LfSideStrngSide

I cannot even begin to describe how much I envy you. I got to go to the tournament in 2010 and absolutely fell in love with the place. Before that I always enjoyed watching the tournament, but now... It is like my favorite thing in the world. I was so bummed when I found out I didn't win tickets for 2012 that I almost cried! Not really, but it was a total drag. Can hope for practice tix! Congrats on that, I am sure it will be something you will always cherish and tell your kids, grandkids or what have you

Couldn't agree with you more!

If never being successful means being a Masters Champion then sign me up!

Haha well its hard to tell because it seems like all of your posts, at least the ones I've seen, are revolving around him!

Haha well that's certainly obvious. Just wondering if big fan should be replaced with man crush

Not exclusive but I played Torrey Pines the year before the US Open. Kinda was disappointed though bc they were already in the middle of preparing the course. Fairways were punched, tees were being re-done, the retaining wall on 18 was taken out to prepare the false front, and there was hardly any water in the pond (provided not such a picturesque approach haha). BUT, it was all made great by the beauty of the land. Oh and not to mention I sunk a 35 foot birdie on 2 green as Phil stood on 6 tee and saw and applauded! He was getting a practice round in. I got to go over and watch him hit a tee shot from the farthest back tee on 6. Was just me and him back there. Awesome moment. As for an exclusive club, I played the Keowee Springs Course at the Cliffs in North Carolina last year during our drive down to the Masters. Fantastic golf community! Course was in great condition and the practice facility was top notch.

Where do you get all your information from?!?! Is this Rich Lerner hiding behind a sandtrap profile?? Man.... I know the first person I need to go to when I want to know when Tiger trims his toe nails

Try Makray Memorial In Barrington. Was just re-done from 2002-2004 and is an outstanding track for pretty good value. I'm playing there Monday! Another great course is Stonewall Orchard in Grayslake. Has hosted some usga events I believe a few us open qualifiers. Countryside in Mundelein offers two 18 hole forest preserve courses that are a good value, though I doubt the round will go very fast on the weekend. Aberdeen is good in Rockford as someone already stated. I played there for state playoffs in high school. For a special trip head up to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. There are some fantastic courses up there. I am playing one for the first time in August and am very excited about that. Thunderhawk in Zion is supposed to be great for its value. There are so many courses to choose from, you shouldn't have too much trouble. Are you in the northwest suburbs or are you right in the city?

Hahaha. Love it xlaye.

I knew it was an opinion

Haha wow. The bias in this article is incredible!

That's a great story! I'm sure he would have slept on the floor for an entire season if he knew it meant a green jacket was coming. Thanks for sharing!

If this was true then he wouldn't be sporting sponsorships on his chest and sleeve, and be taking off his bib before every round concluded. He had more brand names on his person than tiger did! HAHA! Oh and another thing, how many caddies have their own website? This I didn't even know til just now writing this post as I was looking at williams' comments on being canned...

Thank you! Appreciate the advice

I love it. For as long as I can remember, I cannot stand Stevie. He is a pompous a$$ who tried way too hard to make himself a celebrity in Tiger's spotlight. You're a caddy , not the star athlete. Not to mention how many ignorant comments hes made over the years. I'll never forget when he made the comments about Phil a couple years ago saying he was an a hole and how he couldn't stand him. And Phil's response, "I'm just really glad I have such a class act as Bones on my bag." Haha way to be Phil! Then not to mention how hes the only caddy on tour who takes his bib off while walking up to the 18th green so he can get his beloved valvoline sponsorship visible for everyone to see. I'm sure this doesn't bother everyone but it just completely gets on my nerves! Tiger, find yourself a class act to carry the bag!

Yeah, I agree with you completely on that. I feel like I'm right on the cusp of breaking into the +range, just haven't been able to practice the way I want to this summer bc of my internship. Luckily it ends Friday and I can play golf for the rest of the season. Last season I was able to work and play at a club. Beginning of season I was low 80s, and broke into 70s every 2-4 rounds from the tips. Visited my uncle mid summer and made a few changes. By the end of the season I was shooting in the low 70s every round. I believe if I can just work with him all the time the consistency will really amp up. He always knows what to say. Shot my first under par round with him on a trip in Georgia when I was 16.

Realistically you have no shot at the tour. In HS how many guys in the state were better than you? Multiply that by the number of states and through in the foreign competition. That doesn't mean you shouldn't take the 1:100k chance. You have 18 months til you graduate. Put in the 4+ hours of practice a day during that time and see where you are. You might have the physical talent (I think you might be too tall) to make it but it sounds like your missing the rest of the package. (desire to practice and get better, mental toughness, and heck even passion for golf.). Maybe some of that has developed since HS . You would have to be the judge of that. Yes, I WILL be the judge of that. I'd be willing to bet that my passion for golf is bigger then 90% of people on here. It has changed quite a bit.... I find it funny how so many people put so much into having to be a prodigy from the moment they pick up a golf club. A lot of guys on tour have told stories that they shot in the 80s in high school and didn't really figure out the game until they matured. Heck, YE Yang was a power lifter in high school! He didnt even touch a golf club til he was 19 years old. Turned out well for him. Now obviously that is an isolated case, but it is just an example. Haven't ever heard of anyone saying "youre too tall to play golf." If anything that is the envy of a lot of golfers because of the ease at which you can generate clubhead speed (see Ernie, Dustin, Phil, Faldo, Cink, Love III, etc.) Thanks for all the advice guys

Jshots, appreciate it. I would love to have like a 2 year window to practice as much as possible and see where it takes me. I know that it is really hard and the chances are stacked against me, but the way I see it, I've got 40 years to work in some office to make money doing that job. Don't think it will hurt too much if I put that on hold for a couple of years to see what I can do

I love this post because it resembles me almost perfectly! I used to love the fact that I could hit a 9 iron 175 yards and would swing hard on all my shots. I'd be 145 out and hit a gap wedge as hard as I could. But now, being older and a little wiser, I would prolly hit the 9 iron 145 with a smooth tempo 3/4 swing. My dad kept harping on me that I didn't need to swing out of my shoes and I guess it finally stuck. Its interesting too, I was watching something with graeme mcdowell not long ago where he talked about how he almost never hits a club w a swing as hard as he could. Always 3/4 swings and choked down grips, etc. Plus I think its fun hitting a pitching wedge 120 yards with a low trajectory that takes two hops and stops on the green!

Yeah my uncle lives in a club in florida, the Country Club of Orange Park. Ideally, and I believe he would be all for this, I could live with him for awhile and take full advantage of the club. They have a nice range and short game practice area, plus a course that is about 7100 from the tips, and I know it has hosted a Hooters Tour event. This summer has been hectic bc I have been doing an internship in Minneapolis, MN so I practice when I can but doing that has been a nuisance to my game haha. The past two years I actually did work at a club by my house in Illinois, Kemper Lakes. I did get to practice/play there quite a lot and that is probably where my game has improved the most. So I feel that if I can get down to florida and play year round, with the oversight of my uncle I might have a chance to do something. I was looking online at mini tours down there just to see what there is and it sounds like theres a bunch of opportunities. Like I said I have 3 more semesters so that puts me at graduating in December 2012 so next summer I already have plans to go down and stay with my uncle and do another internship with him, though I believe he will give me more free time to focus on my game haha. So I can hopefully get into a few tournaments down there next summer. Thanks for your advice Ben!

I agree completely. I pretty much went through that same thing with my football over here. I contemplated playing for two years before I actually did senior year. By then the learning curve was pretty hard and my team was really good, we won the state championship, so I didn't have a chance to play a lot. If I would have gone out for the team sophomore or junior year I probably would have had a much better shot because I would have had more experience. So that is something I will regret prolly for the rest of my life as well... Guess I have my answer! Thanks!

Hi guys. I have been debating the subject of possibly trying to become a professional golfer over the past few months more seriously. Let me give you a little background. I have been playing golf basically since I could walk. All the men in my family have had a love affair with golf and so it was only natural for it to pass down to me. My dad was a teaching pro and so I had cut-down clubs from the get go. I took lessons growing up and developed a pretty good swing and can move it out there pretty well. In high school I played for the first three years, but I was quite the mental case. I definitely did not fulfill my potential and became embarrassed. Bc of this I quit golf and played football my senior year, I'm 6'5" and weighed 240 at the time so tight end looked quite good to me and the coaches haha. But anyway I had my stint with football and decided to re-dedicate myself to golf. I have come a long way with the mental game and no longer quit on my round if I have a few bad shots or holes. My dad and my uncle (My uncle played college golf at Georgia, prolly could have made the tour but didn't think he could hit it long enough to compete with those guys) both tell me that I have enough talent to be a really good player. My thing is I have never really had the ability to practice and commit to the game the way you need to in order to be great. My mom has always made me carry a job ever since I turned 16 and that took quite a bit of my time to go along with everything else that comes with being a high school/college student. Now I am 3 semesters away from a business degree. My dream has always been to play golf on tour. It's been my passion far and away above anything else. And I can't help but think I will regret it if I don't give it a shot for a few years. I believe my dad, uncle, and grandpa (who has been very influential in my life) would all be supportive of me pursuing this, at least for a few years. But I am worried my mom will not be behind it. Like I said, shes so "gung-ho" about me always doing whatever I have to do about getting a job and I know that pressure is going to be amplified to the enth degree once I graduate. So my question to you guys is, how do I get her to support it? Would you support it? My ideal situation would be to graduate, then go down to florida for a few years and work with my uncle daily on my game, and then try to enter amateur events/ mini events and see where it goes. If it doesn't work then I have a degree and can go pursue a job with that. Thanks in advance for any advice you fellow trappers have to offer

I feel your pain! Two weekends ago I played and shot 81 with 4 3 puts, and a dreaded 4 putt and only one 1 putt . Was one of the best ball striking days I've had this year by far. It was so windy that day. Go figure I hit it through the air just fine but could not judge it all day on the greens. It was like the British open, 40 mph gusts all day.

Driver 290 3w 270 (off the tee) 3i 235 - 245 4i 220 - 230 5i 200 - 210 6i 190 - 200 7i 170 - 185 8i 155 - 165 9i 145 - 160 PW (48) 125 - 140 GW (52) 115 - 125 SW (54) 100 - 110 LW (60) 85 - 100 I put ranges because I almost never try to hit it as hard as I can... i.e., I'd rather hit a 3/4 PW 125 yards then try to kill a GW

He actually executes what he does absolutely beautifully. Sets up open to the target and makes a huge shoulder turn and generates a ton of power.