[8D]yeah he was a pretty good "golf dude"

Just to chime in on this subject, I can see both sides of it.

Take your licks and learn the hard way? The good old fashioned way of learning strictly by experience. It really doesn't get much more rewarding than looking back at where you came from and learning it all on your own. Just simply trial and error with nobody but yourself to consult with. During that time .... yeah there will be some shots you'd like to take back. Some stand locations you'll scratch your head about. Overall a lot of things you'll laugh about later. Certainly a lot of value there as far as progressing as a hunter. Things I personally would never take back being a "self taught hunter".

Then there's the other side of it. A wealth of knowledge out there these days. The learning curve can be accelerated by leaps and bounds. If I had access to the stuff out there now when I first started, I wouldn't have done half the stuff I did when I was getting started. But then again ...... I wouldnt' have learned what I learned on my own. That in itself is rewarding. In the end I think it can only be beneficial to gain knowledge by whatever means necessary. Why not? You can become that much of a better hunter in half the time. Are you giving up some of the fun and experience of learning it on your own? Absolutely. That's something hunters starting out will miss out on these days IMO.