If you had the talent,

What is Q school?

For some of the guys guys have been pretty sucessfull (Sheehan, Dunlap) making a couple million playing golf. You can understand why they keep going.  Now a guy like Biershenk who has made 600k (not a lot over 14 years) on nationwide or Edward Loar (looks like he played in asia for the past 10 years), Will Claton (looks like a miniTour guy) had a much tougher go of it. Some of it probably comes down to their options (i.e. do they have a degree that could get them a 100k/yr job)

I would guess the none of them balanced golf with a regular life. They all put golf first and found jobs that they could do around golf.  There is definitely a huge luck factor (getting hot for the week, having a course that fits your game, heck just getting a couple of breaks...) that can mean the difference between PGA pro and nationwide player.  The key also isn't in making cuts (that is nice). It is in placing high since the money goes up a lot once as you move up the top 10. For example 1 5th place finish would be worth 200k which is the same as making 20 cuts at most events. So 4 good rounds followed by 4 bad ones in a row is worth a lot more than 3 good rounds 1 bad (or even ok).

Assuming I had the skill and mindset to play on tour, I would do it as long as I made enough money to justify it vs. another means of making money.  It's a heck of a lot of time away from home to make a million bucks over 10 years, but if you can make even $400k/year then it may be worthwhile.  Ideally, it would be done while single.  The young guys like Rori and Rickie are in the best positions to be on the tour--no kids, no need to be home much, and enough skill to make a lot of money.

In the "other factors" category, I suppose it would depend on a few things:

1.) Do I have any other talent or training? What else can I do to put food on the table?

2.) Who is sponsoring me? What do they want me to do? If they're putting food on my table they might appreciate me giving my last ounce of effort for their brand logo to be seen on the biggest stagess. It might bode well should I need a 9-5 job in the future. Be seen yes, but be seen trying your best in an ethical manner.

3.) What's my family's breaking point - talk about it so you'll know when to stop. Don't realize it too late.

"but if you can make even $400k/year then it may be worthwhile.'' 

Firstly, thats a heck of a lot of money. Period. To play golf full time? Hells yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rossvanwyk 

"but if you can make even $400k/year then it may be worthwhile.'' 

 

Firstly, thats a heck of a lot of money. Period. To play golf full time? Hells yes.

 

It is a lot of money, but a tour golfer's expenditures are MASSIVE. I'm not sure how much 400k in winnings would leave you at the end of the year. Probably still a lot! lol

For me, if I were in the position, I'd probably keep at it for as long as I was fit and not broke

If I were to be a full rights member of the tour, I'd probably try to play 2 weeks on, 1 week off. If you could get through the year with above 50% cuts, maybe 2 top 10's, I think you'd be laughing on tour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpannersReady 

What is Q school?

Did you Google it?
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shorty 

Did you Google it?
 

 

I'm torn between 3 replies. I'll write them all. pick your favourite. 

A: no. I consider Sandtrap to be a better resource for golf Knowledge. 

2: what are you, the Internet police? 

iii: here's my impression of you. , WHHHAAAA, I'm that guy on the Internet that makes sniddy remarks about people's posts WHHHAAA. that guy asked a quick question instead  of researching the subject on his own. I'm gonna point it out instead of posting a quick answer that might be useful to other novices just glancing this thread wwwwhhhhaaaa. 

See when I post on forums on topics where I am an expert I am happy to quickly share my knowledge. That's why I post on them. I want the thing I'm passionate about to be shared and become more popular and understood. :-)  perhaps it's because I'm so good looking,  I don't know. 

And the impression of everyone on the internet is that you are a lazy guy. It isn't research to type "Q School" in google. No one wants to read thread that define basic terms . If you are reading a review of a golf club do you really want people asking "Whats loft?". All IMNHO

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpannersReady 

 

 

I'm torn between 3 replies. I'll write them all. pick your favourite. 

 

A: no. I consider Sandtrap to be a better resource for golf Knowledge. 

 

2: what are you, the Internet police? 

 

iii: here's my impression of you. , WHHHAAAA, I'm that guy on the Internet that makes sniddy remarks about people's posts WHHHAAA. that guy asked a quick question instead  of researching the subject on his own. I'm gonna point it out instead of posting a quick answer that might be useful to other novices just glancing this thread wwwwhhhhaaaa. 

 

 

 

 

See when I post on forums on topics where I am an expert I am happy to quickly share my knowledge. That's why I post on them. I want the thing I'm passionate about to be shared and become more popular and understood. :-)  perhaps it's because I'm so good looking,  I don't know. 

While I'm a big fan of self-starters, I'm also a big fan of efficiency and not wasting other people's time.

In the time it took you, Spanners, to make a post you could have googled "Q School" and learned your answer without having others put in the effort.

And to those who think I'm saying that it's Spanners' fault, in the time it took you to respond by saying "google it" or justifying the "google it" response, you could have given him the answer and been a nice guy in the process.

I asked an innocent question whilst only half thinking in bed sick. I was in conversation mode. 

Perhaps you should have an experts only section so that idiots like me who have only just started on golf forums don't bother you. 

I expect to get wifey/bitchy/girly snipe replies when I'm trying to inject some reason or logic on Yahoo! Answers but you'd think a hobby forum where we all share a common interest would be a bit less that way.  

Why not just not answer the question if you think I should have googled it. But  he didn't. He went out of his way to make a dig. the time it took to make the clever clever remark he could have just answered it.  Who knows, you could have made a friend in the process. 

The Internet is like road rage. It makes people very brave because they can hid behind a screen. sorry thread starter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpannersReady 

What is Q school?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shorty 

Did you Google it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpannersReady 

I'm torn between 3 replies. I'll write them all. pick your favourite. 

 

A: no. I consider Sandtrap to be a better resource for golf Knowledge. 

 

2: what are you, the Internet police? 

 

iii: here's my impression of you. , WHHHAAAA, I'm that guy on the Internet that makes sniddy remarks about people's posts WHHHAAA. that guy asked a quick question instead  of researching the subject on his own. I'm gonna point it out instead of posting a quick answer that might be useful to other novices just glancing this thread wwwwhhhhaaaa. 

 

See when I post on forums on topics where I am an expert I am happy to quickly share my knowledge. That's why I post on them. I want the thing I'm passionate about to be shared and become more popular and understood. :-)  perhaps it's because I'm so good looking,  I don't know. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpannersReady 

I asked an innocent question whilst only half thinking in bed sick. I was in conversation mode. 

 

Perhaps you should have an experts only section so that idiots like me who have only just started on golf forums don't bother you. 

 

I expect to get wifey/bitchy/girly snipe replies when I'm trying to inject some reason or logic on Yahoo! Answers but you'd think a hobby forum where we all share a common interest would be a bit less that way.  

 

Why not just not answer the question if you think I should have googled it. But  he didn't. He went out of his way to make a dig. the time it took to make the clever clever remark he could have just answered it.  Who knows, you could have made a friend in the process. 

 

The Internet is like road rage. It makes people very brave because they can hid behind a screen. sorry thread starter.

Not a multiquotes fan, but it seems appropriate here.

Next time Shorty will give the same response, because he knows a Google reference to a simple question is basically a facepalm. It has more punch than an answer provides. Did you proceed to Google for the answer to the Q School question? If so, why not just have a laugh at yourself for asking a newb question on the interweb, then move on?

Or better yet you could have provided the only correct answer to his question: "What's Google?"

On the OP:

If I had started young and had the talent, I would have gone to the best academic school with an even decent DI golf team that would give me a spot.  Your situation is obviously not for the guy who it turns out just dominates and wins Q-School after sophomore year and goes straight to the Tour.  So I'm finishing my degree and hitting the Nationwide or Asian tour.

I keep at it as long as I'm making a living.  Tons of travel money needed to play golf professionally, but if I'm clearing even $25-$30k after expenses for the first 4-5 years, then I'm keeping at it.  If by my late 20s I'm not starting to make more and feel like I'm on a trajectory to have a high chance of getting to be one of the 75-125 rank journeymen on the PGA tour for a decent number of years in my 30s, then maybe I quit and become an instructor, start an academy, or go back entirely and go into something related to what I studied in school.  If I'm feeling I'm on that trajectory, then I'm staying at it into early 30s at least.

To SpannersReady:

I think the annoyance comes from the fact that you're wasting everyone's reading time by asking a question that it would be SO easy to google the answer to, and is only marginally related to the thread topic.  Not only that, but just for yourself you may or may not get an answer here and if you do it'll probably not be posted for hours or days, while you could spend 12 seconds getting the answer yourself while saving everyone else from having to scroll through thread chaff.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpannersReady 

I asked an innocent question whilst only half thinking in bed sick. I was in conversation mode. 

 

I resent being asked to write an answer to a question that is easily found. I could have ignored the question, but I didn't.

Anyway....

If you really want to know what Q School is, and I mean REALLY know what Q School is,

read "Tales From Q School" by John Feinstein - it will show you that it is probably the most dramatic week of golf of the season.  It's a great read.

In recent history, just look at what Nathan Green did this week and ask yourself where he'd be an year from now if he had had a single shot more than his final round 66.
 

I was kinda hoping someone would give a quick answer to spanners.  I've been wondering what exactly Q School is myself and figured the answer would come up eventually.  I'm not too lazy to Google it, it just wasn't important enough for me to find out right away.  I could wait til it turned up in a thread somewhere.

That being said, whenever I Google a golf question, one of the top ten results is usually a thread from TST.  So I guess now instead of Google bringing people here when they have that question, it will take them to some other golf forum where questions like that don't waste everyones' time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kobey 

I was kinda hoping someone would give a quick answer to spanners.  I've been wondering what exactly Q School is myself and figured the answer would come up eventually.  I'm not too lazy to Google it, it just wasn't important enough for me to find out right away.  I could wait til it turned up in a thread somewhere.

 

That being said, whenever I Google a golf question, one of the top ten results is usually a thread from TST.  So I guess now instead of Google bringing people here when they have that question, it will take them to some other golf forum where questions like that don't waste everyones' time.

Do you know how the Google works? I don't for sure, but I believe very random images and sites show up (containing irrelevant information or no information at all) because of cookies and your IP address. You get hits for thesandtrap because you visit the site (cookies) and you get regional hits due to your IP address. I know there are certain golf club photos showing up during searches (images that I took) because the search contains terms I used during a forum discussion or the term is in the image title on photobucket (or wherever). Google is sometimes useless, but relying on the answer to a specific query to show up in forum discussion is a million times more useless.

PS. maybe I'm biased having already known what Q School is, but I'm not sure how someone could read the OP's post and not figure out what it is. Seriously.