golfrewind.com

I haven't been here very long so this may have been discussed and I also don't know everyone's experience in golf.

What does it take to play on tour?? If you've done it or know someone who does, give us the low down.

What scores must you shoot consitantly?
What are the costs?
What is life like on Tour?

Answer any other questions that you think might be relavent.

I just think this information could be good for all of those out there that are aspiring to play on Tour one day.

Come on now....must be someone out there that can weigh in??

I really can't answer your questions, but I didn't want you to think we're all ignoring you. One of our mods, jcgolfpro, is ... you guessed it ... a golf pro. He'll be able to give you a complete rundown of what it takes once he gets the chance, I'm sure. From an ability standpoint, I've heard it said that you should be breaking 70 regularly from the tips at the toughest layouts in your area before you even think about competing on any of the tours.

Thank you for the response and I look forward to more....

In terms of score...waz is right, if your "par" on your most difficult local layouts isn't 65 then your game isn't good enough. If you have a bad day, it needs to be 68 on the local courses. This will equate to the scores needed to be successful when you bump up to the harder setups the PGA TOUR players endure.

As for doing it...well, I am close to a few and the costs can be astronomical. Caddy will cost you a minimum of $50,000 plus expenses. As you start to win, the guarantee is usually renegotiated and the caddy then works more on a "commission" based compensation plan with bonuses, etc...

The bonus is that your travel costs and some of the other costs can be salvaged by the weekly pay-offs to play certain balls, putters, wedges, drivers, etc. On of our assistants made it into an event and got a little over $5,000 in incentive money to play certain equipment. If you had a marginal quality putter but were offering astronomical incentives, you could achieve the #1 putter on TOUR status just by buying it. That is why one should not necessarily put a whole lot of stock in those claims. Balls, Putters, Drivers are especially up for sale each week and the highest marketing budget wins.

The entry fees for the events are the least amount of the worries at $150 per event. For the journeyman TOUR player, life on TOUR is a lot of fast food and Motel 6's. Regardless of level though, someone is ALWAYS wanting a piece of your time. If you get to the well-known status, you no longer have a private life and can't go anywhere without being bothered. I had dinner with Fuzzy a few months ago and we were approached no less than 20 times during just a 45 minute dinner. It was sick how he couldn't even get a bite in between autographs but he never stopped smiling and never said, "Hey, I'm trying to eat here." Personally, I would rather be the man in the background guiding the TOUR player and that is what I work on.

I can't recall what age group you fall into but assuming you are young I suggest you just start playing competitively as much as you can - high school golf team, local USGA events for your age group. Most PGA tour pros work their way up this way, learning to win tournaments, getting to know people, learning the trade. As you move along this path you will learn the answers to your questions and whether you think you have what it takes. Until you have walked the path the answers to those questions don't have much meaning. They could discourage you prematurely.

If you are older you should still play amateur tournaments to test yourself. Again, along the way you will learn what it takes. You might want to talk with pros at your course to find out about joining the PGA and working at a course. The pga and pgatour website probably have information about qualifying.