Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass, Doral’s Blue Monster,
and Harbour Town. These are just some of the famous courses that the
top tour professionals play year in and year out. Ah, the good life,
right?
Well, yes. But the journey to get to the top of the
mountain of professional golf is far from easy. The fact of the
matter is it takes a lot of time, effort, and money to even attempt
this journey. And, that’s assuming the player has the talent and
ability in the fi rst place. More than a few times per year, USGTF
examiners hear a candidate in his 40’s say that he plans to “chase
the senior tour” when he gets near 50. Then, some of these same
candidates fail to break 80 during the playing ability test.
This is not to discourage those who want to chase
their dreams. However, let’s paint an accurate picture of what it
takes to someday “make it.” As teachers, a lot of us undoubtedly
have students who truly aspire to playing on the PGA or Champions
Tour. They may think they’re good enough. They may be right, but
more often than not….
Playing Ability
All of the time, effort, and money in the world won’t do one bit of
good unless the player has the ability, or at least the potential,
to shoot low scores consistently on tough courses. Take our hometown
hero, for example. He can average 72 on his home course, which means
he breaks par almost half of the time. So far so good, right?
Upon closer examination, he plays the white tees
with the boys at 6,400 yards on a course rated 70.0. Since most
golfers in the scratch range average about two strokes over their
handicaps, this means our hometown hero is a legitimate scratch
golfer, handicap 0. So far so good, right?
Now, some of the old-money boys at the club think
they have a real hotshot on their hands, and if he could only play
full-time, he’d no doubt be playing with Tiger and Phil some day.
So, they pool their money and send their man out on the mini-tour
circuit. So far so good, right?
Much to their surprise, after six events he hasn’t
even come close to cashing a check. So far, uh, not so good. What
happened?
Most mini-tours pay only the top 1/3 of the field.
They play their events on courses not rated at 70.0, but perhaps
73.5. To cash a check, a two-round score of 144 (even par) is
normally reasonable. This means our hometown hero must play to a
+3.5 handicap standard (the average handicap of someone who averages
1.5 below the course rating) just to cash a check!
Winning? That might be a score of 136 or lower. If
he wants to win or be one of the top finishers (where the real money
in mini-tour golf is), he needs to play to at least a +6 handicap
standard in that tournament.
Now the old-money boys are accusing their man of not
trying hard enough, of not putting in enough effort. But he is. He’s
practicing more than he ever has, and he is showing some
improvement. In fact, his tournament handicap is +1. Yet, he still
hasn’t made a dime – why not?
Unless a golfer can play to at least a +2 handicap
in competition, he probably has no future in the pro game – not even
in banging out a few bucks on the mini-tours, even at the senior
level.
Lee Trevino suggested a test many years ago to see
if someone was ready for pro golf. Take him to six courses he’s
never played before and have him play the back tees. If he can shoot
no worse than +6 total for the six rounds, playing under strict USGA
rules, Trevino said, you might have a winner on your hands.
The late USGTF examiner John Nichols, a former Tour
player, had a unique perspective on what it takes. He suggested
taking the prospective tour player to the up tees and having him
play from there. If or when the player could shoot at least a 65
from these up tees, he needed to move back one set and repeat the
process until he reached the back tees. If the player could shoot a
65 from the back tees, John said, only then would he be ready for
pro golf.
Time and Effort
We all hear stories how Vijay Singh hits balls for hours on end each
and every day, how Ben Hogan would work from sunup to sundown, and
how Trevino would chastise rookies by saying, “The sun’s up, young
man – why aren’t you playing golf ?”
It’s not necessary to put in such yeoman work in
order to play one’s best, but these anecdotes underscore the fact
that it does take a lot of time and effort to reach the top echelons
of the sport. Some players, like Carlos Franco, are famous for not
working much, but they are few and far between.
If a mini-tour player is playing two or three
competitive rounds per week, he or she had better be playing and
practicing all but one day the rest of the week (it’s okay to take
one day off to re-charge). A typical non-tournament day might
include an hour of warming up, playing 18 holes, and then practicing
for 2-4 hours afterwards. In other words, it’s a real job – seven to
ten hours per day.
Money
Talented baseball, basketball, and football players are lucky –
someone is willing to foot the bill for them to play. Not so in
professional golf.
Let’s say someone has qualified to play the Hooters
Tour, arguably the third strongest tour in the United States. First,
he had to pay $2,000 plus expenses just to go through the “ranking
school” qualifying tournament. Next, he has to find a way to pay the
entry fee each week, $1,100. Then you have travel, hotel, and meal
expenses. For simplicity’s purposes, let’s say this player lives at
home with a generous mom and dad who don’t charge for room and
board.
We’re still looking at close to $30,000. There are
cheaper alternatives, but they generally don’t offer a very big
field or purse. And let’s not forget the PGA Tour Q-school: $4,500
plus expenses. Frankly, unless someone is ultra-talented to where he
can produce a positive cash flow almost immediately, it’s a rich
person’s game.
Summary
Playing professional golf is an extremely difficult endeavor, and
many have unrealistic beliefs about their abilities and potential.
Talent and ability are only the starting points in this most arduous
of journeys.
