How good do you need to be to play on PGA tour?

[deronsizemore]

I went to a PGA event here one year and walked the course with Davis Love III. The one thing that sticks out in my mind is the completely different "sound" of their shots. Not only are they very long and precise and consistent, but the sound of the drivers and irons were nothing like any I had heard before. That alone told me they were on a different level!

Yep, same here. The sound of every shot is just so pure. They are making near perfect contact every single time.

[MuscleBack Sauce]

believe it or not there are numerous players out there who hit the ball well enough to get on tour but i think it comes down to 2 things; 1) playing under pressure and 2) putting. If you've ever watched these guys in person you start to wonder how anyone wins because they all hit the fairways and greens. It comes down to sundays and handling pressure but moreover, putting. All the guys on tour can slam 330 drives and spin balls back to pins but if you look at who's winning the tournement, they probably had a good putting week.

[finoky]

I have seen guys that thought they were good enough to be out there given the chance but couldn't handle the pressure of playing through a slower group.

[golfbarefoot]

The one thing that sticks out in my mind is the completely different "sound" of their shots.

Agree, even more is the trajectory of the launch. The PGA touring pros effortless swing produces such different launch constantly. It's very different, even from that of a scratch golfer who is great at golfing their ball around the course. They also have a keen sense to really attack a pin if they have a short iron or wedge with their approach for the GIR..it's like they are salivating and really take advantage of anything inside 125 to get the birdie... One thing to note. Most if not all of them work every shot, they are never trying to hit a straight ball. They will tell you it's much more difficult to try and hit straight balls, they work it into their target whether they favor a draw (most predominant) or a fade...

Aside from ballstriking they seem to always make those short/med putts for par and the med/longer for birdie when they need it. Aside from putting, they are escape artists who turn possible doubles into pars and triples into bogeys, this is what I think is the most amazing.. So obviously, they are just so much better in every aspect and they are a rare breed to do it under those circumstances with the pressure..for not 1 round, but 4...every week... These Guys are Good

[peteL]

I'm new to this board and all but here's the answer (pay attention people):
1) 10,000 hours of practice AFTER you've zoned in on your long/short swing forms
2) landing your approach shots within 15 feet of the hole on more than half the holes played
3) sinking better than 50% of your putts 10ft and in.

Whatever it takes to accomplish the above. My rules as stated above are LAW because I can kick your asses in all sports including curling and nude badminton.

[golfbarefoot]

nude badminton

eesh.. settle down..

[mdl]

Honestly, someone once told me you need to shoot 4-6 under everyday on your home course. Honestly that's probably about right. People don't realize how good those boys are. I'd say +5 is the minimum handicap.

I looked through to find what the + handicappers said on this thread. Honestly the best players I've ever played with were in the 2-5 HCP range, so I can only postulate. But this kind of thing seems to sum up the attitude of the + handicappers who've answered.

The interesting thing I can comment on is the mental part. That's so so big. I played DIII college baseball, but I was on my way to DI as a pitcher but hurt my arm playing football senior year of high school. I can tell from experience how big the mental part of any sport is. On the mound, I KNEW I was going to dominate. No memory. Leave one in the zone and someone goes yard, I'm still striking out the next batter. At the plate I didn't have that edge. I had the physical skills to be a top notch DIII hitter, but never really got that short memory and supreme confidence at the plate like I had on the mound. And obviously, as a solid mid-handicapper, I don't have that in golf. But I can easily imagine two + handicappers who play from the tips and have all the skills to deal with tournament rough, can get up and down from anywhere, putt lights out one wicked fast greens, and all that, but one has the mental edge, confidence, and supreme focus to turn into a tournament winner and the other, with the same shots in the bag on a random Saturday, just doesn't...

[misty_mountainhop]

He "turned pro" but he worked in a pro shop. I don't know how it is in the UK, but in the U.S. if you can break about 155 for two rounds of golf you can pass your PAT and be a "pro."

True, but he was off 4 when he decided he could make a living as a tournament pro. Ego? Oh yes, but also he must be very strong mentally. Just goes to show what you can do with a bit of talent and dedication.

I would say the +2 hcp of the OP has the nuts and bolts to make it (not necessarily talking about winning Majors here but making a living) but there's a lot of unknowns. It won't happen overnight so I'd reckon you need a number of years to gain experience etc etc. Only one way to find out.

[deronsizemore]

I would say the +2 hcp of the OP has the nuts and bolts to make it (not necessarily talking about winning Majors here but making a living) but there's a lot of unknowns. It won't happen overnight so I'd reckon you need a number of years to gain experience etc etc. Only one way to find out.

A +2 would likely last long enough to crap their pants on the PGA Tour. Keep in mind that your handicap isn't your average score, but it is supposed to demonstrate your potential. A +2 will definitely have some rounds under par but will also have some rounds a few over par and that is on "normal" courses that are not 7500 yards with narrow fairways, thick rough and greens running at 14. Not to mention having thousands of people following you around watching your every move from just a few feet away. Don't get me wrong, +2 could definitely play with a lot of the PGA Tour pros and likely beat them on occasion but not consistently enough. Sure the +2 could spend hours with a swing coach and mental coach and likely make a living on tour, but that's some big if's and a large chunk of your life dedicated to golf and not many people can take that risk. A course 20 minutes away from me holds a Hooters tour event every year. This year the cut line was at -4 and the winner ended up being -20 I believe. That is seriously golfing your ball and a lot of these guys can't even get a sniff at the big tour.

[flanagan]

Ditto, that's total nonsense. You can find stats on where pros are averaging placement of their second shots and it's not 4 feet from 150 yards.

[Shindig]

3) sinking better than 50% of your putts 10ft and in.

Considering the TOUR average from 6 feet is under 50%, I'm going with 'no' on this unless you are counting on a player always lagging to tap-in on everything over 10' and always chipping to tap-in on missed greens.

True, but he was off 4 when he decided he could make a living as a tournament pro. Ego? Oh yes,

Of course ego. It's Ian Poulter

Despite how some of these guys appear humble, and might well be in general, you have to have a big ego in your chosen field to think you can be one of the best in the world at it. Because if you don't think you can be one of the best, and you're considering tournament golf, you need to find another line of work.

[misty_mountainhop]

...Keep in mind that

I would have thought it's basically meant to be exactly that...an average. If it was potential you'd have 2-year olds like Tiger with +6-8 hcps....and that's not right is it?

...Don't get me wrong, +2 could definitely play with a lot of the PGA Tour pros and likely beat them on occasion but not consistently enough. Sure the +2 could spend hours with a swing coach and mental coach and likely make a living on tour,

Indeed. That's the case for most of them out there playing the Tour though isn't it? There's bound to be a while where someone has to make the transition from amateur to pro - I'm certainly not claiming it's easy or straightforward. Not many explode out of the amateur ranks like Tiger.

[RemyM]

Tim Jackson, the amateur who was in the lead at one point of the Senior US Open and the Medalist in the US Amateur is a +3.3. Charlie Holland a semi finalist at the US Amateur is a +3.0. The 8th seed after stroke play at the US Amateur James Sacheck is a +4.8. If that's what it takes to play well in the top Amateur and Senior events then you do the math on what it takes to play on the big tour.

[deronsizemore]

I would have thought it's basically meant to be exactly that...an average. If it was potential you'd have 2-year olds like Tiger with +6-8 hcps....and that's not right is it?

No, that's not right either. It is meant to show potential but not in the sense that you're thinking. I personally have the potential to shoot 6 under par every time I play, but I don't. It doesn't work like that. With my handicap being just below a 0 right now, that also doesn't mean I shoot under par on average, I don't. You also have to remember that rating and slope are used in determining handicap. So just because someone is a scratch golfer, that doesn't mean they'll shoot even par on average at a course with a rating of 75. To maintain your "scratch" handicap, on a course with a rating of 75 you would have to shoot +3 or equal the course rating (par 72). I'm sure there's some other things that go into the figures, but that's the gist of it as I understand it. Players typically play to their handicap less than 25% of the time.

[becksfan2185]

Like many others have mentioned, ultimately it comes down to the short game. These guys scramble and make putts like you wouldn't believe. There's some interesting statistics on scrambling here: http://www.pgatour.com/2009/fedexcup...ge3/index.html Kinda gives you an idea of how close they're hitting their appoaches and how often they get up-and-down from different situations.

What's really interesting about it though is that the guys that can get it closest don't necessarily get up and down the most... some just can't finish their putts. The example used on the link above was Geoff Ogilvy - he finished 1st in his approach shot's proximity to the hole, but 28th in scrambling!! He missed over half of his 5-10 footers for par!

Moral of the story... it's all about putting. You need the all-around game, but you must be REALLY consistent with the flat stick.

[deronsizemore]

The example used on the link above was Geoff Ogilvy - he finished 1st in his approach shot's proximity to the hole, but 28th in scrambling!! He missed over half of his 5-10 footers for par!

I think that's just below average for the PGA Tour though. I believe the average made percentage on tour is something like 55% for 6 foot putt and then it goes down from there the longer the putt. Could be wrong about that stat...

[MiniMoe]

really it's not all that tough. All you need to do is pay the $4500.00 for Q school, make it through to the last stage and finish top 30, then you are on the tour. After that, it takes about $100,000 to play for the year. The hard part is to stay on the tour. finishing in the money every time at the bottom of the pack is not good enough.

To be honest, if you can't break par on any given golf course on any given day, you should save your money. The mini tours are just as hard or harder to make any money on.

[LongballGer]

Thanks for the answers guys. TBH I don't really care what anyone thinks, I have no doubt in my mind that I'll make it.

Simply because I'm one of the hardest working golfers in the world, I can physically do what Tiger does and I believe short game wise I'm already on PGA tour level. My biggest strength is my mental game though. The only thing I really gotta work on is distance control with my wedges. That's my big weakness atm.

That and time is also on my side since I'm only 20.

I know I sound like a braggart with this post, but I can back it up.