Shooting 65 regularly at a fairly difficult course and hitting 300 yards constantly

[dschultz6072]

That's not so bad. Anyone willing to take a risk in life is willing to both fail and lose money (sometimes theirs, sometimes someone elses). I've failed MANY times over... a few times in a BIG way. I've lost more (of my own) money than it would take to stay on the mini tours for 10 years... and I'm a better person for it.

Don't get me wrong, failure SUCKS! It's depressing, makes you question yourself, makes you question your abilities, breeds doubt, keeps you up at night, etc. So you have to be prepared for that going in.

Depending on someone's life situation (kids, wife, etc) I think the decision making process is pretty simple: Provide for your family as best you can and hold onto your dreams as much as you can with the spare time/ money you have. If you have no family to provide for, then provide for yourself and CHASE your dreams as much as you can with the spare time/ money you have.

Nobody trying to make it on the pro circuit will tell you it is a glamorous life. Cutting teeth just to make ends meet and basically gambling on being able to provide food and shelter for your wife and kids because money is not guaranteed from your occupation is never fun.

I think if you're good enough, there should be no doubt in your mind.

 

[fronesis]

Those are great numbers.

But competitive and non-competitive golf are two completely different games.

I have known scratch golfers who struggled to break 80 under pressure.

 

[Virtuoso]

It is so utterly easy to find out if you're good enough to play golf for a living. Go sign up for some local amateur tourneys and see how you do. If you do well there, sign up for a few Golden State Tour events. If you succeed there, and by that I mean win a few, then kiss mommy goodbye and hit the road for the summer--sign up for any pro event you can find: mini-tours, state opens, etc. If you win a few of those, and make a little cash, sign up for Q-school in the fall.

However, if you play in a few local amateur events and shoot 75....and then go back to the bar and say, "well, if I hadn't 3-putted twice, and i hadn't had that OB on 12, and if the wind hadn't blown the ball into the water on 14, and if the ball hadn't plugged in the bunker.......then stop immediately, sober up, and tell your boss you'll be there first thing Monday morning.

...because, successful tour pro's shoot 67 with the OB, and 3-putts and water ball......and the plugged lie.

 

[DCgolf]

State Open? State Am? State junior? How many club championships?

 

[mgranato]

It is so utterly easy to find out if you're good enough to play golf for a living. Go sign up for some local amateur tourneys and see how you do. If you do well there, sign up for a few Golden State Tour events. If you succeed there, and by that I mean win a few, then kiss mommy goodbye and hit the road for the summer--sign up for any pro event you can find: mini-tours, state opens, etc. If you win a few of those, and make a little cash, sign up for Q-school in the fall.

However, if you play in a few local amateur events and shoot 75....and then go back to the bar and say, "well, if I hadn't 3-putted twice, and i hadn't had that OB on 12, and if the wind hadn't blown the ball into the water on 14, and if the ball hadn't plugged in the bunker.......then stop immediately, sober up, and tell your boss you'll be there first thing Monday morning.

...because, successful tour pro's shoot 67 with the OB, and 3-putts and water ball......and the plugged lie.

Thanks... You just crapped all over my standard post round interview to anyone who will listen.

 

[Virtuoso]

Thanks... You just crapped all over my standard post round interview to anyone who will listen.

Hey Mgranato, no one has given that sob story more than I have! I finally came to the realization that people cared as much as I cared about the intimate details of their round....zero.

Actually, if you were traveling with a buddy, you did at least want him to make the cut too so he wouldn't mope around all weekend.

My Mom cared a little when I played junior golf. I would whine about missing a bunch of 3-foot putts and she would say, "Well Honey, just don't do that anymore!"

 

[DCgolf]

Try asking 10 golfers what they shot and see how many give you only a NUMBER for an answer. My guess is none.

 

[mgranato]

DCgolf,
Down here in the South we'd consider that to be just plain rude.

Virtuoso,
I think it's ultimately just cheap therapy for a bad round. As golfers, we're never as bad as our bad rounds, but the good ones could've always been a little better. Brutal game.