Dan McLaughlin has undertaken an experiment to test the 10,000 hour rule and see can he become a professional golfer after 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. Here's an interview with him by Robbie Dunne
Interview with Dan McLaughlin by Robbie Dunne
RD: You've
undertaken this experiment of trying to become a professional golfer by
dropping everything and testing the 10,000 hour rule. Would you consider it an
experiment?
Dan: It's more
like a life choice as opposed to an experiment or a project
RD: It was a talk
with your brother that started this whole thing? How did that come about?
Dan: Actually, it
began in 2009 in June, I was visiting my brother in Nebraska and we were
playing a par 3, 9 hole course and I was completely terrible at it. I shot a
54-57 and afterward we were just talking about how far you could actually go if
you were willing to drop everything and dedicate yourself to a completely new
field and I figured the only way I would ever know the answer is if I went out
and did it. I thought about it for a long time and decided to do it and 9
months later in April 2010, I quit my job and wanted to give it a go.
RD : We've all
done some things enough times to be pros if you were to consider the 10,000
hour rule but it is more about deliberate practice as opposed to just doing it
as a hobby, is the deliberate practice something you found difficult to get to
grips with?
Dan: I find it
difficult and rewarding. Deliberate practice is something, by definition, that
is not fun. It's kind of working on your weaknesses and what I did in the past
was go out and do something over and over and you just basically engrained the
same habits by doing that but you don't actually improve.
RD: Good and bad
habits?
Dan : Yeah, most
people, say you play golf or whatever you do, you throw darts or play pool, you
just go out and enjoy it and play it but you're not actually trying to improve
yourself. There's a difference between doing something and deliberate practice,
you're consciously working on improving your weaknesses
RD: What sports
did you grow up playing?
Dan: I played
tennis up until I was probably 13 and then I ran cross country and track but I
was a hobbyist. I'd go out and play with friends. We'd play basketball or touch
football, whatever. I never really got deep into anything.
RD: 90 minutes
per practice session is the recommended amount; you have some pretty intense
sessions on your blog. Do you find heavier sessions more fruitful?
Dan: Like
anything, there are peaks and troughs and ebbs and flows. There's time where
nothing seems to be working as it should be and then there are times when
something clicks and you kind of jump to the next level. The real magic is
sticking to it and allowing yourself to go through those lows in order to hit
the highs.
RD: So it's
important to know that when you plateau that you will eventually break the
barrier?
Dan: The
important thing is that you never know when that's going to happen. That's the
important thing about the 10,000 hours. It's about forcing yourself push
through those plateaus.
RD: One of your
goals was to shot your own age or lower. You're 34 and you just did it four
months ahead of schedule. How did that feel?
Dan: I turned 34
last year and I just wanted to shoot 2 under on a 9 and it just became a
barrier. I had shot 1 under a handful of times, even more, probably 15 or 20
times but I'd never been able to shoot the 34 and I finally did it and it felt
really good. Now my next goal is to do that on two nines in a row. 34 34 to
shoot a 68 would be pretty special.
RD: You've even
got all the lingo down; you're already talking like a pro. Do you find yourself
thinking like a pro already too?
Dan: Well, it is
my profession now so, when you get really deep into something, you just
naturally start talking and thinking like that because that’s eventually what
you want to be.
RD: Would you
consider coming to play in Ireland? We've got the K Club (Home of the 2006
Ryder Cup) and some other really nice courses or do you have any other courses
in mind around Europe?
Dan: Yeah, I'd
love to. I was hoping to make it over to Ireland this year. I've been trying to
make it there but I don't have a massive budget because I'm doing this all on
savings so it makes it quite difficult to travel internationally. The only
courses I have played are in the states like Southern California, Georgia and
every course up in Oregon. Eventually, I'd love to play all the courses in
Ireland because there are just so many amazing ones.
RD: We've got
plenty of green grass so it is kind of natural. Lots of rain but plenty of golf
courses too.
Dan: I think the
weather in Ireland is very similar to Oregon. We get tonnes of rain and it's
windy and it's the turf capital of America so we have tonnes of grass.
RD: Lots of turf
around here too. Dan, you've mentioned human potential and progress several
times in other interviews. Do you find it very liberating to break off all ties
with your job and just go and do something like this?
Dan: Yes, it's
very liberating and it's the most amazing experience that I've ever had but at
the same time it can be very scary because when you leave something that has
the security of a regular pay check in order to go off on your own exploration,
there's a lot of uncertainties, it can be both exhilarating, thrilling and at
the same time very overwhelming.
RD: It must be
frightening in good ways too but have you ever had moments of real doubt as to
what you were doing?
Dan: I've had
some questions when it comes to the financials of it all. Just doubting whether
or not I will be able to survive through the entire project but I've never had
any doubt about my progress and what I've been working on and pushing myself
towards
RD: Would you
recommend it to somebody who was doubting what they were doing with their life?
Dan: Yeah, I
wouldn't necessarily recommend golf but I'd definitely recommend keeping an
open mind and not pigeon holing themselves into certain things just because
they've done it for 5 or 10 years. I just think the modern world is pretty open
and once you have drive and imagination, there's a lot of possibilities in this
world.
RD: I've just
been doing some work with goal-setting and I never knew how much of a science
it actually is, your goals must be very specific? How strict are you with your
goals?
Dan: I've been
working with a guy who has helped me set goals and his name's Stuart and he's
from the UK. He's been helping me establish the goals and make sure I stay on
track because that's the most important thing as far as progress is concerned
is just making sure that you have goals and you stick to them. I like processed
goals and not necessarily outcome goals, like shooting 34, that's more of an
outcome goal but the process goal behind it is becoming better with the driver,
more consistent putting and more and all these other things that eventually
lead to the outcome goals.
RD: So the goal
"I want to learn Spanish" is great but that's more an outcome goal
and you need processes to achieve it?
Dan: There has to
be a very defined skeleton or system to get from point A to speaking Spanish,
for example. It can’t just happen instantly; you have to be very specific with
your steps along the way.
RD: What do you
do to relax when you're not trying to achieve these goals? A lot of people use
golf as a way to relax, surely you can't do this or is everything just golf
24/7?
Dan: For me, I
treat it just like a job. It's what I do from 9 to 5 and afterwards, I stay
pretty busy with it until really late, usually. I have a pretty normal life
like hanging with friends and family, catching up on shows and stuff.
RD: Do you do a
lot of reading as a way to figure out this project or do you try and read less
about that to separate yourself from it?
Dan: I try to not
read anything about my golf swing theories and mechanics because I rely on my
coach to tell me that but I read a lot of books about the mental approach and
focusing like how to control your emotions and how to approach a game like golf
because the mental game is crucial so I try to read books in that field.
RD: Any books in
particular?
Dan: Yeah, I
really like "The Inner Game of Tennis", it's a great one and it was
written in the 70's but it's something special and I think you can learn a lot
about life in general by reading it.
RD: You've got so
much time on the golf course to think about life. Do you think that the whole
quitting of your job and doing what you want to do have given you an element of
freedom you didn't have before?
Dan: Definitely,
it's one of those things where I can just get out there and do my own thing. I
practice a lot on my own so I have tonnes of time to think whether it's
positive or negative and it's definitely mentally involved so once you stay
positive, it can really be a positive, invigorating thing.
RD: You've been
working with K Anders Ericsson (The Doctor responsible for the 10,000 hour
rule); do you speak to him on a regular basis?
Dan: We don't
necessarily talk on a regular basis but when I have any questions I either call
him or email him, we probably catch up about once a month or so.
RD: The Book
"Bounce" by Matthew Syed talks about that too and...
Dan: That's a
really good book and I'd hope that when I make it over there, I'll catch up
with Matthew in London
RD: K Anders
Ericsson was saying how helpful it is to have a case study like you to watch
right in front of him. Does he support your project or is it very objective?
Dan : He is a
numbers guy and he is all about the research so he supports me and he is very
encouraging and at the same time he is very interested in the data that is
collected along the way and basically seeing my progress along the way. He has
also helped put me in contact with a lot of people along the way too that can
help my progress.
RD: How have you
found online support? You have a decent online presence; do you enjoy the
interaction with fans?
Dan: The best
thing is the email. I get people emailing me every day about how I've inspired
them and they are going to follow a passion of their own and it’s not
necessarily about golf. It might be someone who always wanted to be a writer
and they'll say, "I'm going to practice writing" or it can be piano
or trumpet or I want to be an architect and there is all these people who see
the site and it encourages them to pursue their own loves in life.
RD: What's your
plan today, are you going to hit the course?
Dan: Yeah,
yesterday we had 35 MPH winds so I just practiced chipping and putting because
it didn't make any sense to hit any balls. you'd just hit it and it's whip to
the left or right but today it looks really nice, there is just a light rain
and it's about 48 degrees which, to me, is perfect winter golf.
RD: Who will you
play with? Coach or friends?
Dan: My coach
works down in the desert for 6 months in the winter and most of my friends have
jobs so the only time I actually play with people is on the weekend and during
the week I just work on the swing or go out on the course and bring 3 balls and
just work on different shots and stuff like that.
RD: Your plan is
to finish in 2016 and you said you want to travel to Europe but is there
anything set in stone this year?
Dan: Everything
is up in the air right now. I have plans to go to Germany in April and play in
a pro-am tournament in Switzerland in June but it depends on whether or not a few
things work out by then like sponsorship but aside from that, I am going to
play in as many tournaments here in the Pacific Northwest and Oregon and
Washington as I can this year just to continue gaining pressure experience.
RD: If you're
ever in Ireland, we live about 5 minutes away from the K Club
Dan: If I do make
it over, I'd love to get out and play a round!
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
