Seriously...Could you have made it to the tour?

[turtleback]

Not a chance.

[WWBDD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shockingslicer

allthough  , it didnt stop our own Ian Poulter from turning pro when he was off 4 and look at him now

Poulter wasn't really a 4 handicap ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Poulter

Quote:

Unable to get a place as a pro at a private club , he became the assistant pro and golf shop manager at the Chesfield Downs Golf Club. ^{[ 3 ]} There he was forced by his boss to pay a full green fee every time he wanted to play in a competition. His handicap hence stayed at four, because he did not play in competitions.

[inthehole]

nope -  even with good inherent athletic ability & if I started 25 years younger ... I just don't enjoy putting enough.    I love every other aspect of the game, but for me the amount of practice it would take to get to be that good at putting would take the fun out of the game.

Plus, I could NEVER hit a drive with hundreds of people standing a few feet to the right and left of the ball path - simply no way I could do that.       I really don't know how a professional mentally prepares to hit a potentially  lethal projectile as hard as they possibly can in such close proximity to people in the gallery - it really does amaze me how they can do that  ...

[jamo]

Nope. I don't have the distance, the putting ability, or the nerves to do it, and I don't think I could ever get the last two to the necessary level no matter how good I got at the rest of the game. And I definitely don't have the raw skill or athletic aptitude to do it.

[JetFan1983]

Hells yea! Ian Poulter and I would be best buds with matching Lambos. Tiger would have to answer questions about whether or not he was intimidated by me on Sundays. Phil would have taken me under his wing and been my Ryder Cup partner. My wife would be the trophiest of the trophies. Hank Haney would be my former swing coach currently penning a book about me with Jaime Diaz because Haney apparently can't form complete sentences unless helped by a guy with a degree in English. And Jack would be losing sleep over his almost certainly endangered record of 18 majors.

I also would have bought thesandtrap.com domain name in 2003, thus forcing Erik to entitle his website "releasetheclub.com."

[onesome]

In my early twenties I asked my instructor how far did he think I could go he said "All the way". I didn't lack the confidence to feel the same way it was the desire to work that hard is what would have held me back.

[Bucki1968]

Right now my index is 1.8 (although I'm playing crappy lately) and there was a time when I thought I could play well enough. With the improvement in equipment, I hit it further with more spin than I did when I was in my 20's. I wish that I had the financial resources to try to get ready for the senior tour, but it's actually tougher to qualify for that than the regular tour. I think if I could devote more time to practice, I would have  a pretty good chance. However, having been around tour players, even that does not guarantee success. I know it's old news but if your gonna be a player, you better been shooting under par every time out with you buddies. You better have a great short game. There are a ton of good ball strikers who never make it.

[boogielicious]

I would have been JetFan's long time caddy, earning over $1M annual some years from his winnings and be sponsored by Cialis now that we are on the Champions Tour.  Look for my hat on TV!

Better use the 7 iron JF, bit of a sketchy lie on this shot.

[AmazingWhacker]

uhhhhh . . .No.

If there was a Tiger Woods Playstation Golf Tour, though . .I think I'd have a real shot at that :)

[Clambake]

Absolutely not.    Even though I've always been fairly athletic and have a nearly ideal body type for golf (6' 2", 175 lbs), I lack two major mental things that I think are essential for someone to be a pro golfer: a highly obsessive nature to be able to spend hours a day practicing even the most minute details, and the deep level of concentration needed to block out distractions in order to play on a public stage.     I do love to practice, but I just don't have the obsession to be able to stand in a bunker for 3 hours learning how to hit a particular shot; 15 minutes maybe, but not hours.   And I tend to hear every little distraction on the course, so I cannot imagine being able to block out all the noise and distraction while trying to pull the club back.

[mailman]

HAD I started to play as a toddler and HAD I taken advantage of all the Saturday and Sundays I spent at the Wairoa golf course as a small child playing golf instead of playing on the ride on lawn mower with my friends and HAD I played golf through highschool seriously and HAD I never discovered the joys of girls as a hormonal teenager and HAD I never discovered the fun of alcohol as a tweenty something and HAD I had an ounce of talent then yes, I probably could have made it :)

Regards

Mailman

[chilepepper]

Had all the planets aligned and the gods smiled at me and I actually made it on the tour, I probably would have been a real headcase and taken a lot of focus away from John Daly.

so I got that going for me

[bubble]

I dont think so.

I did play some serious volley ball at a top amateur level and often played with pros on the beach or in season preparing tournaments.

from this experience I noticed that the difference between me and them is tiny but also huge and out really of reach !

[David in FL]

Not even close.

[iPutt]

I don't think so. Not, however, because I don't think I have the mindset. I love practicing and have a very obsessive nature which I think may have really benefitted me if I could have spent all that time on the game. I think I could have truly committed myself to the practice and taken a lot away from it. I play better under pressure and do not mind being watched by others. In my short time that I've spent playing this game seriously, I've improved a great deal. However, I do not think I could have made it because of my size. I'm only 5'7" and around 135 lbs, and although I hit it far for my size, I don't think I could ever hit it long enough to compete on tour. Sure there are guys that are smaller on tour and that do hit it "short," but they have a gift and I don't think I would be able to cut it distance wise.

[clubchamp]

Originally Posted by jamo

Nope. I don't have the distance, the putting ability, or the nerves to do it, and I don't think I could ever get the last two to the necessary level no matter how good I got at the rest of the game. And I definitely don't have the raw skill or athletic aptitude to do it.

This would sum it up for me also

[Hooker80]

I highly highly doubt there are people who could have made it on Tour who didn't. The cream rises to the top. Most anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't realize how hard it is to get on Tour.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Hooker80

I highly highly doubt there are people who could have made it on Tour who didn't. The cream rises to the top. Most anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't realize how hard it is to get on Tour.

I don't think you understand how the question was asked. It said " given ideal circumstances and the right opportunities, could you have made it to the tour? "