Tour Dream - A Perspective From Close Up

[leftybutnotPM]

Rather than reviving a thread I thought I'd start a new one. 

The one I'm referring to is where a guy claimed to plan to "dominate" the Mackenzie Tour, without any knowledge of what good golf actually looks like.

My very recent (this week) experience just underscores how ridiculous this thread was.

I was at the Australian Open yesterday and followed a young player who is known to me. Phenomenal player.

The previous day we played in the same club competition .

In the Wednesday competition he had 29 on the back with  a bogey. 8 under for the round, I think, playing off +4. This is on a serious golf course, one of the top few in Sydney.

Fast forward 24 hours.

The drives I saw him hit at The Australian were just unfathomably good. 300m dead straight like shot from a canon.

He had 5 over in the first round. Virtually no way he's playing the weekend.

Last year this guy played on the Mackenzie Tour and made about $2,500.

So.....my point is....rather than 40 pages of posts about whether at 22 years of age with of a DIY handicap of 5 (without ever breaking 80) and asking if you can become a touring pro, understand this: The answer is no.

And, to anyone who has not seen these young guys in the flesh - forget about top 20 household names - go and watch ANY of these young college players and pros hit the ball IN REAL LIFE.

TV shows you nothing.

It's a tough way to (not) make a living.

Edited December 6, 2019 by leftybutnotPM

[Mr22putt]

3 hours ago, leftybutnotPM said:

Rather than reviving a thread I thought I'd start a new one. 

The one I'm referring to is where a guy claimed to plan to "dominate" the Mackenzie Tour, without any knowledge of what good golf actually looks like.

My very recent (this week) experience just underscores how ridiculous this thread was.

I was at the Australian Open yesterday and followed a young player who is known to me. Phenomenal player.

Last year this guy played on the Mackenzie Tour and made about $2,500.

go and watch ANY of these young college players and pros hit the ball IN REAL LIFE.

TV shows you nothing.

It's a tough way to (not) make a living.

All Diece needed was more time...he was showing improvement.

On the GTA Am Tour in 2019...he played twice and was improving.

91 on a 6500 yards course and then 85 at 6700 yards.

He was on the TorontoGolfNuts forum and then quit and is now MIA.

I've watched some Am events here....yup the top players at the events can really play golf and smoke the ball....but all are basically no ones in the grand scheme of top level competitive golf.

I've seen some really talented players like the one you have described...NCAA stars. etc, etc..... that struggle to make money on the pro circuits.

It's just plain TOUGH to play golf for a living.

[leftybutnotPM]

21 minutes ago, Mr22putt said:

 

It's just plain TOUGH to play golf for a living.

Yep.

I watched Scott, Cameron Smith, Sergio, Leishman, Ancer, Tringale, Kaufman, Casey - to name a few, and if you didn't know what the top players looked like and you saw them play a few holes, you wouldn't be able to tell who the superstars are (because Sergio and Scott played badly) because they all bomb it and have great short games and hit their irons like lasers.

But..........If Rory was there or possibly Reed or Koepka you would see a difference.

But ALL of them hit bad shots too. I saw Scott hit two shots that I would be embarrassed to play. And one was a punch out where he did what a 20 marker would do and hit it straight into a tree in an effort to hit it 130 metres rather than 100 on his second shot on a par 5.

But there are hundreds of players who we have never heard of who are going to be very disappointed and disillusioned 30 year olds who at least gave it a chance - and had the ability in many ways.

As for the Dieces of this world the only thing I can think is that they have truly never seen a real ball striker in the flesh.

I would say to anyone thinking of starting a "Can I be a pro" thread to go and watch these guys in the flesh, ask themselves if they could even imagine themselves hitting drives like that .......and then going and checking the OWGR and the results of those guys. It's sobering stuff.

The analogy I always use is that it's like car racing. TV doesn't show you the speed the way being at a track does.

Edited December 6, 2019 by leftybutnotPM

[Mr22putt]

Yup...TV makes race cars look like they are going in slow motion.

We use to host an Indy Car event here in Vancouver...it's crazy to see how fast and noisy the cars are in real life.

As TV doesn't capture the speed of a pitcher's fastball.

I went to the Louisville bat factory...they had a sim.....I would likely start my swing when the fastball was already in the catcher's mitt.....one has to see how fast a 95 mph fastball is in real life.

 

I really miss Diece's threads...they were so entertaining. 

[boogielicious]

I've only got to see one player up close, Steven Bowditch. It was for three holes at a demo for Taylormade. He was unbelievably good and he has had his struggles on tour. 

[DeadMan]

I feel like this should be a pinned thread. It's incredible how good you can be at golf and still not have a chance at making a pro tour. And I don't just mean the PGA Tour, I mean any pro tour, including mini tours.

[Herkimer]

Karl Vilips is a kid.  I think he's 17 years old.  I guaranty you that he will be one of the top golfers in the world in no more than 8 years.  He's that good.

[iacas]

14 minutes ago, Herkimer said:

Karl Vilips is a kid.  I think he's 17 years old.  I guaranty you that he will be one of the top golfers in the world in no more than 8 years.  He's that good.

He also just got waxed at the Junior Presidents Cup, failing to win any points.

If you define "one of the top golfers in the world" as "inside the top 25" I'd be willing to wager $100 on that.

Just on the odds. And I know who Karl is.

[Herkimer]

4 hours ago, iacas said:

He also just got waxed at the Junior Presidents Cup, failing to win any points.

If you define "one of the top golfers in the world" as "inside the top 25" I'd be willing to wager $100 on that.

Just on the odds. And I know who Karl is.

I'm more shocked that he didn't win any points then I would be if he had won every point.  But I'm glad you see his potential greatness.  Stanford already recruited him and he's going.  

[iacas]

11 minutes ago, Herkimer said:

I'm more shocked that he didn't win any points then I would be if he had won every point.  But I'm glad you see his potential greatness.  Stanford already recruited him and he's going.  

You taking my bet or not then?

[Herkimer]

I thought you were betting anyone a $100 that he WOULD be in the top 25. 

No.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Herkimer said:

I thought you were betting anyone a $100 that he WOULD be in the top 25. 

No.

Why not? You’re so sure.

[Herkimer]

15 minutes ago, iacas said:

Why not? You’re so sure.

I'm sure you're joking.  

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Herkimer said:

I'm sure you're joking.  

I’m not joking. You were so sure, then you turn down a bet.

[Herkimer]

Okay, I'll play along.  Since I don't give out my address I don't know how I will collect it from you.

[David in FL]

7 hours ago, Herkimer said:

Okay, I'll play along.  Since I don't give out my address I don't know how I will collect it from you.

Venmo!

That must make it tough for you to get those packages delivered from Amazon though!  

 

[Herkimer]

28 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Venmo!

That must make it tough for you to get those packages delivered from Amazon though!  

 

No wonder I never get my orders!!

[Vinsk]

7 hours ago, Herkimer said:

Okay, I'll play along.  Since I don't give out my address I don't know how I will collect it from you.

I’ll take that bet too. And you won’t need to give out your address because the money won’t be heading your direction.😉