What can i expect?

[thomas747]

Hi All,

I am 22 years old... Been playing golf on average 2 times a week for a few years and shoot an average round of of 75... I have shot even par on a number of occasions and when I play regularly always score between 72-76. I would describe myself as someone who has a natural gift to play the game, but have never had a lesson. I am long off the tee and have a athletic physique. I love the game and am considering spending the next 5 months playing full time as my local club offers free range balls with membership.

I will get weekly lessons from the pro there to know what I should be working on, but will spend most of the day working on my game myself. I want to hit 500+ of quality range balls a day working on all aspects of my long game, work on my short game for a couple of hours a day and try to encompass rounds of golf into this as well to see how much I am improving. I plan on being at the golf course 10 hours a day.

What do you think is realistic in terms of my handicap at the end of the summer if I keep this regime up and keep improving. Do you think it is possible that I could get my game to a point where I am playing off + figures from 7000 yard courses?

I am asking because at 22 it feels like I am at a point in life where I should be starting to make a career, not spending time chasing impossible dream?!? But I love the game so much I really want to give it a shot.

What do you guys think?

I k

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Do you have an official HC

You could still make it but it's very very tough now with lots of very talented players not making it

 

[ScienceBoy]

Part time job and a room in a shared house, putting all your spare time and money into golf and then grinding it out on UK tours is one option. Its not glam but it could get you started and may lead somewhere.

Either that or settle for a good AM career and a full time job.

Is it worth the risk? Only you can decide.

 

[turkish]

Go for it IMO.... You are still young and if you can grind the practice for 2 years solid you'll know how far you have come and whether you can compete.

Only one shot at life so if you go for it and give you're all you'll be able to look yourself in the mirror and say well I gave my all.

As for careers at 24-25 you'd still have plenty of time on your hands- maybe even something golf related but if not still plenty of time for anything else.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Welcome to the forum. Only you will know if you have what it takes. The brutal assessment is not many make it, even onto the lower tours. Have you considered doing the PGA exams and becoming a qualified pro that way

 

[thomas747]

Thanks for replies so far... Currently I do not have an official HC but like I said I shoot on average 72-76 and that is on different courses.

Scienceboy- the actual process of getting onto a tour isn't worrying me to much a the moment... I know there is lots of different mini tours around and you can go to q school for the European tour etc.... My main concern at the moment is trying to gauge how much I can actually improve over the next couple of years. If it was realistic that I could get to say +3 or +4 in 2 years time, and be grinding on the mini tours, entering q school etc then the decision is a no brainer for me to try and give it a go. If however I could be playing for 2 years and not realisticly expect to be anywhere near that standard then for me it would be a waste of time.

Turkish I agree, I will regret not trying a lot more than I will regret giving it a go. I am just worried that I am being completely delusional about the standard I feel I can get to within a couple of years... by no means do I think 2 years down the line I will be on a major tour anywhere, but even getting to a competitive standard on mini tours in this timeframe seems somewhat ambitious?

I just don't want to waste time and money if it really isn't doable. Combining the money I will have to spend this summer on golf, membership, fuel etc + the money I wont be earning, due to not having a job for the next 5 months I will be about £14k worse off.....

Its a tough decision to make but I am definatly moving towards giving it a go for sure....

 

[thomas747]

Homer... im really not interested in becoming a golf teacher or doing anything in the game other than playing for a living. It would be all or nothing, if I wasn't to make it as a player I would find a career elsewhere

 

[Nosevi]

Is it worth the risk? Only you can decide.

To the OP, at 22 the answer is yes. Unless you're unusual you probably have no ties or real responsibilities (wife, kids etc) and if it doesn't work out in a year or so you'll only be in the same situation as 1000's of youngsters currently at Uni studying something like sociology. Give it a go, mate.

Your profile doesn't seem to say where you are. If you're anywhere close to Lincolnshire give me a shout - I've got a swing studio with launch monitor (GC2) you're more than welcome to use a bit if it helps you out. Practising full time makes a massive difference, trust me, I'm speaking from experience, but it needs to be focused practice not just spending hours on the course every day. Don't have a single session where you're not working on something specific, track your stats and performance so you can focus your practice and push yourself at every opportunity.

Advice from a tour pro I practice with now and then - practice your weaknesses and play to your strengths. It's amazing how many amateurs do the complete opposite.

Good luck with it.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Enter scratch comps and that could give you an idea where you stand

 

[Nosevi]

If it was realistic that I could get to say +3 or +4 in 2 years time, and be grinding on the mini tours, entering q school etc then the decision is a no brainer for me to try and give it a go. If however I could be playing for 2 years and not realisticly expect to be anywhere near that standard then for me it would be a waste of time........

I just don't want to waste time and money if it really isn't doable.

That's an easy one - Simon Thornton was a 7 handicapper in his mid 20's, decided to give golf a proper go and was on the Europro (only credible 'mini-tour' to go onto in the UK IMO) in 2 years. I've spoken to him via email about how he did it. Is it "doable"? Simple answer is Yes because someone's done it. He worked his way through the Challenge tour and onto the European Tour, winning a European Tour event last year (think it was). It is doable because someone did it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

You mention working with a pro. Is that a club pro, one with a good teaching repautation? What does he think. Go out and play as many local events as you can but you'd need an official handicap so a bit of a chicken and egg situation

 

[louise_a]

I would suggest you join a club, at 22 the fees should be reasonable. There is a big difference in playing for fun and playing in club comps, let alone at a higher standard.

 

[the_coach]

not wishing to drag you down any. but at 22 now with am guessing no real experience of competition - if you hold no index - even at the small level club competition, there's a real gulf in where you are & where you aiming to be.

great that you can get round in the score you able to presently.
from ordinary tee box at not so difficult tracks you'd be realistically looking at a target say shooting 4,5,6 under on a regular basis.

just trying to put it in some perspective for you to get a handle on.

that's a big ways different scene to playing off the back tips under pressure of even just a club comp.
which also is a ways away from playing in scratch tourney's.
which likewise is totally different to (speaking from experience) teeing up in State or National level tourney's.
which is again a good ways different from playing as an am in Pro tourney's or larger Pro ams with Broadcast coverage.

shooting the scores you do good though they are - but under not so much pressure & guessing you have to play off the tees of the day - so not off the tips either - under no competition pressure would probably realistically put you now off a high single digit index.

from my own experience when I got to playing index 2 is a good ways different to playing index 0 which again is exponentially different to playing index +2.

then you consider guys who make a good living on even any of the Mini Tours are at minimum the equivalent of say +3 maybes.

then say your average PGA Tour Pro is +5 & better off the tips on 7000+ tracks with greens at minimum of stimp around 11 mostly quicker.

bunch of the top Tour Pro's hold memberships & so 'hold' an 'index' where they are a member. Bubba for instance who bought Tiger's house at Isleworth has an 'index' of +9 off of the comp tips. many folks think Isleworth is a resort course but it's far from that it's a real tough track.

so not to say if you have the desire, talent & work ethic to improve - assuming you working on the right things - it couldn't be achieved but it's sure going to be real difficult. but doubt you'd get to a + index in a year to be real honest getting to index 4 would be a real sound job.
some sort of back up plan going forwards sure would be useful.

you need to get an index quick & then get entering as many tourney's as poss as that's going to be the ways that will show you where your game really is for sure. plus putting the right sort of practice in week in week out, but it's not about the number of balls struck it's about the quality.

so it's not just about 'golf swing' & 'sound striking' - though sure you need that - it's all about scoring under the gun.

 

[rustyb]

Thomas, at your age if you have the time, the money and the desire then really you have answered your own question, because if you have all three then the only thing you have if you don't try is regret.

 

[Crawfy]

Do it mate. Life is for living and you only get one shot. Regret taking a chance rather than regret never taking it.
Only one way to find out if you have got "it"
Good luck and keep us posted!!

 

[Billysboots]

I would suggest you join a club, at 22 the fees should be reasonable. There is a big difference in playing for fun and playing in club comps, let alone at a higher standard.

It's worth ringing round. If you are genuinely at that level there are likely to be clubs around who will waive membership fees to have you playing Scratch/A Team golf. There certainly are round these parts.

 

[Spear-Chucker]

OP, sounds like you have some skills, time and desire to give it a go - why not? Take the 'eyes open' route though because there's some things to consider...

You'll need an official hcp to enter local and leading amateur events where you can play with skilled players and learn from them. You can also use these events to calibrate your game and perhaps see where you're better which is a tremendous confidence booster.

Most of the national amateur events require a scratch hcp or less (if managed by ballot due to high entries) so that's one target you may want to consider if going the amateur route.

Some very generalised rules of thumb are that to get to regional tour standard you'll need to be capable of typically shooting around 2-3 under par on average courses, low to mid 70's on a poor day and 3 or more under when you're right on your game. On course you're familiar with (home, typically) you should have a history of shooting 5 or more under par.

Tough numbers but not impossible - all down to a few physical skills and having a great mindset to play the game. Pro's including the top ones aren't superhuman (contrary to what many believe) or made of pure 'unobtainium' but are just tremendously consistent and have long since learnt how to use what they have to post good scores when the pressures on.