Can we be as good as we would like to be?

MadAdey

MadAdey

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It is that time of year again where we are all looking at our golfing target for this season. We all want to improve and would love to get to scratch. But is it a realistic target?

I ask this as I believe for all the will in the world if you do not have the natural ability then you will only get to a certain level and stagnate there. A bloke at my club in his late 40's has spent the last 20+ years trying to get better, he has a good swing and good course management, but he plays off 14 and has never got any lower. He has lessons from the same person as me so has a good pro. He spends time doing quality practice. Before every round he always goes up 30 mins early to hit some balls down the range to get himself ready for a good round, but just can't get his handicap any lower.

So what should we do then.......just accept that we have reached our maximum potential or just keep punishing ourselves trying to achieve something you just aren't capable of achieving?

As a recreational golfer would we not get more enjoyment out of the game not putting ourselves through this every season?
 
MadAdey said:
It is that time of year again where we are all looking at our golfing target for this season. We all want to improve and would love to get to scratch. But is it a realistic target?

I ask this as I believe for all the will in the world if you do not have the natural ability then you will only get to a certain level and stagnate there. A bloke at my club in his late 40's has spent the last 20+ years trying to get better, he has a good swing and good course management, but he plays off 14 and has never got any lower. He has lessons from the same person as me so has a good pro. He spends time doing quality practice. Before every round he always goes up 30 mins early to hit some balls down the range to get himself ready for a good round, but just can't get his handicap any lower.

So what should we do then.......just accept that we have reached our maximum potential or just keep punishing ourselves trying to achieve something you just aren't capable of achieving?

As a recreational golfer would we not get more enjoyment out of the game not putting ourselves through this every season?
Click to expand...

I guy i know from the paper gave up after being stuck on 9 for a few years and couldnt get any lower.
he practiced a lot and had lessons, but that was it. He just felt if he was only ever going to be just 9 it was not worth keeping going.

I think he's a runner now!
 
Depends on your circumstances and outlook I think.

I have a young family so can't practice and play once a week. With another on the way in the summer that will become even less.

So, over the next few years I don't really care what happens to my handicap as any time out on the course will be a bonus, fully expect it to go up.

I must say I have a very relaxed (compared to some on here I read) about golf and have no target of how good I want to be.

I play to enjoy it. Spent far too long taking football far too seriously (although did get paid for it:)) so am not into turning what I enjoy into something I have to work at to hit a target.

Fully understand the obsessive's out there aswell though, just makes me smile sometimes :)
 
I think yes, you can be as good as you want to be. It is about identifying the bottlenecks which are holding you back, and doing something about them, be it fitness, mental approach, technique, practice, what ever. If you can play to 9, you can play to 8. If you can't, then there must be a reason why, and there must be an answer. The question then is, are you willing to address the changes necessary? Most are not.
 
Ok murph so going on your theory then anything is achievable, it has nothing to do with natural talent? Why did Montie never win a major? Why is there a player at my club who has tried going on the Europro tour to find out for all the will in the world he just was not good enough, after all he has won county championships and holds a few course records, a plus handicap and works very hard at his game.

So it does not filter down to all levels of golf is what you are saying Murph? A club golfer can achieve any level he wants it just takes dedication. I have to disagree mate, at the end of the day comes natural talent and that is what will stop you ever getting past what you are capable of. I have played most sports in my time and been good at a lot of them, but never been able to reach a top level as I just did not have that natural ability.
 
The last 25 yrs as seen me yo-yo within 2 shots of where I am now. Do I think I'll get lower? No. To get lower would mean practicing, and playing more than 2 or 3 times a month. I'm happy with my game, and the banter with the guys. As long as I feel competitive I'll stick at it but other than that...
 
Their is a difference between being as good as you want and Monty winning a Major!

Monty never won a major because people scored lower than him during those rounds. they may not have played better shots etc but scored lower - Monty may have played his best in those tournaments which may have been good enough for him but not good enough to win.

I think a big part of the game and reducing the handicap below low single figures is mental and the ability to shut out simple errors
 
a very good thread. Ive always wanted to get back to 11 as thats where i was as a junior at 17 , but i think in reality i have some niggling injuries from motocross which may prevent it, back issues and knee issue being the most effective. last year i wanted to get to twelve and got there, but to me i need to unfocus on a prime number for HC, and focus more on enjoyment.

Ive noticed i play my best golf when im enjoying it, so back to one range session a week, and atleast 1 game, when im doing this my HC travels pretty well, and i dont think 12 is a bad handicap, if i could get lower bonus, but if not, as long as i can enjoy playing with mates, im happy to be stuck on 12 for a while
 
Some of us are more naturally talented than others, granted, and I am one of those who isnt great at sports, however you use what you have and you do what it takes, if you are motivated enough, and you do the correct things, you will get there, it might take you ALOT longer than others, but I think anything can be done

I am on the forum regularly and you can gauge what people are working on by the posts, and it more often than not is about the technical theory of the swing or about new equipment...both very important granted, but the point I would make is I dont often read someone saying that they have had to take up yoga, or run 5 miles 3 times a week in order to become a scratch player.

So, almost anything can be done, but as was said above, are you willing to do it? Often the answer is no due to time contraints or perhaps motivation. Having said all of that, when I was younger I took football very seriously, practised alot, but didnt have the speed to become a top player, so I have been a victim of this to some degree, but I could have made a lower division and if my goal had been to become a professional footballer then I might have made it...if my goal had been to play for my country, I dont think any amount of hard work would have been enough. Talent can only stop you when you are talking about the absolute heights of a sport

Just my opinion, I am quite optimistic by nature, so I could be just fooling myself
 
im inclinded to agree with general store. case in question is a mate i used to play with who worked at my local range. he had the long game of a cat 1 golfer, boomed the ball a country mile, wedge around 130/140 yards as an example, but as he had no time to practice short game hes short game was absolute dire. as he worked at the range he would spend hours smashing balls into the fence at the back, but never took the tim to hone a short game.

Id he had committed half as much to hes short game as he did hes long game, he would have been of alot less than 10, as it was hes handicap was stagnated around 20, bcause he would not practice short game or improve it. Whats funny is even as a great ball striker, he has given up as he beleived he couldnt get lower.
 
Another thing to consider is age. At some point nature must call a halt to sporting progression. Bellies and spines will start to head south, suppleness and agility not ability will suffer. Walking the course will tire you earlier in the round thus causing concentration to sag, and shot going adrift. I have just read this through and it sounds more like my autobiography than a forum post
 
I played with a guy yesterday. He is off two. He has the worst swing I have ever seen. He also does not get the ball more than 6 ft off the ground, with any club. If he can play off two, then any one can. It is just an attitude, and being able to consistently judge the distances. Too many people (me included) get hooked up on technique, and on shiny kit.

I am reading Bounce, a book about the realtionship between talent and hard work, written by Matthew Syed, the table tennis player. It is an interesting read. a lot of what we preceive to be natural talent actually isn't at all.

Most people do not achieve their potential because they neither work hard enough, nor are driven enough to achieve it in my view.

I am working on my swing. I know that this is daft. I know from years of experience that the weakest part of my game is between my ears. Am I working on that? No. Why? Because this is something I have worked on before, in another sport, and it is not something I wish to do again. I found it very uncomfortable. Pandora's box is better left closed.

The question asked by the op 'Can we be as good as we want to be?' is not necessarily the question I would ask, or have answered. To me, the question is 'can we be as good as we have the potetial to be?'
 
Murph that is very well put and a fantastic example. I mentioned something quite 'soft' sounding like yoga, which alot of the pros do, but not many 'blokes' do, but sport psychology would be even more non-blokey thing to do. I am willing to wager that 99.9% of the people on this forum have never been to see a sport psychologist and it would make a positive difference to most of us
 
There are a few requirements to improve but you don't really need any God given talents other than to be average. Guy at my place that is scratch doesn't hit a drive more than 220, I'd imagine Bobmac doesn't clear the fence at many ranges and yet can knock it round level (ish) on his day.

I believe knowledge is the key... combined with a video camera.... and the right attitude.
 
I think if you have been playing regularly for 3/4 years the best round you have shot in that time would be a good indication of your potential. I have shot 74 2 over par so for me a handicap of 4 should be a realistic target in my opinion. It takes very little physical ability to hit a golf ball 100 yards so no reason why we all cant get to single figures with good chipping and putting. The long game can be improved thru lessons.
Mike
 
Mike_j_golf said:
I think if you have been playing regularly for 3/4 years the best round you have shot in that time would be a good indication of your potential. I have shot 74 2 over par so for me a handicap of 4 should be a realistic target in my opinion. It takes very little physical ability to hit a golf ball 100 yards so no reason why we all cant get to single figures with good chipping and putting. The long game can be improved thru lessons.
Mike
Click to expand...



Completely agree....
Iv had 6 sub par rounds over the past 2 years so i know that im capable of it.I just need to be a little more patient and leave the technical side at home....
Im a firm believer that if something can be achieved once then it can be repeated over and over....
 
GeneralStore said:
Murph that is very well put and a fantastic example. I mentioned something quite 'soft' sounding like yoga, which alot of the pros do, but not many 'blokes' do, but sport psychology would be even more non-blokey thing to do. I am willing to wager that 99.9% of the people on this forum have never been to see a sport psychologist and it would make a positive difference to most of us
Click to expand...

Not seen a sports psychologist but have several books by them that I've thumbed to death. In my late 20's I didn't think I could do anything major with my swing apart from continue to fine tune it but I felt that the mental side of my game had received no coaching at all. I'm moe than happy with my bottle under pressure.
 
anotherdouble said:
Another thing to consider is age. At some point nature must call a halt to sporting progression. Bellies and spines will start to head south, suppleness and agility not ability will suffer. Walking the course will tire you earlier in the round thus causing concentration to sag, and shot going adrift. I have just read this through and it sounds more like my autobiography than a forum post
Click to expand...
Another double,You don’t have to let this happen.
I have been playing since I was a teenager but due to family commitments have played most of my golf in the last twelve years since I was 43.
I am much fitter now than I was then and whereas a few years ago I was knackered and had to have an afternoon nap I feel that I want to go round again nowadays.
I have committed to regular exercise, aerobic weights and running etc. and if bits of you are getting the droops you ought to give it a try......write a different last chapter to your autobiography.
 
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