Male Scratch Golfer on the LPGA Tour

[iacas]

I respect that you are a teaching pro....On the other hand, teaching pro's are a dime a dozen, and  believe a few can be completely off their rocker.   Sir...I believe you may be one of them!  No offense, but..geez.

Hum… okay. Sure thing.

Again, refute what's being said. If all you can say is insulting, rude things (and then say "no offense"??), then just stop posting as you clearly have nothing new to say.

@BuckeyeNut Seriously you must be around 14-15 years old? You really are struggling with an intelligent response.

Btw...the 100th ranked LPGA player has a scoring average of 74.9. Your "A" game beats a lot of the girls.

Before I turned pro, I averaged better than 74.9 and that was from 6900 yards on a course with narrow fairways (average of about 22 yards), trees, and fast, sloping greens.

Stop letting facts get in the way of @BuckeyeNut 's arguments!

My opinion is based on:

• Having coached/instructed scratch golfers.
• Having played scratch golf.
• Having coached/instructed LPGA Tour golfers.
• Having played LPGA Tour courses (including several major championship layouts).
• Having attended and watched quite a few LPGA tournaments.
• Math (scoring averages, course ratings, etc.)

I'm not saying the guy beats the top 20-30 gals. I'm saying he has a good chance of keeping his card, especially since he'll only start the year as scratch. He may finish the year at +1 or +2… since it'd be his full-time job. +2 still isn't anything in the world of pro men's golf, but it'd do reasonably well in the women's game.

[Vinsk]

You're right...I apologize. But to shorten the suspense I'll respond in Buckeyenut's place. I once played scratch golf and there's no way I could do it so you couldn't either nor anyone else.

[BuckeyeNut]

teaching pro's are a dime a dozen..................every golf course has them.   I'm not sure I agree with all of their opinions.

Hell...as a 2-3HC, I can probably beat 60%of them head to head over 72 holes.   I'm not saying Isacs sukks, but a lot of them can't even play for shit.  YES, they are technically a pro, but their skills are caked in rust/has been.

[Vinsk]

And this strengthens your point about a scratch male on the LPGA how?

[mvmac]

as a scratch golfer playing from 6500yds.......if I averaged 73-75 over a 4 day event, I'd be playing my A-GAME!      The girls would beat me by 10-15 shots............

If you averaged 73-75 from 6500 yards, you're NOT a scratch golfer. Also not all the LPGA players would be beating you by 10-15 shots, that's just a ridiculous statement. Just look up the scores.

I respect that you are a teaching pro....On the other hand, teaching pro's are a dime a dozen, and  believe a few can be completely off their rocker.   Sir...I believe you may be one of them!  No offense, but..geez.....I'd love to interview a few top guys like Butch etc, etc...and see how their opinion meshes with yours.   I'm guessing not so well................

..but heck, what do I know? LOL   I'm just a random guy who played scratch golf?

So rather than back up your argument, you decide to be rude?

How can you have 2,600 posts on this site and not have any clue to the quality of information Erik has shared/produced as a teaching pro?

I'm not saying the guy beats the top 20-30 gals. I'm saying he has a good chance of keeping his card, especially since he'll only start the year as scratch. He may finish the year at +1 or +2… since it'd be his full-time job. +2 still isn't anything in the world of pro men's golf, but it'd do reasonably well in the women's game.

Right, once you get outside the top 25 the fall off is pretty steep.

[BuckeyeNut]

Technically....I was a scratch golfer playing a tad further out.....   75.1CR and 7133yds.  this is besides the goddam point.   I truly believe a few of you are full of shit...........I also had about a 77.8 ish scoring average.   Moving up 1 box, clueless golfers suddenly think they score under par regularly.   Moving forward 1 box isn't going to do it.  Good luck, but I believe there are a few clueless non-scratch golfers adding more than they probably should to this thread because they have no clue.

[BuckeyeNut]

BTW..when I was scratch, one of the best scores I ever posted was a 72.

75.1Cr 141slope....7133yds..........this short knocker kicked it around the lot even par..........

[Golfingdad]

Technically....I was a scratch golfer playing a tad further out.....   75.1CR and 7133yds.  this is besides the goddam point.   I truly believe a few of you are full of shit...........I also had about a 77.8 ish scoring average.   Moving up 1 box, clueless golfers suddenly think they score under par regularly.   Moving forward 1 box isn't going to do it.  Good luck, but I believe there are a few clueless non-scratch golfers adding more than they probably should to this thread because they have no clue.

The only clueless one here is you because you are not paying any attention to anything anybody else is writing and are just wasting everybody's time with your uninformed and repetitive posts. Not one single person on this thread is talking about themselves EXCEPT YOU. A typical 6500 yard course is rated in the 71 range, which means the scratch golfers "A" game is around that same number. Even a couple of 72s or 73s is making a lot of lpga cuts.

[Vinsk]

Buckeyenut now you're just embarrassing yourself. It is actually you who appear to be infinitely clueless. It makes absolutely no matter what your scores were when you think you were scratch in regards to what this discussion is about. Mike is 100% correct in that if you scored 73-75 on a 6500yd track you are NOT playing as a scratch golfer. Do you understand this? I stated the 100th ranked LPGA player has a scoring avg of 74.9. That's FACT. Not an estimate, not my opinion. I assure you there are many, many SCRATCH male golfers who if played a string of LPGA courses FROM THE LADIES TEES they could avg 74.9 or better. It doesn't matter if you think you're the most amazing talent on the golf course and/or Erik can't break par and you'd destroy him (which is laughable) it has zero bearing on this discussion. Your insults have become tiresome. I'm with Mike, I can't believe you've made that many posts and can't appreciate Erik's knowledge with golf. Actually a shame really. It's fine to disagree but provide some worthy data or something intelligent to back your point. And as I actually suspect for real now, you may be a child and if so I apologize for coming down hard on you. You're just a kid having some fun. Ok.

[dkolo]

teaching pro's are a dime a dozen..................every golf course has them.   I'm not sure I agree with all of their opinions.

Hell...as a 2-3HC, I can probably beat 60%of them head to head over 72 holes.   I'm not saying Isacs sukks, but a lot of them can't even play for shit.  YES, they are technically a pro, but their skills are caked in rust/has been.

I've no idea why you'd talk to anyone with such disrespect, but especially the owner of the site where you've inevitably seen plenty of evidence to demonstrate his qualifications. This has been such a bizarre stream of comments to read from someone who's made so many posts on this site, it's like watching Poulter implode at the Honda. I hope you just had a few too many before sitting down in front of the computer or someone decided to have a goof with your account, because, man, this is painful to see.

[iacas]

Thanks, @dkolo . For my sake I'm chalking it up to a bad night or something, and leaving it at that. If @BuckeyeNut has more to say about the actual topic, he's welcome to. If he wishes to continue to behave like the above (it bothers me more that he didn't appear to read anything others had said before responding the last several times), he'll simply be restricted from the thread.

In truth, none of us really know how a true scratch golfer would fare… we're all just making guesses based on what we know, think, and feel.

Let's get the discussion back on topic.

[Lastpick]

I think that a scratch golfer might not fare as well as we think.  Playing different courses and putting on different surfaces each week could be more of a challenge than expected.  Also the pressure of having to perform for a living could take its toll.  And following all the rules all the time can be so damn tedious.

[Phil McGleno]

I think that a scratch golfer might not fare as well as we think.  Playing different courses and putting on different surfaces each week could be more of a challenge than expected.  Also the pressure of having to perform for a living could take its toll.  And following all the rules all the time can be so damn tedious.

Scratch golfers putt on more different surfaces playing clubs around their area than they do on the LPGA Tour where every green is about the same speed (~10) week to week. IMO as the kids say. Also, my cousin is a surgeon, and a good friend is a lawyer. I have another friend who manages restaurants. Another is a funeral director. They have pressure. The guy making minimum wage and living paycheck to paycheck with a family has pressure. Following the Rules?

[Jakester23]

I think that a scratch golfer might not fare as well as we think.  Playing different courses and putting on different surfaces each week could be more of a challenge than expected.  Also the pressure of having to perform for a living could take its toll.  And following all the rules all the time can be so damn tedious.

I agree with all of this but I think that would be offset once the scratch golfer was able to practice every day and work with a coach. I think most of us would see a significant improvement if golfing became our job. Scratch guys are already very talented I'm sure they would get better as well.

[Lastpick]

Following the Rules?

Just sarcasm.  As I'm not anywhere close to a scratch golfer, occasionally I will have a big number that translates to a double bogey for the purpose of handicapping.  I was also unaware that the LPGA played on the same speed of greens each week.  Pressure on the golf course is self induced and I can't control it at times.

[Vinsk]

Good points. I think we also have to acknowledge the ADVANTAGES being on the LPGA would give the player. Having a caddie to read greens and offer tremendous insight into every shot. Having a crowd would be nerve racking temporarily...but that same crowd and media equipment can stop that ball from running astray. And as stated by Erik, we're not just saying throw a scratch player into the LPGA for a tournament and see the results. It would be a process. And over time the scratch player would have a faster learning curve than his field due to the natural advantages we've mentioned earlier.

[mvmac]

I think that a scratch golfer might not fare as well as we think.  Playing different courses and putting on different surfaces each week could be more of a challenge than expected.  Also the pressure of having to perform for a living could take its toll.  And following all the rules all the time can be so damn tedious.

I think if it became the scratch golfer's "job" he would do fine. He'd be playing and practicing more than he usually does. Also, there's a good chance the scratch played competitively as a junior and/or in college so competition "pressure" wouldn't be anything new to him.

I may have a different definition of a scratch golfer than others. To me a scratch golfer shoots around even par when they travel to different courses and when they play in their city/state ams. They're not just 0 handicaps at their home course.

[Shorty]

Technically....I was a scratch golfer playing a tad further out.....   75.1CR and 7133yds.  this is besides the goddam point.   I truly believe a few of you are full of shit...........I also had about a 77.8 ish scoring average.   Moving up 1 box, clueless golfers suddenly think they score under par regularly.   Moving forward 1 box isn't going to do it.  Good luck, but I believe there are a few clueless non-scratch golfers adding more than they probably should to this thread because they have no clue.

@BuckeyeNut is the perfect example of the golfer I keep alluding to who thinks he knows what a scratch golfer is, but doesn't, which makes these arguments moot.

A 77.8 scoring average is not scratch golf on that course.