What level could haveyou reach?

Re: What level could you have reached?

jamielaing said:
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.
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Good thread, but you're deluded.
 
jamielaing said:
I can only talk for myself- I am a better golfer than my handicap however my golf psychology is poor,
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No, sorry, you are not a better golfer than your handicap if your psychology is poor.

The reason for that opinion is that your psychology is a major part of your overall rating as a golfer. Hitting the ball well does not make us a good golfer, your psychological makeup is as important as how your swing looks, how well you can chip when it doesn't matter, how well you hole out from 3ft when you're playing a few holes on your own etc etc etc.

Improve your psychology and you may improve as a golfer, but you are only as good as your weakest link.
 
I think I could get to 2 or 3 carrying on as I am at the moment.

I think I could get to 0 or 1 with unlimited resources and time.

It's very telling IMO that most of the cat1 golfers that have answered have said they wouldn't make it on any sort of tour.
It's not so much that the good handicap-lowering rounds are hard to come by, but getting round consistently without the bad hole or silly mistakes that cost stupid shots is ridiculously hard.
 
Re: What level could you have reached?

Unlike the majority of people on the forum, I only started golf 5 years ago and seriously 3 years ago (with a 10 month hiatus due to a snapped finger) and I've managed to get to 11.2 HCP so who knows; I reckon I'd be the happy scratch golfer with 40 hrs a week.
 
Three said:
No, sorry, you are not a better golfer than your handicap if your psychology is poor.

The reason for that opinion is that your psychology is a major part of your overall rating as a golfer. Hitting the ball well does not make us a good golfer, your psychological makeup is as important as how your swing looks, how well you can chip when it doesn't matter, how well you hole out from 3ft when you're playing a few holes on your own etc etc etc.

Improve your psychology and you may improve as a golfer, but you are only as good as your weakest link.
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Absolutely correct, the bit between your ears is without doubt your greatest weapon (or enemy)
 
Purely based on me beating Marc warren when we were in our teens, I reckon top 50 in the world and a multiple winner on the European tour?

Or maybe not!
 
8 to 5 is easy enough, I did it in about 5 weeks..(i.e, by mid May) after three or four pre season lessons with your new head pro, and a weekly practice session between Feb-April three or four years ago. Going lower is tough without the right mindset. Closest I got was 4.6...had some stinkers. Three rounds back to back stick out.

R1 +8 out, -3 back. Buffer.
R2 -3 thru 8. Missed buffer.4.7
R3 -4 thru 5. Missed buffer.4.8

Painful, but I was putting way to much significance in my mind on getting cut, and I choked.

Now hacking around off 6, probably 7 by May...thanks to my two wee ones.

My advice. Have kids. Infinitly more rewarding than being a competent golfer.

Looking forward to our game at Duddy soon.
 
lobthewedge said:
Purely based on me beating Marc warren when we were in our teens, I reckon top 50 in the world and a multiple winner on the European tour?

Or maybe not!
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Was this a regular thing or a one off when he had a stinking hangover and you played the game of your life? :ears:
 
the smiling assassin said:
8 to 5 is easy enough, I did it in about 5 weeks..(i.e, by mid May) after three or four pre season lessons with your new head pro, and a weekly practice session between Feb-April three or four years ago. Going lower is tough without the right mindset. Closest I got was 4.6...had some stinkers. Three rounds back to back stick out.

R1 +8 out, -3 back. Buffer.
R2 -3 thru 8. Missed buffer.4.7
R3 -4 thru 5. Missed buffer.4.8

Painful, but I was putting way to much significance in my mind on getting cut, and I choked.

Now hacking around off 6, probably 7 by May...thanks to my two wee ones.

My advice. Have kids. Infinitly more rewarding than being a competent golfer.

Looking forward to our game at Duddy soon.
Click to expand...

Looking forward to it!
 
Interesting thread.

My view is that no-one on this forum could have got on to any kind of pro tour with the possible exception of the Seniors and even then, I would doubt it. If you were good enough, you would have made it. Furthermore, if you had the obvious potential to be good enough, the opportunity would've been there at some point to be taken. The best are always noticed at some point, especially in an individual game like golf.

As others have said, the difference between 3 and scratch is very large indeed and extremely hard to bridge. Going beyond that into + handicaps is similarly tough I assume.

I speak as someone who when expelled from school at 15, was offered an assistant pro job at my club when playing off 3 with a nice swing and good short game. I asked Mark Roe for advice on this at the time and he said "if you want to sell Mars bars and teach old ladies for the rest of your life then go for it but if not, forget it. You aren't even close to being good enough to make it and you never will be." He was absolutely right of course.

I have seen loads of kids at various clubs be touted as the next Nick Faldo but when it comes to the crunch, they are nowhere near the real deal. All can hit fantastic shots and putt like gods but the failing is always they same - can they do it when they need to? Invariably not...

If you really are good enough to make it then the chances are that you will. If you haven't, then you can postulate all you like but the fact is, you weren't good enough.

And I appreciate my answer isn't really addressing the question of the OP, more of an observation on those thinking they could have been on a tour.

My answer to the original question is that if I had the time and inclination, I think my best would be to play off scratch for a few years. Might get there at some point still but the sands of time are running......
 
On OP question - I have no real idea how much inherent natural ability I have for the game so apart from probably having enough to get me to scratch (I got to 6 on my tod - without lessons etc) I don't know.
 
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jamielaing said:
I can only talk for myself- I am a better golfer than my handicap however my golf psychology is poor, my bunker play needs work and I need to work on my shot selection. All of which I am working on this winter. The trick is to identify the weakness and try to remove it.
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You realise a scratch golfer hit less than 1% of their shots from a green side bunker?

Bunker play isn't stopping you getting to Cat1

I don't think you quite grasp how much better a 5 handicapper is than an 8. The difference between 11 and 8 is tiny compared to 8 and 5.
 
Snelly said:
Interesting thread.

My view is that no-one on this forum could have got on to any kind of pro tour with the possible exception of the Seniors and even then, I would doubt it. If you were good enough, you would have made it. Furthermore, if you had the obvious potential to be good enough, the opportunity would've been there at some point to be taken. The best are always noticed at some point, especially in an individual game like golf.

As others have said, the difference between 3 and scratch is very large indeed and extremely hard to bridge. Going beyond that into + handicaps is similarly tough I assume.

I speak as someone who when expelled from school at 15, was offered an assistant pro job at my club when playing off 3 with a nice swing and good short game. I asked Mark Roe for advice on this at the time and he said "if you want to sell Mars bars and teach old ladies for the rest of your life then go for it but if not, forget it. You aren't even close to being good enough to make it and you never will be." He was absolutely right of course.

I have seen loads of kids at various clubs be touted as the next Nick Faldo but when it comes to the crunch, they are nowhere near the real deal. All can hit fantastic shots and putt like gods but the failing is always they same - can they do it when they need to? Invariably not...

If you really are good enough to make it then the chances are that you will. If you haven't, then you can postulate all you like but the fact is, you weren't good enough.

And I appreciate my answer isn't really addressing the question of the OP, more of an observation on those thinking they could have been on a tour.

My answer to the original question is that if I had the time and inclination, I think my best would be to play off scratch for a few years. Might get there at some point still but the sands of time are running......
Click to expand...

Nice post, sums it all up really.
Me? No chance. I've played all sorts of sports and can play most to a level, ie good hand eye co-ordination, strong and a desire to win, (most important!!) but good enough to be a pro at anything? Not a cat in hells' chance.
 
Not a clue. Golf was always a secondary sport but I wish I played it religiously and didnt have a break!
Would have easily been around 6-7 if I kept on playing. Would love to take a couple years out and just play golf. I still would be nowhere near good enough though :D
 
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.
 
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