What level could haveyou reach?

[Hobbit]

Funny thread. Whoever said deluded was right. 8 is a barrier for most. 6 another barrier. I'd say 2 and below another massive leap... You're a good 11 shots shy of it.

Its not just the 11 shots though is it. Its the number of rounds needed to get down that far, for which you can also interspace the bad rounds that give 0.1 back.

I'm yet to see anyone comedown linearly. Most come down in steps(plateau's) with the odd step up amongst them all.

 

[User 105]

I'm yet to see anyone comedown linearly. Most come down in steps(plateau's) with the odd step up amongst them all.

Exactly, people tend to hit a point where one part of their game holds them back, they sort that out, drop a bit more, then something else will be the limiting factor.

You just have to look at the top pro's, how often do you hear 'If he could putt" or "hit more fairways" they all have their limits and look at the work they must put in to move those limits with their talent !

 

[turkish]

I like the deluded notion. I expect a lot of people who do actually make it need to have that delusional/daydreaming mindset(along with steely determination). they probably have loads of people telling them along the way they aint good enough too.

I'm not saying anybody would make it but at the end of the day-we are all human and some people will make it; some people do make it from the fringes of being good enough- I think Poulter is the perfect example of this. And I know for every Poulter there will probably 50 x 19-21 year old 4 handicaps who are thinking they can do what Poulter done.

delusion/Belief ain't a bad thing IMO for a golfers mindset. I know there's a good chance i'll never make Cat 1 from 25 H/C but in my head I can and I will.

 

[Khamelion]

I was pretty good as a kid, stopped playing at 16 as I found booze and women, but I reckon if I had had the opportunity as described in the OP, I could have made a go of Golf as my day job, not saying I would've been a top tour pro, but I reckon I could've made a pretty good living out of it.

 

[Joff]

Its not just the 11 shots though is it. Its the number of rounds needed to get down that far, for which you can also interspace the bad rounds that give 0.1 back.

I'm yet to see anyone comedown linearly. Most come down in steps(plateau's) with the odd step up amongst them all.

I just meant he had to drop 11 shots off his handicap, but yeah. You're right.

 

[sawtooth]

As someone who is somewhat a late starter in golf I think if I had started playing earlier (and played and practiced a lot more over the years) I would definitely be lower now. Possibly 3-4 hcap.

 

[MC72]

I played golf with a guy earlier this year who's son played off 3. He told me that his sons group of mates either included/knew David Horsey. He reckoned David Horsey was +4 or +5 when he turned pro and he said the other 2 guys in the group were around +3 when they turned pro. These guys were in his words "really great players". David Horsey has obviously done very well on the tour,and the guy I played with reckoned the other 2 guys struggled to make a living playing golf for a couple of years before giving it up as playing professionals.

At club level there are 2 brothers at my club, one is a good 4 handicap and the other scratch & been club champion a few times. The one off 4hc played a guy off 20hc in a match play tie and told his opponent that he was actually closer to his 20hc level than he was his scratch hcap brothers level. That gives an idea of how guys at those levels see the difference between handicap & ability levels.

Someone mentioned plateaus and I agree with that, as well as another aspect of the mental side of the game. I had a great year last year & went down 5 shots and got to a plateau. I started this year thinking I was a much better player but quickly realised there's a massive gulf between thinking you're a decent player (because you've had a spell of good golf) and actually being a consistently good player.

 

[MendieGK]

Its not just the 11 shots though is it. Its the number of rounds needed to get down that far, for which you can also interspace the bad rounds that give 0.1 back.

I'm yet to see anyone comedown linearly. Most come down in steps(plateau's) with the odd step up amongst them all.

Agree with this, I was certain this was the year I'd fall loads.

After starting at 4.1 I found myself off 4.7 at the end of June.

3 month later, I'm off 3.2.

I've learnt to accept now that you just aren't ever going to be able to get cut every round.