Becoming a European Tour Pro

[Connor]

What do you guys think would be the latest age to really start making a push to compete on the european tour? I know a lot started in their younger life but with lessons weekly and daily practice surely you could attempt to qualify within 5 -7 years?

[Valleygolfer]

Depends on the person. Assuming that we are talking about you, we would have to know more about your game. Just because you have time doesn't mean you have enough talent.

[Connor]

What sort of talent would you mean? Natural talent or just the desire to be a good golfer?

[Valleygolfer]

Yes.Both. I see you are at 18 handicap. How long have you been at an 18?

[Connor]

Only really started a year ago, was shooting in the 100's, had 4 lessons in the past two months and shooting around 85 now with a few lower and some higher, booked more lessons and practiced a lot over past 2 months

[Valleygolfer]

If you rapidly improve over the next few years, gain shot knowledge and retain it, there may be a possibility to try out. Pro caliber is much more than shooting low scores at your home course.

There are so many variables, plus the general unlikeliness to be a "golf rockstar." You said to compete at tour level which is probably not going to happen unless you are 13-15, very talented and just getting started. Never say never but the odds are stacked against you.

[Connor]

Yeah thats a fair point, i noticed Ye Yang only picked up a golf club at 20 and wondered weather he was an exception or there is possibilty of competing but likely on a smaller scale (as much as we all would like to beat tiger woods)

[bkuehn1952]

1 hour ago, Connor said:

What do you guys think would be the latest age to really start making a push to compete on the European tour?

A few former successful PGA Tour players did not start playing golf seriously until they were 20 or so (Larry Nelson, Calvin Peete).  They are very much the exception. 

[Connor]

Yeah im 18 at the moment, so i was looking at players that started late, mainly though around age 10 was common with some starting younger

[Valleygolfer]

16 minutes ago, bkuehn1952 said:

A few former successful PGA Tour players did not start playing golf seriously until they were 20 or so (Larry Nelson, Calvin Peete).  They are very much the exception. 

This is before you had kids flooded with opportunity, equipment and drive to be pros at young ages.

[Connor]

Yeah its amazing watching these junior competitions now, 13 year olds driving the ball 260 yards.

[phillyk]

Don't let that improvement fool you (not trying to be a huge ass here), but it's a lot harder to get to scratch than you may be anticipating.  Then beyond that, you'll still need to get to a +4 or better to have a decent shot at making the Euro Tour.  If your serious about giving it a shot, then taking lessons every week or every other week is good.  Lessons is about giving you the direction, it's you that has to build the road in that direction.  Also working out the right muscle groups and in the right way for a golf swing will help a lot in the long run.  

It's not impossible to do, it's just very hard and takes a lot of time and dedication.  The competition to get to the tours gets harder and harder every year.

Edit: I guess the question is what age.  Well younger is better, but the key is for those kids to not get burnt out. Some of them start at age 5 and by high school don't want to touch a club ever again.  But it's still possible to start in high school and try to make it by the end of college.

[GolfLug]

Whatever you do, make sure you have plan B to fall back. Lawyer, doctor, plumber, carpenter caddie.... anything you would have chosen had you never heard of golf.

There are quite a few threads on the web site on this line of thinking. Considering level of competition, starting at a young age is almost a given, not a determining factor for success or even entry in a major pro circuit. Outliers like YE Yang are not reliable models to base your 'plan' on.

Also, reason for starting early is not just to allow you time to develop your game, it is also for you to start experiencing completion at lots of levels leading to a pro-circuit. It is also a lifestyle and it is glamorous for the only very few elites. For the rest it is the same day to day 'drudgery' and fighting to make Monday qualifier cuts.     

Anyway, starting at an early age and game should be considered as one of the base requirements just for you to get in the 'queue'. It's a start at best. Nothing more.

[skeedawg]

I'd agree with most of what is said here, ambition and talent can take you a long way in life in general...if you are at all serious then run don't walk to the next tournament that you can play. It's not as much how does your game hold up, but yourself and all the stress that comes with playing for something. I think without some tournament experience, it's impossible to know the amount of work it will take to make your current game (mental and physical), ready to play for something more. 

 

[70sSanO]

Only an opinion... it takes natural talent to make it in any pro sport.  Every pro athelete has natural ability and those that need development demonstrate tremendous upside from the beginning.

A teaching pro can probably give you a good idea where you stand.  The mental side and ambition are necessary, but without talent no amount of practice will get you there.

John

[JxQx]

With how talented everyone is now a days it's almost required to start pretty young to have any shot at making it on a high level tour and even then it's not a lock. It requires a lot of time, money, and raw talent, the first two tend to be harder to come by as you get older. Is it impossible? No, but is definitely an extremely hard and unlikely event. If your'e going to make a go at it expect to make a ton of sacrifices and keep a back up plan in mind. 

[StefanUrkel]

Looking through the threads here, there have been quite a few people that have become professionals. 

[phillyk]

17 minutes ago, StefanUrkel said:

Looking through the threads here, there have been quite a few people that have become professionals. 

Tour Pro and Golf Pro are different.  There are several of us here that are Golf Professionals.  I think there's only a couple that have played on any tour level.