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Tom Watson on Modern Amateurs - In Name Only


iacas
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Tom Watson on today's amateurs:

Quote:
The amateurs today are pros; they’re not amateurs,” Watson said. “They play a lot of competition. They have the trainers like the pros do, they have the coaches like the pros do, they have the video equipment like the pros do.

They’re AMNOs – amateur in name only.

http://www.golfweek.com/news/2011/jul/26/watson-opines-resurgence-amateurs/

Thoughts? I'll save mine for now for fear of steering the conversation in one direction.

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Sports and sports science have evolved. My guess is that back in the 70s/80s only a handful of professional golfers had trainers, coaching teams, and video equipment.

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the ony thing in golf ive never figured is the defining point between an amatuer and a pro,

how do you become pro? just say "im pro" and start trying to qualify for big tournaments?

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Originally Posted by iacas

Tom Watson on today's amateurs:

http://www.golfweek.com/news/2011/jul/26/watson-opines-resurgence-amateurs/

Thoughts? I'll save mine for now for fear of steering the conversation in one direction.


I have two comments:

1) They are still amateurs because they are not receiving a dime for playing golf.

2) I think what Watson is saying, and I agree with him, is that top amateurs lead similar lives to the professionals. They can get as good as the professionals much quicker these days. TrackMan, for example, provides them with everything they need to know about how they are hitting the ball. The guesswork is removed and players can concentrate more on making the changes to their swing and then grooving the mechanics of that action. I've oversimplified it, I know, but I think you catch my drift.

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I think Watson is correct that the top modern amateurs' playing capability is much closer to matching the professional golfers' today than a decade ago.  Probably because of the reasons given in the article.  This is pretty much confirmed by the finishing position of top amateurs in recent LPGA and PGA events.  10 years ago if the top amateur made the cut in a major tournament it was hailed as significant achievement, but today they are finishing in the top 25 on a regular basis it seems.  But it is a recent trend and who knows if it will last?  I think it will but concede that it is too soon to tell.

Butch

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The economics of collegiate athletics are vastly different than they were when Tom was attending Stanford. Four decades ago, the NCAA had a monopoly on broadcast rights, and Title IX didn't exist yet. The money for college sports has always come from football and basketball, but the parties involved are able to generate so much more revenue from those sports today. Since golf is a co-ed sport, 301 Division I universities sponsor it, making it an important part of any school's athletic program. For smaller schools that can't hope to beat major-conference teams in football or basketball, golf gives them a more even playing field on which to compete.

A lot of universities own their own courses. In the past, these courses were often goat tracks, but colleges and donors have invested a lot of money in the last couple of decades to turn them into championship layouts: Georgia, Maryland, and Ohio State's courses all host Nationwide Tour events. Georgia Tech is an elite golf program on an urban campus; it doesn't have its own course, but it does have a world-class practice facility in the middle of Midtown Atlanta, blocks away from the main campus. A few miles to the north, Kennesaw State is a very young college, but its most distinguished alumnus happens to be a three-time major champion (Larry Nelson). When KSU moved up to Division I a few years ago, it helped pay for a major renovation of the golf club adjacent to its campus, so their golf team would have easy access to a facility worthy of a larger program. KSU's men's team ranked in the top 50 of Golfweek's rankings last season.

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If you consider grant in aid, tuition to be the same as money then I guess collegiate players are professional.  Professionals do it for the money.  If a player is a collegiate golfer for the scholarship then he/she is a professionial.  If he/she is playing golf while in college and is not playing golf so that they can be in college then they are amateur.

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I'm gonna have to agree with Tom Watson here. The volume of experience, training, time, travel, equipment, etc. that modern amateur golfers have is unreal. Quality golf instruction is more readily available and widely understood now than in the past. This also feeds in to the argument that the field in these tournaments has become deeper.

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I think sports in general has gotten more aggressive over the past 30 years. The competition in high school is much stronger and better organized than it used to be. It used to be that the pros got dedicated coaches, athletic trainers, the best equipment, and had to suffer the stress of continual, tight competition. Now you go through a lot of that if you want to get into a good school for your sport.

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Do they get free equipment? Have access to big-time instructors and technology? Yep.

Are they paid to play golf (or give instruction, or to appear in advertising/etc.)? No.

The second is all that matters, as far as I'm concerned. Not long ago the amateurs were the wealthy people in golf.

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Varsity athletes on full scholarships get access to whatever they want whenevery they want it. If one was to put a pricetag on all the perks they get, compared to the vast majority of the student body who finish university in debt up to their eyeballs, I'd say they're more than compensated for their time on the golf course. Does that mean they aren't amateurs? It makes them priviledged and that's all I know.

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In the college golfer case they are paid to play golf.  They don't give out 50k scholarships for them not to play.

Has the country club amateur gotten much better? I doubt it. I would guess they have fallen farther behind the people that can spent 4+ hours a day on golf because it is their job.

Originally Posted by iacas

Do they get free equipment? Have access to big-time instructors and technology? Yep.

Are they paid to play golf (or give instruction, or to appear in advertising/etc.)? No.

The second is all that matters, as far as I'm concerned. Not long ago the amateurs were the wealthy people in golf.



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I think with regard to ability, Tom Watson is correct. The skill level difference between many top amateurs and professionals isn't that large.

In my opinion, the difference comes down to one thing.

Professionals play golf as a job. Amateurs don't. Skill level is largely irrelevant now when considering the definition.

A professional has to play in a minimum of tournaments, has to secure sponsors, make apperarances, give clinics, and constantly work to keep their game up to snuff. As amazing as it is, it is still a job.

An amateur can be just as good, but it's not their job.

To summarize, I think the definition of amateur is what has changed more than anything.

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Originally Posted by x129

In the college golfer case they are paid to play golf.  They don't give out 50k scholarships for them not to play.


I coach a number of college golfers, many of whom are on scholarship or half scholarship. Being "paid to play" and "we'll let you attend college for free" are not the same.

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Originally Posted by Phil McGleno

I coach a number of college golfers, many of whom are on scholarship or half scholarship. Being "paid to play" and "we'll let you attend college for free" are not the same.


I gotta disagree.  Both are forms of compensation.  If everyone could attend college for free, then I'd say you have a point, but any financial assistance that one isn't required to pay back is direct compensation.  Not that I think college golfers should give up their amature status, but amature golf isn't what it was 40-50 years ago.  This is why the USGA came up with the concept of "mid-amature" championships so that real amature golfers (golfers with no intentions of turning pro) would have a chance in state's and a national championship that isn't dominated by amatures who are simply trying to flesh out their resume (and win a berth in to 3 of the majors) prior to turning pro.

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They are the same at the basic level.  The student golfer elects to take his compensation as education while the  pro takes it as cash.  Either way they are getting something of value (stanford must be about 200k for 4 years now) in exchange for performing golfing services. The rule book says you can do one and still be considered an amateur.

Originally Posted by Phil McGleno

I coach a number of college golfers, many of whom are on scholarship or half scholarship. Being "paid to play" and "we'll let you attend college for free" are not the same.



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