I can swing with 75-85% of my power, but still have the balance and control, right?

Sorry, my mistake. I'm righty. My mishit goes RIGHT, not left. Sorry for the confusion. Assuming that you have the same swing speed/technique/etc., what is the difference in hitting 8.5/9.5/10.5 driver? Does it affect distance and ball flight significantly?

Thanks for your prompt reply. When I hit it good, it goes straight, but just as far as my 3-wood. When I hit it bad, it goes left. Yes, it's a BAD slice, not just a fade.

Hi, I'm finding it difficult to hit my driver properly. It's 8.5*, neutral face, 55 gram stiff stock shaft, standard length, 45". Half of my tee shot always slice to the right. Even when I hit it perfectly, it's probably just as far as my 3-wood shot. Is it because of the loft/weight/flex/length? Btw, I have 3-wood and 5-wood standard stiff shaft and hit them fine. I hit my ProjectX 5.5 on my irons just fine. My old driver is 9.5 regular shaft and I just hit them okay.

Many thanks for your lavish answers, guys. Appreciate it much.

Luke Donald (-11) Charles Howell III (-10) Kevin Na (-10)

Thanks! Found a couple of FG Tour/X on eBay at ridiculously cheap price.

I occasionally took my little brother to the range. He seemed interested so far. It's been a month and he showed much swing improvement. I'm planning to take him to the course as soon as he able to swing a driver consistently. Time will tell.

A couple of questions on golf balls: (1) What level (or type) of player you need to be before the ball makes a significant difference? Is it completely ridiculous for a 24 HDCP player to use a Pro V1? Is a scratch player being held back by not using a premium ball? (2) What are the differences between ProV1 and ProV1x? Are they suitable for all-levels golfers? (3) What makes ProV1/ProV1x so popular on tour? Is it because the quality or is it because they got paid for playing ProV1/ProV1x? Thanks a lot.

Assuming that you already have solid and repeatable swing, what are the consequences of hitting a club that is not so properly fitted for you? For example, what would happen if you hit a club that is 0.5 inch longer or 0.5 inch shorter than you're supposed to play? What would happen if you hit a club that is too weak or too stiff? Loss in distance? What about control/accuracy? Any comments would be appreciated.

Sorry if this has been asked before. I’m still confused with counting handicap. A couple of questions: (1) How does course slope and rating affect my handicap? (2) What would happened if I play from black tees and score worse than if I play from regular tees? For example, I scored 95 from black tees and 89 from regular tees. Which one is more “detrimental” to my handicap index? (3) What is the relationship between handicap index in particular hole with number of stroke? (4) How to lower my handicap in terms of choosing golf course (slope/rating/yardage)? Any comments will be appreciated.

My 3-putt is usually a result of long put (more than 15 feet). My chip and pitch is quite good and often ended up only 3-5 feet from the hole, but then followed by stupid 2-putt. If only I can eliminate those stupid putt. :(

Thanks for the advice here! Finally I broke 110 this morning. 109 is my lowest score so far. 9 more to go! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN Total Strokes Par 5 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 36 4 4 4 5 3 4 4 3 5 36 72 Player 7 6 6 5 6 7 6 5 7 55 6 7 7 6 5 6 5 5 7 54 109 39 Putts 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 3 2 22 2 3 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 17 39 Overall, I'm quite happy with my game. I'm able to not overswing my iron. As a result, I reduced my mishit (fat shot/grounded/topping/etc) from 10-15 shots per round to only 5-7. However, I'm still finding it difficult not to overswing my driver and woods. Only half of my tee shot (driver and woods) went fine, the rest were still suffering from overswing. Any advice to overcome this particular issue? I only lost 1 ball (previously I lost 2-3 balls per round). I played safe this morning. No more "heroic" shot. Just keep the ball in play. I also didn't use my woods off the ground. I feel I'm much more in control with my iron/wedge. As a result, no more +4 or +5. Next, I'm trying to focus on not doing triple bogey and hopefully get some bogeys (or even some pars). As you can see from the table above, I have a terrible putting. No distance control. Failed to read the green appropriately. I practice my putting at home (carpet) but it seems not helping my game at all. Any tips on improving my putting? I believe that if I can eliminate 2 putts, breaking 100 seems very do-able. Any other tips would be very much appreciated indeed.

Thanks for helpful and solid advices and suggestions. Earlier today I went to the range and saw and old man with considerably slow swing speed but still get the ball fly high and deadly accurate. Suddenly I realised how overswing I am compared to him. So I tried to slightly loosen my grip, relaxed my arms, take a smooth takeaway, point my lead shoulder at the ball, move my weight forward, coming down easy and make sure my swing is in the correct plane. I imagined myself doing tai chi ("soft" Chinese martial arts) and keep my arms, torso, and my lower body move fluidly. I think I even didn't use half of my power. To my surprise, I got a pure contact and more distance. I couldn't believe that overswing and trying to muscle the ball simply detrimental to my game. I just have to trust my swing and let the club do the work. For the first time I got 140-150 with my 7 iron consistently. Furthermore, I even hit my 3 iron easily 180-190 straight. No wonder this game is addictive, it feels damn good to hit a nice shot! I know this is just a beginning and I still have more to practice. I just want to say thanks and I thought I should let you know how I'm progressing. I'll keep you posted. Thanks!

Hi all, I've been playing golf since mid-late 2012. I took 5x2 hour lessons with a pro in late 2012 and it gave me a solid fundamental. I'm going to the range 1-2 times per week and play in the course 1-2 times per month. I usually hit 110-115. Here are my problems: (1) My drives only reach 180-200 yards on a decent strike off the tee. (2) I'm finding it difficult to strike a wood off the ground. I'm also finding it difficult to hit 3/4 iron. I can't get any height on them whatsoever. I also hate hybrids. I just can't stand the looks. (3) I'm confident with my short game. 100 yards inside is quite accurate. I also have no problem to get out of the bunker. But, I have an awful putting and putted 2-3 times. (4) I usually lost 1-2 balls per round, either it went out of bounds or end up in the pond/lake. (5) Sometimes I also hit a couple of fat iron shots. I think this is more "mental" because I always hit my iron (5-pw) decently in the range. Any tips on improving my score and not losing a ball anymore? Any other tips would be very much appreciated.

I'm currently using a blade (Anser style) putter. Bought it about a year ago simply because of the looks and price. I didn't think about swing arc, balanced face, etc at that time. The more I play golf, the more I realised that my natural putting stroke is almost straight back and through (SBST) with very slight arc. I felt I'm much more consistent and have more control with it. I'm averaging 1.6-1.8 putts with this method. I read The Art of Putting's Stan Utley and tried my best to incorporate his method. Unfortunately, I lost my distance control. I feel that I'm not really connected with my forearms and wrists. My putting average dropped to 2.4-2.6. Am I doing this incorrectly? Should I go back to my natural SBST? Anyone doing this like me? Opinions? Thoughts?

Many thanks for your lavish answers, WUTiger. One more question, what shaft would you recommend for my 48-54-60 wedge? Just go with the same shaft? Or more stiff?

Thanks for your prompt reply. What about KBS and NS? Is there any similar product from them?

Hi, I was thinking about upgrading my iron shaft. Currently gaming Rifle FCM 6.0 and love its control and accuracy. I'm looking for newer shaft with similar characteristics, but: - A little bit more stiff - Same weight or lighter - More penetrating ball flight Any comments/suggestions are welcomed.