A humbling range experience..

[J-Blade]

I was on the range yesterday near several players under the tutelage of George Gankas, a fairly well-known swing coach here in SoCal. He coaches some guys on tour and on mini tours. Look him up.. Anyway,  I know his students are half my age and in much better shape than me, but Geeze... The guy next to me was hitting long irons at least 225 yards. Their drives barely stayed on the range, and all were straight or slight draws. George was working with them on angles and shoulder turns. Here I am in my late 60s and never long off the tee, but straight at least. Still, I felt like the pre-pubescent kid in gym class.. 🙂 

[jholz]

Anytime I go out with someone who truly knows what they are doing - college players, mini-tour guys, etc. - I'm always reminded of how much better some folks are at this game. 

 

They hit the ball much farther and manage to sink putts. It is always a good reality check. 

 

But, more often than not, I get paired with some regular muni-chumps, and I feel better about shooting 78.  

Edited June 28, 2024 by jholz

[LBB]

I haven't come across it often...probably due to the ranges I frequent compared to where most really good players practice here locally.  But when I do see it in the stall next to me, it is eye opening.  The biggest difference is the sound the ball contact makes.  I've gone to PGAT events and you may only get within 25-30 feet of them when they hit.  But when your ear is literally less than 8 feet away from an elite players ball and you have some stall dividers to help bounce that sound off...it's crazy.

[J-Blade]

2 hours ago, LBB said:

I haven't come across it often...probably due to the ranges I frequent compared to where most really good players practice here locally.  But when I do see it in the stall next to me, it is eye opening.  The biggest difference is the sound the ball contact makes.  I've gone to PGAT events and you may only get within 25-30 feet of them when they hit.  But when your ear is literally less than 8 feet away from an elite players ball and you have some stall dividers to help bounce that sound off...it's crazy.

It's crazy. Right. The sound is different from irons us mortals hit. 

 

This is at Westlake GC, a very nice public course here in SoCal. They get a lot of good players from juniors on up to college and mini tour guys. I looked up George Gankas' rates and he gets $600-$1k per hour. The other pros, who are also very good, get around $100/hr. 

Edited June 28, 2024 by J-Blade

[mgoblue83]

There are levels to everything and it really is eye opening sometimes. I coach high school golf and the players that will go D1 or D2 are so incredibly good it's mind boggling.

 

The sound is just speed and solid strikes and there are a ton of players fast enough to make that sound nowadays.

[Shilgy]

10 minutes ago, mgoblue83 said:

There are levels to everything and it really is eye opening sometimes. I coach high school golf and the players that will go D1 or D2 are so incredibly good it's mind boggling.

 

The sound is just speed and solid strikes and there are a ton of players fast enough to make that sound nowadays.

💯 

 

Although the most mind boggling thing about it is we have threads like this and then go to tour talk and have some that trash many of the tour events fields.  Apparently they are comprised of a bunch of hacks that are “only” in the top 150-200 on the OWGR. 😏

[FuzzyDunlop69]

Different breed.  I have a good friend that played at a really good Division 1 program and then bounced around PGA Canada and the Sunshine Tour for a bit.  One time while he was still playing competitively, we rolled up to play a fairly difficult course at 10 am.  We stayed up drinking until probably 3:30 AM the night before.  He shot a 65.  Reached every Par 5 in two.  He's been out of the game for a while, but we will meet up maybe once a year to play.  Most recently he went straight from the parking lot to the first tee and shot a 70.  

 

It is impressive in every sport, but especially golf and baseball, imo.  The high school I coach at has a current starting Major League shortstop.  He comes to hit in the winter, and we can tell if he is there by the sound coming from the cage.  The blacked out 6 series in the parking lot is also a giveaway, lol

[J-Blade]

I worked at Pepperdine U for 17 years before retiring last year and I got to know several of the players on both the men's and women's teams over the years. My cousin played at USC with Craig Stadler as a teammate.. They really are playing at a whole different level. As Bobby Jones said about Jack Nicklaus after he won his first Masters, "He was playing a game with which I am not familiar." 

[me05501]

If you and a few friends were shooting hoops in the park and a professional player showed up you'd know right away. I'd imagine it's the same with any sport. 

Edited July 1, 2024 by me05501

[TheDeanAbides]

9 minutes ago, me05501 said:

If you and a few friends were shooting hoops in the park and a professional player showed up, you'd know right away. I'd imagine it's the same with any sport. 

I used to play park football (soccer for the heathens!) regularly in my 20s. There was a guy who used to come down once a month or so who was on Brentford’s books as a keeper. At the time they were a third tier team, so he must have been 4th choice to not make the bench. Not only was he obviously brilliant in goal, but when he played in the middle of the park he was miles better than everyone else. 
 

Levels. 

[Mike_C]

I played competitively in HS and DIII college, state AM type things, played with and saw some pretty good players, but there are always those that just stood out when you saw them in person.   Dan Pohl was one, unreal distance for the late 1970s, didn't even look like he was trying....he was the one I saw that did make the big time.  There were several other really great players who never really sniffed the tour.  One guy I remember well won our state AM, I actually caddied for him in the match play, he was so pure tee to green, it was just magic to watch him hit the ball, but I was probably a better putter than him at the time, and I wasn't really that good.....He almost never missed a shot, and he was pretty long too. 

 

Playing with guys like this quickly ended my "dream" as a kid of even trying to get on tour, guys like this were so much better than me, yet never got past the mini-tours....   

 

And kids today, there are so many that are they are so, so good.  This in one thing that stands out to me compared to when I was young, there just weren't that many teen phenoms,  now the high school and college kids just totally dominate amateur golf.....

[596]

It's like this in every sport. Pros are a different level. No, we do not play the same game. 

 

I once had the opportunity to cycle up a mountain in Sedona, AZ with the current, at that time, Olympic triathlon Gold medalist.  Half way to the bottom of the climb he got a flat on his gravel bike, we were all riding road bikes except him.  He beat everyone to the top!  Holy sh*t he was fast!!

[johnrobison]

20 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

I used to play park football (soccer for the heathens!) regularly in my 20s. There was a guy who used to come down once a month or so who was on Brentford’s books as a keeper. At the time they were a third tier team, so he must have been 4th choice to not make the bench. Not only was he obviously brilliant in goal, but when he played in the middle of the park he was miles better than everyone else. 
 

Levels. 

Very similar experience here. I had a friend who had an opportunity to play backup to the keeper on his national team. At a pro level, he was pretty decent. At our rec level, he made everyone else look like children in every position.

 

I had some others:

 

I used to play a lot of pick-up ball with really good players. One day Sean Rooks showed up and at that time he was mostly riding pine professionally. He started to carry the ball up court and I'm thinking, you're a center - get in the key. Instead he played point the whole game and ran circles around everyone.

 

My ex grew up with Bob May and the whole family was pretty tight. I watched him play a round of golf at a level that I've never personally seen any other person play before, in which he got his card by just one stroke.

I'm just always reminded how large the margin is between good recreational athletes and those who are capable of doing it for a living. They're just other level.

Oh... And if you've ever stood within 10' of Monte hitting a 2i, you know what I mean (Don't tell him I said so. That sh!t goes right to his head)

[ferrispgm]

Been there.....Every once in a while there will be a mini tour guy that shows up on the range and it's just amazing to watch them hit balls.  The sound, especially off of long irons and driver is just addicting.  A couple years ago I just shot my low round of 66 so I was feeling pretty good.  The following day I was on the range and there was an older guy, in his late 50s to early 60s hitting balls and I was just in awe.  I found out he won the senior or mid am out here a few years prior....just so pure and simple.  I immediately felt like crap lol. 

[cgasucks]

What do you expect from being coached whose clients range from raw beginners to tour pros?  You have to expect one of the latter to show up being coached roughly the same time as you are.  What you're experiencing is normal and expected.  How would you feel if a you're a mini tour pro that qualified for the US Open and you're at the driving range next to Tiger in his prime?  I would feel very small but in awe.

 

Besides, don't compare yourself to them.  It is really non-productive and actually self destructive.  Just play to the best of your ability with the body God gave you and go from there.

Edited July 1, 2024 by cgasucks

[cgasucks]

45 minutes ago, ferrispgm said:

Been there.....Every once in a while there will be a mini tour guy that shows up on the range and it's just amazing to watch them hit balls.  The sound, especially off of long irons and driver is just addicting.  A couple years ago I just shot my low round of 66 so I was feeling pretty good.  The following day I was on the range and there was an older guy, in his late 50s to early 60s hitting balls and I was just in awe.  I found out he won the senior or mid am out here a few years prior....just so pure and simple.  I immediately felt like crap lol. 

 

That says a lot coming from a guy whose a plus handicap.

[smashdn]

I used to go to a lighted range in the town to the north of where I live.  It was a college town.  At that time they did not have facilities at a course, much less lighted range or trackman or any of that.  They practiced pretty regularly on the far end where there were some grass tees.  Those guys and gals could flat punish the ball.

 

I have played with a few scratch players over the years.  There misses are never bad to the point that they cannot still get up and down for par most of the time.  the ball just seems to more or less go where they want it.  The flight is often what I would describe as ballooning when looked at from behind but I know it is not ballooning in the vegetative sense.  Just starts out low, climbs, travels at that height and then gently falls often fading or drawing as they wish.  That good player "click" and then the "whizz" as the ball cuts the air.

[skim4]

Grew up playing against ( and losing badly) to boys and girls that went on to win US AM, British AM , LPGA majors and PGA tour events. I learned early on that TALENT goes a long way. These juniors would beat me left handed with a shovel. And I thought I was decent. 

[J-Blade]

1 hour ago, cgasucks said:

What do you expect from being coached whose clients range from raw beginners to tour pros?  You have to expect one of the latter to show up being coached roughly the same time as you are.  What you're experiencing is normal and expected.  How would you feel if a you're a mini tour pro that qualified for the US Open and you're at the driving range next to Tiger in his prime?  I would feel very small but in awe.

 

Besides, don't compare yourself to them.  It is really non-productive and actually self destructive.  Just play to the best of your ability with the body God gave you and go from there.

Amen.. I totally agree. "Swing your swing", as Arnie used to say. I was mainly in awe of those guys. 

 

I'm not a client/student of Gankas.. Can't afford him. He gets $600-$1000/hr for lessons.