Is it possible to predict which players will make to the top as kids?

[mjyounie]

This is an area I am very interested to hear peoples opinions.

Talent identification is not by any means a new thing. Academies and youth programmes all over the world seek talented kids and hope their training programme will produce successes. They have experienced scouts who have experience and expertise that help them decide which people to enrol in their programme and which ones they believe will simply not make it.

The question I am asking is, is there a list of attributes you think you can spot in a young kid playing the game that increase the kids chance of making it as a professional? And also, is it even possible in a sport like golf where the improvement rate and progression can be either very slow or very rapid for example Guan Tianlang to be able to predict that a young player will be successful. Me personally I believe there are certain characteristics a young player must posses if he is going to do well in the game at the top level but I am interested to find out what you think.

Is it possible to predict who will make it to the top when the players you have to choose from at all 10-14 years of age? Or in a sport like golf where there are so many different routes available for someone to take are there too many variables to come up with a checklist you could use on any player and determine their chances of making it.

 

[Foxholer]

Very difficult to predict!

As the finished product requires dedication and drive, I believe the only way is to provide the basic environment that will encourage the talent and let the the individual shine.

I knew a couple of families where all the kids were talented. It was the older, least talented but more driven that succeeded in one and the two lesser talents in the other. I've played, and am about to play, with some 'spoiled brat' late teenage guys who seem to lose concentration too easily, though our games may not be serious enough.

And it's also difficult to predict what is going to happen when the adolescent hormones kick in!

 

[Alex1975]

I don't think its possible because there is a set of factors you will never see. Drink, Drugs and the biggest of all Love. On top of that family and finance.

Human beings are delicate things mentally and there is a list of things that can damage them. Those things manifest them self in so many and mainly destructive ways.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

I knew a bunch of young golfers who were very good.
At that time it was obvious that Gary Harris, Michael Welch and Lee Westwood were destined to be stars and David Howell would probably not make it

So...... No, No, Yes, No

 

[scratch]

Nope.

Ian Poulter = run of the mill 4hcp.....no chance

Gordon Sherry = Amateur champion, outstanding talent........sunk without trace

 

[cookelad]

Was told Ian Woosnam should never have got where he did based on his junior golf! (might have been Nashy that told me that!)

 

[Hobbit]

Ran our junior section for a number of years. Saw 3 outstanding talents in 10 years. All 3, now in their mid/late 20's, no longer play golf. 2 others, who at the same age group as juniors, have gone on to play great golf. One is a plus 2 and the other is a decent pro in regional comps.

The difference is their attitude. The first 3 were shooting stars that burned brightly, promised loads, got to a really low handicaps(1, 2, 1) but then just gave up totally. One of them won a big junior, international, comp at St Andrews without really trying...

Boredom? Too many other things they want more - 2 of them loved beer and women more than golf. And one found a white substance and beer more fun.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Nope.

Ian Poulter = run of the mill 4hcp.....no chance

Gordon Sherry = Amateur champion, outstanding talent........sunk without trace

Gordon won the last four holes to beat David Howell in the semi of that British Championship.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Of the girls Mhari McKay, Vicki Hanks, Caroline Hall and Lesley Nicholson all looked impressive.
I thought Caroline Hall would become a big star.

 

[AllyLodge]

no.

a great example i was reading a couple of days ago http://golfweek.com/news/2011/sep/13/balicki-some-cant-misses-still-do/

just because they look promising when they're young, or are at a very low handicap for their age, although it may be more likely to become professional etc. it's definitely not certain.

 

[Ian_S]

Given a group of 20, you could probably split them into groups of 10 and say which of those groups would have the most 'stars'. But at an individual level, I don't think you can. Chance affects our lives more than we like to admit, and whether a player makes it or not might depend on how the wind is blowing on a single hole at a given tournament. To make it, you need talent and luck. Some people just don't get the breaks.

 

[lyden]

There are a small amount of sports people who would have made it without luck, Tiger woods, Lionel messi........but everyone else needs it. A certain Northern Irish golfer has had more than his fair share along the way.

 

[Golfmmad]

Very difficult to predict!

As the finished product requires dedication and drive, I believe the only way is to provide the basic environment that will encourage the talent and let the the individual shine.

I knew a couple of families where all the kids were talented. It was the older, least talented but more driven that succeeded in one and the two lesser talents in the other. I've played, and am about to play, with some 'spoiled brat' late teenage guys who seem to lose concentration too easily, though our games may not be serious enough.

And it's also difficult to predict what is going to happen when the adolescent hormones kick in!

Absolutely agree with this - spot on.

Unless the individual has the single mindedness to be the best, it 'aint going to happen.

Look at any sport and all those at the top level have the necessary dedication and single minded approach.

A fine example would be Rugby's Johnny Wilkinson.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I've known a lot of very good juniors destined to kick on but once they discover beer and women it takes a very strong will not to get distracted and plenty have left golf alone. Funnily enough it is the same with footballers on the cusp of playing league football and a cricketer I knew who had just broken into Surrey's first XI. All were head and shoulders above their age brackets growing up but didn't have the one thing you can't teach, manufacture or make and that is dedication. You have it and become a top player or you don't