"Because I can't putt like those guys"...

[Trudy Gay]

My next door neighbor growing up played tennis. As a 16 year old girl she could beat the male tennis pro.

Did this male tennis pro she could beat have arms and legs?

 

[superjohn]

A close friend of mine named Jason is a damn good athlete but you would never know it by hanging out with him or even looking at him. He was my brother's best friend in college and he was on the Vanderbilt football team. He's about 6 feet tall and played at 185 lbs. Not jacked and has longish curly hair, if you were told he played sports you would maybe guess a surfer or skateboarder...

He's from a tiny town in Texas and was the star QB there and he was recruited to be a QB at Vandy and other schools. Jason enjoyed the social/party scene and fell out of favor with the coach early on. He stayed on the team all 4 years despite the coach hating him and he was a safety and played special teams.

He lived a block away from me for years and never owned a TV so his sports watching was over at my apartment, my brother's apartment, and the bars. We would always get stories out of him because to us it was so cool how good he was while really not coming across as a sports guy. He loved how much we loved sports.

That little school Jason was the quarterback at in Texas was pretty damn good. His best friend/running back died in a car crash his senior year. The kid was Eric Dickerson's nephew and my buddy said he would've for sure had an NFL career and he thinks he could've/would've been a superstar like his uncle. Jason also saw the gold trans am as a kid, Dickerson would drive around town in it.

One day we're at a Cubs game with Jason and his parents. His dad out of the blue says, "You know he was drafted to play baseball" pointing at his son. We respond with, "What???" We're sports obsessed, we hang out with our buddy practically every day for years and he never thought to even mention to us he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals out of high school.

I worked out a little lifting weights with Jason at our neighborhood gym (I was stronger than him and he didn't have much interest in lifting) but I never saw him in action playing sports other than tossing around a football until we were on a kickball team together. It's just messing around because it's kickball but you could immediately tell he's an athlete and different than everyone else by the way he moves. He was unbelievably fast, 4.3 speed. Another time walking to the bar I run up to an outdoor hoop in someone's driveway jump and I'm lucky if I got anywhere near halfway up the net. He runs up in jeans and boots and grabs the rim. Some people are just born different and you would never know it.

 

[QDOG5]

Those guys on tour are exceptional at everything. While I agree that short game is of upmost importance at the highest level, the guys who win aren’t missing many shots, if at all…and if they do, they recover. So many good players if you tried to make it, but there is a difference. And to most, it seems razor thin, and it is to gain status in certain places…but in reality on PGA Tour, it is a long ways off. I know some who I think could compete out there, don’t get me wrong, but timing is also a huge factor, gotta get hot at the right time. It’s unfortunate

I’m a +4 and I don’t even sniff it lol

Since your a plus 4 do you have to wear plus fours on the course? BTW, I just drafted for the next Boneyard open.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Always been a fairly good putter until about 6 months ago which coincided with worsening of my cataracts. Just had the first one done 2 weeks ago and played this week with one eye and wow!! Can’t wait until Feb 12 when my second is done. I honestly had no read on greens. Eyesight❤️

 

[I Bleed Blue]

I was playing golf a few weeks back and talk was of a mutual friend who is a phenomenal player: he consistently shoots under par and wins most regional amateur tourneys. He drives the ball a mile, strikes his blades clean and has mastered nearly every golf shot. When asked why he never did it professionally he replied "I tried. Im really good, but I can't putt like those guys"... (even though he never 3 putted)
To our eyes, this guy was the best non-pro golfer we've ever seen. The difference between his game and some of the lower level pros was not noticeable to the casual eye. But, he was miles away from being a pro, because his putting wasn't world class. Also, had a good friend who played in the Rays' class A organization as a southpaw: he threw 100, had a nasty 12-6 deuce but...he never made it past A ball because he wasn't mentally tough enough to shake off a bad inning. "That's what the pros have that I don't" he'd say.

The reason I bring this up is that I often find myself watching NBA games thinking "Adama could play well at this level" or "Tristen is just as physical and good of a scorer" than some of these guards, but the consensus from NBA brass doesn't match that view. Similarly, M Fultz never jumped off the screen as a #1 pick when I watched UW.

As an open discussion

What do you think separates a star (in any sport) from becoming a pro?

Why does an SEC defensive player of the year Line backer never see the field??"

Pros usually have that extra gear. In the golf analogy, a scratch golfer is considered top 1-2% but not even considered a good college player. A +4 to +6 would be a great player and win some tournaments but Korn Ferry level guys would still smoke them. Let alone a guy on the PGA Tour.

 

[uconnfan68]

Always been a fairly good putter until about 6 months ago which coincided with worsening of my cataracts. Just had the first one done 2 weeks ago and played this week with one eye and wow!! Can’t wait until Feb 12 when my second is done. I honestly had no read on greens. Eyesight❤️

Had mine done years ago, and find my depth perception on the course is worse than ever. Not sure if it’s always been bad, as being pin high was pretty regular for me when I could play.

 

[Umami Zen]

I'm an ok golfer that enjoys the game. I had the opportunity to play in a Champions Tour Pro-Am one year with a former PGA Tour pro (obviously older >50 yrs of age at the time)-Never heard of him. He goes out and shoots a 68 while he is hanging out with a threesome made up of weekend warriors/biz people. Lucky him! Anyway-We get to the 19th hole and have lunch. So I ask him advice on how a decent athlete can get better at golf if interested. He said 2 things.1- Get a short game coach who can really help you with the scoring clubs. 2- Find someone who can teach you how not to hit the ball straight. In other words-Whatever your natural shot shape is-Fade or draw. Learn how to hit all of your clubs with that shape and use it as an advantage. Found that advice to be interesting and helpful.

The only shot in golf that matters is the next one.

 

[Patman]

So, I have the fortune, or not, of playing in the same rec league as a (former?) Team USA member in my broomball league and while since it is broomball playing against him is more approachable due to him not being galaxies beyond as the sports depth is shallow so will be your top players and you're playing with a 4 inch wide orange ball but to watch him move and to make plays with such casualness and finesse is really unfair. Again, its not like hockey where a player can just skate around you and cut you up, you're running and the finesse of an orange ball using basically a long stick with no control capabilities but you just realize how far the distance is between you and them. Thankfully he's reasonably humble and for everybody, even the top of the top players nobody is a pro in this sport.