Late Starter Scratch Players

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Toby_LeRhone

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Closely related to my earlier post regarding second career tour pros, where limited consensus suggested high probability of failure and the board yielded no examples of individuals achieving the feat of turning tour pro having taken up the game later in life, I have another question:

What is the probability of an individual taking up the sport later in life (eg, over 35) and obtaining a sustained handicap of scratch or better?
 
Suppose it depends on the individuals natural ability and if they need to work on things how easy they can adapt to change. Basically if you haven't been swinging since you could walk and been getting taught the correct things I reckon it would be impossible as there's much more to golf than the swing, unless you're an idiot like dustin Johnson then it's a piece of cake ya ken?
 
Statistically, scratch handicap are rare beasts regardless of what age you start at.

Time is against you and other commitments generally limit most people of that age as to the amount they can play & practice.

If you have natural ability, I believe a cat1 h'cap is very much reachable. However chipping off those last few shots, takes more than an odd game during the week and a round at the weekend.
 
Walter Travis (1862-1927). A native of Australia, Travis emigrated to the U.S. at age 23. He was a cyclist and tennis player before taking up the game of golf at age 35. As noted in The Golf 100: Ranking The Greatest Golfers of All Time, Travis

"knew he would have to develop a short game to succeed as a competitive golfer...He taught himself a reliable swing that produced limited length but great accuracy. Within a short time he was better than the players at his home club. He entered the U.S. Amateur at the Morris County Golf Club in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1898, his second year of golf, and reached the semifinals."

Travis won the U.S. Amateur in 1900, 1901, and 1903. In 1904 he was ranked the best amateur player in the U.S. That year he traveled to Great Britain where, at age 42, he won the British Amateur. In 1979 he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. As noted in his WGHF biography:
 
I started playing at 32 (4 years ago) and have got to 6hcp to date. 20 when I started. I did (and still do) play semi pro cricket so have a good eye for a ball. If I stopped cricket and spent all my time on golf I think I would get to 3-4. Still plenty in room in my handicap. So it can be done!
 
Was talking to a fella at our gc today who is off plus 3, now he is I think late 20's, however, when chatting he was saying that the only way to improve is with practice. My point, I think it would be very difficult at 35, with a family and a full timejob to get to scratch and maintain it. When talking to the chap of +3, he was saying he works evenings and has no family commitments, so can dedicate as much time to golf as he likes.
If you have no job, or family ties, and plenty cash, then maybe it is acheivable.
 
Forgive me, perhaps this is blindingly obvious; statistically, chipping shots off your hcp gets harder as you get lower?
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I am off 18 if I cut , I get cut .3 for every shot under css (i think)I am a category 3 player.

Someone of 1 or 2 get cut .1 for evry shot under css.

So yes it harder to lower as more cute are needed.

Someone else will explain it better Im surre
 
Was talking to a fella at our gc today who is off plus 3, now he is I think late 20's, however, when chatting he was saying that the only way to improve is with practice. My point, I think it would be very difficult at 35, with a family and a full timejob to get to scratch and maintain it. When talking to the chap of +3, he was saying he works evenings and has no family commitments, so can dedicate as much time to golf as he likes.
If you have no job, or family ties, and plenty cash, then maybe it is acheivable.
Click to expand...

All the best low HC golfers I know all play at least 5 or more rounds a week. They also practice quite a bit and tend to be members at more than one club.
 
Was talking to a fella at our gc today who is off plus 3, now he is I think late 20's, however, when chatting he was saying that the only way to improve is with practice. My point, I think it would be very difficult at 35, with a family and a full timejob to get to scratch and maintain it. When talking to the chap of +3, he was saying he works evenings and has no family commitments, so can dedicate as much time to golf as he likes.
If you have no job, or family ties, and plenty cash, then maybe it is acheivable.
Click to expand...

All the best low HC golfers I know all play at least 5 or more rounds a week. They also practice quite a bit and tend to be members at more than one club.
Click to expand...

Wow, that IS a facinating insight.
 
There's a guy in my own club who only took the game up around 5-6 years ago. He got to +1 this year. He spent thousands on lessons - typically 2 per week - and up until he had a child a few months back was playing or practicing every day of the week.

I'm guessing he's around 37 or 38 years old now. Shows it can be done, but you need a hell of a lot of time.
 
I think it could be done, if every spare moment was dedicated to playing, practicing and possibly having instruction from a decent coach. However for how many would that be a realistic or viable option with mortgages, families etc.

The BB&O captain is a guy who is a member of my club and he is playing or practicing every day to maintain his +1 handicap which he needs to be in with a chance of representing England (as he's done) regularly. Even at that level and having that talent it still requires hours and hours of dedication.
 
When I started playing (aged 25) I got down to cat1 in a year, I played EVERY DAY for that entire year. As the family came along and commitments changed I eventually stopped playing for 7 years, came back to it 2 years ago at the ripe age of 39 and can scrape it round in a few over par occasionally, without practicing (admittedly I can also shoot 15 over quite comfortably too!) :p

I reckon if I sold my kids and ditched the wife I could be scratch in a year... provided I lived on the practice ground every minute the sun was up!
 
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