reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

I'm currently an 8 handicap but I don't work on my game and only play once a week in the summer. I've never played a tournament before. I can hit my drives 300 yards and I have a pretty natural swing. I have good feel putting and chipping but need practice. I'm 27yo, 6ft. 180lbs.

Assuming a large # of players similar to my skill level took 1-2 years off work to to seriously training and practice for 6 hours per day. How many players would need to attempt this before one was talented enough to make the Nationwide tour?

for example 1/10,000

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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1/10,000

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Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

Well good luck mang. I don't have an exact number but from experience can tell you that the difference between an 8 and say a 2 is HUGE. Absolutely huge. So is the difference between 2 and scratch. And I imagine most of those Nationwide guys are around +2 or better.

The issue is you'll probably reach several mental roadblocks along the way that would take a while to clear. And GOD FORBID your putting starts to go south.

I'm not saying don't do it - it's something you'd never forget (by the way, are you just curious or seriously considering it?), but I have enough friends on minitours to know it's way more of a "job" than us outsiders see. Countless hours at the range. Constant tweaking of swing and equipment. Winning the battles with the mind. Stiff competition. Battling the elements. Callouses and blisters. Fighting through long slumps.

I don't know if it's 1/10,000 but it's gotta be closer to that than 1/1000.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

I'll give you props for getting the odds about right IMO. If anything, you may have put them too low. First thing I thought when I read "8 handicap" was "no chance."

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

Hey. thanks for the reply.
I guess I'm seriously considering it among other options regarding what to do with the next few years of my life.
I've been working for 5 years and I'm ready for a change.

One option would be to buy a fixer-upper house to work on part time and play golf the rest of the time.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

Unless you're loaded with natural talent that's just going to suddenly blossom... forget about it. My brother is 21, scratch golfer, has a pro card, etc... and he's nowhere near ready for that tour. Considering that you've never played in a tournament before, I'm guessing that you have no idea how brutal competitive golf can be.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

I do have lots of natural talents that I'd like to let loose.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

practice is part of the equation, but the other part is do you have 'it'? 'it' is the variables, the ability to perform under pressure (hardest part about golf, anyone can play good with their boys, but how do you play in front of a gallery?) not to mention golf is not like poker, in the sense that you can improve enough to be a "pro"in 2 years. lol.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

I agree with you 100%.

I think I have "it", otherwise I would consider trying. I'm 100% sure I could be a scratch golfer in a year. I'm just wondering what the chances are that I actually have "it".

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

I think you are going to need to love to practice. I am that way - I love going to the range, working on differnt stuff, but some people don't get into it.

I would go for it though, even if the odds are not good to turn pro. You could still get a lot out of it - maybe end up being a teaching pro or something related to golf.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

I'm off to practice some putting.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

I am aiming for the champions tour.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

it could be doable if you dedicate yourself to the game and just keep working on your game. all it takes to qualify for the Nationwide Tour and be fully exempt is finsh between 36th-60th at the final stage at Q-school. but this envolves going thru two stages to get to the final stage. If you were to try it, it definitely wouldnt be easy, and realistically it probably wouldnt happen. If you were mabye a 1 or 2 handicap then I think it might be possible. Even though it sounds like you have a lot of talent from how you described your game but i just think that trying to become a pro when you are an 8 handicap is a very tall order. I dont mean to destroy your hopes of possibly doing this but i just think it would take so much time to improve, since when you are a good player it is so hard to take even a shot off of your scoring average. I think if you were a 1-3 handicap and you didnt practice then it might be possible. Since you do not practice regularly, trying to practice frequently might bore you and you might lose interest in the game because it might no longer become fun to you if you are just practicing and are getting the results you expect.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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practice is part of the equation, but the other part is do you have 'it'? 'it' is the variables, the ability to perform under pressure (hardest part about golf, anyone can play good with their boys, but how do you play in front of a gallery?)

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That's a great point. I rambled a bit in my original post. I'm making this one to ask the OP: I assume you've read "A Good Walk Spoiled" by John Feinstein? It chronicles one pro's grind to the Tour after another.

What it fails to detail though are the much more numerous failures, or ones who tread on lesser tours for years, just getting by, holding onto the dream. I see those now with a lot of my friends - early 30s, no resume to speak of, and finally realizing they must get a "real" job.

The great news for you is you appear to have the ways and means to give it a shot AND a marketable job history. That being the case, I think you'd be a fool to not try.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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If you were mabye a 1 or 2 handicap then I think it might be possible.

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I am this person and I'm 100% sure I'd get run off the course by much better players. The sick heater I'd have to go on at my level of skill couldn't sustain itself over two rounds of qualifying.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

the other problem is, when start having to practice 6 hours a day, and have to play tournments, etc. it becomes a job, a grind.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

i've got 10 in hcp and i dont play too much, but i have a friend thats really talanted in anything that has to do with a ball. hes a scratch player but only plays 3-4 times a year. and i use to play some rounds with him. and im not even close to be as good as him, and i never will. he could easily make the tour got the talent, hes stepmother is a proplayer and he plays in the nhl so hes got the right mind for it.
what im trying to say is that is sooo much that has to fall in the right place. but then again, you might have it. and its better to try and fail then wonder what if.

i wish you all the luck

p.s excuse my bad english

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

The odds of you making it are extremely slim. However, if this is a dream of yours, you definitely should give it a shot. You don't want to wonder "what if?" for the rest of your life. You're still young, you (presumably) don't have a family to support, and you appear to have the financial means to do this.

Go for it. You only live once.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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The odds of you making it are extremely slim. However, if this is a dream of yours, you definitely should give it a shot. You don't want to wonder "what if?" for the rest of your life. You're still young, you (presumably) don't have a family to support, and you appear to have the financial means to do this.

Go for it. You only live once.

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I'm all for inspirational speeches, but this is really close to impossible. An 8 handicap is pretty huge. That is shooting around 80, and 80 is not very good. Most people don't fathom how hard it is to go from improving 6 strokes from an 8 to a 2. It is not the same as going from 14 to 8 or 20 to 14, it's ridiculously harder.

FWIW, I'm an 8 handicap too (I'm 17) and I know I couldn't make any tour even if I devoted my entire life to it.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

The biggest thing you have going against you...

You most likely do not have the oppurtunity to play championship calibure golf courses. Playing to a 8 handicap on your local 6500 track with easy pins, flat greens, and no rough probably means that you cant break 90 on the the courses on tour. I am not saying that is you...but a majority of the '8' handicaps I know cant even come close to breaking 80 on silly little golf courses that a professional would shoot 60 on everytime.

You also have to have a natural talent and the ability to win. If you cant win then there is no point. I will never forget teeing off in front of ~25 people at a high school golf match when I was a freshman. I was shaking and having a little trouble breathing! I still striped that motherbitcho(then shot something like a 52,lol) but its like starting fresh...like the first time you ever teed off on #1 in front of two groups of weekend warriors.

You also need to hit that ball a lot farther than 300! When I used to play everyday I used to hit my 2-iron 240 off the tee.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

I don't think enough people are giving you near enough of a chance.

I'm a 8 handicap during months I don't play. Usually play scratch golf when I'm able to dedicate myself to playing for more than a couple of months at a time.

If you have a good swing, good mind for the game, and most importantly, GOOD short game. Anything is possible.

I played for one of the best high school teams in the nation throughout high school. 9 of our players played in college(including me). Hunter Mahan(US Amateur Runner Up, US Junior Amateur Champ, #1 ranked player at both levels, current pro) was one of the guys on my golf team, along with several other guys who have played on some of the smaller tours.

I was about a 6 handicap at the time I used to play with them, and felt that if I had the willingness to work on my short game I could get very close to their ability if I wanted to. The Tee -> Green difference between them and me was almost non-existant. They just made more putts than me, got up and down a little more than me, and didn't make huge mental mistakes during their round. All of those things are things that can be worked on, fine tuned, and improved big time if you have the patience to do it.

If you took 2 years out to practice, I'd put your chances at 1/250. Maybe even a little better.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

Man, I hope you can make it. But when I read, "I'm an 8 handicap now" it seems like you are a mega-longshot.

I'd love to be a pro golfer though. Wow.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

Without a lot more info, the answer is impossible to know. Probably very low however.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

ZB,

So, you never did actually apply yourself and thus were never able to compete with all these golfers you mention, right? But you could have, provided you were born with competitiveness and a will to win (or at least try)?

Additionally, you always managed to crap all over yourself when it mattered while they rose to the challenge?

Just want to clarify your post.

J

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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ZB,

So, you never did actually apply yourself and thus were never able to compete with all these golfers you mention, right? But you could have, provided you were born with competitiveness and a will to win (or at least try)?

Additionally, you always managed to crap all over yourself when it mattered while they rose to the challenge?

Just want to clarify your post.

J

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I'm not sure where the "crap all over yourself" thing came from. But that's not really true. I've never had big issues with dealing with pressure.

I was in high school and college. I wanted to have a good social life, and never really liked practicing my short game that much(after all, it is horribly boring). I never aspired to be a pro golfer, and also probably had less lessons than all of the guys who were better than me.

My post was simply to say that if someone had the bare essential athletic ability to have a good golf swing, and REALLY dedicated himself to playing golf I think he would have a decent chance of getting on the Nationwide Tour. Not awesome chance. But it's alot better than 10,000:1 or whatever some people were giving him credit for.

FWIW. You do make a good point. I think the ability to perform under pressure would probably be one of the most important variables in whether he would be successful in this endevour, and obviously that's not always something you can just work on.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

Ah. I see what your referring to now. When I said "make huge mental mistakes" I was more talking about trying to hit ridiculous golf shots or taking too many chances. Not the inability to deal with pressure. Sorry I was unclear.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

My guess is 2000.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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The biggest thing you have going against you...

You most likely do not have the oppurtunity to play championship calibure golf courses. Playing to a 8 handicap on your local 6500 track with easy pins, flat greens, and no rough probably means that you cant break 90 on the the courses on tour. I am not saying that is you...but a majority of the '8' handicaps I know cant even come close to breaking 80 on silly little golf courses that a professional would shoot 60 on everytime.


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This is really true. I have started playing some tough courses over the last year but usually play the 6500 tees. I think playing the 7300 tees would destry me for a while.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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I am aiming for the champions tour.

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I went and watched the Champions Tour today at Snoqualmie Ridge. I really learn how much time they take before each shot around the green. Also they have great course management, almost always missing in the right place.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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I see those now with a lot of my friends - early 30s, no resume to speak of, and finally realizing they must get a "real" job.

The great news for you is you appear to have the ways and means to give it a shot AND a marketable job history. That being the case, I think you'd be a fool to not try.

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It sure would make for a interesting couple years and I do feel that I could find another real job in the future.

Anybody have advice one where/how I should do this?

Perferably, I need cheap golf, cool weather and inexpensive real estate all in one place.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

Thanks for your take. This gives me just a glimmer of hope that it might be possible.

I'm really suprised that most people think I should try it even tough it's a long shot.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

One thing you guys are forgetting is that being a scratch golfer is still not good enough. You need to be able to consistently shoot UNDER par to even have a chance. The cuts at most nationwide tournaments are a couple strokes under par, and the leaders are well under.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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I'm just wondering what the chances are that I actually have "it".

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I'm pretty sure that a 27yr old guy who doesn't play often and has never played in a tournament doesn't have it.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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I'm a 8 handicap during months I don't play. Usually play scratch golf when I'm able to dedicate myself to playing for more than a couple of months at a time.

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Right. So you've "been there before". Scratch golf, that is. Huge difference between your situation and the OP.

Remember the mental hurdle you had breaking 80? Par? 70? How you'd crap yourself knowing you needed a par on 18 to reach your number? How the first couple of times you DID crap yourself and double-bogeyed or worse?

You've been through all that; OP hasn't.

And also per the GHIN system an 8 handicap doesn't average an 80 - that's a common misperception by people who don't understand how it works. An 8 would probably average an 83-84. I'm not sure if OP is actually carrying a legit card or just hazarding a guess.

Also, very good point by whoever mentioned the difficulty of courses of a weekend golfer vs. tournament setups.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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And also per the GHIN system an 8 handicap doesn't average an 80 - that's a common misperception by people who don't understand how it works. An 8 would probably average an 83-84. I'm not sure if OP is actually carrying a legit card or just hazarding a guess.

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I've decided that if I'm not shooting in the 70's every round by the end of Sept then I shouldn't try this.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

Wow, good luck. But if you really work at it for a year and aren't close to scratch, you might be hard pressed. Tour players will make a scratch player look like .. well, not a hack, but ... unimpressive.

As others have said, you really need to have a plus handicap to have a shot. Grinding out 72's will get you nowhere. If anything, you want 72-75 to be your BAD days.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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If you were mabye a 1 or 2 handicap then I think it might be possible.

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I am this person and I'm 100% sure I'd get run off the course by much better players.

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As someone who was never below a 20+ handicap, I never understood this. I mean, if you are a 1 or 2 handicap, you pretty much can do everything very well. Consequently, what keeps you from reaching scratch? No sarcasm intended, but do 2-handicappers just have a couple of brain farts per round, or something?

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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As someone who was never below a 20+ handicap, I never understood this. I mean, if you are a 1 or 2 handicap, you pretty much can do everything very well. Consequently, what keeps you from reaching scratch? No sarcasm intended, but do 2-handicappers just have a couple of brain farts per round, or something?

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Could be anything, but most likely short game - possibly course management (actually, at this level, course management shouldn't even be an issue). The ball striking is there, so that shouldn't be the major issue. Prolly comes down to chipping and putting.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

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If you were mabye a 1 or 2 handicap then I think it might be possible.

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I am this person and I'm 100% sure I'd get run off the course by much better players.

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As someone who was never below a 20+ handicap, I never understood this. I mean, if you are a 1 or 2 handicap, you pretty much can do everything very well. Consequently, what keeps you from reaching scratch? No sarcasm intended, but do 2-handicappers just have a couple of brain farts per round, or something?

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funkymunky pretty much nailed it, the scratch players make up the most strokes around the green. So the outcome is they grind out a ton of pars and then pick their spots for birdies.

I have to rely on hitting a ton of greens because my short game is marginal. FWIW when I was at my best and practiced 12 hrs/day my routine was about 60% chipping green/30% putting/10% range. That may be a bit extreme, but just a bit.

Re: reality check. odds on making the Nationwide Tour
 

did you see that putt tiger just made after 3 poor shots on #1?