Can a complete novice become a golf pro with 10,000 hours of practice?

He's not self-taught, he has a coach. They actually have what looks to me to be a non-orthodox system where he only practices shots from x feet when he is good at shots from x-1 feet. A depth-first approach to learning the game as opposed to a breadth-first approach.

Re: Can a complete novice become a golf pro with 10,000 hours of practice?

#6

Post by kenjackson » Tue, Apr 12, 2011, 6:45 PM UTC

Here's his blog with some updated info: http://dannychampion.com/blog.php

His improvement seems to be fairly rapid. I guess if this is your sole pursuit, not that surprising. But nevertheless makes I'm rooting for him. I think it would be testament to the theory.

Re: Can a complete novice become a golf pro with 10,000 hours of practice?

#7

Post by kenjackson » Tue, Apr 12, 2011, 6:49 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #2

[deleted]

Golf certainly lends itself to this versus other vocations.

Why do you say that? I can't think of many that don't lend itself to that. Programming? Math? Chess? Plumbing? Carpentry? Tax accountant? Table tennis? Nurse?

I think the vocations where this seems unlikely to work are rare. Basketball -- due to height, and sprinting, due to the pure athleticism required, being probably the biggest ones I can think of.

Re: Can a complete novice become a golf pro with 10,000 hours of practice?

#8

Post by kmgroove » Tue, Apr 12, 2011, 6:50 PM UTC

This is such a fluff article. Why is it interesting that someone is attempting to "try really hard at something for a lengthy period time"? Looks like he is pitching for a book deal and a spot on Oprah. When you consider how much time 10k hours is I don't think it will blow anyone away that practice of that magnitude will bring success.

Re: Can a complete novice become a golf pro with 10,000 hours of practice?

#9

Post by bayleo » Tue, Apr 12, 2011, 6:53 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #2

[deleted]

Yeah, he definitely optimized on his choice of sport by selecting one of the few where the advantages of age and genetics are minimized.

Re: Can a complete novice become a golf pro with 10,000 hours of practice?

#10

Post by joezydeco » Tue, Apr 12, 2011, 6:55 PM UTC

kmgroove wrote: post #8

This is such a fluff article. Why is it interesting that someone is attempting to "try really hard at something for a lengthy period time"? Looks like he is pitching for a book deal and a spot on Oprah. When you consider how much time 10k hours is I don't think it will blow anyone away that practice of that magnitude will bring success.

If I was going to quit my job and golf for 6 years straight, I'd probably plan a secondary income source as well.