Getting to scratch/+ handicaps

[Chambo]

My brother who is 22 years old has been told by his coach who played on many tours across the world, that if he dedicated himself to golf over the next year or 2, he could compete with the best amateurs in the country and then see what happens.

I am not so sure, his handicap is 6 and although he hits the ball like a scratch player, as soon as he misses a green, his short game would be a 12-15 handicap

Do you think it is possible at such a late age to dedicate yourself to golf and in fact make a career out of it?

[Lefty2380]

you think 22 is a late age?? i mean im only 17 but still...my dad picked up golf in his late 20s and hes a 12 last i checked...

I think you can imporve your game at any age, and it more depends on what part you want to improve when...Example: young players focus more on distance and shot control where as when your older, you should probably focus on a tuned up short game from 150 in, it's the most important part of the game.

As my dad tells me all the time when i choose to hit driver on a risky hole..."a 300 yard drive means the same as a two inch missed putt on the score card"


P.S.- I pll out the big stick anyways

[NCGolfer]

My brother who is 22 years old ... Do you think it is possible at such a late age to dedicate yourself to golf and in fact make a career out of it?

Uh, yeah. I'm 32 and think I still have my best golf in front of me. I've been at a scratch level for a few years now and know there is still a couple ways to improve my game and drop a couple more shots. I could still make a career out of it on the Senior tour.

Your brother probably hasn't spent much time around the green practicing. His coach might be trying to light a fire under him to do just that...

[gas_can]

My brother who is 22 years old has been told by his coach who played on many tours across the world, that if he dedicated himself to golf over the next year or 2, he could compete with the best amateurs in the country and then see what happens.

Chambo,

Nothing's impossible. If your brother has the drive and dedication, he can do it. However, there's a saying around golf that a day at the practice tee is nothing like a round of golf. A casual round of golf is nothing like playing for a $5 nassau. A $5 nassau is nothing like competing in the city amateur, and so on . . . I would advise him to start playing in competitions as soon as possible. Under the gun you find out very quickly exactly what you need to work on and what your true strengths and weaknesses are.

[Chambo]

I guess it all comes down to the amount of time he is willing to put into it. He has just got a night job so he can spend the majority of his day at the course.

Its just that I see mny 16-17 year olds with 0-4 handicaps and at 22 just seems to be behind the 8 ball.

Many members around the club talk about him and his potential etc. I mean you can make a career out of golf without playing the USPGA tour etc....?

[cdriver]

Didn't Larry Nelson pick up the game after he returned from Vietnam???

I don't think it is ever too late to start taking the game seriously. Didn't the Beer Truck Guy finally step out and get on the Sr Tour?

I agree with most everyone else that 22 might be against the odds, but not too late to try.

[rembrandt]

I think it's a real good chance that he, at that age, could drop down to scratch and compete with the best. My son played on the Nike tour and he is now 43 and thinking seriously about trying for the Senior Tour. He is thin and tall and won't ever have to fight the fat thing and he hits the ball a mile with uncanny accuracy. I've seen him almost double eagle the same hole twice in the last month and he shoots below 75 90% of the time. He laid off golf for 6 years and took it up again a month or so back and doesn't seem to have lost a thing during the layoff. I had to lay off also due to my hip replacement and my game went south and so far south I think the equator is north of it.

[kalbracht3]

Hey im still new at golf so if anyone could inform me, whats scratch?

[jamesduncan]

whats your sons name rem?!

an old friend from my jr golf days plays on the Nationwide (David Morland IV) and i follow him on golfweb all the time (we both played jrs w/ mike weir in canada)..so ill follow your son too!

thats awesome btw!

[Chambo]

Scratch is where you do not get shots on the hardest holes on the course. For example if you are a 10 marker, you would receive a shot on the 10 hardest holes for that course, or in stroke play, take 10 off your score...not sure if you understand, not the best examples I guess...anyone else?

Also what is a good handicap for turning pro? scratch of +1, 2 etc. Nick O"hern turned pro when he was on 2.

[iacas]

Also what is a good handicap for turning pro? scratch of +1, 2 etc. Nick O"hern turned pro when he was on 2.

Scratch = 0 handicap, to answer the previous question. No need to complicate it more than that.

I don't think people who are considering going pro really have a handicap anymore. They're too busy playing in actual events or high-stakes matches... I mean, what's Tiger Woods' handicap? You couldn't even calculate it, really. If you did, it'd be about +8 or so.

[SubPar]

I've heard it said that the difference between a tour pro and a scratch club pro is equal to the gap between the scratch club pro and a 15 handicapper. I've never talked to a pro who would disagree with that equation.

At any rate, it is far easier to get to from a 6 to a 2 index than from 2 to 0. And even if you get to zero index, there is a sliver of measurable difference between winners and losers at that level... but that sliver is like the Grand Canyon. That is why it is so hard to start this game later than five or six years old and achieve tour quality skills.

Look at how few of the very best collegiate and amateur players in the world are able to make a living playing golf. They could beat the socks off anyone we know and they can't even get on stage at the big show. As you get closer to your best golf, the gains become exponentially more difficult to achieve.

How thin are the margins? The stroke average per round between Tiger Woods and Adam Scott is .02 strokes and I can't recall the last time Scott was a threat to Tiger in a tournament.

Sounds like your brother has natural ability and can become a very good player. Good luck to him.

[Rafcin]

S... I mean, what's Tiger Woods' handicap? You couldn't even calculate it, really. If you did, it'd be about +8 or so.

Good guess! Somebody did calculate it (why not? you have the scores he shot and you have the slope/ratings for courses he plays.. all you need is a bit time to waste... ) - in a Golf Digest article from 2003:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...4/ai_109467553 IMHO I don't think anybody has reasonable chance to be a competitive PGA Tour player w/o at least +4 index....

[SubPar]

A couple of years ago I read that Tiger was a +7 on his home course in Florida.

[iacas]

IMHO I don't think anybody has reasonable chance to be a competitive PGA Tour player w/o at least +4 index....

And hell, handicap is supposed to measure potential, so I'd go you one better and say +6 is required. Phil and the other top-tier pros are +7-ish, some clingers-on are +5, and Tiger at +8. Sounds about right to me.

Remember, too, their courses are tougher - tougher pins, faster greens, more rough, longer tees, so the course rating for these guys is often 77 or 76 or so, probably.

[Ben]

I'm 30, playing better than ever, and getting better with aspirations of doing something, maybe not pga, but something towards playing professionally.

[zebrasinamerica]

Being 22 myself and having very sound mechanics and a desire to make it in golf. I believe if you've got it you've got it you just need to take the time and hone what you have. You also can't be scared to go out there and lose for a while to eventually win. Look at everyone on the PGA and how many took multiple attempts to get their Tour Card. I think the main thing is that you don't have room to be affraid of not winning or qualifying you just have to go out and play the game that you know how to play and love it cause so few have what it takes to even get to the point that they can possibly make it as a professional athlete.

ZEBRA

[NCGolfer]

Remember, too, their courses are tougher - tougher pins, faster greens, more rough, longer tees, so the course rating for these guys is often 77 or 76 or so, probably.

I think some people remember this, but until you actually see some of these courses in person it really doesn't hit you. Watching those guys at #2 last year, I thought if I shot 84 I would be estatic...and I'm scratch (for now).

Of course, some are not as hard as you think...but on average, these courses are very, very difficult.