Reality Check? How and when to go to the next level?

[SpiderMonkey]

My wife and I need some honest feedback regarding what to do with our 16 year old son, based upon his current golf ability. I realize you all don't have the luxury of being able to see him play on a course or have the chance to evaluate his golf swing in, but I would love what feedback you can give. I will post a video of his swing in the next day or so. Let me give you a brief (or maybe not so brief!) history of our journey with him over the last four years.

Four years ago, at the age of 12 and while on spring break in Arizona, our son had the chance to play golf daily for two weeks. He had been a very casual and infrequent golfer, playing a couple of times a year with my father and I. His goal was to break 100. Within a week he was consistently scoring in the mid 80's. His previous best round on a full-size golf course was 105. Needless to say, I was shocked when his grandfather called and told me the news. After having done that for several rounds consistently, he told me "Dad, I kind of wonder if golf is my thing." From the very beginning, an unbelievable number of people, casual and professional golfers alike, have commented on his natural ability and beautiful, pure golf swing. (As a side note, he has only had three formal lessons from a teaching pro, mostly regarding mental preparation, and prefers to work on his swing with his own video evaluation).

As soon as he came home from his trip, he talked about how much he enjoyed it and that he would like to start playing golf more often. I told him about handicaps and how to establish one, so in April of that year he began playing frequently and posting his scores. After he had completed ten rounds, his starting handicap was 19. That summer he played in his first U.S. Kids Golf Tour and typically placed very high - he finished as the 2nd best player overall. He ended the summer with a handicap of 3.2.

He continued to play through the winter months - many times the only one on the course in the cold, rainy, typical Pacific Northwest weather. Now as a 7th grader, he didn't play in any tournaments, but instead devoted himself to working on his game throughout the summer at several local courses. His handicap went from 3.2 to 1.6. The following year, we introduced him to our state's junior golf program and he began playing tournaments at a higher level. While his casual rounds were very good and often sub-par, he would typically average 8-10 strokes more during tournaments. We realize so much of this was growing accustomed to nerves and his body's response to the stress and adrenaline. At the end of the summer, while his handicap was +2.2, his tournament scoring average was 81. He was very disappointed with this, so at this time we put onto paper a realistic four year plan for tournament play.

This past spring, as a high school Freshman, he started in the number one position on the school's varsity golf team. Based upon his four year plan, his goal for the season was to bring his tournament scoring average down to 78/79, which he did. Then came this past summer's junior golf tour. His goal was more aggressive, aiming to drop three strokes from his scoring average, 75/76. He finished the summer, hitting his goal of 75, with the last several tournaments having an average of just over 73.  He won his first tournament, took second place in two, consistently finished high up on the leader board and also took second place in the end of summer Tournament of Champions. His handicap is currently at +4.

Over the next few months, he will be playing for the first time in regional tournaments on the west coast. It has become very clear that his desire now is to be a professional golfer. He is a very good student but is losing his desire to want to pursue a college path. As a family, we are wondering at what point he could realistically participate in the smaller tours, with the hope to work his way up through the PGA system. He is serious in his pursuit of this and has been working very hard.

The bottom line: this is financially very taxing. We want to help him see his dreams become reality however, and if it is attainable, we are willing to do what it takes. For those of you with experience in this, we welcome your feedback and advice.

Thank you!

[AmazingWhacker]

+4 is ridiculous!  I don't know how many 16 year old +4's there are - can't be too many.  I would imagine pro golf is a possibility for him.  I don't really know that much about it to say if he could definitely make it as a pro - but, if he were my son, I would encourage him to play college golf.  Lots of pros come up through college - maybe he could get a scholarship.  That way, if he decides later that life on tour is not for him, he will have other options.  It's easy to say, when you're 16, that the PGA tour is where you want to be - but life out of a suitcase when you're 30, 35, 40, have a family, etc . .might not be so great.

[David in FL]

He should be hearing from a LOT of top colleges and i agree with Whacker, thats where he should be headed. The experience and maturity he'll develop there will far exceed that of scrounging around on the mini tours. I'd absolutely keep him active in high level tournament golf along the way as thats what's going to attract those college recruiters. I understand the financial aspect right now, but at that level, you're going to offset what you spend now with college scholarship offers....

[divot dave]

I would agree that college is the best way to go. Nobody really looks forward to the idea of extra schooling at the age of 16, but the reality is it would be foolish to put all your eggs in one basket at such a young age (any age really). He can have the best of both worlds with his abilities, so long as he keeps a good head on his shoulders.

[wadesworld]

Absolutely college is the way to go.  As good as he is, he can probably get a full ride to even a big D-1 school.  If not, I'm sure there will be hundreds of smaller schools lining up at his door.

He'll gain physical and emotional maturity in college.  He'll get a college degree in case the golf thing doesn't work out.  And he'll remember it as the best time of his life.

If he tries mini-tours, chances are good that right now he'd be a middle-of-the-road player.  That means he won't earn much money, if even enough to pay all his travel and entrance fees.  The mini-tours are a tough life.  Lots of guys have to work other jobs to get by, or take a few years off and work to save up enough money for their next attempt.  You often can't afford to fly, so it's lots of miles in the car and budget hotels.

If he does well in college, it's a pretty good bet that he'll have more success on the mini-tours than he would have without it, possibly moving quickly to the PGA level if he's good enough.

Since he's VERY likely to get a scholarship somewhere, I just don't see a downside to college.  Think of it as a way to try out high-level competitive golf for (almost) free.  I guess he'll consider having to study a downside, but as a parent, I'm sure you know that having that degree will serve him well, either if his golf career doesn't work out, or when it's finished.

Best of luck to him.

[k-troop]

Question:  is he posting a 73 scoring average in a local junior tour, or on the AJGA?  You indicated that he's about to play his first big regional junior golf tournament in Cali, so I'm guessing he's only been playing in a local junior circuit.

He needs to win (or place very high--top 3) in several national level events before he even considers turning pro.  Sounds like he's not even halfway through highschool, so there is a ton of time to get more experience in that area.  There is a HUGE difference in the quality of play in a local junior circuit and at an AJGA or large amateur event.  Think the best 1 or 2 players from every good local junior circuit all playing in the same event.  How would he finish in something like that?

You said reality check, and I think the reality is that you're not even in the ballpark of that decision.  Right now he should be thinking finish highschool and leave options open for college, and play and compete as much as possible against the best fields he can find.  The only good reason to turn pro before finishing college is that you've already won (or competed very well in) all of the important amateur events, and you think you're ready to compete on the PGA Tour right now.  73 scoring average on local tracks isn't even close.  (Not saying he won't get there, but it's not close.)

[Parker0065]

First off congrats to your son on playing so well and working hard on his game.

Having a son involved in junior golf in my area I've had the oppertunity to play with a lot of the juniors and volunteer as a course marshall for regional junior PGA tour events. My son is not at the level your son is at right now but he's had some solid finished on the junior tour, won our junior club championship 3 of the last 4 years, played highschool JV as an 8th grader and made varsity as a freshman this year. He's a solid player that can put up mid 70's rounds but based on the competition were not talking about golf scholarships at the momment,,lol! He loves the game and has 3 more years to work on it so we'll see where it goes.

As far as advancing your son's career I can tell you what I've observed here in Upstate NY on the junior golf tour. There are three main divisions by age, 10-12, 13-15, and 16-18. The 10-12 age bracket plays 9 holes from the womens tees and is primarily for development. The 13-15 age bracket plays the mens tees and the 16-18 year olds play from the back tees. The tour director has the older boys play from the back tees to help prepare them for college golf. Winning scores are usually right around even or -1, -2 under par for both the 13-15 and the 16-18 divisions. I know that there are currently two high school seniors that have full ride golf scholorships for next year. Based on their "Tournament Scores" they are somewhere between scratch and +2 if you had to handicap them.

I know the handicap system doesn't work this way but I would more or less track your son's handicap(progress) based primarily on tournament scores. Another thing is exposure for college. You mentioned he has seemed to have lost interest in college but in my opinion that would be a huge mistake for him to not take that oppertunity if it arises for so many reasons. You definitely have to have some exposure but in my opinion you don't have to mortgage the house and go crazy with trying to get your kid in a bunch of national events. If he has success at the Regional and State level he's going to get looked at. Perhaps you could let him play in one or two junior events in California to get some exposure there or a US Kids event if they are near by but if your son continues to score low and progress he will get oppertunities as far as college golf goes. It may not be exactly where he wants to go but when it comes to paying for college these days you can't pass up a full ride if he gets that chance!!!

Finally, we all know the odds of making it as a playing pro,,,,0.0001,,,or whatever it is so just let your son enjoy the ride and see how far it goes. Good luck and I hope your son continues his terrific play!

On a side note: Are you by chance located near the Seattle/Tacoma area. I was stationed at Ft. Lewis back in the 1980's and loved the course on base!

[VegasRenegade]

another thing to think about no matter how good he is there are not that many full rides out there.

NCAA Division I

4.5 scholarships 6.0 scholarships

NCAA Division II 3.6 scholarships 5.4 scholarships

NCAA Division III No athletic scholarships No athletic scholarships

NAIA 5 scholarships 5 scholarships

NJCAA Division I 8 full scholarships 8 full scholarships

NJCAA Division II 8 partial scholarships 8 partial scholarships

NJCAA Division III No athletic scholarships No athletic scholarships

Many teams split scholarships to get a full ride you need lots of national exposure.

Now if he were a she it would be easier. Over 200 full rides went unused at the D1 level alone.

So do not expect school to knock your door down get out and get known

[0ldblu3]

Michele Wei chose to go to school when it was already apparent that there was a bright future for her on the tour. That degree means many things in life...for one, you will have something in common with people who will be in position to help you throughout your career. Perhaps a degree aligned with the golf industry?

Find an interesting and engaging current college player at one of these events (or arrange for them to be there) and get your son in a conversation with them. Get that student athlete to lay out the pro's of playing in college and even some of the cons. So much of the decision making mechanism in a teen is emotional, so if they have the idea that college isn't cool, then they aren't going to want to do it. Figure out a strategy to make college cool and your teen will want to go, but that message needs to come from someone that he will think is cool, which mean not you :(

Many pro's learned much and have long relationships with their college coach because it was an important stage of development in their career. Learning to belong to something, playing for a team as a individual, shouldering the responsibility to perform will be an important part of his development as a professional.

[MEfree]

I agree with those that say yes to College...even Tiger spent some time at Stanford...Kevin Na and John Huh are the exceptions, not the rule...most top PGA pros have spent time (or graduated) from College.

It sounds like the 4 year tournament plan is moving along nicely, but it still seems there is a bit of a gap between his casual round scores and tournament scores.  This is normal for a lot of people, but ultimately that gap has to narrow if he wants to make it on tour.  I would try to figure out where he loses strokes in tournaments compared to casual rounds and try to put in the mental exercises necessary to improve how he deals with tournament pressure.

College can be a lot of fun and it may give him the time to continue to develop the mental side of his game and make him as good a tournament player as he can be.

Best of Luck!

[newtogolf]

College will give him experience in higher caliber / pressure golf tournaments where he'll be able to measure his game against his peers, especially if it's a Division 1 school.  In addition he'll gain access to training facilities, coaching and plenty of course time at no additional cost which is positive since you said the past year has been financially taxing.

Last, but not least, if it turns out he's not good enough to be on the PGA Tour, he has a degree that he can fall back on to support himself and a family if he chooses.

[joekelly]

Top ranked amateur, Patrick Cantley, recently quit college, after 2 years on the UCLA golf team, to turn pro. Many college athletes wish they were somewhere besides 'in the classroom'.  We can read about the basketball and football players moping and sulking between elementary statistics and Roman history, 101. The Bball and Fball players have hardly any alternative option in their sports career but not so golf pro wannabees. Patrick did not want to sit in the classroom, he only wants to 'do golf'.  Lots of golf pros, even the very best, never went to college. Consider Rory, for one.  Poulter worked at a driving range for years, as did Lee Trevino. Tiger never graduated, quit Stanford early.  Bill Gates never graduated college.   Sure Dad, offer as much help as possible but beware of 'pushing your agenda', even if it seems to you, the best.

[johnclayton1982]

I would strongly encourage your son to go to college, simply because for alot of people it is a formative experience beyond the degree.

I entered college wanting to play professional tennis.  I left college wanting to be a criminal defense lawyer.  It changes you.  If its meant to be, it will happen and be augmented by college, not in spite of it.

It was eye-opening to try to be a professional tennis player.  You have no idea how good the pros are.  Not a knock on your son, but he is one tree root away from a sublexed shoulder and no golf career.

I was the best HS tennis player in my state for four years.  I went to a very good tennis school without having to pay.  I attended the Bolletieri academy full time for a while.  I went to college having no doubt I was the best and I was humbled.  I was the best player on my very good college team and lost 8-1 in the first round of the Junior Australian Open and it wasn't that close.  Professional athletes are on another level.  Not saying he can't get there, just that I would not make pro golf your #1 goal or priority.  It is incredibly hard and should not be the only option, period.

[David in FL]

Top ranked amateur, Patrick Cantley, recently quit college, after 2 years on the UCLA golf team, to turn pro. Many college athletes wish they were somewhere besides 'in the classroom'.  We can read about the basketball and football players moping and sulking between elementary statistics and Roman history, 101. The Bball and Fball players have hardly any alternative option in their sports career but not so golf pro wannabees. Patrick did not want to sit in the classroom, he only wants to 'do golf'.  Lots of golf pros, even the very best, never went to college. Consider Rory, for one.  Poulter worked at a driving range for years, as did Lee Trevino. Tiger never graduated, quit Stanford early.  Bill Gates never graduated college.   Sure Dad, offer as much help as possible but beware of 'pushing your agenda', even if it seems to you, the best.

And if he somehow turns out to be not among the top .001% out there, he can always wait tables..... Personally, I'm gonna make sure my kid has a solid fallback plan B. Just in case. But maybe that's just me.

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by joekelly

Top ranked amateur, Patrick Cantley, recently quit college, after 2 years on the UCLA golf team, to turn pro.

I agree that there is room for discussion with top ranked amateurs.  But back to the OP's situation.  His son is "consistently finishing high on the leaderboard" in local junior events, with a 73 scoring average on local tracks.  I'm happy for the kid, who is playing very well for a 16-year old who only seriously took up the game 3 years ago.  Still, that is a loooooooong way from Patrick Cantlay, US Am finalist and low-amateur at the Masters, or Tiger Woods, 3-time US Junior and 3-time US Am champion.

He's got a shot.  He needs to prove himself in real tournaments, on real courses, with real competition.  My guess is that he's two full seasons of competing in those events before he will "consistently finish high on the leaderboard."  That costs a lot of money.  I know--I was a junior golfer who won a lot of local junior circuit tournaments and a couple high school tournaments.  I didn't get to play in many big AJGA events, or even try for the nationwide or big regional amateur events, because my folks didn't have a lot of money.  As a result, I absolutely sucked in the very few events I did get to play because I never learned how to handle that environment.  I can't imagine it's gotten any cheaper or easier.

I was lucky to get an invite to play golf in college, and, like another poster here, that opened up a whole new road for me.  I'm very happy (and fairly successful) in my career and life, and I love to play golf.  Golf gave me that--I didn't care much to go to college, except that it was a chance to play more competitive golf.  Now I have a college degree (which led to two advanced degrees), while beating the hell out of my buddies and impressing my bosses on the golf course.  Golf has given me a lot, and will to the OP's son as well.  But dropping out any time soon to turn pro is a recipe for disaster and poverty.

[SpiderMonkey]

Thank you for all of the great input so far. Seems like the common theme is to go to college and hope that a scholarship will be the ticket to paying for it. Our thought has been to encourage our son to keep all options open and available. We know that playing well and excelling in school can equate to providing a lot of great opportunities. It's great to get various perspectives as we continue down this road as a family. We don't have an agenda and are also not afraid to think and act outside the box (we've already done this with his schooling, mixing on-line classes with classes at our local high school, creating an environment that allows him to play and practice more and study on his own time table). There are a lot of options today, which keeps things interesting, for sure.

Several of you have mentioned the importance of playing in regional tournaments - AJGA, etc. so that our son can play against some tougher competition. Just to clarify, several of the guys he competes against locally and on a regular basis have played in and won AJGA tournaments--and he has beat them, in fact in the last major tournament of the season, he beat three of the AJGA winners. It's a matter of doing it consistently, so we're looking forward to watching him progress. The majority of our son's competition have been playing since they were very young and not only belong to country clubs, but also have had years of private coaching. Our son has neither luxury and we know that his talent is natural and God-given, as is his passion and drive to continue on to play and succeed, whatever that looks like. He understands the difficult road ahead, should he pursue becoming a touring professional, but also believes that he could have an enjoyable and lucrative career as a teaching professional, so I guess at this time that would be his 'Plan B" if becoming a touring professional becomes unattainable. We've stressed the importance of just enjoying the game and whatever the future looks like as it unfolds.

I've attached a swing video for those of you that are interested. This is a typical drive, we stepped it off at 292 (with such an effortless swing, it's amazing it goes that far--his clubhead speed is 105 mph). And my avatar is my son - wish I had his swing.

For those of you that want to know what's in his bag:

R11 TP Driver stiff std shaft Neutral 8.0*

Ping i20 3-15* 5-18* stiff std shafts

Nike VR Pro Blades 4-PW Dynamic Gold stiff shafts

Titleist Vokey Wedges 60/10 56/8 52/8 stiff

Taylormade Ghost Putter 34"

Titleist ProV1 ball

We continue to welcome comments--thank you for your input!

[joekelly]

Best wishes for all, surely.  But seems to me that if Plan B is as big as, or more attainable than Plan A,  then Plan A becomes less desirable.  From what i have learnt success at the level wanted by junior will take every ounce of his work and dedication, and very few distractions.  College provides rewards but is  also loaded with distractions.

There is a massive difference between 0.001 percent and zero percent.

[David in FL]

There is a massive difference between 0.001 percent and zero percent.

The difference is 1 out of 100,000........Not so massive. But then, someone wins the lottery every week too. Of course, even though I buy a ticket, I'm not betting my future or planning my retirement around it. ;-)