Me and Golf

[MrGolf91]

I didnt know where exactly to put this thread so i thought under shot talk was the best spot. A little about i started playing golf back in july and got immediatly hooked. I went from playing as much as i could and when i couldnt pay i would hit range balls, until i was too tired to continue. Then i started doing chores and have gotten free golf and have played almost everyday since mid september. I have gotten in my opinion pretty good in that time to shooting mid 70s on our par 72 course. With the occasional 72. My question here today is. I started golf at 19 years old and fell in love wishing i started sooner. The only thing in my life i wanna do is play golf. I do not care what the career i do not wanna go to college for anything else. Is it possible for me atleast get on the nationwide tour? did i start out in life too late. I was gonna take the PAT this summer just to take it for experience. I have never taken formal lessons mostly self taught with the exception of a man i play with almost daily who was nearly on the tour and shoots either scratch or under each round at the course.

thank you for reading

 

[shep3470]

We have a future pro and #1 in the world here guys. Playing 6 months and the kid has already shot 72.

 

[fisher]

Start playing as many local section of the PGA events as you can. It is there that you will find out how good you are or are not. I can shoot in the 70s consistantly playing with my regular playing partners. In real competition I've never broken 80. The only way you can get good at competitive golf is experience. Its a whole different game.

You sure you're not an asian washi washi girl spamming the site???? Good second post. Got any links you'd like to share to golf equipment websites in China?

 

[runninlope]

Alot of people shoot low 70's their first time. Someone should let him know to play 18 holes next time and not 9 ha ha

 

[anonymous golfaholic]

I can shoot in the 70s consistantly playing with my regular playing partners. In real competition I've never broken 80. The only way you can get good at competitive golf is experience. Its a whole different game.

The first time I ever shot even par was during a tournament. I was a 12 hdcp. I shot something in the low 80's the day before in a practice round. So, I think it depends on the individual. For me, I play better when it means something. Don't get me wrong, I still feel the nerves. The first couple of holes, I'm shaking like a leaf. I'm just more focused during competition though I guess.

 

[MrGolf91]

haha no im not some washi washi girl from china.

So, I think it depends on the individual. For me, I play better when it means something.

A few guys at the course call me redo for when im playing in a friendly scramble to win it with the putter. I will pull back the putt and not like the stroke and hesitate at the back end and wait then finish till the nerves calm down i guess. But i think i play much better when its on the line. Unless its my dad haha he shoots mid 80s but when i play against him he will trash talk me the whole time. Hes the only one that ever can get inside my head when playing though.

Start playing as many local section of the PGA events as you can.

is there a site that shows a schedule of the events? I am gonna continue to practice and just have fun with golf. Sometime this summer would love to try a few events if i continue to do better

 

[TheTrueReview]

Has beermug's son taken up golf??

 

[fisher]

Here is the website of my local association. I'm sure wherever you live there is something similar. The Golf Association Of Philadelphia covers a pretty big geographic area and you could play an event somewhere nearly every week of the season if you wanted too. The level of golf in the GAP is very very high.....for example I just clicked on the results of one of their majors and the winning score was 7 under par for a 36 hole tournament. Alot of these guys are nearly good enough to be on tour and a couple of our members play in the US Open Qualifiers. You play these events and you will find out what sort of game you really have. You have to conquor this level of golf before you can think Nationwide Tour or PGA.

The Golf Association of Philadelphia

"PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa.–Tom Gramigna ended two decades of championship frustration in grand fashion on Thursday at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Militia Hill Course (par 72, 7,102 yards). Gramigna, 40, of Tavistock CC, carded five back-nine birdies for a spectacular final-round 67 and a one-shot victory in the 27th Middle-Amateur Championship, the first GAP Major of the season. Gramigna finished at an improbable 7-under par for the two days."

 

[fisher]

The first time I ever shot even par was during a tournament. I was a 12 hdcp. I shot something in the low 80's the day before in a practice round. So, I think it depends on the individual. For me, I play better when it means something. Don't get me wrong, I still feel the nerves. The first couple of holes, I'm shaking like a leaf. I'm just more focused during competition though I guess.

I wish I could be like that. I have limited competitive experience and none of it has been good. I think I just put way way too much pressure on myself. I just can't stay loose enough to play normal. Tournament golf is so much different for me. The slower pace and the lack of a loose fun atmosphere among playing partners just are not fun to me. I'd like to play more tournaments just so I can figure it out. This is the next step in my progression in the game.....to take the game I have and get it to the same level when playing in a pressure cooker situation.

 

[Bignose]

fisher and the others on here are right. The way to get noticed is to win. Win your city tournament. Win your state tournament. If you qualify for the U.S. Open and win that, you'll definitely be noticed. It really is all about how you do in tournaments -- if you place high or win in more and more tournaments, the agents and other tournament invitations will come to you.

 

[shep3470]

Are you sure they don't call you "redo" because of all of the mulligans?

 

[limpalong]

Many folks who can regularly break 80 at their home course, couldn't break 100 at other courses. We learn the idiosyncrasies of our own course, if we play that venue over and over. A pro can break 70, almost everytime out, on any venue.
Competitive golf is entirely different than playing with some folks on your home course. You say the folks at your course call you "Redo". In competitive golf, understand you won't be playing with folks who know you. It will be intense. One will see how they work under pressure. You say your dad get's in your head. Wait until you find some of the "gamesmanship" that can happen during competitive golf.
Many cities have competition. Most all states have an amateur golf association, working under the "franchise" of the USGA. Contact your state association. Get a GHIN registered with them. Work diligently towards the smaller regional competitions, sponsored by the state group. Play in the first or second event next Spring that is available. Your performance there will tell whether or not you have a future with a club in your hands.

Study and memorize the USGA Rules of Golf. Nothing will rattle a good competitive round like being called for a rules infraction you were completely ignorant of. You will play a different game, usually, when you strictly adhere to the Rules of Golf.

Also understand the limited future in golf. Thousands of "good sticks"... kids who compete at the highest high school and collegiate level can't even make it to the mini-tours. Also, from the standpoint of staying in the golf industry, it is a dieing market. Club manufacturers are hurting. I look for more consolidation and closings this year. Courses are closing. We will never see the participation in this game as it was in the 80s and 90s. It is an expensive game, in a difficult economic environment. The game takes 4 to 6 hours to play (including drive time to courses, etc.). Many just don't have that time to take away from work or family. There is not nearly the corporate entertainment on the course as there once was. In difficult times, corporations are not wanting to give the aura of oppulence.

Today's young person could probably have about as good a chance of making a decent living as a male dancer in a strip club as making a living in the golf industry.

 

[anonymous golfaholic]

These guys are right. You need to get as much tournament exposure as you can. Start by playing local, flighted tournaments. They are a load of fun and will help you build confidence. Don't be discouraged if you stink it up, everyone has bombed out and choked playing competitively. If you are passionate enough about the game and work hard enough you will be rewarded eventually, but it takes time and a lot of exposure. As far as going Nationwide, you better have a lot of money and a lot of talent. You basically have to practice 40 hrs a week instead of working.

I have a friend that plays on the Hooters Tour in FL. He is an awesome golfer. He owns the course record of a 59 at a local course close where I live. Luckily for him, his family has a lot of money to keep paying his entry fees and living expenses in FL. In the past 2 seasons, I think he has only made 2 or 3 cuts. His tour days are numbered because basically,(I hate to say it) he isn't good enough.