What level could haveyou reach?

Physically, I could have been in the plusses but mentally.......

I can hit it like a pro but short game has the all the finesse of the Hulk in a bad mood.
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

I'm going to disagree with those that are saying the smaller tours are a million miles away in this hypothetical. In 18 months back to the game I started with a 13 handicap and got down to 8. I am aiming to be Cat 1 within a year which is definitely achievable. The following year I would want to be getting into the club team playing to around 2/3 handicap. Again I feel this is achievable. This is without any coaching, gym work, sports psychology, lessons. It is self taught or self researched.

I have read two books on golf psychology this year which has helped me drop two shots from my handicap. I still panic, still get ahead of myself and am maybe 20% of the way to being a good mental golfer. Imagine what 10 hours a week with a psychologist could do? I have played golf to a good standard the past 18 months with no professional tuition. Another 10 hours a week with a coach would help me tremendously. I play 3 times a week sometimes running to the tee with no prep work and still shooting in the 70s. Another 10 hours a week dedicated practice and then time to play a round after that. I think a year of this would get me playing to scratch most of the time. 5 years and who knows.

I know I have the shots, it's getting them together at the right time. 40 hours a week spent on golf would help to give me that.
 
Yes it's achievable but the smaller tours are a mile away - I play with guys of plus 1 and plus 3 - both struggled to qualify for the Euro Pro Tour

Whilst I admire your ambition I think reality will hit you - getting to cat 1 is tough but getting from 5 to 3 to 2 etc is harder than anyone could imagine. It takes most people years to go from 5 to 3 or lower
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

I played cricket and hockey as my sports growing up. I was lucky enough to play with people who went on to pro level, cricket, or international level, cricket and hockey. I'm with those who say they are playing at a different level. They stand out by a mile. If you are good enough then you are good enough. People rarely just miss out. Doing a bit of extra practice is not the difference between pro and amateur. It makes the difference between a good pro and an average one or a good amateur and a very good amateur but between pro and amateur, sorry no.

If I played / practised 40 hours a week then I think I could get to 14-15 from my 22 starting point. Not a great reduction but golf is not natural to me. Good fun though.
 
Liverpoolphil said:
Yes it's achievable but the smaller tours are a mile away - I play with guys of plus 1 and plus 3 - both struggled to qualify for the Euro Pro Tour

Whilst I admire your ambition I think reality will hit you - getting to cat 1 is tough but getting from 5 to 3 to 2 etc is harder than anyone could imagine. It takes most people years to go from 5 to 3 or lower
Click to expand...


+1
"Simply" getting from 5.4 - the entry to Cat 1- down to scratch you need to be a cumulative 50 under CSS with no 0.1's back.....50 shots under CSS.......just ponder that for a while..

And as for getting to a plus number, well, add another 10 per shot....

As you get lower, although you're obviously getting better, it gets easier to miss your buffer due to 1 poor hole. A double bogey while playing off 2 leaves you with 17 holes and no mistakes. And CSS can move leaving you in the lurch as well.
It's not easy, if it was we'd all be doing it.

Personally, I think I've probably peaked. To get lower I would need that freedom to put hours of practice in and, quite frankly, practise bores me so I'd be unlikely to do it.
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

Interesting thread but I agree with Wilson, I think some guys on here need to grasp reality. The guys that play on the tour are incredibly talented and light years away in ability from a level that anyone who writes on here could even touch. I have been to demo's with a pro who plays of +5 and he struggles to even gain points on the challenge tour. The gulf in class between him and teaching pro's is also vast, and then there's us!
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

If I hadn't focused so much on football in my teens, and birds/bevvy etc in my 20's I would have deffo got to single figures much earlier.
I was closing in on a 10 hcap as a junior when I fancied myself as footballer (but a complete lack of pace was quickly pointed out by scouts.
In terms of golf, I reckon Cat 1 would have been my standard.
Feedback from my pro on a natural swing and strong short game is one thing, but doubt I would have had the mental strength and discipline to be any more than a very good club golfer
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

I think most people have a handicap wall dictated by natural talent. To go beyond that requires exponentially more effort and you don't know where that wall is until you hit it and reality sets in. That's when work ethic, mentality and sheer will power to succeed needs to kick in to drive you on.
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

Crawfy said:
If I hadn't focused so much on football in my teens, and birds/bevvy etc in my 20's I would have deffo got to single figures much earlier.
I was closing in on a 10 hcap as a junior when I fancied myself as footballer (but a complete lack of pace was quickly pointed out by scouts.
In terms of golf, I reckon Cat 1 would have been my standard.
Feedback from my pro on a natural swing and strong short game is one thing, but doubt I would have had the mental strength and discipline to be any more than a very good club golfer
Click to expand...

Mertesacker? ;) :D
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

i'd say i could get to cat 1 and challenging for club champs (which are the same thing in essence anyway)

i will also second the posters suggesting how far away mini tour players are even from scratch amateurs. I know two pros who regularly get blown out of euro pro tour qualifying.

a chap from our club has just graduated to challenge tour and he was +4 when he went pro.

taking some of the points in the OP's post - if a hypothetical 19 year old golfer was of the ability to make a mini tour he would likely be off scratch at that time anyway.

I'd love the stats of the euro pro players and find out what age they were when they reached scratch, ave is probably 13 /14?

cue dozens of people citing Ian Poulter, but he is an exception to a general trend i would think.
 
Liverpoolphil said:
Yes it's achievable but the smaller tours are a mile away - I play with guys of plus 1 and plus 3 - both struggled to qualify for the Euro Pro Tour

Whilst I admire your ambition I think reality will hit you - getting to cat 1 is tough but getting from 5 to 3 to 2 etc is harder than anyone could imagine. It takes most people years to go from 5 to 3 or lower
Click to expand...

I agree it is hard to do but I have never set myself a target to do something that is easy. I know I am better than my handicap, everyone I have played with has said that. I have identified what is holding me back and going to work on it over the winter. I can commit about 10- 15 hours per week to this which is what got me thinking about what I could do committing more.
 
jamielaing said:
I agree it is hard to do but I have never set myself a target to do something that is easy. I know I am better than my handicap, everyone I have played with has said that. I have identified what is holding me back and going to work on it over the winter. I can commit about 10- 15 hours per week to this which is what got me thinking about what I could do committing more.
Click to expand...

Everyone says they are better than their HC - so the question is - why don't they show it when it matters ?
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

Matthew Syed reckons there's no such things as talent.

I would call him many names, none of them acceptable for this forum.

I've seen people play under 85 who rarely ever swing a club, take any interest in coaching or psychology or have taken lessons.

Compare that to the likes of 'us' that started on 100 or 110 shots.

Practice and coaching are essential, but some folk simply aren't cut out for some things. Call it DNA or bad/good luck.
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

I think higher handicappers don't always grasp how exponentially harder it is to reduce your handicap as you get lower into cat 1. I've played a lot last year with girls with handicaps between +2 and 2 and they are all miles better than me.

Without time constraints around my practice I do like to think I might be able to get to scratch but I am under no illusions about how hard that is. Even if I achieved that it wouldn't be nearly good enough to make it onto the pro circuit. If I'd had the time and inclination when I was a teenager, who knows, but that ship has sailed!
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

I didn't start playing until I was just past 50, yes I know I don't look that old but hey, we can't all be gifted with good looks :smirk:

I reckon if I had played from a younger age, maybe 40 :smirk: , I could have got to single figures, but hey, enough about me, I'm waiting for someone to get home rom work, can't wait for the detailed answer :smirk:
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

The amount of people saying they could've done this and that if they'd played more as children is quite high, how many of you would push your children into it if you thought they'd regret it later in life too?
 
jamielaing said:
I agree it is hard to do but I have never set myself a target to do something that is easy. I know I am better than my handicap, everyone I have played with has said that. I have identified what is holding me back and going to work on it over the winter. I can commit about 10- 15 hours per week to this which is what got me thinking about what I could do committing more.
Click to expand...

If you play enough qualifiers then your handicap will reflect your ability, there's no hiding from that.
 
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