The 10,000 Hour Rule, or Swinging and Hitting

On a glorious day after tornadoes and torrential rain passed through, remnants of Hurricane Isaac, I played Put Nash again, full of confidence that I would play well.

This morning, I practiced in my driveway (since the back yard was soaked from yesterday's storm) and worked on swinging and keeping the clubface square, with a 5-iron and the driver. That went well. Then, after working out, I went to the range at Yorktown Golf and Baseball Center to hit a hundred balls. Again, the swing felt good. I really felt competent and ready to shoot in the eighties.

Arriving early at Put Nash, I had plenty of time to practice putting and chipping and pitching, with the idea of settling down so that I could make some nice short-game shots out on the course. Everything checked out. Solid putts, and reliable, consistent chips and pitches.

Then I went out. I joined Gary and George, his son (in eighth grade) and Al. After we teed off on one, I could see that Gary and Al could hit the ball with power and accuracy. Experienced golfers and good players to measure myself against. What soon became obvious was that there was no comparison. They had mature swings. I don't swing. I hit. Discouraged and frustrated, I thought of Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers and the "10,000 Hours Rule."

He shows how some remarkable people achieved their greatest accomplishments. Among them are The Beatles, Bill Gates, Bill Joy (legendary programmer of Unix and Java), Mozart, and Canadian hockey players. The common thread through all these success stories is "10,000-Hour Rule." In brief, it states that anyone who can put in 10,000 hours of dedicated, high-quality practice can become very good at any endeavor. When I read the book, I was thinking, specifically, of my attempt to learn the golf swing. According to my calculations, I've put in about 6500 hours of targeted practice so far ( about 20 hours per week or 1,000 per year). Comparing myself, then, to Gary and Al, another 3500 hours should just about do it. By that time, I should be pretty good. So that's three and a half years from now. Judging from what I could do today, that's a decent  estimate.
With my "amazing" swing, here's what I was able to accomplish today.

• Giddy Up par 5 -- 4 and 2
• Israel's Climb par 4 -- 4 and 2
• Down & Away par 4 -- 2 and 3
• Sybil's Ride  par 4 -- 3 and 2
• Pond Stop  par 3 -- 1 and 3
• Arnold's Hideout  par 4 -- 3 and 2
• Star par 3 -- 2 and 2
• Agor's Farm par 4 -- 3 and 2
• Tight Quarters par 4 --  3 and 2
• Nature's Beauty par 4 -- 5 and 2
• Tompkin's Corner par 4 -- 6 and 2
• Bullet Hole par 3 -- 2 and 2
• Barn Shot par 5 -- 3 and 3

For a total of 45 for the first nine holes, which seems to be what I usually shoot.

Here's my analysis. On only a few shots did I feel I made a really good swing. For the rest, I complete forgot the lessons from the range, which include  pulling the handle through. I made only about two good, confident strokes.  On all the others, I was tentative. On my first bunker shot, I jumped into it. On the second, I did a nice job.

Here's a good example of where I am now, at my best. On thirteen, I hit the drive well, but pushed it right. When I found my ball, I could see that I could hit it over some trees and actually shorten the hole. So I hit a 3-hybrid, a little fat, but it went straight, and I could hear the ball hit some branches in the farthest tree. When I got to my ball, it was on the cart path, so I took a drop. The next shot, a seven-iron from about 170, slightly uphill, cut through some high leaves and landed on the front of the green. From there, I three-putted, tentative all the way. It's a par-five. With any putting stroke at all, I could've saved par.

So here I am, at about 45 for nine holes. And here's a little history. Seven years ago, when I first started on this goal to learn the golf swing, I shot a 45. It was after my first lessons. Now, here I am, six years later, shooting the same 45. However, there is a difference. When I shot the first 45, that was the absolute best score I could have. Now, in contrast, a 45 seems to me a score that doesn't represent my best. Today is a perfect example. I think that today, I hit only one fairway, and maybe hit one or two greens in regulation. The short game felt tentative. In general, I can't maintain all the swing thoughts I had at the range.

Still, assuming that I could summon those range thoughts, I still don't have the tremendous whip that Gary and Al have. I know what it is. I just can't do it yet. In another 3500 hours of practice, we'll see.