1,000. My, how far we have come (and how far we have yet before us)
Milestone make good excuses to take pause and linger on the accomplishments and setbacks of the task at hand. Since April 15, 2010 I’ve stood over a golf ball, while attempting to constantly improve, for 1,000 hours. This number doesn’t include the time I’ve spent at golf courses, commuting to and fro, working out 5 days a week, speaking with specialists, reading about golf, watching videos of golfers’ swings, adjusting my diet for my training regimen, blogging, marketing The Plan, etc. It’s time literally spent standing over a golf ball. Looking back at my notes from the first few days I’m a bit surprised that I made it to this point, but now that I have 10 percent of the stated goal under my belt I feel like there is nothing that can stop me from accomplishing my goal of seeing how much change is truly possible with the right amount of focused practice.
The hardest part of the entire experience was getting the ball rolling (pardon the pun) and starting the project. Now that we’re cruising along, what I do six days a week is really no different than any other job around (albeit there’s no paycheck at the end of the week..). There are tough times, great times, uncertainties and accomplishments, as well as enough regulars to make my new “office” feel not unlike offices I’ve worked at in the past. But one thing is certain, the enjoyment and chance of success of The Plan is directly linked to the amount of effort I put into my training; this I love! However, it’s that same circumstance that make the plateaus of learning that much more frustrating. If it feels like I’m not progressing there is nobody to blame but myself. Full responsibility.
On to the retrospective:
Am I where I thought I would be at 1,000 hours?
Nope. Honestly, I thought I would be playing in my first tournaments by this time. I really had no idea what it meant to be a golfer, or for that matter what it meant to try and MASTER a new skill, so my expectations of learning were a bit skewed. If I had decided to pick up the piano instead of a putter, I also would have assumed that after 1,000 hours I would be effortlessly playing a Liszt, something that is far from a possibility. I never would have expected that I would still be within 40 yards of the hole, though.. On a positive note, I’m a darn good putter and am confident that no matter where the ball is on a green I can get it in the hole in two strokes or less.
Do I think that there is a chance of making a tour?
Yes. Now, compared to pre-Plan, I think there is about a million times more of a chance of making a tour. Not sure how many math majors there are out there, but regardless of your abilities you all probably know what a million times zero is.. I’m not saying there is still a zero percent chance, but before I started there was absolutely no possibility of playing golf professionally; now I’d say there is almost a one percent chance. A huge increase. The more I learn about how to learn as well as see what it takes to play with the big boys, the more I both realize the enormity of the mountain ahead as well as a clear path to the top.
It would be a lot easier to just poo-poo the idea and say it takes “natural talent” to make it, but we here at The Plan don’t believe in that attitude. Anything is possible with enough determination, hard work and proper guidance.
Where am I now:
Good question. I know where I am not: doing something that I do not enjoy on a daily basis. I’m where I want to be and that’s what is important. But, thinking solely about my golf game and where I currently stand, I’d say you could call me a 12 handicap on a par 3 course. I’ve only played a par 3 course once, and it was just nine holes, but I shot a 33, so 6 over on nine and I feel like I played about average for my abilities, so it’s safe to call me a 12 handicap par 3.
I know that’s nowhere near PGA Tour level, but you’ve got to please remember that I started COMPLETELY from scratch (not a scratch golfer, more of the lump of clay kind of scratch). I am now confident that I can putt-in any ball on the green in two strokes and hit up-and-down chips in two about 50 percent of the time from within 10 yards of the green. Where I picked up strokes on the par 3 course was hitting the 80-100 yard “drives” and that’s pretty understandable because it was the first time I had attempted those. So, regardless of handicap, I’m happy with how far I’ve come over the first 1,000 hours.
Where will I be at hour 2,000:
I’d love to say that I will be participating in competitive golf. My gut tells me that this is possible, but from my experience in the first 1,000, I think it best to go a little on the lighter end of optimism. I’ll at least predict that I will be swinging on all cylinders and with all 14 clubs that fill a golf bag. It will probably be some time in summer 2011, so I will probably be playing in local men’s clubs and hopefully some regional tournaments to at least start gaining competitive experience. Talking with my coach yesterday, he mentioned that by this time next year I’ll probably be playing from 150 yards out. A possibility for sure, but I have other plans and decided today that I’m DETERMINED to progress fast enough to be playing golf by my 32nd birthday, which is June 27, 2011. There you go, that’s a good concrete goal and now all I have to do is figure out the best way to get there and do it!
Hour 2,000 and 32nd birthday: Playing golf. Here we go!