From everything I’ve read or been told by true performance experts, having the correct eyes on your development is as crucial as putting in the practice itself. It is not impossible to improve through proprioception alone, but it would probably take many fold more hours. Have the right people observing your mistakes points you into the correct way to practice. Right on, Tom. Thanks!

I thought a lot about this topic over the weekend. I am a 10 handicap and I am always trying to find ways to improve my game. I will also disclose that I am 6’8″ 260 lbs and played sports on the collegiate level. (Not golf).

I have been struggling with several things over the past year. I have not been able to hit a high draw with my irons and I have been fading my drives a bit too much. The one instructor I have been seeing wanted to change my swing and I was just not comfortable with his instruction because in looking at the tapes, I felt my swing looked correct. So I tried switching instructors this past weekend and he immediately pointed out that my grip was incorrect. It felt uncomfortable at first but within a few minutes I was piping my drive down the middle. By yesterday afternoon I was able to hit a high draw with the swing I thought was correct. All of my shots were ten yards longer and had a better trajectory.

So what’s my point? My point is that I am coming around to your point of view about the concept of dedication, practice and instruction as a means to an end. But I am also now thinking that the correct coaching is critical. The fact is that you could potentially spend 10,000 learning the wrong thing and go nowhere. Now the question is how do you recognize when you are heading in the wrong direction?

As far as funding goes, first off I would say that you don’t necessarily need 10,000 hours of coaching, but deliberate practice that is guided by coaching. And this is the amount of time it takes, theoretically, to become an outstanding expert.. The way I currently do this is have one one-hour lesson with my coach, where we go over a few necessary improvements and then I spend the next 6 days working on those. Then, the next week hopefully I’ve gotten down what he wanted me to work on and we can work on the next step.

Going into this 100 percent and full-time like I am, I saved up money for the past few years living very frugally and putting away about half my paycheck every week. But, this isn’t necessary, too, and if you were able to dedicate one or even a half hour every day after work (or before) you would see some amazing improvements over time. The important thing to remember is to always work on your weaknesses and be sure you are cognitively engaged in what you are working on.

Thank you for the response! Dan

I just stumbled across your blog. I’m would like to see some posts as to how the heck you are funding this. I, too read Talent is Overrated. And it made me think- a lot. The 10,000 hours thing was actually discouraging to me- my preferred hobby- ballroom dancing- I began 6 years ago, taking one lesson a week. For a while I was able to take 2-3 lessons a week, but now I’m back to one. I don’t see any way possible I can ever get to 10,000 hours of practice in my remaining lifetime! It’s expensive. And I have to work just to pay for life- right now one lesson a week can be hard to fund sometimes. Plus, I need a partner (which I don’t have) who would also be able to put in the 10,000 hours!

So I’d like to see some posts about how the heck you are funding this! I see that perhaps you can have very low living expenses, but all that coaching has to add up too, right? Are you still doing some photography? I’m much more interested in this aspect of your plan than the details of all the golf lessons. I’d also like to know if you are seeing improvement in your skills.

Being from Atlanta, I definitely remember Spud Webb! Thanks for the comment and for the encouragement