novice2scratch

[bNeill]

IMO, it's all 100% mental. If Mike Weir can win the Masters then physical talent means very little.

Mike Weir is an incredible athlete. Just because he wasn't lucky enough to be born 6'3" 200 lbs that doesn't mean he isn't a gifted athlete. Sure he is a grinder, but so is everyone who has has a lengthy career on tour.

[nokids]

What I'm saying is I think the hand-eye coordination has more to do with the mental aspect of golf than the physical. "Physical talent" for me means your physical stature, body, height, weight, wingspan, strength, agility. The skill of hitting a golf ball is mental, I think.

[jvincent]

But that's not how everyone else thinks of it.

Coordination is a physical trait. Being able to stay focussed under pressure is a mental thing.

[bNeill]

What I'm saying is I think the hand-eye coordination has more to do with the mental aspect of golf than the physical. "Physical talent" for me means your physical stature, body, height, weight, wingspan, strength, agility. The skill of hitting a golf ball is mental, I think.

Hand-eye coordination has to do with using visual input to direct your hands. Everyone can preform it to a certain degree and can practice it and get better. Being "gifted" by stature is a result of your genetic makeup, and again everyone's makeup varies. However, strength and agility can also be improved by proper training.

It's a huge cop-out to attribute too many things in golf to the mental aspect. The skill of making a golf swing, I guarantee you is a purely physical task.

[goley]

What about making a golf swing under pressure?

[bNeill]

What about making a golf swing under pressure?

All I can give you is my opinion on this one. Stress will get in the way of performing like you do without pressure so I think you need to create environments with pressure often, whether that's playing money games or getting into contention in tournament golf regularly etc. so you can get used to how your body reacts under these conditions.

[nokids]

http://www.torontogolfnuts.com/showthread.php?t=53018

This dude is spending a ton of money to get to scratch. Check post #113 on page 5 for a breakdown.

[jeffc]

http://www.torontogolfnuts.com/showthread.php?t=53018

This dude is spending a ton of money to get to scratch. Check post #113 on page 5 for a breakdown.

well, other than the $8500 spent on strength training, its not that much. really? $8500?

[John]

8500$ on strength training over 8 months...

[John]

He's either taking high end steroids or is seeing a personal trainer for every one of his workouts.

[jvincent]

Just looked him up on the RCGA network. His current index is 13.9. He's got a ways to go yet.

He's putting a lot of effort into the strength/physical training piece. While that may be good for his general health and well being, I'm not sure how strongly that correlates to better golf scores, especially in a beginner.

For comparison, our buddy Dan from the Dan Plan is currently at 8.7 according to the GHIN lookup.

[nokids]

I think it's a golf performance center or something. He gets a personal trainer etc...

Loco!

Just looked him up on the RCGA network. His current index is 13.9. He's got a ways to go yet.

I added him to my RCGA buddy list to track his progress lol.

I think he put the stats for his irons and I don't believe it. 9 iron 150, maybe on indoor simulator but if he hits it outside like that then he's juicing for sure!!!

[stevek]

I think it's a golf performance center or something. He gets a personal trainer etc...

Loco!




I added him to my RCGA buddy list to track his progress lol.

I think he put the stats for his irons and I don't believe it. 9 iron 150, maybe on indoor simulator but if he hits it outside like that then he's juicing for sure!!!

I hit a 9 iron 150 once. Had to get it up and over a tree in a hurry for the green. One in a million shot for me that worked.

[jvincent]

I think he put the stats for his irons and I don't believe it. 9 iron 150, maybe on indoor simulator but if he hits it outside like that then he's juicing for sure!!!

I'm an old fart and I can hit a 44* 9i 150 yards if I want to. He's hitting a 41* R9 that's really an 8i. 150 yards is no biggie.

[Break68]

I'm an old fart and I can hit a 44* 9i 150 yards if I want to. He's hitting a 41* R9 that's really an 8i. 150 yards is no biggie.

I concur, a lot of guys can hit an 8i 150 yards.
Even I can hit that.
The $8,500 is not out of line for personal trainers, my girlfriend hired a personal trainer for 3 months and it was around $3,000 for twice a week with the personal trainer and use of the gym. Personal trainers don't come cheap.

[nokids]

I'm an old fart and I can hit a 44* 9i 150 yards if I want to. He's hitting a 41* R9 that's really an 8i. 150 yards is no biggie.

yeah but he was hitting a 9 iron 120 only 6 months ago. quite a big jump.

edit: 130 yards when he started, so yeah maybe.


--------

In three years of golfing I've yet to see an increase in my irons. I'm still hitting 9iron 115-120. The only clubs that I've seen distance improvement is my driver. i'm now 250-270 comfortably.

[DenisO]

Swing faster with your iron, foo!
Also, we should've started our own log to get to scratch and then write a book about it. We can make some cash money

yeah but he was hitting a 9 iron 120 only 6 months ago. quite a big jump.

[Break68]

swing faster with your iron, foo!

lol!!!

[nokids]

Also, we should've started our own log to get to scratch and then write a book about it. We can make some cash money

Or open a golf school, scratch in 3 years or your money back! We'll need to hire an insurance lawyer to write up the fine print.

[gregnol]

I'm an old fart and I can hit a 44* 9i 150 yards if I want to. He's hitting a 41* R9 that's really an 8i. 150 yards is no biggie.

+1 150 yards with the 9 iron seems pretty normal in my opinion. maybe even a few yards longer.

[davevandyk]

I concur, a lot of guys can hit an 8i 150 yards.
Even I can hit that.
The $8,500 is not out of line for personal trainers, my girlfriend hired a personal trainer for 3 months and it was around $3,000 for twice a week with the personal trainer and use of the gym. Personal trainers don't come cheap.

you guys gotta move to a small city!! My personal training sessions are $175 for 5 sessions, I do it once/week. That includes about 1-1/4hr session and she also creates my weekly workout schedule (with my input of course).

[Break68]

you guys gotta move to a small city!! My personal training sessions are $175 for 5 sessions, I do it once/week. That includes about 1-1/4hr session and she also creates my weekly workout schedule (with my input of course).

Holy Crap!
Yes we do. Problem is we live in the Market and the trainers gym is in the market, so my girlfriend paid through the nose on this one. Apparently they all pretty expensive here in Ottawa.

[nokids]

http://www.thedanplan.com/index.php

His handicap is now 5.9 _____ that's pretty good.

[DenisO]

Now he's actually getting to the hard part, wonder how much he'll slow down.

http://www.thedanplan.com/index.php

His handicap is now 5.9 _____ that's pretty good.

[jvincent]

What Denis said. ^^^

It's exponentially harder with each stroke from here on.

[Break68]

5.9 that's amazing.

[nokids]

i found another one

http://www.lifeintherough.com/about/

he seems to have given up in 2010 though...

[Newtybar]

I believe that the Dan Plan despite his lofty goal is the most realistic out of all of this.

What I don't think is being taken into consideration is, the 10,000 hours is based on mastering one skill. I.e., making a free throw in basketball, 10,000 hours of constant reps using correct form to make a freethrow, will make you an expert at free throws. However, basketball is much more than just free throws. Dribbling is a COMPLETELY different skill set.

Same with golf, just spending 10,000 hours playing golf doesn't qualify. He needs to spend 10,000 hours on iron ball strikes, probably another 1,000 to 2,000 on driver and fairway woods (not full 10,000 since it is mostly the same swing), 10,000 on putting and 10,000 on chipping. So probably 32,000 hours total. Then possibly spend another 1,000 on course management (playing the game).

[Newtybar]

That said - at 2,400 hours he was shooting high 90's and everyone was making fun of him. At 3,700 hours (only 1,300 more) and he's a 5.9 handicap, which is amazing. Who knows what he's capable of at 10,000.

[Break68]

Interesting perspective Newtybar.