+1

The Atlanta pitchers used to take their golf clubs to road games. The practice was banned because of appearance.

What would a 14 handicapper from 10 years ago, with an athletic background, who has barely played since be able to achieve dedicating 10k hours?! Subjective I know, but yeah. First time I've popped in to the golf forum, hi! - thinking of re-starting my game (just for fun, probably not 10k hours!)

Depends largely on how much time you spent getting to a 14 handicap.
If it was one summer, the sky is the limit.
If it were a lifetime, you won't do much better than 14.

It was between 15 & 17yo. Played fairly regularly and played some club medals etc. but never really "dedicated" myself to it. Played a handful of rounds over the last few years but recently started to get this itch to play it properly again. I'm sure when I slice my first tee shot out of bounds I'll change my mind!

I expect your could get to single digits fairly quickly.
With 10K hours, I'd expect you to have back problems, tendinitis, and a thorough disdain for the game!

I'd expect the disdain quicker than that! I may not have played for a while but I'll never forget my inexplicable bout of the shanks at my peak - I was ready to never play a round of golf again in my life!

Playing with Dan today - I'll post his progress if there's any interest. He shot 82 yesterday & was disappointed. His hdcp is an 8 now. I think he's bringing a film crew to get some videos for his site. Apparently, he is very close to getting a reality tv show to follow him on the next couple years.

If anyone has a question you'd like me to ask post it here before 2:30 & I'll ask him.

I'm sure there is a crap load of interest so don't spare any details at all doc.

I just read another article about Dan in Men's Journal. I can't find the issue, but there was tour golfer quoted as saying he thought Dan had a chance to make it (small). Not that it helps or means anything, it just surprised me a little. I guess I thought more golfers would take the attitude of Ntnbo.

Anyway, in the OP I wrote that I thought he had a .001% chance of success (1/100,000) which I still believe. I wanted to know how Dan's perception of his chances have changed since the start and where they are now? Also, how's his relationship with the game right now- does he view it as a job?

Good luck Doc and very interested in the trip report

So Dan & I played today - it was just the two of us on a crowded course (83 degrees in March - everyone was playing), so we had a lot of time to chat. It was a really fun round, although we had to quit after 14 holes due to lightning. I'll start by saying we had a blast - Dan is very enjoyable, and while we talked golf & about his project, we also talked about normal stuff (women, tiger, women, etc). Dan is a legit 8 or 9 hdcp - he has shot 80 4 or 5 times, but said he hasn't been able to break into the 70's yet, however, he shot 36 yesterday on the front 9 & then struggled on the back on the greens (front 9 aerified, back 9 was & sanded). Today his improvement was monumental to when we played in December - a totally different player. We played the blue tees, although we could have played the tips & he would have had no issues. His driver length is pretty good & so much better accuracy than last time. To be fair, when we played before, it was his first round with a full set and 2nd with a driver. He hit most of the fairways, and wasn't too far behind me, only one missed shot with the driver - hits a nice draw and can hit a controlled fade if he wants. His iron play was very solid - he was about 2 clubs shorter than me, but I'm longer than most with my irons, but not with the driver - he probably hits his 7 iron in the 155-160 range.

He started solid, but got into a tough, above the hole situation on the 3rd hole and hit a decent putt, but it rolled off a hump into what we call the "valley of Hell" - after that he was a little tentative with his putting, but gave himself some really good chances at birdie. His swing is really getting solid, and his knowledge of the swing & game are miles ahead of where he was in December.

Dan told me that he hit his 2600th hour yesterday, and in almost 2 years went from beginner to an 8 - his goal by the end of the year is to be a legit scratch. Do I think he can do that, yes. He didn't putt great today, but he hit shots good enough to shoot 37-39, probably shot 42 on the front. It got really slow on the back & we ended up joining another 2-some until the rain hit, so we got out of rhythm and lost a little focus, but I believe he was 2 or 3 over on the back when we quit.

We discussed his project and he feels as though he has really turned a corner over the past couple months practicing in Atlanta - I think he's playing much more golf now, which is helping him - he is learning to control uneven lies, and has developed good course management. He mentioned some ideas about his project, but I believe they were in confidence, so I don't want to mention them on the internet. I told him about the forum, and he said he might join tonight & post some thoughts & answer questions.

He had not seen the Men's Journal article - I saw it this weekend & mentioned it to him - I believe it was Brandel Chamblee who said he might have a chance to play professionally. His golf game is solid, and continuing to improve. Can he play on the PGA Tour, I don't know - I believe if he continues to improve & his project keeps gaining momentum, that he will probably get an exemption into at least a Nationwide event at some point. He mentioned that he is playing his first tournament in a month in Portland, and his goal was to learn from it, and shoot in the 80's. I think it's reasonable and he could easily do it.

If you haven't checked his site, do so, and check out his blogs - it's interesting and he's doing the right things to continue his improvement. Hopefully, he'll join the forum and say "hello."

BAMP

Pretty cool thread and project.

Histerical i mean yeah if he puts in time he will be a scratch player at best. Scratch players are everywhere my cousin he's 15 years old and considered a scratch player he has tons of time to get better but i feel golf just like most games you pick up when youre young and thats how most the pros have done it. I would like to know of a guy who started over the age of 25 and made a pro tour such as the PGA or Champions etc.

Both Larry Nelson and Calvin Peete didn't touch a club until their 20's. 3 majors and 10 wins for Nelson, 12 wins for Peete.

BO

Still ridiculous that he is trying to be a pro. Marketing gimmick.

Checked on Calvin Peete and was amazed that the tournaments he won, it was often by multiple shots. A rarity until Tiger came along.

Also, doesn't appear that Peete had success on the Senior Tour which is odd. Thought he would have torn it up.

LOL.

Over 2 years and 2900 hours in and he's still a 7.4 handicap.

7.4.

Give up and kill yourself

That seems harsh

I LOL'd. But it does seem harsh. The next thousand hours will be interesting to see how he handles the exponential difficulty increase to drop the next 7 strokes.

Golf is hard

I'll give the guy a .5% of success. Golf like any sport comes down to some degree of athletic ability aka flexibility. 10,000 hours is a redic amount of time though...you'd have to have a mind of steel.

Calvin Peete not looking so good these days: http://florida.arrests.org/Arrests/C...Peete_3209309/

Definitely not looking good.

Doesn't appear to be DUI...must have been driving crazy to be held on $1,000 bond.

Was surprised to hear about Dan and his plan on the Grantland network today. He comes in at the 23:00 mark:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...alf-baked-idea

He is a moron.

5.9 Now, 3100 hours. Swing seems a little better at least speedwise. I think the fact that his short game is so far ahead of his long game bodes well for his future success. I don't think he comes close to pro, but I really think he hits scratch before 5000 hours.