Who doesn't want to be a pro?

[Moppy]

Playing with the best players on the planet, on the best courses, at the best times of year. Hawaii in the worst part of the winter, then follow the seasons from the south to the north. Mad money. Even Jason Dufner has a hot wife.

[mcanadiens]

I can get psychotic. Put me in that environment and I'd probably end up in a straight jacket.

[billchao]

It's a pretty lame selection of poll answers, but I voted no. Traveling all the time is taxing and I love spending time with my family too much to miss out on all that. Then there's the stress of maintaining my "A" game all the time, dealing with making enough cuts to keep my tour card, spending a boatload of money just so I can compete, etc. I also wouldn't want to be a top player because I'd hate being a celebrity.

[Crim]

There's something relaxing about playing when you want to, not because you have to put the proverbial bread on the table. I don't mind at all pushing buttons & then going out on my own time.

Nonetheless, I would still take being a pro, as long as I was good enough to frequently make the cut.

Edit: wow, didn't expect to be the first person to say yes. And like Mcanadiens mentioned, I too am not sure I could handle it. I like boozing + extravagant parties, I'd probably be best friends w/ Anthony Kim.

[nevets88]

I am a pro. A pro desk jockey. Woohoo. I would get tired of being a pro golfer in 3... 2... 1...

All that social media content - you're seeing all the highs. They don't Tweet their lows.

[David in FL]

I agree with @billchao , the question is pretty vague.  Without even talking about the teaching pros, there are lots of playing pros that spend a lot of time "ringing up sales at Dick's" or some such thing while they're chasing the dream that they never catch.

Is the question, would you like to be a successful tour pro, on a major tour?  If so, then of course.

[nevets88]

I agree with @billchao, the question is pretty vague.  Without even talking about the teaching pros, there are lots of playing pros that spend a lot of time "ringing up sales at Dick's" or some such thing while they're chasing the dream that they never catch.

Is the question, would you like to be a successful tour pro, on a major tour?  If so, then of course.

'

It's a false dilemma, speaking of which... I get the gist. It would be nice to met celebs, play all those courses, see the world.

[Moppy]

I didn't mention "Ringing up sales at Dicks" as a put down for people aspiring to higher things, or even people who are happy to have a low pressure job that allows time for doing the important things. I didn't mean to insult anybody. The question is just in response to all of the "I wanna be a pro" threads. Who doesn't?

I once read a great book called "Trout Bum" about a guy who devoted his life to fly fishing. He tells a story about how somebody once asked him why he had an $800 fly rod and drove a $200 pickup. (The book was from the '70s)  His answer was "It should be obvious."

[CarlSpackler]

No for me. The press would chew me up and spit me out when I pointed out how stupid there questions are.

[Dave2512]

No for me, in any sport. The best of the best lived charmed lives and the rest chase them. I know a few ex pro baseball guys that were bottom rung types. Now they work day jobs. A while back a well known ex pro football player bought a car from me and I had to repo it

[RFKFREAK]

I enjoy golf but I have a different set of dreams so I can't answer the question in the poll.

[colin007]

Yes. Absolutely yes. Edit - I already have the hot wife.

[inthehole]

sure, I would give up the getting up at 5 AM, 1 hour drive in brutal traffic each way, dealing with clients who don't want to hear what you have to say, risk improvement goals, etc etc  ... to play golf for a living.

I wish there was a HELL YEAH option...

[Moppy]

I enjoy golf but I have a different set of dreams so I can't answer the question in the poll.

That is a question that should be there. Other than that, I stand by the original ones.

[Fourputt]

Not a chance, although the rest of the "No" answer doesn't apply.  I play golf for fun and relaxation, and I have never had an interest in turning it into just a job.  I have one other hobby (photography) that I love and have been involved in for as long as I have golf, but I have had no desire to make that a profession either.  I view both hobbies as recreational, not vocational.  Both require a great deal of talent and dedication, as well as a little luck, to make them successful occupations, and I don't have any desire to work that hard at either.

I've taken up cooking more recently (mostly the last 10 years or so) as a sort of a hobby too, and while I love it, I have no desire to take it any farther than just in the home.  I've done some reading up on it, and the thought of cooking in a professional kitchen seems like the stuff of my worst nightmares.

Too often, turning a fun recreational activity into a vocation sucks the fun right out if it.  It sounds like a great deal until you find out just what is actually involved.  Pro golf is not all hot women and playing golf and rubbing elbows with the guys on Tour.  It's working hard on our game, for most it's just about a 24/7 job.  I'ts never really having a home, always on the road, living in hotels and eating in restaurants.  Very few pro golfers even make it to that point - most end up in club pro jobs if they stay with golf at all, playing mini tours for chump change - and fewer still reach the point where they can take enough time away from touring to somehow make a semi-normal family life.

Thanks but no thanks.  I have a good retirement from other pursuits, I can play as much as I want or don't want, and I still love the game after 40 years.

[cipher]

Yes. Absolutely yes.

Edit - I already have the hot wife.

Yes on both accounts as well.

I would love to mess with the media.

[nevets88]

In the documentary, "20 feet to Stardom", there's an interview with Bruce Springsteen and he talks about that 20 foot walk to the front of the stage and how some people just don't want to make it. I guess I'm one of those who won't make the walk.

[Golfingdad]

Not a chance, although the rest of the "No" answer doesn't apply.  I play golf for fun and relaxation, and I have never had an interest in turning it into just a job.  I have one other hobby (photography) that I love and have been involved in for as long as I have golf, but I have had no desire to make that a profession either.  I view both hobbies as recreational, not vocational.  Both require a great deal of talent and dedication, as well as a little luck, to make them successful occupations, and I don't have any desire to work that hard at either.

QFT.

You turn it into a job and now, all of a sudden, you're doing it 10 hours a day, 7 days a week ... no way could it possibly remain as fun as it is now when it requires that much work.  Obviously, I wouldn't mind more money and less work but that not at the expense of my love for golf.