Operation Scratch

Hi there operationscratch,

Firstly can I say that we share a common goal here, we are all trying to get better at this blasted game - we all probably share some common traits that a psychiatrist could have a field day with.

I take my hat off to you trying to get down to scratch and with the dedication you've outlined above I think it is doable.

A perfect case in point has to be Ian Poulter who has shown us that if you really want something then with some single minded focus it can be done.

What I would say and this is one of the most important factors of all - there is no point in you sticking to this structured practice if you are practicing the wrong things. Find a well regarded coach firstly and then get him to teach you sound fundamentals - as without these no your talent is going to fall short.

Learn the basics well and then once this has been done i.e you can keep the ball on the course and hit it consistently in the direction you want to go - it will be down to the short game how good you get. If you have a superb short game and you can hit the ball an average trip roughly where you've aimed then I dont see why you cant get down to scratch. Keeping out of trouble and holing many putts is the key.

All the pain and mental damage this game inflicts on us can be got round through learning good grip, posture and allignment through a good pro.

Hope you get there

Its a great feeling when you get down to scratch !!! ;)
 
Thanks Ethan, you make some very good points there especially the last paragraph. I will think about interim goals and then can adjust shoudl the need be.

Interestly the company I work for sponsors a pro tour golfer, currently flitting between the Challenge and Eruropean Tours. I play regularly with him so see first hand the difference in our games.

On a side note I have worked very hard this Winter and look forward to seeing what scores I post come the first handicap legible round. Last week I shot a 79, but did not get cut as it was not a comp that counted towards handicaps. Something to do with Winter Tees bla bla bla.

Thanks again Ethan
 
Not sure whether I am a sceptic or a realist (or both)

Don't most (if not all) of us want to be as good as possible at this game?? Which ultimately means a h'cap of scratch (or better).

We can't all start writing blogs about it, although I think I'd enjoy one where the author is enjoying playing golf and having some banter rather than the ones telling me about another lesson.
 
Thanks Davy,

I have spent the past 2 years thinking so hard about this. I have read of many guys who have tried it too. I read a book called 'Hacker to Hero'. I got in contact with this chap. He was about 50 when he went from hacking to playing off scratch. Dont get me wrong he had pots of money and played full time for 6 months. But his ethos was very interesting and I reccomend the book to anyone.

On the note of coaching, I am working with Steven Orr who graces most front covers of Todays Golfer. He is amazing and gets me and my passion. About 6 months ago Ig ave him a blank canvass and he has restructed my swing completely. I plan on posting videos of how this has transformed. He has also put me in touch with a biomechanic coach who is helping me get my body to work the way it needs to in order to get my flexibilty where a serious golfer needs it to be.

Secondly when I (with trepedation) said I wasnted to turn pro it had an 18 year tag attached for when I could join the Seniors Tour at 50. It was my coach though who said 3 years with my game, ability and serious practice (key factor) was potentially viable and we are talking something like Europro Tour, which to be fair has a mixture of top pros using it as a platform and corporate sponsored chaps that regularly post scores in the 80s.

There is not a chance in hell that I will be playing in the Race to Dubai any time soon but like you said Poulter at a different level has proved what a guy can do in 10 years going from a shop to 5th in the WORLD !!

Cheers again Davy
 
There was a chap at our place in 2008 who's dad funded him to play golf full time. He was already 8 or 9 h/c I think. He won most of the comps and entered eveything going...county events and opens all over the place.

At the end of the year he was 4 and gave up to go back to work , now he's 5 and heading for 6 after last year.

You have no chance whatsoever in doing it in a year , there simply wont be enough tournaments in the first place to enable you to get cut sufficiently. When and if you hit cat 1 then you still have to shoot another 50 under h/c in comps without getting any .1's back either....lmao

JoUK has hit it on the head , you MAY get to play a round to level gross by the end of the year if you're lucky.

Good luck though ;)
 
Robobum,

I agree completey. Statistics would indicate that even though we want to get better on average we are not.

I wasnt just saying that for the sake of stating the obvious. Lets just assume I manage to do this with some structure, routine and dedication that does not take away from my family like and work committments. Lets say I even manage JUST to get to a 2/3 handicap. Wouldnt it have been worth it to see what can be done?

Bottom line is I will either do it or crash and burn...LOL

I am not going to sell my story though or write a book. This is not a business for me. I want to get better like everyone else and am doing what I feel is needed and hope to share those aspects with anyone who will listen.
 
To Jon, Robobum, JoUK and others. The 'About me' page that johnboy17 kindly pasted is flawed. As per my 1st Blog the plan for scratch is a 2 year one. with the 3rd year being to work towards honing a game needed to compete on a pro level. Local Tours etc. When I first posted on this form I said pro in 3 years with an 'INTERIM GOAL of scratch' but did not state any time frames.

I have seen this goal of scratch acheived in a year but that would be very tough going.

I must apologise for the misprint on my profile, but the 1st blog post is the actual introduction to my plan !!!
 
As per my 1st Blog the plan for stratch is a 2 year one. with the 3rd year being to work towards honing a game needed to compete on a pro level. Local Tours etc. When I first posted on this form I said pro in 3 years with an 'INTERIM GOAL of scratch' but did not state any time frames.
Click to expand...

Of course you didn't state any time frames ;) x
 
We seem to have a large number of people going through mid life crises on this forum now!!! What happened??? Woke up one morning, realised life's slipping you by and you don't want to die a nobody??? Suddenly have a brain wave - I know, I'm going to set myself a goal - scratch golf in 18 minutes time!!!

Get a grip people!!! Go and buy yourself a sports car. Failing that, kill a few people, that'll get you noticed.......

You're in your 30s - the opportunity to play pro sport has 99% passed you by. I'd love to be playing professional football but I'm 20 years too old. I'd love to be playing professional cricket but I'm 20 years too old. I'd love to be playing professional golf but I'm 20 years too old.

I play off 10 and I'd like to think that I'm more than a competant golfer who can hold his own against most players - what would it take to get me to scratch??? I'd need a sugar Mummy/Daddy (?) to fund me for about 3-5 years so that I could be on the course/practice ground morning, noon and night. I'd also need a GM top 25 coach plus a complete overhaul of my bag. Oh, and someone to look after my two children.......

It can be done but you'll need 100% dedication. When your mates are in the pub, you'll be on the course. When your mates are having dates, you'll be on the course. When your mates are getting promoted at work, you won't mind because you've put your career on hold to concentrate on golf and there is NO WAY ON GOD'S EARTH that you can have children as they will take up far too much of your time.

A few years ago I played Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire with a 2 handicapper. His swing and ball striking was a country mile away from mine even though his handicap is only 8 better than mine. I asked him why he'd never turned pro. He said that the idea of being at a golf course on a wet Tuesday afternoon with no-one for company except an old 14" TV didn;t appeal to him. I asked him why he'd never considered trying to be a touring pro and he responded thus: "The difference between a touring pro and a club pro/single figure player is the same as the difference between a 5 handicapper and a 28 handicapper". His analogy appears rediculous at first but upon further examination touring pros are like machines, they're consistency is unbelievable. Unfortunately, that consistency is gained from hours upon hours of practicing. 800 balls a day, isn't it, that touring pros hit??? Rory Mac had an 8 hour practice session recently - you'll need the same, if not more.

I wish you luck - every person needs dreams and occassionally, just occassionally, they come true but you'll need to go through hell first.
 
We seem to have a large number of people going through mid life crises on this forum now!!! What happened??? Woke up one morning, realised life's slipping you by and you don't want to die a nobody??? Suddenly have a brain wave - I know, I'm going to set myself a goal - scratch golf in 18 minutes time!!!

Get a grip people!!! Go and buy yourself a sports car. Failing that, kill a few people, that'll get you noticed.......
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for lightening up towards the end....LOL In all seriousness though I hear your comments loud and clear. I am married and have no social life. I have a small paddock area (no horses, please dont think I am a rich farmer)to the rear of my garden with a flag in and last autumn when we moved in I peppered the flag with upwards of 500 balls a night. It wasn't real golf but it helps to get a swing in my subconsious. I look forward to starting it again in a month or so. ANYWAY, dreams are there to be realised and the only reason people knock it is because there has not been enough people who have achieved this goal for us all to be able to reply to this post with a "Well done, its been done many times before and will be done again", there is alwasys a first for everthing...and like I said if I honestly felt this could not be done I would not have bothered.

I REFER YOU ALL TO THIS LINK...READ THE DESCRIPTION:
http://www.amazon.com/Hacker-Hero-Twelve-Months/dp/0967158907

With regards to the post about a guy who played full time for year and went from 8 to 4, maybe he had no belief, maybe it was the coaching, maybe it was the dedication and committment. WHo knows. One thing that stops us all from improving is the mental side of things.

How many of us have blown up on the 1st, maybe 2nd or 3rd hole and just allowed it to screw up what COULD HAVE been our best round if we had let it go and stuck to our routines etc

Just a thought...
 
Hi Op Scratch
Firstly good luck, its good to have drive, determination and goals...however, I would doubt the probability of this happening, as an example I cite my experiences.
I started playing at aged 10 (am 46 now) I was fortunate enough for my parents to send me to a summer golf coaching school for a month when I was 12. I recieved a lot of coaching from a top coach Alex Hay. With these lessons, and youth on my side I achieved a handicap of 5 at 16....I would have loved to have become an assistant and turn pro, but I simply wasnt good enough, I was an ok 5 thats all. I maintained that handicap until the age of about 30 when my circumstances changed and I gave up the game.
Last year I re-joined a club and got a handicap of 10 - I have played a lot of golf and practised hard, as yet cant get down to single figures again.....it is so hard, I know at the back of my mind I am a 5 handicapper, the reality is that I play off 10.
PS I had 2 rounds last weekend on 69 gross and one 72...shall I join the tour????

Good luck
 
Here is the most valuable tip I got at a national coaching panel and it said :

Never ever give up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This has been a valuable lesson in my golfing (checkered) career

Davy
 
Having read this thread i find it hard to believe that you can get to scratch in 2 years i admire your ambition. But i have to say i find it quite unbeleivable to want to share it with people i think we all have ambitions to get down to scartch. I am fortunate to have played off of scatch last year and its feckin hard work to keep that level off consistency for a substained period of time, i have been lucky enough to play with some good and some excellent golfers in my short time playing with handicaps ranging from 0 to +3 and none of them Could hack it on a mini pro tour far less the main tour.

As i say i wish you luck with your quest and would love you to prove the doubters wrong but i cant see it.
 
I'm not really interested in your blog. If you want to keep us up to date on the forum with your progress then you are more than welcome.

I do take my hat off to you if you get anywhere near your goals, provided you are prepared to make the sacrifices necessary then you could certainly get down close to 4 h/cap in a year.

I did it in two years without the aid of a coach or a lesson so if you have it in you physically then I don't see why not. The problem is that being a 4 h/cap is just the beginning, that's the easy part. In my opinion you have to be twice as good to get to a solid 3, twice as good again to get to 2 and so on. That means you have to be 16 times a better golfer to be scratch than a 4 h/cap :) The commitment required goes through the roof as you get better... what you are thinking right now isn't even the tip of the iceburg :)

You are going to have to LIVE with a club in your hand for the next 2 years and even then it might not be anywhere near enough.

So why are you leaving Mid Sussex? Doesn't Neil Plimmer work there anymore? He's supposed to be a Golf Monthly top25 coach apparently, we don't see him here anymore though :)

I used to be a member there back when it opened, went round 9 holes with my mate once who played off 2, he was 8 under on the front 9! Best bunkershot I ever played was there in a medal :) Just thought I'd share that piece of useless info with you.

Hey, I'm just filling in the form now for the Worthing Open.. might see you there! :D

I notice you have dabbled with stack and tilt... didn't like it?
 
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