Path to the Tour?

[Domenic]

i've been trumped, but I would go so far as to say he was out of school more than 67 days of school, especially because all those local tournaments must have been in mainly summer because of local weather (im in Ohio and BLOWHS)

[Domenic]

SIX PAGES!! OH YEAH!

[x129]

Why do you say that? Golf is a summer sport school is in the winter.  I am pretty sure was one of the guys who said they used to put their clubs up for the winter as a kid and play other sports like basketball. It has been a long time since I read any autobiographies so my memory might be off.

Originally Posted by deasy55

From wikipeadia (I know):

Quote:

He definitely wasn't in school too often with that playing schedule.

[deasy55]

Fair enough, I only assumed from reading that he had won 27 events between the ages of 10-17 and was a plus 3 handicap at 13 that he surely would have been missing school. I never read his autobiography though whereas other people here have, so I'm open to correction.

Originally Posted by x129

Why do you say that? Golf is a summer sport school is in the winter.  I am pretty sure was one of the guys who said they used to put their clubs up for the winter as a kid and play other sports like basketball. It has been a long time since I read any autobiographies so my memory might be off.

[jamo]

In addition to kids that get homschooled, don't forget the kids who go to those golf schools. I know a high schooler than goes to public school in MA during the fall to play on the golf team, and then goes to the Leadbetter academy during the winter/spring.

[Domenic]

Damn Jamo, you can do that? I thought by law you had to go to school through senior year? It sucks that my parents will NEVER let me do that because, never mind I'm not "boasting" again, but dang I'd love to do that

[jamo]

Damn Jamo, you can do that? I thought by law you had to go to school through senior year? It sucks that my parents will NEVER let me do that because, never mind I'm not "boasting" again, but dang I'd love to do that

It's a golf "school," they have actual teachers and you take classes (math, science, language, etc.) in addition to the golf. I can't speak to the quality of the actual education (and it's really pricey), but you do still have to go to classes.

[TourSpoon]

They must have a real killer prom.  NOT!

They have some baseball schools like that down here too. When I think about those kids I just wonder if they will ever make it in the real world when the money runs out. I guess it's fine, but in the case of baseball, you have some countries where they are just working so hard just to kick your butt because they are so hungry (Dominican Republic for example).. Golf is probably different because lack of money is usually a barrier to turning pro with few exceptions.

[Jmdmbike]

Regardless of how Jack and others made it to the top back in the day, part of the point seems to be that things are done differently now. With the golf schools, etc. all falls in line with the comment that these kids are "bred into golf machines" and probably from a young age. And there are more of them than ever before, and from more places than ever before. Better you know the competitive landscape than not if you're serious about making a living at playing golf.

[TourSpoon]

I would have to think that if you are not scratch by 16, then you really have little to no chance and little just left town. There are exceptions and they are few for sure, but there are so many college and other am champions that play to a plus and just never could make a go of it. The Tour is the elite of the elite. Paper Tiger really spells it out as well as any reputable golf forum like TST.

[Domenic]

That would still be sick, having regular classes but in a golfing boarding school! That's like my heaven. Like PCA from Zoey 101 but with golf. And scratch is consistently shooting 71 (depending) right? Well next summer i'm still 13, I'll try and get down to lower-mid 40's (42-46). Then two summers from now I'll be 14. That's when I'll try and go low 40's, maybe even hit 39. Three summers from now, I'm 15. My worst round EVER should be a 41. When I'm 16, Mid High 30's should be my thing. By the time I'm 18, I could quite possibly be scratch, perhaps even a plus. Then I play Q School and let the chips fall where they may. Best case, I make the Tour, win all 4 majors, 10 tourney's, player/rookie of the year, vardon award, etc. etc. And somewhere in there start dating a super hot girl and get a $10,000,000 contract . Whose with me? (not to get ahead of myself)

[Kobey]

LOL, Deja Vu

[vanpooten]

Part of me thinks this kid is a super good troll, managing to piss off half the members.

I had a plan like that when I was 13/14 for soccer to make the national team. All I had to do was make the reserve state team this year, then the state team the next, then the regional reserve team by the year after that, then the regional team, then the USA national reserve team, and finally the full USA national team. So simple and I would be a professional player in 4 years by the time I was 18. Things don't often pan out as simply as one would think.

[Domenic]

all this talk has kind of gotten me down.....I suppose I could fall back on option two and become drummer/singer in indie/punk rock band, but if not how the hell am I gonna get famous

[rolopolo]

heya domenic ,

i did not read the whole thread but i would say you have a much better chance you might think

there is absolutely no need to be a +3 player by the age of 16, or even a scratch player by the age of 17 - this is a myth

some of the best players on the major world tours picked up the game at an older age, and many guys like ian poulter for example became scratch players for the first time after they left school, and then started dedicating themselves to practicing more.

also remember that, the golf landscape on the pro tours will look very different 10-15 years from now, when you will be at your peak as a golfer. forget about the top 200 - by the time you are 30, the top 1000 players in the world will all be making great money on tours. we all know how strong the euro tour is. then there is the asian tour, it is a great tour with great purses that are becoming bigger and bigger. there are also tours like the sunshine tour, australasian tour, japanese tour, these are all options, and they will all be much richer in the future, and you could certainly make good money playing on them wile you get better.

luke donald is a great example for me, he was always a good player, but never great. he hits a lot of hacker shots now and then, a few weeks ago in dubai he missed fairways 30 yards with his irons, however, he has dedicated himself to becoming the greatest short game player ever, and he is just on another planet in that sense at the moment. you need to have a strenght in one area and be decent in the rest.

'practice will never make up for natural talent' they say, maybe true in a sense, but if you practice hard enough, and if you love practicing, then there is no reason why you cant do it.

i will give you practice tip that has turned my game and the way i look at the game around completely - give yourself 3 months - put away all your clubs for those 3 months and only take out your 3 iron. take it to the range everyday and hit 200 balls with it. play with it, have fun with it, hit balls with closed legs, from the back of your stance, front of your stance, hit stingers, punch shots, pitch with it, try to hit the 100 yard flag with it, hit it very close to your body, and very far. it will change your game completely.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by rolopolo

heya domenic ,

i did not read the whole thread but i would say you have a much better chance you might think

This post is beyond ridiculous. It is absurd.

No one has said that it is impossible for a player to end up playing on a professional tour.

No one is saying that it is not possible to be a tour player unless you have a particular handicap at a particular age.

People use examples as a very rough guide so that a person might have some idea what level of talent is usually required.

People always drag out the Poulter and Nick O'Hern examples as proof that anyone can make it.

These are the WORST examples to use because they ars SO exceptional.

That is ridiculous. You do not know what their circumstances were. There are reasons why they were off 2 at 22 or wherever they were.

And here you are saying that Luke Donald is a great example of a poor player who has achieved great success.

He misses a fairway with an iron a few weeks ago, therefore a beginner who can't hit a fairway can eventually compete with him.

And you say that there's money to be made on other tours while your game develops.

Have a look at the Q School lists on those tours and the money lists.

How many players do you think there are in Korea who in the next 10 years will develop games good enough to give them a chance on a major tour? Thousands, most probably.

If you were to say to every 13 to 17 year old on the planet who plays golf "Hey - you might never be a world #1, you may never win a major,but you can make good money as a professional." how many would say "Not interested. Don't want to do it." I would say none.

So.......at the very least, Domenic and others like him are competing even now with the best players ON THE PLANET. MIllions of them.

Now -----if he had said "I am 13. My handicap is +2. I regularly compete with the top juniors in my state and regularly beat players 5 years older than me and recently beat (insert the names of 5 well known amateurs) in such and such a tournament" you would still be insane to bet that he would make a name for himself as a pro. The odds are stacked against every golfer, not just Domenic.

But you blithely say that it's not as hard as it might seem - if he works hard he can do it.

Right now there would be several million players under 20 with his dream. What on earth makes you suggest that he in particular has a better chance than millions of others?

Every player on the professional tours was at one stage a beginner and was at one stage a lesser player than they are now.

You then use this as evidence that a particular player, who you have never seen, who currently has broken 100 three times, has a reasonable chance of achieving a goals that literally millions dream of but only hundreds achieve.

I would say that you are misguided and have misunderstood what happens on the world's professional tours.

[poser]

Hey hey Shorty this is america stop speaking so logically.  He can do anything he sets his mind too and if he fails he can go on welfare and still play golf every day.  It's a win win!!

[Domenic]

hell yeah, Im making the TOUR! no matter what anyone says!