I am very, very, very embarrassed.

I am very, very, very glad that bad golfers opine on what it takes to be a good golfer too. Since they must have the experience to know that.

Why don't you just go find Dan and get your lunch money back?

When?

Bad golfers defending bad golfers. I get it. If you don't defend him, who will?

Dan already gave my $5 back. Thanks for inquiring.

At 10,001 hours

Dan is not doing what he said he would do.

3 MONTHS of no handicap updates.

6 MONTHS of no statistical updates.

I thought that was the whole point of this journey.

Didn't people donate money to support this endeavor and see how he was tracking? Starting to look like he pocketed money to quit a job and become a golf bum.

Play tournaments Dan. Yes, you might/will post scores above 80 and 90 and people will realize you won't be a pro, but so what. You will get better.

This meandering for another 5,000 more hours is pointless.

***Every step of Dan’s journey from novice to professional golfer will be documented.***

Or not.

***Logging in 30-plus hours a week he will hit the 10,000 hour milestone by December 2016. During this time, Dan plans to develop his skills through deliberate practice, eventually winning amateur events and obtaining his PGA Tour card through a successful appearance in the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School, or “Q-School”.***

Before winning amateur events, shouldn't you at least play in some.

Go Dan Go!

Want to learn how to set off on your own Dan Plan? Start here and we will send you a five step guide to launching your Dan Plan.

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Reading your posts on this thread is like watching a pro golfer make bogey after bogey. You should do what they do in this case and simply WD.

I don't WD. I am ok with a MC.

He broke par for the first time.

He shoots par and then follows it up with two 90s and two courses he has never seen before. He is really hiding his game from the truth by not playing tournament golf though. His driver gives him complete fits...

Oh noes. I had to look at this again.

No updates on handicap for four MONTHS?

No tournament scores.

Just another golf bum.

Go Dan! The guy golfed under par! What an accomplishment!

in regards to Dan breaking par....i've played the greenback course at heron lakes numerous times. i'm not saying it's 'easy', but it's a course that's good for the ego.
have i broken par on that course? hell no. could a low single digit HC break par on that course at least once? hell yes.

6900 yds. 74.1 rating 139 slope from the tips. Does it play easier then the rating slope?

He played the middle tees.

One funny part about this thing is the haters following Dan more closely than anyone else.
Protecting their sport from the common man.

Bruce Lietzke is the obvious example of a guy who had a successful Tour career despite not practicing much. I remember my dad hating that he didn't practice. I abhor practice probably more than anyone. I can't figure out a routine that is more interesting to me than just getting on a course.

I was never better than an 8 handicap, probably could have done much better with a lot of range time and an actual teacher, but for many years I could not pick up a club for a year and easily shoot low to mid 80s without any time on the range before a round. I made the unfortunate mistake of not picking up a club for 3 years nearing the age of 40 (other than Tiger Woods PGA tour Wii Tour Pro Expert Mode, I had done nothing golf related), and I still have not had a decent full round, though I don't play much. I'm now looking at breaking 90 again as a milestone. I just can't put 18 decent holes together anymore, and my putting is still awful.

I don't see how a 10,000 hour rule could apply to becoming a great golfer. As many people have said in this thread, there are plateaus that just seem impossible to overcome at each stage of "getting good". There was a point where I was as good as I felt I could get, but I couldn't score anywhere except Scholl Canyon, par 3 courses, or Balboa (all courses in the L.A. area that reward precision). By scoring, I mean routinely breaking 80 on par 71 or 72 courses (could shoot very near par at Scholl Canyon, around par or under at par 3s, and usually a 5 to 7 at Balboa). I never put in as much time after it ultimately fell apart, because it was so frustrating. If it weren't for money or fame, I think the guy featured in this thread would just not play as much when hitting certain plateaus. I remember thinking it was almost impossible to shoot as poor as 90 when I was a decent player, but there really aren't a huge amount of missed strokes from 80 to 90. It's far more significant getting from 80 to par. I can't imagine what it would be like to get from scratch to under par on a routine basis.

I'll say it: I've played every public course in the Portland area and a couple of the private ones, and the Greenback is the easiest 18-hole course in the area. I've played it 3-4 times and have shot in the 70s twice, and I don't shoot in the 70s often. Still pretty awesome to shoot under par, and I think what he's doing is cool. Just putting this round into perspective.

Maybe MaliceUW and I can get Dan to play a money game with us. In all honesty, it would be fun to play with him.

Yea the greenback is very easy and boring, haven't played it since high school because... Why would you with the blue course right there.

Would be interesting to see how true his handicap is though, let's get him out with us!

I agree.

He is a marketing gimmick.

There is no deliberate method he is utilizing.

He is playing random scramble events and counting it towards total.

He doesn't play any real tournaments.

This 'experiment' will prove nothing except for one guy creating a website and a time clock and saying this is what happened when he devoted 10,000 random hours.

Let's be clear on something here, Leaky didn't practice much once he was an established tour player. But before that it's a near certainty he practiced his ass off.

BO

that's the rating/slope for the great blue course from the tips....much more challenging than greenback.

technically, no. he played the tips from on the green, which are the blue tees and play at 73.0/128 and are 6615 yards.

i'm guessing you haven't ventured out to Quail Valley in Banks. 71.6/125 from the tips at 6628 yards. now THAT'S a Portland course that's good for the ego.

edit: his blog post mentions that he played the back nine of his under par round with one of the pros at Heron. I know Nick (a +HC) and next time i see him i'll try to remember to ask what he thinks about dan's game.

edit again to say that the greens on greenback are some of the easiest to read in the area. there really isn't any break, even if there seems to be. play them a few times and you realize this. 'no break greenback' is what it's called.

Don't think I've ever seen anyone post worse in a thread than golfnutt has posted in this one.