PAT - Players Ability Test

[PhillyEagle]

Anybody here take their PAT?

What's the deal with it? 36 holes, shoot 76ish both rounds, and you pass?

I'm sort of curious to attempt it sometime this upcoming summer, but I'm really not positive if I have to attend a school to take it. Anybody know if I can just pay the money and get on the list to play in it?

 

[keithpbz]

I got a friend getting ready to take it, i think he said you have to shoot within 15 strokes of the course rating and it can be local at your home course, and then he has to go to florida to take some kind of a written test. I am not positive what you have to do but i think that is what he told me.

 

[Sandpiper3]

Keith, im pretty sure there are certain courses taht host the tourney, not just play it on ur home course.

but tmag has i know for sure, not sure of others here that have? Some of them will be along sometime.

 

[PhillyEagle]

One of my friends who took it said the pins were in the center of every green, and you play from the men's tees. It sounds easy for a really good golfer, but for some reason what I've heard is that some people have a really tough time with it. I guess it's just the mental aspect of it where some soon to be instructors feel pressured to pass?

 

[Sandpiper3]

Back home they had one (the equivalent for canadian pros) at a course we had a jr tourney the same week.

they set the pins in rediculous places, greens were running at minimum 13 on the stimp, and rough was grown out.

i can guarantee they didnt do this for our jr tourney. This was on a mountainside course so all the greens have huge undulations, and one of the holes with a back to front green, almost anyone who hit the front 3/4 of the green with any spin watsoever, the ball would go all the way off and about 30ft below the green as it would start rolling and just keep picking up more and more speed.

Granted, this was a shorter course (but nonetheless one of the hardest in BC I would rate) at 6200 yards, but the yardage definately doesnt play into it when your hitting up a hole that resembles a ski hill and is 420yards.

but this was the canadian version of it, and we all know canadians are better.

 

[azgreg]

Here is a link: PGALinks

 

[nikegolfer321]

anyone know how much it cost..cuz i wanna try to do it

 

[azgreg]

And here's another: http://pdf.pgalinks.com/pgalinks/professionals/form252.pdf

 

[keithpbz]

Keith, im pretty sure there are certain courses taht host the tourney, not just play it on ur home course.

but tmag has i know for sure, not sure of others here that have? Some of them will be along sometime.

There are some courses that are in the program and i meant you might get lucky and your home course might be a member, the course we play alot and he works at is where he is doing his at

 

[tmlsr]

The Skinny on the PAT.
They are held all over the country at designated courses. The registration is 100 usd payable to the PGA online. Then at the course you register for, there will be an on site fee payable to the course, normally in the 60 range.

Some courses offer lunch, some don't.. so either bring MONEY or brown bag it.

As far as actually playing, I would recommend a course that IS local to you, for one reason only... to play it frequently!!! prior to the actual PAT.

To PASS the PAT, you must shoot a combined (two round) score lower than twice the course rating + 15.

The PAT is a mental challenge more than anything... so course management is the key to success... that and ENDURANCE!!

Good luck to all who attempt it... I'm going for my third try at it.. !!!!

 

[Fourputt]

The silly thing is, I've accomplished the needed score before on my home course (they do hold a PAT there), but I seriously doubt that I could ever do so under the pressure of actually needing it. The only reason I know of to take the test is if you want your PGA card (not Tour), and you also need the certificate from the PGA school to get that. Just passing the PAT doesn't get you that. I know quite a few guys who could easily pass the PAT, but they have no interest in working as a Pro (the hours can be long and the money sucks really bad).

I watched some of the guys in the field when the PAT was held on my course last year (I was starter that day), and I don't know if it was the pressure or what, but I saw some truly horrid shots on the holes I can see from my booth (1, 9, 10, and part of 18). For 2 groups in a row, not one player hit the fairway on the 1st hole. There were several scores that I could have beaten without trying... some didn't shoot +15 for one round, let alone both rounds. :laugh:

 

[lildudejds]

I'll be required to pass the PAT in order to complete my degree. I'm going to school next year for PGA Golf Management.

 

[Manavs]

The Skinny on the PAT.
They are held all over the country at designated courses. The registration is 100 usd payable to the PGA online. Then at the course you register for, there will be an on site fee payable to the course, normally in the 60 range.

Some courses offer lunch, some don't.. so either bring MONEY or brown bag it.

As far as actually playing, I would recommend a course that IS local to you, for one reason only... to play it frequently!!! prior to the actual PAT.

To PASS the PAT, you must shoot a combined (two round) score lower than twice the course rating + 15.

The PAT is a mental challenge more than anything... so course management is the key to success... that and ENDURANCE!!

Good luck to all who attempt it... I'm going for my third try at it.. !!!!

+1

this is extremely accurate. Just to add a little info on it. It is played not from the furthest back tees. usually the member tees. I;ve played 5800 yard tees up to 6400 yard tees.

It requires to set aside your ego and not hit drivers all over the place. hit your hybrid/3w/5w off all the tees to the 150 and have a day at hitting 8/9/pw to center of the greens regardless of pin positions.

Back at college, our first out of 3 stages for making the team was a PAT format. It went from 160 down to 152 during the 4 years i was there. on the most unfair golf course i have ever played (purposely set up unfair in order to build fortitude on). I saw some good golfers have a difficult time in passing it here - including myself. Now that same PAT counts towards PGA status.

To give you a comparison - When I passed my college PAT, Chad Collins who now plays on the PGA tour, shot 63-61 on this unfair course on his first attempt the same days - my PAT passing score was 73-71.

Back when i thought about getting PGA status, i passed on my 3rd attempt, but i stopped pursuing PGA membership.

 

[20 PAT's]

Well here's my two cents worth: As you may or may not have noticed by my screen name I was a veteran of the "PAT Tour". I took 20 before I passed. Yep, that's right 20... Before you say "wow that guy's a beater", remember this, how hard is it to play golf? now think, jeez, today I'm playing 36 holes. I just need to make roughly 20 pars and 16 bogeys. Wow that's not that difficult... Show up for 8 AM shotgun with 143 of your newest friends for ten plus hours of fun...Oh yeah, one of the guys in my group has never broken 90 and one guy is grinding his balls off after the first tee shot while the other chump is fresh out of D1 with his collar popped and his Ian Poulter uniform on. Wow this is a lot tougher than playing with my buds for a $2 nassau...OK cool, just need to shoot 77-77 and I'm on my way... First hole usually went like this, Player #1 would either pipe one straight down the middle or Steve Austin top one fifty feet. Player #2 would either follow suit or explain where Player #1 was supposed to take his drop and then proceed to tell me about how he shot 65 here last week Player #3 hits his pretty solid, down the middle and then gripes about the bad break that he got because his ball landed in the downgrain cut... then its my turn... who shows up today the future PGA Pro or the lifetime bagboy?!?!
Long story short I missed by two shots three times, one shot twice. Not bad I thought for someone who had never played ANY competetive golf.
When I passed the nice lady at the PGA (who I had gotten to know pretty well) said that more people had taken the PAT, but no one had taken more and passed it.
Funny thing was after I passed it I decided to get out of the golf business. Took three years off, got my amateur status back, played in a couple of USGA events, and this spring found myself back in the business. So I had to reapply for membership, which meant I had to retake the PAT...
No kidding, passed on the first try... medalist and passed by ten shots 73-70...
so yeah it's mental.

 

[Manavs]

Well here's my two cents worth: As you may or may not have noticed by my screen name I was a veteran of the "PAT Tour". I took 20 before I passed. Yep, that's right 20... Before you say "wow that guy's a beater", remember this, how hard is it to play golf? now think, jeez, today I'm playing 36 holes. I just need to make roughly 20 pars and 16 bogeys. Wow that's not that difficult... Show up for 8 AM shotgun with 143 of your newest friends for ten plus hours of fun...Oh yeah, one of the guys in my group has never broken 90 and one guy is grinding his balls off after the first tee shot while the other chump is fresh out of D1 with his collar popped and his Ian Poulter uniform on. Wow this is a lot tougher than playing with my buds for a $2 nassau...OK cool, just need to shoot 77-77 and I'm on my way... First hole usually went like this, Player #1 would either pipe one straight down the middle or Steve Austin top one fifty feet. Player #2 would either follow suit or explain where Player #1 was supposed to take his drop and then proceed to tell me about how he shot 65 here last week Player #3 hits his pretty solid, down the middle and then gripes about the bad break that he got because his ball landed in the downgrain cut... then its my turn... who shows up today the future PGA Pro or the lifetime bagboy?!?!
Long story short I missed by two shots three times, one shot twice. Not bad I thought for someone who had never played ANY competetive golf.
When I passed the nice lady at the PGA (who I had gotten to know pretty well) said that more people had taken the PAT, but no one had taken more and passed it.
Funny thing was after I passed it I decided to get out of the golf business. Took three years off, got my amateur status back, played in a couple of USGA events, and this spring found myself back in the business. So I had to reapply for membership, which meant I had to retake the PAT...
No kidding, passed on the first try... medalist and passed by ten shots 73-70...
so yeah it's mental.

Did we play together? lol seriously congrats bro!