Need to eat, sleep & breathe it to be good?

[GB72]

This is something that has always confused me about golf as opposed to other sports. There seems to be this general understanding that if you keep practicing and having lessons etc then you will get to be a scratch golfer. I am not sure I follow this. In no other sport that I know to people assume that you can get to the higher levels that an amateur can aspire to just by effort alone. There has to be some point where actual ability, mental toughness and simple physical ability steps in and pulls you to a hault.

If it were the case that you could basically guarantee becoming a scratch golfer with enough hard work then that would mean that golf is purely a case of mastering a set of mechanical moves and that will, in turn, produce perfect results.

I think that hard work can get you to a certain natural level but at some point god given ability, physical condition and mental toughness step in and say that is as far as you are going.

 

[garyinderry]

I'd say most cat 1 boys play quite a bit of golf.

Just thinking of a few as there are quite a number back home. 2 work in the golf shop, another plays about 27 holes daily and a few of the younger boys coming through live at the course 24/7.

The majority have lessons and play lots and lots of golf.

Often found on the putting green. Not just the five minutes while they wait for the 1st tee to clear.

 

[jamielaing]

This is something that has always confused me about golf as opposed to other sports. There seems to be this general understanding that if you keep practicing and having lessons etc then you will get to be a scratch golfer. I am not sure I follow this. In no other sport that I know to people assume that you can get to the higher levels that an amateur can aspire to just by effort alone. There has to be some point where actual ability, mental toughness and simple physical ability steps in and pulls you to a hault.

If it were the case that you could basically guarantee becoming a scratch golfer with enough hard work then that would mean that golf is purely a case of mastering a set of mechanical moves and that will, in turn, produce perfect results.

I think that hard work can get you to a certain natural level but at some point god given ability, physical condition and mental toughness step in and say that is as far as you are going.

Not practising- new gear does that though!

 

[Curls]

Hi Paul, I think I see a few points to note here

He then fires out a statement that in order to be good you pretty much need to Eat, Sleep and Breathe golf in order to be good at it.

He said that to you, and it is both subjective and relative. As someone starting from a position where you were shooting in the 100s, within a short space of time through hard work you have shot much better scores, no doubt the result of actually getting better at the game. Now when the pro said "good", what did he mean? Have you expressed a wish to get to single figures, Cat 1, scratch? Any of these might be defined as good by one person, but it's subjective. If you as someone who hasn't played much til recently wanted to get to scratch, then I'd imagine youd have to eat sleep and breathe it. If someone like Seve wanted to get to single figures when he started I don't think he would.

So for anyone who is struggling to play consistently well and wants to get better, I reckon a whole change in lifestyle is necessary to break the cycle, or risk remaining at the same level.

I think you make a valid point. You're not talking about the guys who woke up one morning and were brilliant at everything, you're saying that anyone who is experiencing a personal plateau might need to think about what it is they believe can help them achieve the next level. In some cases this will be, as you say, a major shift in attitude. In others, perhaps less so, but its about where you want to be and how hard you are willing to work to get there, with the concession that natural talent is not something that can be measured, bought or learned.

Golf certainly seems to be a game where you get out what you put in.

I agree, for most people at most levels - good structured practice, coaching and competitive play pays dividends.

All that work feels like it's gone to waste.

I disagree. More than anything you have removed mental barriers, such as shooting a certain number gross. You know you've done it, so it won't be a shock when you do it again. The ability to stand on the 10th tee after a fantastic front 9 and not go to pieces is something that can only be learned by doing it a few times, or at least once, successfully. Mental barriers will often restrict people more than physical ones.

You'll be back to where you were, and better. The amount of work you put in will be dictated by much you want it and how much you are willing to work while still enjoying yourself.

 

[the_coach]

I was hammering the practice when I took up the sport again. Played 3 times a week, and practice at the range in between. I went for lessons and all sorts. Shooting gross scores I could only dream of as a net score years ago. Since my car was taken into the garage a month ago I have hardly played at all (Got it back yesterday). I was even late for my lesson the other night because I've been so busy with stuff.

On the lesson I was hitting the ball worse than ever, and the tutor couldn't believe it was the same person. I pretty much said to him that it was down to me not playing for the last 3 weeks at all. He then fires out a statement that in order to be good you pretty much need to Eat, Sleep and Breathe golf in order to be good at it.

I tend to agree with it. It doesn't bode well to just jump in and out of it whenever you feel like it and pick up where you left off.

So for anyone who is struggling to play consistently well and wants to get better, I reckon a whole change in lifestyle is necessary to break the cycle, or risk remaining at the same level. Golf certainly seems to be a game where you get out what you put in. Sounds extreme but honestly it worked for me for a wee while there, and I'm feeling the fall out from not practicing now. All that work feels like it's gone to waste.

would say that probably he was just looking maybes to boost your enthusiasm to get back on track

my take it's not about the 'quantity' of practice but really about the 'quality' of the practice & the 'quality & rigor' of the monitoring of self practice - given that the right kind of practice is being attempted from the get-go

large majority of index players, in my experience, don't really give the 'statics' of set-up & alignments the importance they should command then they don't by & large think quality but quantity
but a large bunch of time spent practicing & ingraining the wrong 'motor moves' just make folks constant in repeating the wrong stuff

players in the pro world like Seve & Bubba who most consider talented naturals folks don't really take in to account just how much playing & practicing & experimenting with shots that they did when they were first starting the game as kids & as such working out just how to get ball to target by first making the correct course management decisions

paraphrasing Trevino - all the 'naturals' have put a lot of hard work one way & another into being 'natural'

 

[Canary_Yellow]

would say that probably he was just looking maybes to boost your enthusiasm to get back on track

my take it's not about the 'quantity' of practice but really about the 'quality' of the practice & the 'quality & rigor' of the monitoring of self practice - given that the right kind of practice is being attempted from the get-go

large majority of index players, in my experience, don't really give the 'statics' of set-up & alignments the importance they should command then they don't by & large think quality but quantity
but a large bunch of time spent practicing & ingraining the wrong 'motor moves' just make folks constant in repeating the wrong stuff

players in the pro world like Seve & Bubba who most consider talented naturals folks don't really take in to account just how much playing & practicing & experimenting with shots that they did when they were first starting the game as kids & as such working out just how to get ball to target by first making the correct course management decisions

paraphrasing Trevino - all the 'naturals' have put a lot of hard work one way & another into being 'natural'

Quality over quantity is a very valid point.

I go to the range frequently, but I wouldn't say the quality of my practice is as good as it should be really. However, I'm not quite sure what good quality practice actually looks like either....

 

[rustyb]

would say that probably he was just looking maybes to boost your enthusiasm to get back on track

my take it's not about the 'quantity' of practice but really about the 'quality' of the practice & the 'quality & rigor' of the monitoring of self practice - given that the right kind of practice is being attempted from the get-go

large majority of index players, in my experience, don't really give the 'statics' of set-up & alignments the importance they should command then they don't by & large think quality but quantity
but a large bunch of time spent practicing & ingraining the wrong 'motor moves' just make folks constant in repeating the wrong stuff

players in the pro world like Seve & Bubba who most consider talented naturals folks don't really take in to account just how much playing & practicing & experimenting with shots that they did when they were first starting the game as kids & as such working out just how to get ball to target by first making the correct course management decisions

paraphrasing Trevino - all the 'naturals' have put a lot of hard work one way & another into being 'natural'

Its funny ive been reading a bit about growth mindset, natural talent, and the 10,000 hours theory and it is amazing how many people still believe that natural talent is the primary reason for people doing well in sport and life in general. im willing to bet those guys who do nothing now, will at some point have played an awful lot of golf to get to a very good level. Natural talent is a theory that people use to explain talent, which 95% of the time comes from hard work, dedication and practice. Paul, your pro is right, if you as a 15/20 handicapper and want to play off single figures your going to have to work hard at it over a few years, and practice purposefully and consistently. but without embedding the motor skills and refining your movements and without gaining the experience that people develop over time you wont get any better, so it stands that the more you play, the better your practice, the better you'll get.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Its funny ive been reading a bit about growth mindset, natural talent, and the 10,000 hours theory and it is amazing how many people still believe that natural talent is the primary reason for people doing well in sport and life in general. im willing to bet those guys who do nothing now, will at some point have played an awful lot of golf to get to a very good level. Natural talent is a theory that people use to explain talent, which 95% of the time comes from hard work, dedication and practice. Paul, your pro is right, if you as a 15/20 handicapper and want to play off single figures your going to have to work hard at it over a few years, and practice purposefully and consistently. but without embedding the motor skills and refining your movements and without gaining the experience that people develop over time you wont get any better, so it stands that the more you play, the better your practice, the better you'll get.

This is true. I would say though that some people pick it up more quickly than others. That's what we mean by "natural talent" isn't it?

 

[rustyb]

This is true. I would say though that some people pick it up more quickly than others. That's what we mean by "natural talent" isn't it?

I would call natural talent someone's physical attributes. There are plenty of studies that say that How good someone is at sport or music entirely depends on the amount they have participated in that activity as youngsters, kicking a ball or swinging a club. Ie arguing against a 'natural talent' theory.Tiger didn't just pick up a club and was suddenly chipping them in from twenty feet. He played for hours and hours as a kid. As a two and three year old. So by the time he's five he's already spent hundred of hours developing his motor skills. So then everyone says, wow what amazing natural talent he has.

 

[TheCaddie]

I know two Cat 1 golfers very well. One of them has been playing since he could hold a club, all the way until he was 19, tried turning pro, and now, at 30 dabbles every other weekend or so and plays off three. But that 15 year obsession as grooved in a swing that he has for life now.

The other, plays of scratch, and he plays Saturday and Sunday without fail, often playing twice on one of those days, and he practices during the week too. He absolutely is obsessed, and regularly wins competitions.

I think the initial learning curve is steep, and you need to practice and play as much as you possibly can for the first two years. Then you need to play as regularly as possible as well. Being a high handicapper, I can absolutely see the need to eat, sleep and breathe the game, until you have enough in the muscle memory and experience bank to be able to draw on shots as and when required.

 

[drdel]

Some people are blessed with good eye sight, others aren't. Some people are born with good muscle control and 'fast' twitch muscle cells. Some have all three and will find ball games easier than those individuals who do not have the luck or genes to be born with these faculties.

Obviously to make the absolute best of these attributes will take effort and dedication, but no amount of effort will make a scratch golfer out of someone unlucky to have poor eye-hand coordination.

Were it not the case we'd all be concert pianist, world glass tennis players. However with a keyboard we can all be kings of critics.

 

[RollinThunder]

Lads I know who play every couple of weeks or so, and don't practice tend to be between 18 for the better ones, and 26 for the not so good. Lads who play every week without fail, and practice a day a week or so tend to be between 10 and 18. The only lads I know who are under 10 are either extremely committed and play several times a week with practice, or were very good golfers in their youth, stemming from family ties to a club (parents were secretaries, club owners, groundsmen, etc).

One of my friend's dad's was a secretary for a club, so he enjoyed free golf and practicing in his youth, who now plays off 2, and another friend's grandad owned and still owns a course, so still enjoys free golf, and plays off 7. So, at some point, these two did eat, sleep and breath golf, and that has left a positive mark on them, which can still be seen years later.

I do enjoy my golf, and I enjoy the aspects around playing the game itself, such as practicing, watching it on TV, watching practice videos, talking about golf, etc. But, I do feel that in order to become a low-handicapper, I'd have to be much more committed, and play and practice maybe 2 days a week more to stay sharp and keep getting sharper. At the moment, playing once a week and going to the range maybe once, if I'm lucky, twice a week, is giving steady, positive results, but I know they'll level-out and reach a plateau when I get to the early/mid-teens, and after that, I will have to start giving more. That would probably mean stepping on the toes of my other sports and hobbies, really cutting them down or even stopping them completely, and replacing them with more golf and practice, so golf would become my sole and only sport. For me, in order to become a low-handicapper, or possibly scratch, I would certainly have to "eat, sleep and breath" it.

 

[turkish]

This guy seems the epitome of this thread. I wish I could win the Euros and do this(although I accept many even on here would think this is ridiculous)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzyunUqCk5I

Managed to get to 2.7 in 27 months from being a novice which is pretty cool.

Interesting he worked solely with putter for 5 months then worked his way back up the bag (IE same way toger went about- albeit tiger was a nipper)