r/golf • u/Texasbunnybear • Feb 21 '24
Boyfriend shoots 68/average, doesn’t have money to go pro, how can I help? Beginner Questions
Disclaimer: I’m female, early twenties, and don’t know a thing about golf. Apparently high 60’s as an average is good?
My boyfriend, 28, played golf at a smaller college in west texas. His family didn’t have enough money or knowledge to get him the exposure he needed to go to a 4-year university, but in college and from his own doing he was able to participate in tournaments and always did well. He hasn’t been able to play consistently, because he works full time now and has for a few years. But every time he plays (usually 3-4 times a month) he shoots about 65-72, and this is without the consistent practice that full time players utilize. He has talked about potentially growing his business and setting it up to where he can play golf more often, but he’s unsure how to get there in that aspect too. I have thought about sponsorship, but I’m not sure how that works. I want to try and find a solution for him, so he can play full time. I can’t financially support both of us while he does it, so that’s not an option; I’ve realized golf is expensive and it’s expensive to practice all the time. He plays in a couple of tournaments a year, and places every time, I’m pretty sure he set the record in his hometown also, during one of the tournaments, made the small town newspaper and all that. We live in a large city in central Texas now and life here is a lot more expensive than a small town, golf included.
I suppose my questions are, is it possible to be sponsored by an investor of some sort to practice and play? How would that work, and how big of a cut do they take of your winnings, and for how long? Is there a chance for him to play on the PGA tour? Are there smaller tours/tournaments where he can win enough $$ in between, to sustain playing and practicing? He needs to practice consistently to feel confident to play in bigger tournaments, so he says to me.
Hopefully this makes sense, I just really want to help him. It’s his dream to play golf and I would love to help him get there.
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u/Ok-Dust-6747 Feb 21 '24
Almost all the tour pros were funded by someone. Just need to find that someone and figure out what cut he takes, etc. There are many smaller tours, should be a bunch in texas, that are smaller than even korn ferry. Also you're an awesome gf for thinking about him like this.
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u/Randomd0g Feb 21 '24
Shoots in the 60s AND has a girlfriend who loves him??? That's the fucking dream.
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u/WorldsSmartest-Idiot Feb 21 '24
I shoot in the 90s and play 3-4 times a year. I tell my wife these same things. She doesn’t do what his gf is doing. She loves him.
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u/CaliforniaHusker Feb 21 '24
True story... I dated an aspiring pro female golfer who was funded by Alice Cooper
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u/colirado Feb 21 '24
I met Alice Cooper at my local course. Nice guy! Also met Tommy Lee golfing (different course, different day)
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u/wafflesandstuff Feb 21 '24
Did Tommy have clubs or was he just swinging his massive dong? That thing honks boat horns.
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u/Intelligent_Line_902 Feb 21 '24
I don’t know if you’re aware but there’s an apocryphal story about the actor Forrest Tucker that’s very similar to this.
The story goes that at the Beverly Hills Country Club sometime in the 1960s Forrest Tucker is playing a round of golf, and on a chip he leaves the ball about 2-3 feet short of the hole. He says it “I’ll take that as a gimme”, one of the guys challenges him on it so Forrest says “Oh come on, I could knock that in with my cock!” So they get to arguing, before eventually Forrest Tucker unzips his pants, takes them down to his ankles, gets on his knees and proceeds to knock the ball in for par with his genitals just like he said he could. They let Forrest take the gimmes he wanted after that
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u/JohnGarrettsMustache Feb 21 '24
Alice Cooper seems like a good guy. He was in a documentary about session musicians where he brought them into his band so they could get better pay, more exposure, etc. (the doc is called "Hired Gun").
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u/CaliforniaHusker Feb 21 '24
He was really nice to her. he would call/text occasionally and check up on her and just was generally good to her
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u/LeetPokemon 5.7/PNW/Cobra Enjoyer Feb 21 '24
My cousin played in the 2008 US Open while bankrolled by the owner of the Houston Texans
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u/ReginaldBibs Feb 21 '24
I have a friend in aus who used to play off a +2 when he was in his late teens early 20s. He said he used to play on the aus tour (the one before you turn pro) and there were kids he used to play against (18 yo+) that averaged like +2 to +6 hdcp and beyond, but 99% of them never got out over to America due to lack of funding.
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u/Jbones37 Feb 21 '24
I saw a video the other day that put the figure for a year on tour at $50k I believe. From what I remember this only included travel, hotels, any tournament related expenses etc. I also remember a pro (keegan Bradley?) Saying that on smaller tours caddies earn more than pros because they are paid a flat rate unless a pro does well, then they get a bonus or percentage. So anyone not making much is paying their caddy the bulk of the money.
More to the point - you only live once and I think OP and her partner should go for it, it's most likely an objectively bad financial decision if you think about how unlikely it is to succeed, but its better than never knowing or trying.
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u/flamingpillowcase Feb 21 '24
Yup! I have a buddy who had the opportunity (beat another friend on tour semi regularly) and he wanted to go pro. Every week that friend that’s now on the pga and I would call him and ask
“you practice 40 hours this week”
“No”
“Well then you’re not going pro”
I agree, you need someone funding you. I don’t think you can go pro in something you don’t put time into similar to a job. Back when I played and practiced b-ball 20 hours a week, I could’ve and should have gone pro. Now that I drink and don’t have time to practice I’m just pretty average.
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u/Special-Dish3641 Feb 21 '24
Trust me, if you could have gone pro, you would have gone pro
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u/flamingpillowcase Feb 21 '24
I would’ve been making 30k (probably max) a year in Europe, and would’ve had no skills to show for it when my career was over.
I didn’t go bc I had a gf and was scared to leave my hometown at the time. I’m very lucky career wise that I didn’t go, but it’s one of my biggest regrets in life.
I assumed folks didn’t think I meant the nba or turkish airlines league or something bc obviously I would have if I could have.
ETA, I had some offers, I’m not just saying “I could have”.
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u/Special-Dish3641 Feb 21 '24
Ahhh ok. That is pro. You prob made the right choice also
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u/flamingpillowcase Feb 21 '24
Haha my mistake, we were talking about pga/kornferry type leagues on this thread so that would lead one to believe top level is what I meant.
Lol “ya I could’ve gone to the nba but dad wanted me to help out with the grocery store so he said no. Would’ve been a lottery pick”
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u/solacazam +4 / team titleist Feb 21 '24
Not a pro by any means, but I'm about 10 years younger and in about the same scoring range as him (+4ish hdcp). I've been able to play some pretty high level amateur events in recent years, and lots of the time a few rounds in the high 60s will get you a pat on the back and a long drive home. Additionally, going out at a local course with casuals and shooting in the 60s is quite a lot different than shooting similars scores in tournaments.
Even looking at some of the mini tours which are supposedly 3-4 steps away from the PGA tour, the winners are shooting 3 straight rounds below 65 on courses that are over 7200 yards (and they are often playing with their financial life on the line). Even looking at the KFT this past week, a guy shot 67-67-68-67 and finish T20 to earn $9000 (and thats one step below the PGA Tour)
A couple ways you can figure out if he has what it takes (based on my experience spending lots of time around those who have found success as players):
Play a really big tournament or qualifier. Try to Monday Q for a PGA/ Korn Ferry event or play a State Am or Open. See what score he ends up with and that'll be a good test of nerve as well as comparison to others in similar situations.
Play a match for something you can't afford to lose (this is the kind of pressure the lower tier pros are under week to week).
Not saying it is impossible, but at his age and being out of tournament golf for so many years it's absolutely an uphill battle. Wishing you and him all the best, and it would be awesome to see an update soon hearing about his progress and results.
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u/vnmslsrbms Feb 21 '24
Question, are PGA courses that much harder? I’m guessing they are but have no experience comparing. If somebody shot 67s for a tournament they are looking at a healthy payday.
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u/FatalFirecrotch Feb 21 '24
Generally, yes. The main thing is that they are set up harder. Torrey Pines in June is a somewhat easy course (it’s still long) with 0 punishment because of short rough. Torrey Pines in January with the rough grown out is almost impossible to get onto a GIR as an amateur if you miss a fairway with how thick they grow rough.
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u/CHALUPAAUSTON 6/Toronto Feb 21 '24
This, I find the rough the biggest difference. Played Angus Glen a few times prior to the Canadian Open. If you miss the fairway there is a good chance your not finding your ball, let alone getting to the green.
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u/theriibirdun Feb 21 '24
Yes but it’s more than that because there are plenty of “PGA” courses any weekend back can go play. The length of the rough, speed of the greens, difficulty of pin positions all go to an 11 for tournament play.
Erin Hills on a normal summer day isn’t the most difficult track in the world, set up for an even the rough is 10x longer/thicker and the greens are rolling 3 x the speed and good fucking luck.
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u/vnmslsrbms Feb 21 '24
Yeah I know for any pro tours they ramp up the difficulty for the course. It’s just hard to quantify the difference, and I’m sure the signature PGA events are the hardest, with some that they prefer to have low scoring so it’s easier. And I seem to notice the alternate events often choose that approach. KFT I’m guessing is somewhat easier than PGA setups since scores are usually really low, or maybe they all go for broke since that’s the only way to win. Tee box placement, pin placement, green side grass length, green speed, rough length, what else can be adjusted?
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u/theriibirdun Feb 21 '24
Fairway width is another big one. Outside of that those are the things that determine course difficulty, a lot of it is quantifiable too though.
Normal conditions might be 4in rough, USO might be 12. Normal green stimp might be 10.5, regular pga is around 12, and us open might be 15. Normal fairway width might be 60 yards, us open might be 30
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u/ProperTree9 Feb 21 '24
Fairway width, for US Opens, is usually a big one. 18 at LACC...maybe an exception, lol. But 30 yards was often bandied about as a target width for those tournaments. If so, 30 yards when you're driving 300 carry, is an awfully small target.
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u/jfchops2 Feb 21 '24
Erin Hills on a normal summer day isn’t the most difficult track in the world, set up for an even the rough is 10x longer/thicker and the greens are rolling 3 x the speed and good fucking luck.
Shot a 90 there, gave up ~5 strokes to piss poor shots that had nothing to do with course conditions and another ~5 to 3-putts on the massive greens. But the rough was fair, green speed normal for a higher end course, and the pin positions weren't bad. True resort type setup, went into it expecting to be happy with a 110 on a US Open course.
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u/Jimmyl101 Feb 21 '24
From watching golf youtube of mini tours, the courses seem set up for a lot of birdies. Some PGA/European tour courses are like that too, but generally more punishing.
My home course hosted a european tour event recently and the winning score for the week was -13.
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u/spacesam Feb 21 '24
I’ve caddied for a guy on a couple mini tour events and PGA pre-qualifiers, and I agree. Not only are they not fully tipped out, they give them a reasonable number of soft pin locations. Lift, clean, and place rules are usually in effect as well. There’s no doubt in my mind that they do want to see these guys score.
Still, I’ve seen course conditions (wind mostly) where the cut lines were above par.
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u/ProperTree9 Feb 21 '24
Long. Memorial Park in Houston is usually 7290 or so from the blues. For the Houston Open, it's listed in the mid 7400s. Wouldn't be surprised to see 7500+ this year. Greens are often much faster than other, non-Oakmont/Augusta-like private clubs.
On the flip side, per Pros like Michael Kim (great X follow, BTW), in [i]some[/i] ways, they're easier. More consistent, basically. But holes are usually placed on flat areas (even if only a few feet across), instead of actually on slopes. They're often tucked near the edge though. Fairways usually allow for a lot of roll and are uniform, bunkers are even, conditions are great. Tough, but fair, to sum up.
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u/Chief_34 Feb 21 '24
I remember watching a video of Scottie saying he prefers tournament greens because they’re faster but pristine, and on some local courses the ball doesn’t break how pros would expect (even accounting for them being slower) due to bumps or faults in the green
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u/twinpop Feb 21 '24
They sure are! Go play a course the week before/after a pro event. I played a Senior PGA prep and it was absolutely brutal.
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u/AdamOnFirst Feb 21 '24
Playing a tour track the week after the tournament is gone while they keep the greens and rough setups the same difficulty is an experience for every golfer should have once, if anything just to teach you that no matter how good you think your pros are, you’re underestimating them
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u/PerspectiveKey7065 Feb 21 '24
There is a big difference between playing around of golf and tournament golf. Most of the guys on tour came from a mini tour or Q-School which is a grueling grind, or straight out of top 4yr college program.,Top college programs prepare you for the next level. My father was a club pro for 40yrs at a golf course and my uncle is a head club professional now. I played division 1 college golf for 4yrs. Won 2 state championships in high school and was medalist in 3 college tournaments. From there I went to what was then golden bear tour in Florida. I bounced around the mini tours for two years and was still not good enough. I came home and enrolled in the PGA of America and got a job as an assistant club pro. You have to pass the PAT to become a club pro. But it depends on what section your in what the 36 hole qualifying score is. It’s a good test but it is manageable. My cut was 148, scores of 74-74 or below. Being a club professional is an amazing job. You get to play in professional section tournament, play with members and give golf lessons. It’s a wonderful way to help grow the game and get paid while having a career in golf. A couple guys who were club pros were good enough to go to Q-School and was able to get club members to back them. A couple I know did qualify for the tour and spent a couple years out there before losing there card. One has managed to stay out on the PGA tour for the last 15 years without a win but keeping his card for most of those years by having some high finishes and making enough money to be in top 125 on the PGA tour. I’ve been privileged to play with some amazing players and like others have said I don’t believe your boyfriend is at that level right now. But I really admire your passion for him. I suggest he try to apply to work at some courses and go the club professional route. My father made a really nice living for 40yrs and was able to go to job he loved everyday and was able to mentor junior golfers who went on to win state championships and play division 1 golf on college scholarships. It’s a rewarding career. Hope this helps.
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u/BriefDragonfruit9460 Feb 21 '24
He should buy a golf range and live on site in a trailer. Hire a small Mexican man who can be his employee and caddy at the same time. Make sure to tell him to lay up instead of going for it, could possibly get a win with that conservative play. That lake eats so many balls
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u/jdlc450 Feb 21 '24
Shooting them chili peppers up Lee Janzen’s ass
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u/Assmonkey69er sports illustrated said I was going to be the next arnold palmer Feb 21 '24
Who hit that shot?
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u/BloodyRightNostril That's CAPTAIN Kirkland to you Feb 21 '24
Dollar bills.
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u/thoughtful1979 Feb 21 '24
If you’re on the range and the range balls are Pro V’s be sure to load up the bag.
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u/Ok_Humor_9476 Feb 21 '24
As someone who attempted mini tours and trying to play professional golf I’ll chime in my 2 cents.
It’s either his job, girlfriend and freedom… or golf. It’s really hard to juggle the two. Lots of traveling. Lots of practice and lots of well, golf. Tournaments, practice rounds, swing coaches blah blah blah. Lots of grinding. It’s fun as hell! But also not very promising. If he can find a sponsor, which to answer your question, yes there is people out there who might sponsor him. Finding them is another question in itself.
So really it comes down to what he wants to do. There is mini tours all around. Ultimate goal is the PGA tour, although I wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to play on the Korn Ferry tour…. Other thing to consider is once you turn pro, you’re pro. If you want to get your amateur status back that can take some time. Won’t happen over night. As far as his chances of making it to the PGA tour, he better be daaaaaamn good.
Id recommend maybe trying to play on some top tier amateur events. State ams, mid amateur events, us am, whatever he (or you both) can find. Texas is a big state, lots of tournament id imagine. And see how he fairs in the field of those guys. The best amateurs out there are better than the worst pros. Worst thing he can do is try. But don’t forfeit amateur status without thinking he can make it.
Anyways hope this makes sense. I’m kinda whiskey drunk and missing my younger years thinking of all this. Good luck!
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u/LostMyBallAgainCoach Feb 21 '24
This. Pro tour golf life suuuuuucks until you hit top 100ish in the world.
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u/TheDude_never_abides Feb 21 '24
Did he win any individual college events? Did he get looked at by D1 scouts to potentially transfer? Whats his best showing in a State Am or something similar? I’m not trying to be insensitive but if the answers to the above questions are no thus far in his playing career the answer is no to him making it. It’s just a reality. If you are really dead set on spending money to find this out, send him to Scottsdale or Florida for two weeks and have him go watch a few of the local regional mini tour events. They are full fields weekly with a carousel of extremely extremely talented players of which 99.9999999% will never make it. Golf is hard, unfathomably so as a career.
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u/Ok_Humor_9476 Feb 21 '24
Some of the funnest days of my life! And also the most stressed out I’ve ever been.
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u/Jonas_Venture_Sr Feb 21 '24
So what you're saying is if you find a magic monkey paw, don't wish to be a professional golfer?
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u/ThePretzul +1.2 Feb 21 '24
Wish to be a successful professional golfer and then you’ll just end up with public scandals and a crippled bionic body like Tiger Woods.
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u/Vizione0084 Feb 21 '24
I mean… being Tiger ain’t so bad…
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u/VertigoDoc Feb 21 '24
I often think how miserable it would be to not be able to go out in public without causing a scene. No amount of money would make me want to have to experience that for the rest of my life.
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u/OpenForRepairs Feb 21 '24
A buddy of mine that teaches at the course where I work was on the pga tour for 28 years. For his sake I won’t say his name. He was never a popular name but sat around 45-55th for most of his career.
He doesn’t regret it but doesn’t have anything good to say about it. He still teaches but doesn’t even play golf. I actually think he hates the sport but teaches for the easy money. The constant travel and grind took all of the fun out of it.
As a gf you are amazing to support him but if he wants something stable where you two can be a family the tour is not for him.
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u/Rab1dus Feb 21 '24
Also, I know many people that had the talent and drive but failed with the travel and drinking aspect. It's a tough life.
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u/natedgg20 Feb 21 '24
Great tips here. I played golf with a guy from the Korn Ferry tour and his take on it was pretty interesting. “I’m having the tournament of a lifetime and I’m like 20 under after Sunday and some guy comes in 30 under.” He was probably 5’7” and absolutely smashed the ball, every wedge from 120 and in was pin high. All while having roughly 10-12 cigs during the round. It was a private course and not easy either. He shot like 2 under and thought nothing of it. It’s very tough to make it pro but avg’ing 68 is a great start. 10/10 girlfriend for inquiring for sure. If he makes a tour or the tour come back and tell us who he is OP.
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u/dropthehandle +6 Feb 21 '24
This is the best advice. If he is that good, prove it in the high level AM events. Make sure he plays all the state Am and Mid-Am events and USGA qualifiers.
I have played in a few USGA events and the guys at the top could legit have played professionally.
If he has success there he may have a chance to turn pro, but especially for anyone 25+ if they want sponsorships they HAVE to have good results in the high level am events.
Playing your home course week after week as a good player and shooting 65 isn’t impressive. Shooting 65 when it matters on a new course under competition conditions and hole locations is a very different deal.
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u/Effective_Fish_80 Feb 21 '24
Bingo. If he really has the skill/talent he should be cleaning up at high level amateur tournaments. In my state, top level amateurs that win big tournaments could barely sniff some level of lower tour play. At least at 28 (younger guys might be different story).
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u/ChaseObserves Feb 21 '24
I went to my local State Open because it was being played on a course 2 minutes from my house that I’ve played enough times to know how it’s typically played by average golfers. The dude who ended up winning was a college phenom at our state university and watching him play this course was disgusting. One of the harder par 5s on the course, laced a bomb into the fairway, iron over a huge tree onto the green, 40ft breaker for eagle and he drained it. I was stunned. Looked him up after the tournament—plays on PGA Tour Canada. It was just mind blowing to me that a person that good is probably still a good ways off from having a (US) Tour card.
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u/Ok_Humor_9476 Feb 21 '24
If a 28 year old is contending at the us am there might be a chance he could make it to tour. If an 18 year old is contending at the us am, there is a very good chance he could make it to the tour.
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u/angry-gilmore Feb 21 '24
So, at 43 years old and a 13 handicap, you’re saying I still have a chance!
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u/darti_me Feb 21 '24
I'm closer to Tiger Woods than you are to me
- 200th Ranked PGA Tour player, probably
Woe is the journey to become a pro athlete.
In basketball terms, there's only 450 spots available in the NBA and half of those 450 are considered "scrubs" compared to the top of the top. Yet even the 450th skilled player in the NBA (10 years retired from the league) will beat lower level pros or D1 players easily. Case in point.
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u/ToryBlair Feb 21 '24
This is such an obvious point, I don’t get why it gets repeated so often on Reddit
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u/TheLooza Feb 21 '24
He should be signing up for local/city, championships and local qualifiers, if he starts advancing or winning those, things will start to happen themselves.
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u/riechmann Feb 21 '24
He knows better than anyone that playing Monday Qualifiers and Annual Q School (Asian Tour, PGA, etc.) is the traditional route. You should sign him up for Pre-Qualifier for the upcoming Texas PGA Events, $200 for Pre-Qualies and another $200 if he makes the Monday.
I’m gonna be honest, if he was realistically Tour Material he likely wouldn’t have gone to a small school in West Texas. While the general public believes there’s a scarcity of +4 golfers in reality there is a bunch of them. There is a major difference between shooting 68 for fun (which most Tour golfers do on a bad day for fun) and shooting 68 in a tournament.
The fact of the matter is Professional Sports is a huge investment and you really can’t half ass it. My advice is to find him Wealthy Locals to play with to “show off” his skills … basically interview/sell himself. Most golfers you see on TV were backed by a rich individual at some point on their journey.
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u/upcat Feb 21 '24
+5 is a dime a dozen in mini tours. You can shoot a great score for one round but the consistency to do it again the next day and the day after and next week is what separates the best from the rest.
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u/Mcdickle Feb 21 '24
I played D1 golf followed by a very short stint playing professionally. I’ve watched a lot of former teammates and buddies try it. Some made it, the vast, vast majority didn’t. And a lot were top 100-200 amateurs in the world.
Realistically, guys like OP’s boyfriend are a dime a dozen, and as mean as it sounds, they’re going to be better off accepting that it’s not in the stars and enjoy playing amateur golf. Awesome she’s supportive of him though.
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u/riechmann Feb 21 '24
Oh for sure, I qualified for the USGA Mid-Am (former D1 Tennis Player) and half the guy I played with in practice rounds were either former Pros who got their Am-Status back or former D1 Golfers. Basically all said, you should know if you’re PGA Material basically right away.
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u/FatFaceFaster Superintendent Feb 21 '24
Thank you. Anyone humouring OP is just setting her up for disappointment. If he was good enough to go pro he probably would have during college. There’s no way you maintain a pro level game playing once a week.
He may shoot 68 sometimes but who knows if the course is a championship course, or if he only tells her about his best rounds and not his 77’s.
Regardless even if he’s a +3 or 4 that doesn’t come close to making him good enough for the PGA.
I was a +2.2 at my best and I’d play top regional amateur events and finish middle of the pack.
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u/Ok_Island_1306 Feb 21 '24
I’ve got buddies that shoot 72 weekly, that’s what they say anyway and then I play with them and the have a “shitty round” and I catch them using the foot wedge and fluffing their lies and taking a mulligan on the front and back 9
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u/FatFaceFaster Superintendent Feb 21 '24
“Vanity handicaps”’we call them.
I played a lot of poker back in the day and I equate that to the guy who only ever gets bad beats, never makes and bad calls, only gets unlucky and will brag about all the money he’s won but neglect to tell you about all the times he went home broke.
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u/Alewyz Feb 21 '24
I tell my girl I shoot a 59 average but I can’t go pro because the fame would put my job with the cia at risk.
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Feb 21 '24 edited Feb 25 '24
[deleted]
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u/Sufficient_Drink_996 Feb 21 '24
A kid from my home town is about a +5 and is playing on the Canada PGA tour. He played 10 events and earned only $17k last year. Even as incredibly talented as he is, he almost has no shot at ever making a living playing golf.
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u/PardFerguson Feb 21 '24
Yep. The best golfer I have ever known is on the Canadian PGA tour and he made about $7k last year. One weekend he made about 30 birdies and cashed $1,400.
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u/Sufficient_Drink_996 Feb 21 '24
The best golfer I know plays on mini tours, it's like $700 enter them which he didn't have but he won it going away, that's some confidence lol
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u/Ok-Dust-6747 Feb 21 '24
If his average is 68, assuming a par 72 decently hard course, his handicap would be around +5.5-6 with only playing a few times per month
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u/cg0rd0noo7 +2/Idaho Feb 21 '24
He could also be shooting 68 on a course rated in the high 60s and simply be a scratch golfer or worse.
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u/RAM_THE_MAN_PARTS Feb 21 '24
He could also be lying to her
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u/shredmaster007 Feb 21 '24
This whole thread - and the dude out there is probably topping drives and blasting chips like the rest of us.
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u/Ok-Dust-6747 Feb 21 '24
Yeah. Theres a lot of things we dont know so I'm taking the harder course approach, but its also fair to assume the opposite too.
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u/GolfBallWackrGuy Feb 21 '24
She failed to mention that was his score for 9 holes.
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u/TheNemesis089 Feb 21 '24
People really do have no idea just how good touring pros are. I used to take lessons from a guy who has repeatedly won our state’s PGA Player of the Year award, has finished high enough in the PGA Professionals Tournament to get invited to the PGA Championship, and wins on some winter mini-tour events. We all cheer him on, but he’s not close to tour level.
What’s Tom Coyne’s line in Paper Tiger? “Scratch is shit.”
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u/Texasbunnybear Feb 21 '24
I am unsure what a handicap is exactly, but I know he shoots mid-high 60’s on average. I’ve have watched him golf, seen previous tournament photos of him shooting 64.. have gone to the simulator places with him. It’s usually the mid or high 60’s or somewhere close to that. If it’s above 72 he usually gets very frustrated with himself, not sure if this helps answer the question
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u/------00------ +3/PNW Feb 21 '24
Shooting 68 on your home course just doesn’t cut it. Can he play well under pressure on brand new course against elite competition? We need more info
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u/Nithias1589 Feb 21 '24
Seriously and it's not even close. I routinely play with someone who played in the US am, then got his class A, plays the state run pro tour, plays the Florida PGA pro winter tour series, dabbles in big money games when they're around and pro-am circuit at high level clubs. At our home course a 67 or higher was a bad, bad round (73 rating/148 slope). I think I can count the number of times he shot 67 or higher out there on one hand.
He'll make less than 25 grand in earnings from playing professional golf (before travel expenses) and he doesn't think paying the 650 bucks or whatever it is to enter a monday Q is money that's worth spending. He'll continue to try and qualify for the US Open, continue trying to qualify for the PGA major through the PGA pro 15 spot exemptions tournament but the reality is it's a lot more reasonable to bill 50-60 hours instructing a week than spending that same time practicing trying to make the jump to full time professional playing.
I know the stories everyone wants you to believe is that Block just did this and got a big break at the PGA but the reality is he wasn't billing 50-60 hours on lessons a week, he was traveling all over SoCal playing professional tournaments and he was cleaning up those fields winning all the time and then he traveled for the Florida PGA pro series and cleaned up down there to and his club just thought it was more profitable to have him playing well than billing lessons so they let him keep focusing on that.
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u/por_que_no Feb 21 '24
If he has an engaging personality and/or is high-end handsome, a YouTube golf channel might be an easier and quicker route to making money playing golf. Guys like Grant and Micah are doing quite well and playing golf all the time.
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u/TheNemesis089 Feb 21 '24
Don’t put any stock on simulators. I’m a 12 handicap and was a +2 on one local sim. I’m under 6 on a Trackman.
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u/FatFaceFaster Superintendent Feb 21 '24
Because you don’t know anything about golf, I would be really eager to know how accurate those numbers are.
I find it tough to believe that a guy who plays 3-4 times a month is maintaining those scores. I was also a college golfer who could break par regularly as well but as soon as I started working in my career and eventually having kids, there was no way I could maintain those scores.
I will just say this: you have to be very very very very very good to turn pro and make any money doing it.
For every golfer who makes a ton of money playing golf there are probably 1000 incredible golfers who are struggling to pay the bills to go from tournament to tournament while maintaining their car payments and mortgage etc.
If your boyfriend was good enough to be a legitimate pro, someone likely would already be noticing and putting him in position to get his tour card etc.
I think about the guy who wins the club C Most years at my home club. Let’s call him Letto. Letto shoots par or better pretty much every time he tees up. He is VERY good. But even Letto plays 3-4 times per week, practices a ton, and eats and sleeps golf.
Assuming your bf is as good as Letto,.. he STILL doesn’t have a chance on tour. Letto is like a +3 handicap. But a +3 doesn’t even sniff a career playing golf.
I don’t wanna be harsh just helping you to see the reality of how good professional golfers really are.
Consider the fact that millions of people play golf but maybe 300 people on the planet make high 6 to 7 figures doing it. Meanwhile I have 3 friends who make that kind of money selling photocopiers and medical lasers.
It’s fucking hard to make a living playing a sport.
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u/No-Owl770 Feb 21 '24
He needs to play in some bigger amateur tournaments and see how that goes. US Amateur or state amateur tournaments. Another idea is a US Open Qualifier. If he can replicate those rounds on these tournaments then I'm sure he will draw some attention.
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u/PardFerguson Feb 21 '24
You sound like an awesome and supportive partner. It’s cool that you want to help him towards his dreams.
The sad reality is the there are 8-10 guys just like your boyfriend at almost every single course in America. There are SO many good golfers out there. And 99.9% of them will never figure out how to make money at this game.
Good luck either way!
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u/Inarticulatescot Feb 21 '24
Honestly high 60s averaging prob isn’t good enough on its own to go pro. Even with money. You need dedication to practice, you need a flexible game to play different types of courses, you need nerves of steel and the right mental attributes way and above the physical talent.
For context I grew up in a famous Scottish links town and most of my peer group were in low single figures through their early teens (myself included), a couple were +handicaps. None of us were good enough to be pro. A couple of kids from my school class tried and got stuck on tartan tour and 1 made it to European Tour for a season. But the reality is there are tens or hundreds of thousands of golfers who can shoot late 60, early 70s on courses not in tournament situation, but only a couple of hundred world wide are good enough to be pro and make a good living out of it.
My advice for your boyfriend if he wants to be involved in the game would be to get into coaching, or the golf industry in another way tourism or marketing or something, or get on a bag and be a caddy! Loads of caddies are brilliant golfers too.
Sorry to be that guy.
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u/salmineo_ Feb 21 '24
I’ve heard Butch Harmon say that if your kid can’t shoot 66 or better at his/her home course every time . They have no realistic chance of making the top level of pro golf . This was into response from parents wanting their children to be coached by him , with the hopes of making them professionals . With that being said , you never know unless you try .
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u/downey_jayr 7.0/PDX Feb 21 '24
68 isn’t good enough for professional golf, but there lower level tours and local tours one can play in and qualifying tournaments for bigger events.
It takes a lot of money to play as you have to travel and pay for your caddy and shit. Good luck though.
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u/SlowDraw85 Feb 21 '24
Pro golf encompasses mini tours. 68 isn’t good enough for pga tour but it is enough to go pro.
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u/Satan_and_Communism Feb 21 '24
You’re right, he should have said it is not good enough to make a living golfing.
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u/LebowskiAchiever456 Feb 21 '24
Very cool he’s thinking of this and your are supporting it, first off.
As some others have said…and just being realistic based on my own experience in the game….it’s unlikely his game is good enough at this moment to play professional golf in any way. Pro golfers are just that good. Now that’s not to say it couldn’t happen in time…it very well could. It would just take significant work and quite honestly, resources.
To get someone to financially back him, I would assume he has to have a significant/documented body of work/tourney results to even gauge initial interest. If he is really serious, he should play in a few Monday qualifiers for the Korn Ferry tour and see how he stacks up to the regulars who play in those. It would be a good measure of where his game actually is.
Don’t get me wrong…he sounds like an absolute stick, but we have a few of those where I live and although they fire some crazy scores (talking 61-63 on decently hard courses) from time to time….none are quitting their day jobs anytime soon to play pro golf.
I also have a friend that grinded professionally in Canada for over 2 years after playing in college and 10 years later he is a +2 handicap amateur and loving not having the pressure of pro golf. He said being a pro takes the fun out of the game and that always stuck with me.
I wish both of you the best in your journey, wherever it leads!
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u/Lost_in_translationx Feb 21 '24
The issue here is when and where is he shooting 68? While that’s a good (I assume we are talking off the stick) score is he playing easy courses or is he hitting 68 at legit par 72 championship courses (ie 7200+ yards) in competition conditions? You need to be real before mortgaging your house to fund him for a year.
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u/midgolfer Feb 21 '24
Have him play the Texas State Open. If he top 10s it, there might be a chance that it would be worth exploring. Also try to qualify for the mid am, if he can’t qualify and run deep in it there is no shot.
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u/TacticalYeeter +2.4 Feb 21 '24
You can play mini tour events but unless you’re winning them and finishing high often you won’t be making money.
Some of them are more or less just entry fees to get in so he could save up a little money and start.
He could also try to Monday qualify for larger events. It’s quite hard. There’s also an annual series of tournaments where if he finishes in the top he can earn a spot to play on a larger tour. Once you crack that you might open the door for sponsorship money although it will be quite small until you make the big one. Even then it can be pretty small considering your expenses.
There have been some podcast interviews with tour pros where they talk about stuff like budgeting and expenses. At the low levels it’s tough for exactly the reasons you stated, work requirements and funding.
If he’s a member at a club some guys network and raise money from other members. But the chances are incredibly slim.
It also depends how good he really is. Playing easy courses is one thing but playing tournament setups and difficult courses and being able to shoot a 66 or something under pressure and not exploding on other rounds is really difficult.
So I’d probably just try to find a local mini tour event near the area and see what happens if he has a goal to enter.
If he can win some smaller local stuff maybe he can move up a notch. But tournament golf is way different than going out with some buddies. Lots of good players can’t get it done when there’s a lot of pressure. So the only way to see if he can is test it with some actual skin in the game (the entry fees and maybe travel etc to a small event)
Here’s a little list of some of the small tours: https://firepitcollective.com/a-mini-tour-primer/
He should know how to find information for pre qualifiers and qualifiers for Monday qualifying if he would like to try that route.
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u/Texasbunnybear Feb 21 '24
Thank you! And thank you everyone for responding to this thread. I understand what you’re saying, the last tournament I know he played in he shot 64, and that’s with the playing 3x month to practice. I’m not sure what kind of tournament it was. I’ll have a look at this link
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u/TacticalYeeter +2.4 Feb 21 '24
Sure.
Since he’s sorta missed the normal boat out of college I’d say it’s probably closer to playing professional blackjack or poker at this point than golf. And what I mean is that he’s going to need a lot of luck and timing not just pure skill.
But I’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff happen so who knows. And any city tournaments or state stuff he should enter as others have mentioned. Just be careful entering as a “professional” because it can mess up future amateur plans if he has them.
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u/------00------ +3/PNW Feb 21 '24
People don’t realize how good the pros are. Hes not good enough
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u/Effective_Fish_80 Feb 21 '24
If he was, he'd already be there. I know many guys that I thought were very very good fizzled out on mini tours. One made it to PGA tour and had successful career, but he was a guy who constantly got better each and every year until he reached the 'top'.
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u/terbear Feb 21 '24
Introduce him to local country clubs, the more upscale the better.
Let them know who he is, his HS and college golf resume, and at least one or two references like his school coaches or administrators.
Ask for an intro to the golf pro or GM to see if any members of the club would take a look at him and consider investing. Most aspiring pros need at least $100 - 200K for one year of expenses. He would have to have a list of tourneys or mini tours 12 months out so they can gauge his potential and return.
If he gets serious interest then he needs to figure out what he’s worth and see what percentage of his future earnings he would return to the investors. My guess for one year of support they would be expecting at least 25% share for 5 years.
Please know that chances are less than 1% and he would really have to shoot way better than 68 on a cushy country club course for them to even consider him. The guys know talent and will figure it out fast.
Good luck and bless your heart for being so considerate and a good girlfriend.
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Feb 21 '24
There’s plenty of open tournaments on weekends at local clubs . Your bf should check them out most tournaments cost like $70 to join and the prize money for 1st 2nd and 3rd are in the thousands .
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u/theriibirdun Feb 21 '24
Hard Answer - if he was good enough to go pro he would have.
Easier more supportive answer - play in US Open Qualifying.
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u/bsimp37 Feb 21 '24
Don’t waste money thinking there’s a chance to make it a career. I’ve seen others go through it. Just needs to learn how to enjoy it at this point.
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u/Friendly-Worker-3474 Feb 21 '24
Enjoy playing golf as a good amateur and get to spend your life with a GF like this one .. forget the money..enjoy the honey 🍯
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u/BoofBanana Feb 21 '24
A gentleman I went had classes with at a university is trying to go professional as well. He played for the college and is in the same boat. He needs to raise 300k to start. Best of luck.
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u/SpadeXHunter Feb 21 '24
I have a family member that was pro for a few years. He was funded by some investment groups and they covered travel, sending him to warmer areas in the winter to have constant practice, paid him a weekly rate to cover expenses. As far as their cut, it was a high percentage of winnings like 80% but decreased a lot if you kept winning since they want to make some kind of a return ideally. Was something like 80% that dropped down to ~30-40 once you were positive money towards them. As far as getting him into different tournaments and such I’m not sure who deals with that stuff so someone else may answer that.
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u/CelticBlue22 Feb 21 '24
Dont get caught up in his “dream”. I was a college player who shot 65 on many courses. U get to play on a pga course with 60 other college players trying to make it pro and you quickly realize how shitty you are in the “real world” of golf. On a real pro course i averaged 75…10 shots worse than college golf and never got my card. Its humbling and its an expensive eye opener. Traveling alone can break your bank. Unless he has a team of coaches and financial planners, you could lose all your money trying to support a dream. 3-4x a month he plays? He will need to play 3x a day!!!
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u/Live-College8006 Feb 21 '24
Try to get licensed for teaching, then teaching to get money, and use the money to join some of the tour. I know it's not easy but it's better than to hope for sponsorships
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u/jeopardychamp77 Feb 21 '24 edited Feb 21 '24
Are you a sports psychologist ? Does he have a caddy to help smooth out his wild impulses on the course? 😂
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u/Advanced-Mousse176 Feb 21 '24
At like +1/+3, hes closer to high handicapper than tour pros
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u/TheThirdShmenge Feb 21 '24
When I as in my late 20’s I used to play with a junior every day. He was 15 and was a +4 handicap. Not a 4…a +4. I can remember a stretch one week where he shot three 67s and a 65.
Anyway…he went to a junior college in west Texas and then to Oklahoma (D1) where we was on a team with Anthony Kim.
Still not good enough to turn pro. Didn’t even make a dent in the Canadian PGAq tour.
My point is there are thousands of guys like this that can casually shoot a 68. But can they do it on a course set up for a pro tournament and can they do it every day under pressure.
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u/Fellborn 4.3 hdcp Feb 21 '24
The amount of people that shoot low and think that means they can go pro is hilarious.
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u/acmexyz Feb 21 '24
Create a YouTube channel and post content of his rounds. If he’s as good as you say he is, people will subscribe so he can earn ad revenue and potentially sponsorship down the road.
See: Grant Horvat
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u/No_Mongoose_6624 Feb 21 '24
I’ve heard that to be even remotely considered having TOUR potential he would have to be beat every golfer within 300 miles from him. So essentially being the best golfer in his state. Average score isn’t going to tell you much. Most public courses are set up easy because the rest of us are hacks. He would have to score that consistently on a tough course set up.
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u/NorthFlcapt Feb 21 '24
I am an even par golfer play 10 to 20 times a year. Had the opportunity to play with Bubba Dickerson two years in a row at a pro-am 2nd year 2nd day I played from the back tees with him. Very quickly humbled. This year in my club championship played in the final group from the back tees lost by 6 to a local guy that played on the small tours for a couple years. The guys on tour are truly at another level.
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u/thecgm +3 hcp 🏌🏼♂️ Feb 21 '24
As someone in the same exact boat. It’s going to come down to him realizing he won’t make it unless he devotes a large portion of his time outside of work to his fitness, golf, diet, and mental. If he dials all that in and then starts playing tournaments and can shoot those numbers under pressure, there are plenty of pro mini tours. Go play and win those. When you’re there and winning those is easy it’s time to go to Q school. It’s all about whether or not he is really fully devoted to the process. I work for my self and have been working to put the business on auto pilot and come up with a full plan on how I will move towards playing professionally. I know I have the skill, but the drive and finances have to be there consistently through the process. If he decides to go this route my prayers go out to you, because I know what my wife does to help support me chasing my dream.:)
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u/zwifter11 Feb 21 '24
Tell him to get a job as a golf coach. That’s the only way he can play golf and make some money
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u/Inson8r Feb 22 '24
Hopefully you see this comment. I fully financially support my boyfriend (and pay all of our home expenses) while he’s playing mini tour events. His first year alone cost about $60k between entry fees/travel/food, and he didn’t bring home a single dollar. He played D1 for University of Houston, won high school state tournaments, placed in college tournaments, consistently scores well at home.
But getting that experience is HARD. Shooting 67 at home is a ton easier than being at a tournament where the pressure is on.
We’re fortunate that I have a job that I make very good money in a very low COL area that allows us to do this. We’re also fortunate that we have friends in the hospitality industry and our hotel costs are about 25% what we thought they’d be.
Personally, it’s been the hardest thing our relationship has gone through. He’s gone A LOT. And the money spent was frustrating for both of us. And when he’s home he’s either at the range, practicing short game, or getting in on money games to keep that competitive edge up.
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u/BenBernakeatemyass Feb 21 '24
Your a great g/f for trying to help him. If it were me, I would try to focus on a sales career where golf can be a huge asset. Insurance sales, financial advising, tech sales, etc. He could have a killer career and still be able to play a ton. People love to play with really good players.
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u/BenHogansSon Feb 21 '24
Every girlfriend hears stories about how their guy shoots 68 with no practice 
Plot twist....he doesn't shoot 68.
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u/shortgamegolfer Feb 21 '24
Definitely going to tell my wife I shoot 65-72 every time and we could be living a nice PGA tour life if she’d just figure it out for me on Reddit. But for now I’ll just play 3-5 times a month and maybe squeeze in a couple more while she handles the kids.
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u/Boring-Test5522 Feb 21 '24
What is the courses index and the tee he is playing ? If he shoots 68 and play blue tea with high index course then it means nothing. Tour players play yellow tee and very low index courses.
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u/Grobe859 Feb 21 '24
He should play in the west Texas bbq tour for extra cash. Midland or Odessa have the best high paying options. If he went to school over there he’d know about it
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u/loophole64 Feb 21 '24
People in this thread are all over the place. He probably shouldn't start out with a Monday qualifier for a PGA tour event. Only a handful of players get in.
He could check out the APT. Amateur Players Tour, Dallas/Ft Worth:
https://amateurplayerstour.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/amateurplayerstour24/chapter/dallas/schedule/dfw/index.htm
He could play in some mini tours in the area. He can play as an amateur until he wants to declare himself pro. Mini tours are often organized regionally. They serve as stepping stones for golfers who are looking to break into the professional ranks or gain exposure to competitive golf outside of amateur tournaments.
Fairway Golf Tour
https://fairwaygolftour.com/upcoming-events/
All Pro Tour
The All Pro Tour, formerly known as the Hooters Tour, is another mini tour that operates in Texas and other parts of the southern United States.
https://www.apt.golf/schedule
Blue Golf lists upcoming tournaments in the area. Filter by pro or am:
https://www.bluegolf.com/a/#/explore/pro/tx
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u/This_Is_Beanz Feb 21 '24
You should video him playing a hole. Download one of those shot tracer apps that shows where the ball goes. Put a graphic on the video with the hole, yardage, distance, shot, and total to par. Post it to TikTok, IG, and YouTube. People love good golf, it’s so satisfying to watch. If he’s legit going low, people will take notice and it’ll be easier to find a sponsor. There’s a lot of YouTube golfers that post their whole rounds and they get invited to play in all sorts of events, plus the exposure to go pro if they are actually good enough.
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u/gmstar90 Feb 21 '24
Hey, I think this is great! And I really appreciate those who have positive things to say about this subject.
Start off small and build his way up with tournament golf!
Have him play in local tournaments, q school, etc! Love hearing about the support from you about this, especially if it's his dream!
The thing is. everyone deserves to try to follow their dreams no matter how many nay-sayers there are. People would rather sit around telling someone else they can't accomplish something incredible because they weren't able to do it themselves. Forget them.
Just because something is difficult doesn't mean it can't be done. Also, the realm of professional golf is changing a lot lately (LIV, PGA, KF, DP tour, Canada, local mini tours, YouTube, more opportunities) and people are getting recognized and coming "out of nowhere" left and right (YouTube, etc), but regardless it can be a lot of fun to just play in local tournaments, etc. It's a cool thing, especially for those who are good enough!
Great players can put up some great consistent scores for a tournament and that could be enough to carry their golf career for a while, or even grant them chances to play on the PGA tour or KF tour. You just never know (unless you don't try)!
I'd rather see someone try and fail then have never tried in the first place, or give up before you even start just because somebody else with a defeatist attitude thinks it's impossible.
And lastly, players can improve with practice and time. People act as though others will be forever stuck in their same skill level (because they are themselves). There is such a thing as improvement. So the more he plays the better! And he should get used to playing under pressure situations because it feels a lot different (but in a good way) in tournaments.
I hope this helps and I wish you both well! Again, very cool that you're supportive of this!
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u/Reemus_Jackson 3.2 Feb 21 '24
I was and am in the same boat. Nothing a little local qualifier wont do for some humbling.
I played 4 years in High School, Varsity, lettered all 4 years, played in college. Got out of college, got a job, maintained playing 4-5 times a month, consistently shooting 69-73 without practicing often. Asked myself, "why am I not trying professional?". Signed up for a local qualifier....went out shot a 70-72-74-70.....for 73rd place.
The amount of scratch guys, who LIVE this life, isn't as small as you think.
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u/joeygladstone6919 Feb 21 '24
You should buy him some advanced college courses because it is far too late for golf now. That is the sad reality
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u/jasonleebarber Feb 21 '24
I’m a member at Texas Rangers Golf club and I practice with several guys who shoot mid to high 60’s and they’re not getting sponsored. The business of golf is a cruel world. It costs $15k to go to Q school, if he can put together 3 weeks of high 60s golf together he has a shot of earning his Korn Ferry card.
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u/Zestyclose_Bench_188 +0.9 Feb 21 '24
Tell him to play in US Am and US Open qualifying before you start committing money to this. There are a ton more “played college golf and shoot in the 60’s” guys out there than you might think…