Is that a talent or is that just luck ?
I believe the answer is "yes."
I can relate two stories...one from my business and one from reading about contemporary golf history.
1) When I first started at Merrill, I worked 7 days a week 80 to 100 hours a week in the office or in off-site meetings. I studied everything I could, earned my CFA, CFM, and became an expert on just about everything related to my job. My big break came when a client I had been prospecting said "Ok, here $10 million in a concentrated stock position. Show me what you can do." Due to my study and hard work, I was really familiar with the industry and the stock and my analysis showed it was over-valued and due for a pull back. Also, my hard work educated me on ideas for handling concentrated stock positions. I put a collar on the stock, the stock tanked, my collar worked like a charm, we blew out of the collar when I thought the stock had bottomed, the stock rebounded, and literall my client made millions. My hard work translated into my lucky break.
Contrast that to when a colleague of mine had a exec from Yahoo! come into meet with him on how to handle his concentrated block of Yahoo! stock. This guy came into the office a 9 and left at 4:30. Never did his home work and he totally blew the meeting and never landed the $50 million account. He didn't work hard, so he never got his lucky break.
2) Regarding what I know about contemporary golf history. Tom Doak and Mike Keiser might be a good story here. Tom, as I understand it, became obsessed with golf course architecture at a young age...really young. Devoted all his time to studying the classic courses, got a degree in a related field, worked his ass off to get a job with Pete Dye, traveled far and wide to see the great courses of the world, wrote about golf courses at a young age and penned two amazing books, became the ratings editor at Golf Magazine through unbridled persistence, became an architect and got a few good jobs, but was struggling a bit when Mike Keiser came a calling. He got his "lucky" break and all his hard work paid off.
My experience, which is not related to golf but rather business, tells me you've got to have an undying belief in yourself. You've got to work harder than EVERYONE else, so you are prepped and ready when that lucky breaks begins to walk through the door. Then it is up to you to allow your confidence, talents, and hard work pay off. (Insert The Rollins Band "Shine" song as background music and then follow that with Aerosmith "Dream on"...show Mike Keiser walking the links of Old MacDonald...Doug Sanders missing his putt at St. Andrews...Jack throwing his club in the air after making his putt...Ben Hogan in a wheel chair after his accident...followed by his epic 1 iron at Merion...and end it with Bobby Jones and all four of his major championshp trophies in 1930).
I am available for birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, and weddings...just send me a pm!!