Path to the Tour?

[Kieran123]

Originally Posted by Dave H

I disagree in that the "negatives" on this forum seem to come with the perception that a person (anyone, not just this OP) may as well not even try since there isn't much chance of making it. As it relates to youth, the message seems to come across as "since average is your best shot, don't bother hoping or trying for anything better". Well, that won't get anyone anywhere, except, well average. Why would we want to encourage our youth to mediocrity? When it comes to my own children (and I have 2) I'm certainly going to encourage them to go for whatever they want to do. As a parent, I hope to help them make a plan and understand what's involved to achieve their dreams. Now, that comes with some qualifiers. If my son says he wants to be a pro basketball player but is 5'2" and has no hand eye coordination I may encourage him to seek out other gifts he has. Here on this forum, none of us know anyone well enough to see this aspect.

I agree, nobody wants mediocrity, and becoming a PGA Club Pro is not mediocre - that is in the 1% of all golfers. It's a great achievement.

But back to the OP....he is 13 with a 22 handicap. There are probably thousands of 13 year olds with scratch/close to scratch. Can he catch up in time? Maybe, but probably not. Can he devote most of his day to practising? Probably not. Can his parents afford to help him achieve this dream? Maybe, but probably not.

I am all for setting goals, everyone should, but life isn't a cakewalk and before anyone sets themselves goals - look at it deeper and see how realistic it is before letting it consume your life.

His goal should not be to become a PGA Tour player straight away, but maybe set his goal to be that in 5 years he is scratch ( a big goal in itself ). Once he gets to that goal, he can evaluate his situation and hopefully by then, really understand how tough it is, and go from there.

[Domenic]

Alright, WOW!!!! i've never had this many people comment, pretty cool.........

all in all, i'm not saying im a rory mcilroy and go out and win every tournament im in. but that doesn't mean i won't even be a "lower" player playing in "b" tournaments and tying for 25th. If all of the tour pros EVER said, "hey, everyones better than me, why even bother" we wouldn't even have the dang Tour. I still believe in myself, and in my ability to not onlt MAKE the Tour but WIN on it. Thanks to EVERYONE, whether I agree or not for commenting. The said thing is, when you see me in the winners circle, you won't even know its me cuz i cant give away my last name. Ah well, its my dream and I've only got one life to live before the real Dream begins.

"Earthly life is just a drop in the ocean of eternity"

see you guys in the funny pages

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by Domenic

The said thing is, when you see me in the winners circle, you won't even know its me cuz i cant give away my last name. Ah well, its my dream and I've only got one life to live before the real Dream begins.

"Earthly life is just a drop in the ocean of eternity"

see you guys in the funny pages

Well----the reality is that you don't have confidence in yourself, regardless of these bold and stupid statements.

How do I know?

Because you have said that you can't give a way your last name. That's a cop out.

Yes you can. If you did we could track your progress, but, like dozens of thread starters, you come on in a flurry, accuse realists of being negative and then disappear.

Your first priority should be to break 100.

You clearly know very little about this game.

Noone is saying that good players shouldn't bother and if everyone gave up before they started there'd be no tour.

What we are saying is that people who can't break 100 should not be declaring themselves future tour winners, as you have done. You claim a handicap of 26. But you are not only going to be a player on tour, you are going to be a WINNER.  Take the challenge. Identify yourself and we'll track your progress. Oh...that's inconvenient, isn't it?

Go and read Ben Tateel's thread. Look at his dedication. Look at his confidence, look at his results.

Seriously, you've got a bit of a hide and, sadly, like many your age, it's not a lack of self esteem that's holding you back, it's an excess of it.

[Domenic]

alright Shorty, I'm not allowed to give away my last name. If I did, you could google me, i've tried and i come up for lots of stuff, then.....bad stuff could happen, it's just not sensical......SECONDLY, i have broken 100, 3 times dumbass, yeah i said it, DUMBASS, i fight fire or whatever the hell you are with fire. What do you mean track my stats, please elaborate. All in all it was just a question, I don't think I'm God, nor am I suicidal. I honestly don't know why you seem to have it in for me. You say I know nothing about the game. YOU HYPOCRITE!!!!!!!!You know nothing about me!!!! You don;t even know my last name!!!!!! lest my personality. I tried to not end bitterly, but come on. You judging me is just uncool. So call me names, you don't even know my last.......On a better note to all people whose usernames refer to themselves as atleast average height, Nationwide Tour? I could play in Q School, if i finsh low, I'll move in to the Nationwide. Then I'll keep working to I make it big. Those tourneys are held at everyday courses. Jason Day won at my own club, Stonewater by shooting in low 70's, high 60's. Hell, I could do that.............but first, I'll focus on breaking 90.

[dolfinack]

Quite a few people your age have these aspirations, and who can blame them? All I would say is

A: Never bet your life on anything, have a back-up, finish school and go to Uni of possible etc. BUT... don't allow anyone to say you can't achieve your dreams. They don't know you. Only you know yourself.

And B: visualisation of shots and mental attitude count towards success more than everything else in the game.

APART FROM SHORT GAME - BE AWESOME. Live not at the range, but on and around the green.

Good luck buddy.

[Shorty]

You are digging a pretty substantial hole for yourself here.

And I know a lot about you. You have broken 100 three times and you are destined for greatness. Congratulations.

Most people boast once they have achieved something.

Jason Day played off a plus handicap when he was a year or two above your age.

[Domenic]

THANK YOU, finally someone gets me.

[Domenic]

Originally Posted by Shorty

You are digging a pretty substantial hole for yourself here.

And I know a lot about you. You have broken 100 three times and you are destined for greatness. Congratulations.

Most people boast once they have achieved something.

Jason Day played off a plus handicap when he was a year or two above your age.

Go on, cyberbully a kid probs 6 times younger than you. That should boost your self esteem, you say I have a problem. And I wasn't boasting. And who knows maybe I'll play off a plus cap when im 15, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." But if I don't, he won
when he was 20. I'll get there by that time. All in all, this sums up what I have to say to Shorty

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=backslap&hl;=en&safe;=strict&biw;=853&bih;=545&gbv;=2&tbm;=isch&tbnid;=sLjCb3GmlTCXQM:&imgrefurl;=http://troll.me/bitch-please-ill-back-slap-yo-a

this sums up what I have to say to the rest of you... MERRY CHRISTMAS

[deasy55]

Keep us updated on your progress

[I-league]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Jason Day played off a plus handicap when he was a year or two above your age.

and KJ Ckoi had never touched a golf club

[RPMPIRE]

Probably KJ Choi and YE Yang are the 2 examples for encouragement. Both didn't get into golf until their late 20s and they worth both professional weight lifters. But they were scratch after 1 year

Originally Posted by I-league

and KJ Ckoi had never touched a golf club

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by Domenic

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

There's the problem.

As well as the fact that you seem determined to be able to accuse people of cyberbullying when you don't even know what it means.

[deasy55]

Bingo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPMPIRE

Probably KJ Choi and YE Yang are the 2 examples for encouragement. Both didn't get into golf until their late 20s and they worth both professional weight lifters. But they were scratch after 1 year

[I-league]

Originally Posted by Shorty

There's the problem.

worked fine for KJ. A devout Christian,

[deasy55]

I'm quoting this post because it is the best post in this thread. It's well written, realistic, doesn't 'bash' anyone and is written by a youngster just like the OP.

Originally Posted by Cracker24

I'm sorry, but i think that you are being naive and extremely unrealistic. I'm 16 years old, and i'm of a 1 handicap, not a "get it round" 1 handicap, but a tournament golfer 1 handicap. The last 3 tournaments i've played in I've won with scores of 73, 74 and 70. All on par 72 courses. Will i play on the pga tour when i grow up? No. I have travelled to state tournaments, and believe me , the talent out there exceeds what Shorty or anyone else is saying. I have come across 13 year old +3 handicaps, an 11 year old scratch, and trust me, however much you think you "want it," these kids have been bred into golfing machines, they get homeschooled in the evening, and play golf all day. It sounds corny, but this is all these kids know.

Unless you can convince your parents to drop you out of school and allow you to LIVE ( no joke, to catch up to these people you will have to live on the course), with all due respect, it just can't be done. If you want to play for a living: 1. Win Lotto

2. Start practicing for the Champions tour.

Sorry man.

[Domenic]

Hey Shorty, what;s wrong with Letters to the Phillipians. don't take this too far or else im gonna have to give away my last name so you can come find me and i can KICK YOUR LARDY ASS!

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by deasy55

I'm quoting this post because it is the best post in this thread. It's well written, realistic, doesn't 'bash' anyone and is written by a youngster just like the OP.

Yes, Deasy, it was a good post, I agree.

But Domenic is bashing himself. He's all talk, and he is too young to realise the folly of his ways.

The problem is, as you've probably noticed, Domenic doesn't want advice, what he really wants to do is go to his friends and say:

"You should see me giving it to this old dude on a golf forum! I'm really sticking it to him"

Friend: 'Why? What's it about?"

"Oh...the guy is a total loser  who doesn't believe I'm gonna make it big on the PGA Tour. I'm gonna win there and he reckons I need to progress to that point in a realistic and structured way"

Friend: "What!!!!! He's a hater, man link him a few Youtube clips of gangsta rappers and that'll teach him"

"I did already - man, he's such a hater. What is it with these old dudes? They don't get it. If I say I'm gonna do something I'm doin' it. No question"

Friend "Good for you, man. What are you doing this afternoon?"

"I'm going to golf. I'm gonna abreak 90 next year. I can feel it"

Friend: "WOW!!!!!! And that old guy is cyberbullying and stalking you!!!!!!"

"Yeah, but it's cool, because I'm keeping my identity a secret. Bad stuff can happen if you see names in tournament result sheets and stuff"

Friend: "Yeah - I'm hearing you man. Why doesn't he think you are going to make it HUGE on the PGA Tour? Why would he be like that?"

'Don't know. Just a hater, I guess."

[Kobey]

Domenic, what most of the people are trying to say, including Shorty, is that you should make realistic goals for yourself.  No one is saying you can never be a professional golfer.  I believe that most people could become a pro if they had the desire and determination to do so.  What we are saying is that the top PGA winners are not like most people.  They have a gift that enables them to exceed the limitations that the rest of us have.  Hopefully you have that gift.  If you do, you will know it after a few years.  If you don't, no amount of practice, lessons or desire will get you that last little edge that is needed to win PGA events.  If that was all it took, there wouldn't be 26 stroke differences between the first and last place golfers in an event.

Take racing for example.  There are plenty of great drivers whose kids had every advantage growing up.  You see a lot of them winning some races but never measuring up to the level of their fathers.  No amount of desire or practice will ever make them among the best.  They are good drivers, better than most, but they just don't have what it takes to be the very best.

But best of luck to you.  You have a lot of time before you have to decide if you want to make golf a career or not.  Remember, if everyone ended up doing what they wanted to when they were young, there would be way too many firemen and cowboys in the world.