My chances of playing professionally?

[williamtT]

I Just turned 18, first time i ever picked up a golf club was 3 years ago. My current handicap is +2. I've fired tournament rounds in the 60's. Lowest round is a 5 under 67, which ive done more times than i can remember. The best of those 67's was where i had a double bogey and came in 5 under still.. Could of been -7 if i only made par, Maybe next time lol! Anyways what do you think my chances of playing professionally one day after college would be?

[newtogolf]

I Just turned 18, first time i ever picked up a golf club was 3 years ago. My cuurent handicap is +2. I've fired tournament rounds in the 60's. Lowest round is a 5 under 67, which ive done more times than i can remember. The best of those 67's was where i had a double bogey and came in 5 under still.. Could of been -7 if i only made par, Maybe next time lol! Anyways what do you think my chances of going pro one day after college would be?

Welcome to the site, we get this question a lot so don't be surprised if you get pointed to other threads and some of the responses are a bit skeptical.  You're actually one of the better golfers to ask the question so I'd say to work hard, but realize it's not easy to make it on the PGA Tour.

I'm guessing at a +2 with tournament history you've been recruited by a top golf university (possibly on scholarship) where you'll be exposed to some of the best college players in the country.  If by the end of college you've competed well and your handicap is at +4 or better I'd say you've got a good shot to test yourself on the smaller tours or even the web.com tour.

[No Mulligans]

When you say going pro, do you mean playing on the PGA tour?

[Shorty]

Not quite sure why you're asking. How would we know? If you can provide a few links to newspaper articles about your accomplishments we'll at least kniw you're for real.

[mvmac]

I Just turned 18, first time i ever picked up a golf club was 3 years ago. My cuurent handicap is +2. I've fired tournament rounds in the 60's. Lowest round is a 5 under 67, which ive done more times than i can remember. The best of those 67's was where i had a double bogey and came in 5 under still.. Could of been -7 if i only made par, Maybe next time lol! Anyways what do you think my chances of going pro one day after college would be?

Welcome to the site. Good thread for you to check out.

[Pretzel]

Don't try to go pro straight out of high school. If you're as good as you say you are you should be taking a large scholarship to a Division I school and getting even more experience trying to improve to shoot consistently in the mid-60's. If, after four years of playing on the college team, you have competed at the national level in the NCAA Championship, and done well, then you should look into trying to get sponsor's exemptions and playing on the Web.com and PGA tour.

Do not try to go pro straight out of high school. It doesn't generally end well unless you're someone who already won the US Amateur or something.

[DrvFrShow]

Well, in fairness he did ask what his chances were AFTER graduating from college.

[Sante TwoGloves]

I say your chances are good if you can get better, stay focused in college, qualify, and then find a bunch of money to keep it going.

[williamtT]

Thank you for the replies, at the moment, i am about to begin my first competitive season at a junior college after red shirting my freshman year to have another year to get better. My plan is to win nationals individually this year so I may transfer to any division 1 school of my choice (hopefully LSU).

[mvmac]

Thank you for the replies, at the moment, i am about to begin my first competitive season at a junior college after red shirting my freshman year to have another year to get better. My plan is to win nationals individually this year so I may transfer to any division 1 school of my choice (hopefully LSU).

Good luck!

[Pretzel]

Thank you for the replies, at the moment, i am about to begin my first competitive season at a junior college after red shirting my freshman year to have another year to get better. My plan is to win nationals individually this year so I may transfer to any division 1 school of my choice (hopefully LSU).

You probably know much of it already, but if you want advice as to which areas of your game will pay dividends the book Lowest Score Wins is a good one. It has lots of statistical information about which areas of the game are more important that others when it comes to scoring low, as well as strategies to help plan your way around the golf course.

[williamtT]

You probably know much of it already, but if you want advice as to which areas of your game will pay dividends the book Lowest Score Wins is a good one. It has lots of statistical information about which areas of the game are more important that others when it comes to scoring low, as well as strategies to help plan your way around the golf course.

I'll forsure check it out, i appreciate it

[Shorty]

I say your chances are good if you can get better, stay focused in college, qualify, and then find a bunch of money to keep it going.

How could you possibly know that his chances are good?

He says he went from never playing to +2 in 3 years, but there are no links to media or the the "tournaments" he mentions.

My guess is that there would be quite a few articles in local media about him if he were that good. When he can direct us to those we will at least know who to keep an eye on.

Sorry to come on as all negative (surprise, surprise), but a +2 handicap makes him better than pretty much everyone on this site and better than 99.99% of players anywhere. Why is he asking us? He should know how good he is. He will have played against the best players in his area and they would know how good he is. As would his local professionals.

What is the purpose of asking people who've never met you or seen you play? I have never met a plus handicapper who lacks confidence in their game and certainly never seen a low marker ask others if they are any good.

If we are shown a golfing CV, yeah, great. But they are never forthcoming and we get these threads four times a year.

Look at this quote from the OP:

"The best of those 67's was where i had a double bogey and came in 5 under still.. Could of been -7 if i only made par,"

What top level player talks like this? Why not say "If I had made a double bogey on the 5th and bogeyed the 8th I wouldn't have broken 70"?

Plus 2 golfers do not play the "if only" game. They talk about what they actually did.

BTW, he's 18, not 12, just in case someone wants to call me a "dream killer"

My point is that at +2 he can measure his own game. No need to seek reassurance from 20 markers who have never seen him play and have quite possibly never seen a professional hitting balls in the flesh.

Rant over.

[williamtT]

How could you possibly know that his chances are good? He says he went from never playing to +2 in 3 years, but there are no links to media or the the "tournaments" he mentions. My guess is that there would be quite a few articles in local media about him if he were that good. When he can direct us to those we will at least know who to keep an eye on. Sorry to come on as all negative (surprise, surprise), but a +2 handicap makes him better than pretty much everyone on this site and better than 99.99% of players anywhere. Why is he asking us? He should know how good he is. He will have played against the best players in his area and they would know how good he is. As would his local professionals.  What is the purpose of asking people who've never met you or seen you play? I have never met a plus handicapper who lacks confidence in their game and certainly never seen a low marker ask others if they are any good. If we are shown a golfing CV, yeah, great. But they are never forthcoming and we get these threads four times a year.  Look at this quote from the OP: [COLOR=181818]"The best of those 67's was where i had a double bogey and came in 5 under still.. Could of been -7 if i only made par,"[/COLOR] [COLOR=181818]What top level player talks like this? Why not say "If I had made a double bogey on the 5th and bogeyed the 8th I wouldn't have broken 70"?[/COLOR] [COLOR=181818]Plus 2 golfers do not play the "if only" game. They talk about what they actually did.[/COLOR] BTW, he's 18, not 12, just in case someone wants to call me a "dream killer" My point is that at +2 he can measure his own game. No need to seek reassurance from 20 markers who have never seen him play and have quite possibly never seen a professional hitting balls in the flesh. Rant over.:-*

Sorry you don't like my word choice. I don't have to prove myself to you, i know my game. Forgive me for saying this but, I don't want my personal info all over this site. I asked for honest opinions, regardless of the person's handicap. Good day.

[Shorty]

Sorry you don't like my word choice. I don't have to prove myself to you, i know my game. Forgive me for saying this but, I don't want my personal info all over this site. I asked for honest opinions, regardless of the person's handicap. Good day.

It must have been so embarrassing for Jason Day and Jordan Spieth to have been in magazines and newspapers when they shot 67 in tournaments as teenagers. Horrendous.

What is the opinion of someone who has never seen you play worth? Seriously? How the heck would anyone have a clue? What are their "honest opinions"but uninformed guesses based on nothing.

But.....if we see a tournament result sheet and an article about the kid who has gone from never touching a club to +2 in 3 years (or a spot in between), that is meaningful for us. And mightily impressive. You're not a 12 year old girl whose parents don't want her to be stalked by weirdos.This is a golf site and you are supposedly the best player on it, or top 3.

Those  are stories that give others hope. But, sadly, they rarely exist. Funny that.

If you want an assessment of your potential, you can back yourself up with relevant info. Already, we're seeing the same BS as in all the other threads of this ilk:

"I can do this, almost did that  - but don't DARE ask for evidence. Don't DARE ask for the information that would show that I'm not just another kid who exaggerates."

[tefunk]

If you're real, and a +2, you still have a ways to go. A kid from my hometown, was a +5 in high school, was a top 3 college prospect, played in the US Open (but missed the cut), now playing D1 golf, and is ranked in the low 300's in the amateur rankings. So comparing the two of you, you have a ways to go

[Pretzel]

Just out of curiosity, why have you been going to a junior college for the last two years as a +2 golfer? I know that all of the top players in Colorado that were seniors last year got snapped up by Division I schools, even if not on a full ride. Grant Rogers went to Rice, Ross MacDonald and Pierce Aichinger went to CU Boulder, and Jake Staiano (who advance to U.S. Open sectional qualifiers) ws signed by CSU. All these players were given scholarships to play, and I know the 4A and 5A state champions both took large scholarships to go to Division II schools. These are all players in the +1 to +3 handicap range and they all were on the radar of many college golf scouts from the tournaments they played in. Why is your case any different?

There is a player on my old high school team who was a +2 handicap as a sophomore last year and was receiving equipment and discounts from Mizuno, Bettinardi, and a number of clothing manufacturers based upon his tournament performance in addition to already having contact with Division I coaches. While he and his dad have an aggressive personal marketing strategy for him, and he is likely an outlier case, it just goes to show that I'm pretty sure you'd have a good idea by now if you could make a Division I team. Those coaches aren't stupid, they look through tournament results to find the players they want and if you are consistently shooting in the 60's with as many 67's as you say they likely would have contacted you with an offer to at least visit by now, if not an offer to attend.

[tefunk]

I wonder the caliber of the courses these rounds in the 60's were carded at? The kid I mentioned earlier was carding scores in the 60's at courses such as Oak Hill CC