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I am pretty sure you all know me by now and you probably all know my goals and aspirations if you have read my posts, "how should I prepare for the US Open" and "best way for a Canadian to get on the PGA Tour". So, in this disussion, I would like to share with you my plan that will start in March or April of next year. So, as many of you probably already know, I am a young aspiring tour pro hopeful and I have decided to skip the college route and take the path of a journeyman because I think its more fun and I like to live life on the edge. For next year, I want to move out of BC and go by car to either Arizona, California, or Nevada. I did think of going to Florida but I'd rather keep clear of the hurricanes and it is also simply way too unrealistally far away for me to drive. I will apply for my green card this month and I plan on applying at a golf course wherever I end up going and I will apply to work in pro shop or grounds crew, as long as I can get free golf and range. I will live out of my car without any actual residence and I will get a gym pass at a gym or rec center so I can have a place to wash and shower daily. I will park my car at a rest stop. (which are free to stay at by the way) and when I have earned enough cash from working I will join a developmental pro tour full time and the money I make from that, coupled with cash from work and also family, I will go to Q-school every year. So now my question arises, which of the 3 states should I go to? Also, does anyone have any good information on some solid mini tours or whatever else you may think might be helpful to me. I look forward to hearing your comments and oh yeah, don't forget I will still have my heart set on doing the US Open qualifying too. Also, please try to offer constructive comments because I have already made up my mind on what I want to do with my life and I don't need any comments telling how badly whatever odds aren't in my favor or **** like that. Thanks.

First, nice triple post.

Second, sounds like you have it all figured out, not sure what you are trying to gain from this thread. All 3 of those states have plenty o' golf courses (and gyms to shower at)... which one is best for you can't be figured out by anyone over the internet. Florida might have an occasional hurricane, but Nevada is hot, Arizona is un-godly hot, California has earthquakes. Also, Florida will only take another day or two to get there compared to Arizona, which isn't exactly "way too unrealistically far" if you are already coming from BC.

Third, living out of your car at a rest stop is just about the worst idea I have read or heard of... uhm... well... ever. The chances of getting robbed or killed doing that for even a single month, are probably higher than you want to mess with.

Sorry man I am really not trying to bust your chops here, but in all of these threads you are basically asking for advice, and then discounting any realistic thoughts that are posted and telling everyone else what's up. While doing so, you are sounding semi-immature, and that isn't going to get you many positive replies.

What exactly is wrong with where you are at currently?... if you can practice 40-45 hours a week, have a roof over your head, and are basically living it up, why can't you just try to get good enough for a tour by practicing there? Getting better at golf can be done anywhere, and again, you need to be at a realistic PLUS FOUR HANDICAP before even considering a shot at the tour. At -1 you are definitely no slouch, but you are not even close yet.

Coming over here isn't going to magically make you any better, and going outside of your means and living out of a car is definitely not going to help. I think you might need a slight priority check, but I was 18 once and remember what it's like, so don't worry bro you're not alone.

Get a job, save your money. After you have money saved up for rent, gas, food and other living expenses to last you a few months (figure $3-4k to be safe), THEN make a move and get yourself your own place here, in a state that YOU want to live in. Travel around and check them out in person. Play the courses. Talk to the higher-ups at said courses and determine if it would be a place that would suit you for a working environment.

All that said, if you decide on New Mexico I have a spare room for rent, lol.

From what I've heard, southern California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada are where the pros have their golf memberships for the off-season, so maybe you could get a job at one of those golf courses to get closer to the action. The PGA tour runs more northerly in the summer months so expect to log a lot of car mileage to get where the action is.

505zoom has graciously extended you an excellent offer as the police still arrest people for vagrancy if they see that you are living in your car.

Echoing previous sentiments...have you ever tried living from your car in rest stops?...When I was younger I went on a "see the country" tour and stayed in rest stops...aside from the constant rumble of cars and trucks there are a lot of folks (unsavory and otherwise) that make rest stops a hang-out....I'm no lightweight when it comes to taking care of myself, but those places gave me the creeps....after a month I don't think I got more than 3 hours of sleep a night....as far as your choice of states, CA is pretty expensive, NV and AZ are hot (no matter what people say about humidity, 105 degrees is HOT) and they are hot for a large part of the year...I don't know much about NM other than what I read but it sounds beautiful...although FL is hot in summer it's not as unbearable, in my opinion....there just seems to be so many other ways for you to go about achieving your dream without putting yourself at risk and living in conditions that are not going to help you reach those goals....talk to others and listen to what they have to say before you make a move....best of luck to you....

I'd go with Arizona, personally, just because I think it is a beautiful state. That's not to say you can go wrong with any, but Arizona all the way in my opinion.

Thanks for all the advice and yes, maybe you are right about the possible danger of living out of your car. I just thought it would be safe and ok because I heard so many PGA Tour pros used to do it when they were just getting started. Also, 505zoom, could you please tell me more about New Mexico and how it is for golf and other things that may interest me, because I never actually really thought about it before.

tdgeezy: Have you read Moe Norman's biography (Amazon.com: The Feeling of Greatness: The Moe Norman Story: Books: Tim O'Connor. Another great Canadian ball-striker who wasn't against 'roughing it' (living out his of his car, sleeping in bunkers, etc.) in his quest for greatness. The book, besides being an excellent read, will give you some great pointers as to what to do, and what not to do when trying to achieve PGA tour status.

PS I would stay away from the chapter on Moe's swing!!

I'll echo the sentiments of others that living out of your car is a horrible idea. I spent 4 days driving across the country and spent 3 nights sleeping in the car at rest areas. I had a decent sized SUV, so I could actually lay a sleeping bag out flat in the back. It ****ed. It's uncomfortable to sleep, there are some scary people, and it's just a plain horrible idea.

If you are really serious about this, pick a state that's not too outrageously expensive, save up a bit of money, get a job where you want to move, and rent a small cheap apartment.
California is going to cost you a fortune, so I'd rule that out unless your secondary goal is also to become a pro surfer and live on the beach.
As hot as Arizona is, my opinion is that it's not as miserable as Florida in the summers. Arizona also gets FAR, FAR, FAR less rain than Florida, which means you can play virtually every day in nice clear, sunny skies. I don't know what kind of golf courses Northern Arizona has, but if you drive 2 hours north of Phoenix, Flagstaff is beautiful in the summer. But they get snow in the winter, so you'd need to figure out a way to work and live in the Phoenix area for 8 or 9 months a year and spend the summers in N. Ariz. Or you could just suck it up and learn to play when it's 112 degrees.

I only have one question- okay maybe two. Have you graduated from high school with good grades which would permit you to attend college? If the answer is no, disregard question 2. If yes, proceed to question 2. If you are as good as you say you are, why not go for a golf scholarship and get a good education while you continue to hone your golf game and gain some tournament and match play experience? All of your posts so far remind me of the pie in the sky thinking of a much younger person whose seen "Tin Cup" too many times. No offense, but you need to develop a plan for success which is based on reality and considers the future.

Find a mini-tour and move so that you're centrally located to the one you want to play in.

Professional Golf Mini Tours, Nationwide Tour, Canadian Tour, Grey Goose Gateway Tour, Golden Bear Tour, NGA Hooters Tour, Moonlight Golf Tour, The Cleveland Golf Tour

Moonlight Golf Tour (www.moonlightgolf.com)
Florida. Low purses

NGA/Hooters Professional Golf Tour (NGA Hooters Tour)
The NGA/Hooters Tour has events scheduled throughout the USA. Good purses

Gateway Tour (The Gateway Tour | Home)
Arizona and Florida. Good purses

Tarheel Tour (Tarheel Tour)
The Tarheel Tour is the Carolinas' Professional Golf Tour. Good purses

The Pepsi Tour (Welcome to The Pepsi Tour!)
Runs tournament in California, Arizona and Nevada. Low purses

Golden State Golf Tour (Golden State Golf Tour)
A Southern California based developmental tour. Low purses

Tight Lies Tour (Welcome to the US Pro Golf Tour and the Players Tours)
The Tight Lies Tour runs events in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Louisiana. Trying to re-establish financing. Tourneys suspended.

NM is pretty good, I can only comment on the cities I have lived in...

Los Alamos - Awesome little town, birthplace of the atomic bomb, my hometown. Only 1 golf course, but it is the second best municipal in the state. Kind of expensive, not much to do outside of golf for the younger crowd. I wouldn't ever move back. Weather can not be beat in the summer, but it gets quite a bit of snow in the winter months... 7200ft elevation.

Santa Fe - Don't even bother. The golf is mediocre, living is REALLY expensive, and it is a touch on the "dirty" side. The only plus about Santa Fe is the absolutely fantastic food... I acutally drive 120 miles round trip sometimes just to hit a restaurant there. Lots of celebrities have large estates on the outskirts. Weather isn't far off from los alamos. Several fully private clubs that I will never get to play.

Las Cruces - Total college town, over 75% of the pop is the university. Awesome city to live in. 4 courses, 1 muni course, 1 university course, 2 semi-private courses. I was a member at one of the semi-privates (Sonoma Ranch), and it is stellar golf. Always in awesome shape, and a great challenging layout. Cruces gets really windy in the spring, and is pretty hot in the summer, never sees even a flake of snow. This city is also the home of one of the original PGM schools. Less than an hour away from El Paso Texas, and Juarez Mexico.

Albuquerque - This is the largest city in the state, 5 municipals (1000 dollars for a year pass to all 5), 4 casino courses that are completely awesome, and a fair share of semi-private clubs. On the outskirts of town are some of the best courses in the state... Paako Ridge, Twin Warriors, Santa Ana, Isleta, and Sandia are the good ones, do a quick google search for any of them and they should pop up. Cheap to live, overall pretty clean place, and a great variety of golf. This place is worth checking out if you are serious about moving to the States.

Not sure if that helps or not, let me know if I can go into more detail or if you have any specific questions.

~raising hand~ Doesn't Q-school cost money? What....insert sarcasm here...what would it cost to enter the US Open? I'm assuming these PGA tournaments aren't free.


To the OP...stay out of So California. I was born and raised there, trust me, you can't afford it. With regards to the other states, I've been to them all, beautiful country, though I'm not sure how that whole "living out of your car thing" will go over with the police.

Kid here's my two cents.....either get your family to financially support you, or find someone that will. I think the smarter idea is to go to college....but hey....that's just me.

I live in Tucson, AZ and golf courses are open here every day of the year. even christmas day. I was wondering how old you are? Are you in high school? The U of A is here and they got a great golf program here if you can go to collage. Its not that expensive to live here either, yet. Lots of golf courses. Thats pretty cool if you do this. I mean to just drop everything and pursue your dreams. Good luck to whatever you do.

To answer your question just search up some of my posts and you will see.

Ahhh stay out of so cal?come on she is right it is expensive,but it is awsome for golf.A lot of indian casions got courses that are awsome Sycaun And Barona are among the top casino courses in the country (there was an article in golf digest) we got torey pines,la costa, aviara,but those are all expensive courses.There are also extremely good public courses down here.I would recomend so cal.Year round golf,earthquakes are not frequent,the weathers perfect.In my opinion it would be the best place for a aspirign pro to start.