britbroker22

He swings the club so fast the natural tendancy is to hit down on the ball, across the body. He controls it well most of the time but to hit an accurate draw with his swing speed would be much, much more difficult. My swing speed is faster than the average guy and I tend to go after shots from the tee more so than off the fairway. I couldnt hit a controlled draw swinging the club at the same speed I hit a controlled fade / cut and Tiger likes to go after his shots more often than not.

Great to read the comments and I appreciate your ideas / responses, thank you! I'd like to think that one day I might take a shot at a big event (the open) or maybe a senior tour event, however if I was ever that good I'd consider it a bonus to be honest. I just want to be a scratch golfer earning a living in the golf industry. Whether that's an assistant pro (initially), a head pro, teaching pro, director of golf or coach, at this stage I don't know, but I'm confident in my ability to succeed in those areas and I know I'd get much more satisfaction than I currently get from work. McFree - your suggestions are spot on! I've considered them all, the Mrs is on board and would support my decision. She works and earns enough to cover all of our bills (just!) so if I could earn say, £1,000 a month then we would be OK for a few years until I gained my qualifications. I earn more than that currently and I suppose my evenings are free for teaching / coaching. I guess my real concern, living in the North East of England in a less than perfect economic climate and with jobs in (seemingly) short supply, is whether or not I'd be able to find work / progress within a club once qualified. I've looked around and on the PGA website (well, the parts I can see as a non member) I cant see a job within 100 miles of where I live and there are probably 100 courses / ranges within driving distance. I'd go and speak to my head pro about it for advice but I kinda feel a bit awkward, as if he'd feel like I was just another person trying to get in on a crowded industry. 30,000 pro's, 8,000 jobs, even though I've beaten those odds in every job interview i've had so far in life I'm sure its even harder in golf and I'm pretty sure we'd have to relocate. Regarding teaching at ranges in the meantime, I guess its a case of just making the enquiries but also marketing myself and I just didn't think there would be a line of people queuing up to be taught by the legendary 4 handicapper, soon to be scratch, with no formal qualifications ;).... I always (probably wrongly) assumed that people took lessons from a pro at a course they knew or from a recommendation or contact. I think my mind is decided and I know what my heart is telling me, its just the logistics and the risk / reward to consider! Cheers

Thanks for that, I think the PGA route seems like the road best traveled as income wise I couldnt afford to open a clinic etc.

I had done quite a lot of searching for jobs prior to writing the post and I found it very difficult to find any opportunities / positions without being able to log into the PGA website and search for vacancies. Hence my assumption that being PGA qualified would make things a lot easier. Becoming an assistant seems like the obvious next step to take but those jobs seem to be in hot demand.

Thanks for your reply. I assumed it would be very difficult to get work unless you were a PGA pro. I dont suppose there are many places hiring people like me with no golf qualifications? If I'm mistaken, how would I find out about such opportunities? Thanks

I'll try and keep this as brief as possible and would really welcome your opinions. (first time poster) In 29, I've played golf since I was 4 yrs old and took the game quite seriously from age 11-18, during which time I got down to +1 handicap (shot under par a dozen or so times on various courses). I lived in Florida and played at least 3 times a week, played lots of tournaments and shot par golf almost all the time. I played in the AAU Junior Olympics when I was 17, didnt play well and shot 78,74. Thats when I realised I'd never be good enough to become a pro, the kid who won shot 68, 65. For various reasons, including relocating back to England (from the States), getting married, having to work etc, I didn't play for a long time and my career in finance / sales was my priority. About 6 months ago I woke up one morning, the sun was shining and I just had to play golf. I got in the car, drove to the course, hit a bucket of balls, spent 20 minutes on the putting green and 4 hours later I'd shot 76 (par 70). I've played at least once a week ever since and yesterday shot 72 and felt I could have gone a lot lower if I'd putted better. Heres the thing, I've realised that I don't enjoy what I do for a living, it doesn't make me happy and it certainly doesn't inspire me. Golf has always inspired me, I just lost track of the game for a while and I feel like I've found it again, and my game is quickly improving. I'm well aware I've got no chance of becoming a touring pro, however I'm confident I'm good enough to be a teaching pro and I know I'd really enjoy getting out of the bed in a morning working in a golf environment, teaching kids, helping people improve etc. I've got lots of sales / management experience and would also love to be part of a club / resort, working in a managerial role if I found I didn't have the desire to just be a teaching pro. I know that I need a handicap of 4 or better, sustained over a year, before I can apply to be a PGA professional and (if I'm honest) I'm very confident I can get down to scratch in that time frame, so my question is.... .... At my age, (29), married, but without any kids yet, do I devote the next 3-4 years of my life to trying to become a registered PGA pro and then see what opportunities are available when I get there, or do I stick to just playing on the weekends and plug along at work (I make decent / good money) knowing I'll never enjoy it as much as I enjoy golf? Apologies for the longevity but I felt the background was relevant. I'd really appreciate any and all of your opinions. P.S - Being in the north east of England, does anyone have any knowledge about the availability of jobs in and around the industry, as I'm aware I need to be working in a golf environment whilst studying for my degree. Many Thanks Lewis