road to golf profession

[nick1998bunker]

ok so i am 14 and LOVE golf. I hope to play college golf with an engineering degree. My main hope is to play proffesional but i know how slim chances are but i want to strive for that and if i fail have another golf carrer and if that blows up be an engineer

anyway i was wondering what steps i should take in the next 10 years to become a golf engineer, coach, pga teaching pro and what not should be. What kind of money do they make how do you get started in the business and whatnot. Just started reading hank haneys book so kinda got my attention.

all information appreciated thanks in advance

[Shorty]

At the moment, just become the best player you can be.

There are no clear paths to any of these destinations, but I think a bit of research, rather than asking people to write a long and detailed reply  is your best bet. The information is out there. That is the beauty of the internet.

Why do you want to be an engineer? What is a "golf engineer"?

Also......I don't want to be driving over a bridge designed by someone who saw engineering as a back up plan for a back up plan.

You will find that no matter what you do, your literacy skills will be important.

You have work to do in that regard. Although you are 14, you have to understand that employers can (and will) reject applications based on their perceptions on your abilities in this regard. So......work on your spelling and punctuation.

Forum or no forum - do it properly. Capitalise properly and learn to spell words like "professional" and "career".

Use adverbs. You want  to play professionally, not "professional".

[nick1998bunker]

Originally Posted by Shorty

At the moment, just become the best player you can be.

There are no clear paths to any of these destinations, but I think a bit of research, rather than asking people to write a long and detailed reply  is your best bet. The information is out there. That is the beauty of the internet.

Why do you want to be an engineer? What is a "golf engineer"?

Also......I don't want to be driving over a bridge designed by someone who saw engineering as a back up plan for a back up plan.

You will find that no matter what you do, your literacy skills will be important.

You have work to do in that regard. Although you are 14, you have to understand that employers can (and will) reject applications based on their perceptions on your abilities in this regard. So......work on your spelling and punctuation.

Forum or no forum - do it properly. Capitalise properly and learn to spell words like "professional" and "career".

Use adverbs. You want  to play professionally, not "professional".

yeah sorry about the grammar i was rushing and didnt think it would matter, i mean golf engineer as in the equiptment field(apparently no auto correct either) my plan was to go through school as en engineer but my DREAM jobs are in golf. Im good in school (have a 4.5 gpa so far). I also didnt want to fall behind thats why i was asking before i do any real research.

Thank you for your kindness and words of advice.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by nick1998bunker

yeah sorry about the grammar i was rushing and didnt think it would matter, i mean golf engineer as in the equiptment

It does matter and you're still doing it. :-)

[Crim]

A 4.5 GPA exists?

[Lihu]

A 4.5 GPA exists?

Yes, honors and AP classes count as a 5.0 with an A AP are college level classes (Advanced Placement)

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by Crim

A 4.5 GPA exists?

It's not a true grade point average, it's what is called an HPA which has the higher honors weights attached for honors courses and Advanced Placement courses, etc. The true GPA can never exceed 4.0 while an HPA can and often does.

[nick1998bunker]

Well lets just say I have a 95% or above in all honors classes below 93 equals b

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by nick1998bunker

Well lets just say I have a 95% or above in all honors classes below 93 equals b

That's even better as it is a harder scale than the traditional ten point. Don't get me wrong, I understand to get a 4.5 HPA in high school means that your GPA is very close to 4.0.

I think Shorty makes an excellent point about presentation. Obviously you are a capable student, so I would think that you would have no problem getting a job at a course so that you can see for yourself what is going on. If your age is a factor, maybe you could volunteer to pick the range at a municipal course for community service hours. My best look into the golf business was spent in college working in the golf business seeing just how un-glamorous it could be. At that time the economy was in a depressed state so I decided to to move into a career that was more recession proof.

As far as money in golf, no one starts making it by the bucket unless you are a PGA superstar like a Speith. The average club professional puts in his dues big time and often has to make the time to even play golf. Nobody walks into a cush club and just spends all day playing with members. The guys that I saw that did well went into golf related services. Sales (agronomy products, chemicals), architectural designers, and general contractors seemed to do really well and are not what most people think about when you think of golf careers. I know a guy with a chemistry degree that sells fertilizer and lake products to golf courses. He makes more than enough money and since he is in sales, can tailor his time to be able to play golf whenever he wants.

The bottom line is that you should expose yourself to what is out there. Talking to people that are doing the job that you want to have can shed light.

[theworldengine]

Get a net a mirror and a clear goal in mind as to what your swing should look like. While you're young the only thing you should worry about is practice your ass off.

[nick1998bunker]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

[Mr Smell Good]

Originally Posted by Crim

A 4.5 GPA exists?

Yes, but I don't know how a 14 year old can have that because you have to take a bunch of honors and AP classes.  I got up to a 4.4 my by graduation but at 14 you would be just be starting high school.

On another note, the OP was born in 1998 and is 14.. That blew my mind for a second and I feel old.  This is the first time I have felt old.

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

As far as money in golf, no one starts making it by the bucket unless you are a PGA superstar like a Speith.

You don't think there's pretty good money in teaching lessons at a nice public course?

[Strandly]

Not to rain on your grade parade but all a gpa means is how willing you are to do busywork.  When you're young it gives you something to be proud of but my advice is to not get too attached to it.  Anyway, as far as professional play.. I dunno.  I did a little bit of research on the "pga professional" tag last week and it sounds like basically you have to work in a golf shop for a few years and be a 7 handicap or better and you're in.  If you want to be a tour player then that's a whole other animal, put up the numbers and you're in.

[Strandly]

Originally Posted by Mr Smell Good

You don't think there's pretty good money in teaching lessons at a nice public course?

Ha, this is one of the reasons I'm reluctant to pay for a lesson.  Like I posted before the courses I've checked where I live charge 100-120 an hour for lessons.  Doing some armchair math that's 200+ grand a year.  I'm sure whatever course the instructor teaches at takes a cut but that's still an insane salary for a silly game like this imo.

[Mr Smell Good]

Originally Posted by Strandly

Ha, this is one of the reasons I'm reluctant to pay for a lesson.  Like I posted before the courses I've checked where I live charge 100-120 an hour for lessons.  Doing some armchair math that's 200+ grand a year.  I'm sure whatever course the instructor teaches at takes a cut but that's still an insane salary for a silly game like this imo.

That would be if they work 40 hours a week which I don't think is the case, and I'm sure the cut the course takes is significant.  Maybe like 25-50% but I have no idea.  Either way, it seems like they can make a comfortable living teaching golf which would be awesome.

[jamo]

yeah sorry about the grammar i was rushing and didnt think it would matter, i mean golf engineer as in the equiptment field(apparently no auto correct either) my plan was to go through school as en engineer but my DREAM jobs are in golf. Im good in school (have a 4.5 gpa so far). I also didnt want to fall behind thats why i was asking before i do any real research. Thank you for your kindness and words of advice.

You're saying that you want to work in golf club engineering, right? As in, designing clubs and golf balls for Titleist/Nike/TaylorMade. You'd likely be getting a mechanical engineering degree. Engineering design and materials engineering are probably two good places to focus on. Learn CAD programs. Gain experience. Show good spelling and grammar. Check out Titleist's (or TaylorMade's, Callaway's, etc.) employment website and read the job description and requirements. Just remember, there aren't a ton of jobs in that exact field. There aren't a huge number of OEM golf companies. I'm a senior in mechanical engineering at the moment. Starting salaries for recent grads vary wildly by engineering subset, geographic location, the school you went to, and your particular skill set and background. The numbers they usually quote us for average starting salary for a recent graduate mechanical engineer is about $66,000-$69,000 per year. Again, that can be higher or lower based on cost of living in your area. And recognize that engineering majors aren't great for playing varsity sports. They're both a lot of work

[Lihu]

Yes, but I don't know how a 14 year old can have that because you have to take a bunch of honors and AP classes.  I got up to a 4.4 my by graduation but at 14 you would be just be starting high school.

At least 20% of the entering freshman in my son's school are taking honors. A few are taking AP, I don't know why. My son is taking mostly honors, and the courses are hard enough. If you feel old now, just wait till you have a 14 year old.

[nick1998bunker]

It's not a true grade point average, it's what is called an HPA which has the higher honors weights attached for honors courses and Advanced Placement courses, etc. The true GPA can never exceed 4.0 while an HPA can and often does.

[quote name="jamo" url="/t/69627/road-to-golf-profession#post_890160"] You're saying that you want to work in golf club engineering, right? As in, designing clubs and golf balls for Titleist/Nike/TaylorMade. You'd likely be getting a mechanical engineering degree. Engineering design and materials engineering are probably two good places to focus on. Learn CAD programs. Gain experience. Show good spelling and grammar. Check out Titleist's (or TaylorMade's, Callaway's, etc.) employment website and read the job description and requirements. Just remember, there aren't a ton of jobs in that exact field. There aren't a huge number of OEM golf companies. I'm a senior in mechanical engineering at the moment. Starting salaries for recent grads vary wildly by engineering subset, geographic location, the school you went to, and your particular skill set and background. The numbers they usually quote us for average starting salary for a recent graduate mechanical engineer is about $66,000-$69,000 per year. Again, that can be higher or lower based on cost of living in your area. And recognize that engineering majors aren't great for playing varsity sports. They're both a lot of work[/quote]I mainly want to work as an IE in the production setting, I know they don't make as much but I only really want to do that. I also feel that there is a better opportunity to move through the ranks as an ie into management. Also can someone explain why they use the 4.0system? I don't think it's fair if they weight ap classes as high as non honors