There was an article in Todays Golfer about a year ago, this guy, who had never picked up a golf club in his life just decided that he wanted to become a scratch golfer inside of a year. He wasn't particularly athletically gifted and hadn't excelled at any sports in his life but thought he would give it a try. It didn't say so in the article but i suspect that he was independently wealthy and he bought and studied every article, book and video (probably this website too), he would hit 300 balls a day at the range and chip and putt in his garden till it got dark. The guy made it down to scratch with a couple of months to spare. It can be done, given the right time and resources.