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Is the world best golfer playing golf?

Read this book, it'll blow your mind:


Syed, Matthew (2011) Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice (Fourth Estate: London)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bounce-Myth-Tale...5177&sr=1-1

Using the results of scientific analysis, it demonstrates how it is predominantly practice and not talent that has historically made champions in any complex sporting endeavour. Plus, its a damn good read (I read it in 2 sittings and even got my wife to read it too (she never reads anything other than Hello magazine)).
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I actually will read the book as it looks very interesting but are you saying the only difference between me and Tiger is he practised better,

I would have thought there are phisiological differences which can be construed as natural talent and are there not emotional and perceptual differences that could give someone an edge, surely training is not the only difference
 
Another example, we are the only country playing darts so the world best players are british. I'm sure that if the world took on darts the things would change quickly.
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What would happen is that the other countries find that they can do it better than us and therefore kick our butts ie Soccer.

I get the point of the OP but it is rather hypothetical

Fragger ( Best Golfer In My Little World)

:D
 
I an kind of understand where you are coming from. There are millions of people all over the world who never get the opportunity to find out what they are good at.

But to suggest that the 79 I shot round my course on Saturday is in anyway close to being as good as the 81 Paul Broadhurst shot at Wentworth is just plain daft.

The gap between the pro's and the rest of us is so great they may as well play a different game, in fact, they do play a different game. The only similarity is the numbers.
 
Stuff the golfers out there.

How about all the potential mathematicians, research physicists, doctors, surgeons, chefs, inventors, brewers (most important of all), who remain undiscovered.

What we need is a global screening process, based on DNA analysis to identify every ones potential. And then shoe horn them into a job they never really wanted to do, just because they might one day be good at it.

Gattaca any one?
 
Jeez. I'm giving up my day job and will practice the following until I know which I'm the best ever at:

Golf, Judo, Football, Rugby, Piano, Porn, Cricket, Surgeon, Pigeon Fancier, Taxi Driver, Chess, CEO, Bin Man, Nurse, Teacher, Archery, Cycling, Swimming, Polo, Surveying, Marketing, Proposal Writing, Badminton, Software Programming, Gardening, Web Design....

I may be sometime. :D
 
Jeez. I'm giving up my day job and will practice the following until I know which I'm the best ever at:

Golf, Judo, Football, Rugby, Piano, Porn, Cricket, Surgeon, Pigeon Fancier, Taxi Driver, Chess, CEO, Bin Man, Nurse, Teacher, Archery, Cycling, Swimming, Polo, Surveying, Marketing, Proposal Writing, Badminton, Software Programming, Gardening, Web Design....

I may be sometime. :D
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My money is on gardening
 
I kind of see the point iku is making. That the sport is not available to the masses. I reckon the best golfer not ever playing golf was a bit of a tongue in cheek comment and we may be slightly over-reacting.

Golf is and never will be as popular as football etc, the reason being if you dont play golf you wont really appreciate that talent the top pro golfers have. There for its not really a spectators sport. I love watching golf, my missus and non-playing friends find it a ridiculously boring sport. To be honest i never even considered watching golf before i started playing.
 
Re the 3-4 golfing countries, well you listed 5 and Italy is not a golfing country. I can guarantee on that. Neither is Germany...

Anyway, many people here are saying that the difference between me and a pro is just practice and that just because my hc has been reducing in the past 2 years I can interpolate it over time and soon I'll be competing at the masters.

Natural talent is a good 80% in professional sport, any professional sport. If you are not talented you can improve but you'll never ever match the level of the naturals.

I was giving tennis lessons few years ago and there were some kids that seemed born with a racket and others that simply couldn't hit the ball.

If you have a limited sample of people practicing a certain sport like in golf the chances of finding someone excellent are slim.

Why did England started losing at cricket against the old colonies?? Because they have millions of people playing and so more chances to find a champion. Why the US are crap (not so much recently) at football? Because nobody plays it over there. Why Britain can't put a basketball team together? Because here is a ladies' game called netball.

Why golf has not achieved its potential? Because 99.9% of the world population don't play golf.

Having said so, I'll go practicing because it takes me 5 years to make what Donald did in 4 days....
 
It still puts golf in with every other activity though. Nothing done by humans on this planet will ever really achieve it's full potential. It can't.
 
It still puts golf in with every other activity though. Nothing done by humans on this planet will ever really achieve it's full potential. It can't.
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True. But surely some masses' sports are closer to theirs.

Sport is full of examples. Take the sumo. As soon as it was extended outside of Japan the world champion became a swedish lovely fatty...
 
Apart from a few ridiculous comments, the first idea is interesting. I've often wondered what sport I could have really excelled at...I seem to be quite good at most sports I try but I chose basketball where I played at national league level. If I played a different sport could I have made a career of it??
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The basic skill set for most ball sports is the same (size, speed, coordination) if you are good at football, then you are probably good at rugby, basketball etc

Tennis, golf tend to be more technical but again without hand, eye coordination you won't get that far.

If you excel at one sport then the basic attributes exist to excel at most others, the variable factors are application, desire and luck.

Maybe a top sportsman in a different sport could have excelled at golf, but if they weren’t interested in applying themselves then they would have got nowhere

If you get some bloke in the pub banging on about how good he could have been, the chances are he failed because of lack of desire/application
 
To be honest if you're a natural athlete you do tend to pick up sports alot easier. My friend who played football at a proffesional level when he was younger decided to take me up on my offer for a round of golf one sunday, he had never picked up a club before. Yet he watched some people on the range we went out to the course and he easily beat me (i am awful) and has continued to improve very quickly without any coaching and lessons. I'm just treading water at the moment and pumping time and money in the hope i improve. Natural ability does count. But it's fairly simple, you can't be classed the best at something if you havn't done it.
 
I actually will read the book as it looks very interesting but are you saying the only difference between me and Tiger is he practised better,

I would have thought there are phisiological differences which can be construed as natural talent and are there not emotional and perceptual differences that could give someone an edge, surely training is not the only difference
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Don't bother. I know this book and the basic premise is seriously flawed. It panders to the mumbo-jumbo head-shrinking fraternity that believe anything is possible for anyone.
Take 2 kids, give them both a golf club, endless tuition, equal home support, etc.etc. and what you'll have in two years is two players of different standards with different prospects.
It's all about aptitude (mental and physical) and opportunity. Nature and nurture. Both are necessary.
I know of a teenager and her parents who believe in this book as if it was a holy scripture. From my point of view, I'm deeply sceptical.
 
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