Want to try to turn pro

[Lihu]

[QUOTE name="ev780" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/144#post_1097572"]   I am addicted to this thread!!!  Help!!!! Anyway, I would like to differentiate between "college/university" and school.  Finish high school and get a diploma.  Of course, Absolutely, 100%  agree.  Looks like you got a great plan.  You seem to be that kind of guy. All good.  Not everyone is wired like that. Higher education.  Then it becomes a little more subjective.  I went right out of high school and that was the dumbest thing I could have done.  Flunked out, drank and smoked too much weed and was a general F*** up!  I did not start college for real until l I got those wild oats sowed at the age of 26.  I wish I would have taken a little time off chased a few dreams then got serious. Seriously this time I am done. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE name="Lihu" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/144#post_1097604"]   Every elite goal will have a lot of naysayers. Everyone states that education is the most important thing for him, and I agree that he needs to maintain an education. The OP also agreed that he would continue that path so he does not shut any doors. So, let's take that education topic to an elite level as well. I could equate getting into Cal Tech undergrad the science equivalent to becoming a pro player. The odds are pretty slim and you have to be one of the best (as in the top 200 kids in the world in any given year). But. . .people do go there, and when they graduate end up being in the top of most of their fields. These kids did things in their early teens that gave them the confidence to succeed in something and drive them to their goals. My brother drove himself to become an eagle scout at a time when there weren't that many. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE name="Moppy" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/144#post_1097895"]   I never said he should blow off college. I guess I just don't believe that every pro golfer is discovered before he gets to high school. Maybe the fact that I wasted my twenties and still managed to retire in my fifties has something to do with my take on this. [/QUOTE] We are talking about what HE said, not about you.  What HE said was that he was blowing off any idea of even trying to qualify for college. What some of you seem to be missing or ignoring is by that blowing off college he is also blowing off the path by which 90%+ (maybe a lot closer to 100%) of the people who accomplished the very thing he is dreaming of followed.  I personally would be hard pressed to name a reasonable successful American touring pro (say 3 years of keeping his card) who did not hone his game with at least some time in college.  It is more common in Europe (prominent examples being Garcia, Rose, and McIlroy) but it has become increasingly common for even top European aspirants to come to the US to hone their game in college.  A pro golfer wannabe who blows off college is like a HS baseball pitcher who says "I want to be a major leaguer but refuse to do anything to make a minor league team."  College golf is the amateur minor leagues that helps aspiring pros get to the professional minor leagues (the lesser tours) or major leagues (PGA and Euro tours). Even if we ignore every consideration of education, its benefits on his future life, etc. and look at it from a purely golf developmental perspective it is still crazy. He is saying, "OK, I have a dream that I have a very poor chance of reaching because it is so difficult, so let me cut my chances even further by ignoring the path that 99% of the successful ones took."

He didn't sound like he was going to get a doctorate in Biochemistry, but it did sound like he was going to do the bare minimum which is what many athletes do through their college careers. His swing looks pretty decent, in 2-3 years he could even play collegiate golf. . .

[billchao]

He didn't sound like he was going to get a doctorate in Biochemistry, but it did sound like he was going to do the bare minimum which is what many athletes do through their college careers. His swing looks pretty decent, in 2-3 years he could even play collegiate golf. . .

Lihu, I don't think you read his posts properly. College doesn't even appear to be on his radar. [quote name="golfrocks" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro#post_1093188"]Hey guys I'm just wondering I want to turn pro after I'm done school I'm in my 10th grade right now so I have two more years of school after this year and [b]I want to know what I want to do after school if I want to turn pro I don't think I will get a scholarship because my marks are not doing very wellbut what's another way of turning pro but not playing college golf thanks?[/b][/quote] [quote name="golfrocks" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro#post_1093204"]i don't really wanna play collage golf after school [b]i want to turn pro when i get out of school[/b] [/quote]

[Lihu]

[quote name="Lihu" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/150#post_1097963"] He didn't sound like he was going to get a doctorate in Biochemistry, but it did sound like he was going to do the bare minimum which is what many athletes do through their college careers. His swing looks pretty decent, in 2-3 years he could even play collegiate golf. . .

Lihu, I don't think you read his posts properly. College doesn't even appear to be on his radar. [quote name="golfrocks" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro#post_1093188"]Hey guys I'm just wondering I want to turn pro after I'm done school I'm in my 10th grade right now so I have two more years of school after this year and [b]I want to know what I want to do after school if I want to turn pro I don't think I will get a scholarship because my marks are not doing very wellbut what's another way of turning pro but not playing college golf thanks?[/b][/quote] [quote name="golfrocks" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro#post_1093204"]i don't really wanna play collage golf after school [b]i want to turn pro when i get out of school[/b] [/quote][/quote] That's just the thing, I also read posts subsequent to that, and his response to me sounded like he might have taken some of our advice. Not sure, though, but the way I look at it, he has three years.

[Abu3baid]

That's just the thing, I also read posts subsequent to that, and his response to me sounded like he might have taken some of our advice. Not sure, though, but the way I look at it, he has three years.

I don't remember seeing any of those posts.. I hope you don't mean the one where he said, yeah I will do that? :) The kid is obviously not serious even about getting advice, I mean look at the level of interaction from his part in this thread and you'll have the answer.

[billchao]

That's just the thing, I also read posts subsequent to that, and his response to me sounded like he might have taken some of our advice. Not sure, though, but the way I look at it, he has three years.

That's not how I read that, but he definitely does have time to change his mind about an education. I don't believe every kid should attend universities either, but he needs to learn some kind of skill. So this is how I read it. He said this: [quote name="golfrocks" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/30#post_1095457"]hey sorry guys i haven't posted anything in a few days…. but I'm going to try turning pro i know its gonna take me a lot of work but i think i can do it! i only started playing golf 2 years ago and I'm already a eight handicap. but i really want to be one and all i need to do is work my butt off! [/quote]After a bunch of people told him how unrealistic his aspirations were, to which you replied: [quote name="Lihu" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/30#post_1095465"] At least you have the dream, go for it. :-) Just keep your doors open for a backup plan. . .[/quote]And this is where it's open for interpretation, because he responds: [quote name="golfrocks" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/60#post_1095467"]yes i will do that thank  you very much! [/quote]Without quoting you, so it's unclear to what part of your statement he was responding to. You read it as he will have a backup plan, but it can just as easily be read as a response to "go for it." In that light, one can hardly infer that he has taken anybody's wisdom to heart. He has yet to respond to anything else, so I tend to default to his original position.

[Lihu]

[quote name="Lihu" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/150#post_1097971"] That's just the thing, I also read posts subsequent to that, and his response to me sounded like he might have taken some of our advice. Not sure, though, but the way I look at it, he has three years.

That's not how I read that, but he definitely does have time to change his mind about an education. I don't believe every kid should attend universities either, but he needs to learn some kind of skill. So this is how I read it. He said this: [quote name="golfrocks" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/30#post_1095457"]hey sorry guys i haven't posted anything in a few days…. but I'm going to try turning pro i know its gonna take me a lot of work but i think i can do it! i only started playing golf 2 years ago and I'm already a eight handicap. but i really want to be one and all i need to do is work my butt off! [/quote]After a bunch of people told him how unrealistic his aspirations were, to which you replied: [quote name="Lihu" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/30#post_1095465"] At least you have the dream, go for it. :-) Just keep your doors open for a backup plan. . .[/quote]And this is where it's open for interpretation, because he responds: [quote name="golfrocks" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/60#post_1095467"]yes i will do that thank  you very much! [/quote]Without quoting you, so it's unclear to what part of your statement he was responding to. You read it as he will have a backup plan, but it can just as easily be read as a response to "go for it." In that light, one can hardly infer that he has taken anybody's wisdom to heart. He has yet to respond to anything else, so I tend to default to his original position.[/quote] True on the last two points, but I think we are all seriously over analyzing things without any basis. No ones opinion is worth any more than any one else's because odds are that a15 year old boy won't know what he wants to do by college age.

[Golfingdad]

Imagine if a bunch of the sperm cells got together and convinced you, when you were one, that it was impossible to beat the 100s of millions to one odds, and so stop swimming?

Imagine a comparable analogy instead:

There are more than 100,000,000 balls in a bag. Only 1000 of those balls lead you financial success if you pick them. Do you really want to blow off college and your potential career by counting on getting one of those 1000 balls?

I never said he should blow off college. I guess I just don't believe that every pro golfer is discovered before he gets to high school. Maybe the fact that I wasted my twenties and still managed to retire in my fifties has something to do with my take on this.

Your analogy implied it.  Sperm cells have two choices:  Succeed or DIE.  The OP is not quite that limited.

[billchao]

No ones opinion is worth any more than any one else's because odds are that a15 year old boy won't know what he wants to do by college age.

Well obviously, but here I think it's a bit further of a leap to assume he will go to college and do the bare minimum academically when he's explicitly stated he does not plan on college, than it would be to assume he does not plan on deviating from his original position in the thread. I think we would all like to hear from @golfrocks . I'm fairly confident everyone here has the best of intentions and it would be a great benefit to him to learn some lessons from others' experiences. I don't think it's a lot to ask from someone, who certainly didn't hesitate to ask the community a lot of questions in another thread, to come and answer a few questions and share his thoughts.

[DrvFrShow]

That's not how I read that, but he definitely does have time to change his mind about an education. I don't believe every kid should attend universities either, but he needs to learn some kind of skill.

So this is how I read it. He said this:

After a bunch of people told him how unrealistic his aspirations were, to which you replied:

And this is where it's open for interpretation, because he responds:

Without quoting you, so it's unclear to what part of your statement he was responding to. You read it as he will have a backup plan, but it can just as easily be read as a response to "go for it." In that light, one can hardly infer that he has taken anybody's wisdom to heart. He has yet to respond to anything else, so I tend to default to his original position.

But after this, instead of anything encouraging, the negativity started and the OP responded to one more post "yes i will do that thank  you very much!" and disappeared from the thread because the barrage of how unrealistic his aspirations were continued, and can you blame him? No. He is not going to respond to anything else in this thread because he knows that whatever he says is going to be met with a lot of negativity. He's focusing on improving his golf game in the "my swing" thread.

I could write my "I'm not bitter" post because I gave up my dreams for 40 years of various jobs that I hated because my dreams were "unrealistic." The thing was they weren't unrealistic because I had a very good shot. I learned too late in life to be very selective to whom I listen.

[rkim291968]

The worst case scenario ... he will end up being good at a game that he can enjoy for the rest of his life.   Other fringe benefits - it will keep him focused on a goal at an age that is vulnerable to getting into trouble.   He will learn discipline through practice, become wiser (about dreams and reality), and may even find a future job in golf industry.   I.e, after giving it a thought, I don't see too much downside for his pursuing his dream.   BTW, he has better odd than winning a lotto.  Trust me on that.

I once had a dream of becoming a world champion in boxing, trained since age 10 by a former national coach, and retired at age 22 once I realized God didn't smile on me.  I had motivation, hard work ethic, and athleticism but no God given talent.   But it kept me from trouble, made me a very disciplined person, ..., i.e, the experience helped me and I will  not trade for anything.

[Lihu]

The worst case scenario ... he will end up being good at a game that he can enjoy for the rest of his life.   Other fringe benefits - it will keep him focused on a goal at an age that is vulnerable to getting into trouble.   He will learn discipline through practice, become wiser (about dreams and reality), and may even find a future job in golf industry.   I.e, after giving it a thought, I don't see too much downside for his pursuing his dream.   BTW, he has better odd than winning a lotto.  Trust me on that.   ;-) I once had a dream of becoming a world champion in boxing, trained since age 10 by a former national coach, and retired at age 22 once I realized God didn't smile on me.  I had motivation, hard work ethic, and athleticism but no God given talent.   But it kept me from trouble, made me a very disciplined person, ..., i.e, the experience helped me and I will  not trade for anything.

Exactly!

[TJBam]

OP, at an 8 handicap you'd probably get second or third on GC's "Big Break," why not give that a shot?  Or start a blog and beg for cash, worked for some dude named Dan.

[RFKFREAK]

odds are that a15 year old boy won't know what he wants to do by college age.

I don't know about, "odds are," but I think a lot of kids that focus on academics have a sense of what they want to do with their lives. I also think that teenagers who also enjoy a particular trade, like mechanic, also have a sense of what direction they want to go.

[Lihu]

[quote name="Lihu" url="/t/79126/want-to-try-to-turn-pro/100_100#post_1097984"] odds are that a15 year old boy won't know what he wants to do by college age.

I don't know about, "odds are," but I think a lot of kids that focus on academics have a sense of what they want to do with their lives. I also think that teenagers who also enjoy a particular trade, like mechanic, also have a sense of what direction they want to go.[/quote] Neither of my kids know. My daughter is a really good counter example. She's getting almost perfect scores in every subject has art, and three instruments (and, no, we aren't the ones pushing her) and plays every sport in the "varsity category". She has no idea at all what she wants to do in the future. My son barely makes all A grades, and kind of knows but not for sure. He's probably going into science or pre-Med? Or possibly something totally unrelated? I also know many (probably more than 100) other self over achieving kids who also don't know what they want to do. Kids really need to explore themselves, each one does it a completely different way. Nothing is certain anymore, and finding something where they can be passionate is the right approach. This will teach them to drive themselves to where they want to be someday. The OP might very well find that golf is really hard, then work super hard in his senior year and work hard at a college then possibly university? Or he might even become a pro golfer? No one knows.

[Abu3baid]

Neither of my kids know. My daughter is a really good counter example. She's getting almost perfect scores in every subject has art, and three instruments (and, no, we aren't the ones pushing her) and plays every sport in the "varsity category". She has no idea at all what she wants to do in the future. My son barely makes all A grades, and kind of knows but not for sure. He's probably going into science or pre-Med? Or possibly something totally unrelated? I also know many (probably more than 100) other self over achieving kids who also don't know what they want to do. Kids really need to explore themselves, each one does it a completely different way. Nothing is certain anymore, and finding something where they can be passionate is the right approach. This will teach them to drive themselves to where they want to be someday. The OP might very well find that golf is really hard, then work super hard in his senior year and work hard at a college then possibly university? Or he might even become a pro golfer? No one knows.

what we do know is that all odds and statistics are against our OP of even sniffing the pga tour, so yeah I can say with a lot of certainty he will not make it. As far as him turning it around later on in his high school grades and then going through college to get some sort of degree it is a possibility and I wish him the best in doing so. (Or some sort of trade) Otherwise like I mentioned before, the world still needs its ditch diggers and burger flippers, not that there is anything wrong with that as long as it's an honest living.

[Aflighter]

Granted it will definately be tough but nobody on here should tell him not to go for it when most of us cant even beat him being older than him.Being an 8 at age 15 isnt bad and none of us know how much he practices or strives to be good.Im sure none of the guys on any golf tour just happened to play golf by luck.I would suggest he stay in school too and work on grades and perfect his game to atleast be able to play on the mini tours if he cant get to the WEB or PGA tour.Its obvious he loves golf and would rather do that than any other work so mini tours would be a start and alot more enjoyable than other jobs.

[CraiginKSA]

This thread has some great posts.  But the bottom line is there is a difference between a dream and a fantasy.  How many "actresses", "actors" and "directors" are writing their name upside down in crayon as part of the wait staff at some Macaroni Grill in southern California?  How many high school ballers are out there practicing their jumper and working their crossover at the expense of their education?

This whole professional athlete as a goal is not realistic.  Every year 10 times as many people make it to the summit of Mount Everest than make it into the NBA (200-300 climbers vs. 30 or so ballers).  And then 60% of NBA players are broke 5 years out of the league.  In the NFL it's even worse.

Granted, their are more tours now and more opportunity to play professionally, but those leagues are supported by what is called the "Mini tour philanthropist."  Those guys are playing for their own money because no one comes to see them play. About 30 guys at the top are "making" it.  The rest are donating their entrance fees to the guys who are actually winning tournaments.

[Shorty]

atleast be able to play on the mini tours if he cant get to the WEB or PGA tour.Its obvious he loves golf and would rather do that than any other work so mini tours would be a start and alot more enjoyable than other jobs.

Maybe he needs to become a good player first.

You talk about becoming a pro after you get good, not before.

And by "good", in context, I mean + plus handicap and better than all the other plus handicaps you play against.

This thread (and the dozens along exactly the same lines) is just ridiculous.