Playing golf as a Professional in SG

andrew-golf wrote:

i think selling equipment in GR is easier... kekekeke

depends on what equipment you are selling also

nrafee wrote:

andrew-golf wrote:

i think selling equipment in GR is easier... kekekeke

depends on what equipment you are selling also

hahahaahhahaa

mine quite popular

enwee...the US PGA has invites for the top 100 players in the world almost week-in, week-out. to qualify for that, one has to be amongst the top 20 on the european tour. thats why players like Simon Dyson do not have to go to PGA Q-school but Noh Seung Yul has to....

the more event one play (big tournaments) the better chances of improving on their money ranking, hence more events to play.

last week event was a co-sanctioned event, just like Avantha and just like Barclays. well co-sanctioned....so that we can get to see world-ranked players.

i was told that the Amata Springs event which was name Tour Championship paid more money for appearance fee than actual winning pot. thats the reason why we saw Lee Westwood, Sergio and Ryo at the event. whether its worth it or not, its the organiser's choice. i know they are trying to get TW to play at the last Asian Tour event at the end of 2012. i wonder who much they are willing to fork out and how much difference it would make.

but back to the thread, if you have the financial depth and the talent i am sure you will find the journey very different from the corporate world. better or not, its hard to say cos there can be only one winner in every tournament of 144 of the top golfers in and around the region.

DGman

Opt for day job
Weekend pro

jelvinpost wrote:

Good day all!

I've been thinking about this for quite some time and i realised maybe can find some pple on this forum who has done so or thinking of turning pro.

So question is what does it take for a amateur golfer like me to turn/be considered as a professional golfer?

Looking forward to hear from all of you guys!

Cheers!

Being a Touring Pro is really a tough job...

Of all my uni league players back in the UK many many years ago, many of whom are scratch players, there is only one that I recall that played on the European Tour and did not survive it... he tried it for 2-3 years then gave it up as he ran out of dough and wanted to settle down to get married.

If you want to earn a living as a pro (assuming you are not teaching and just aiming to earn enough $$$ to buy chicken rice every day), you have to play better than scratch and most games you play have to be under-par.... this is actually very difficult to achieve and I do believe it requires talent, dedication and luck (all of which I am lacking).

However, it is good to have a dream and goal... and if you have the will and deep enough pockets, JUST DO IT!!! We live only once.


P.S. Before you consider turning pro, you may want to challenge MLoy, CoastGuy, ASS on this forum first.... then maybe proceed to the saddam challenge (like the 11 vs 1 that is happening to Aloyboy) to see if your mental is up to scratch first before consider turning pro

jelvinpost wrote:

Good day all!

I've been thinking about this for quite some time and i realised maybe can find some pple on this forum who has done so or thinking of turning pro.

So question is what does it take for a amateur golfer like me to turn/be considered as a professional golfer?

Looking forward to hear from all of you guys!

Cheers!

JelvInpost you are insulting every pro

wow you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, Yeoyc? just a normal question that serious amateur golfers would sometimes wonder. he may not know the ins and outs, maybe he's naive but that's why hes asking, politely I might say. I don't see why people would need to be so angry about wah lau

Yeoyc wrote:

jelvinpost wrote:

Good day all!

I've been thinking about this for quite some time and i realised maybe can find some pple on this forum who has done so or thinking of turning pro.

So question is what does it take for a amateur golfer like me to turn/be considered as a professional golfer?

Looking forward to hear from all of you guys!

Cheers!

JelvInpost you are insulting every pro that has ever become professional. Get your head out of your backside and think about it literally. Can u shoot 65 on your home course? From your post I doubt that. Can u teach ? Do u have any experience as a coach or club fitter. Why the hell u wanna become pro ? So can hao lian to your kakis? What's your motive? Become a D grade SPGA pro with no realistic way to make an income. ....

Were you an ex pro yourself? Maybe you can share your perceived bitterness with the industry with all of us.

With the way you rant, you sounded like a wannabe-SPGA-Pro turn bad. Do you know Mardan mamat and LCB personally? U saying they make peanuts etc...? U seen their NOA or have u seen either of them wash toilet or clear tables in their free time ? Then how you know they make peanuts? And even if they do, what is it gotta do with you?

And you accuse jelvinpost of wanna be hao lian. U have evidence? Do you know him personally? He may just be a naive fella who has a pipe dream... You never have dream before? Oh yah... if you're singaporean, most probably you were taught that u are never good enough.

And lastly, u assume that TS is working for living , why ? he cannot be millionaire meh? If he is millionaire he can jolly well do whatever he wants with his money, including being a golf pro..

Relax lah.. why dun u save your ranting post to someone who is about to jump from the highest floor of the MBS after losing his millions in the casino. TS is not about to end his life, only planning to make changes to it...dun need to be so drama...

+1 for Begbie's reply.

Begbie wrote:

Relax lah.. why dun u save your ranting post to someone who is about to jump from the highest floor of the MBS after losing his millions in the casino.

I don't think jumping is an option. I checked after my last MBS session. The windows don't open and no roof access.

Technospaz wrote:

+1 for Begbie's reply.

And now Yeoyc has conveneintly edited his post after slamming our local pros like mardan, lcb and even saying JL is not even making anything from becoming one.

Yeo, TS never insulted any pros, but u definitely insulted them by comparing the money u made in few months selling insurance is more they can make in a year...

But isn't selling insurance closely resemble being a golfer ? Only the top will survive while the rest just dun make it... Same like property agents..

Doesn't having this knowledge make u be more sensitive when commenting on our local pros... ?

One word. Bitterness...

I once tot of behaving like a pro

Relax guys.. Golf is about having fun.. Wear funny colourful pants to distract ur flight mates, smoke and blow on them to make them giddy.. Then win money to buy more ciggies and colourful pants.. Just enjoy

enwee wrote:

DRGjr72 wrote:

enwee wrote:

DRGjr72 wrote:

enwee wrote:

Personally I think it's quite hard making a living as a playing pro here, unlike in US or Aust. If not CTH would not have shifted to KL.

Eric, I think per trip to any tournaments would be around 2-3K？LCB I think made more $$ from sponsor than on tour?

According to your initial statement you think it is easy to make a living a a playing pro in the US?

I am curious as to what the basis of this argument is?

I will grant you that travel expenses can be high here, depending on where you travel to. But they can be high in the US as well. Please elaborate on why you think it is easier to make a living as a playing pro in the US or AUS vs. here.

U got me all wrong, because US　more tour events there than just one Asian tour and prize money higher. Just like why so many people wanna go on the J tour because of the money. Why people come onto Asian tour? Partly because of the joint events that Asian and European tour events, if they win one of such event, they can secure a European tour card where there's bigger prize money there，see Jbe Kruger and Simon Dyson.

No I was just going off of what you said.

Yes there are more events, but does that make it easier? Maybe some attempt the J tour or the Asian tour or whatnot, but does that make it any harder because 20 guys from various places opt to play here? Is your argument based on travel expenses or is it based on difficulty of the tour? THere are mini tours in the US in most states, from there the top several typically go on to the PGA tour ( I can site several examples that are friends of mine), the European tour, the South African Tour, the Tour del los Americas, etc. The joint events here in Asia seem to be limited and unless you have some type of status or ranking, you are not playing in that anyhow.

My question to you is...Do you think Simon Dyson would rather play on the Euro tour or the Asian tour? You stated earlier that it was harder than in the US or AUS to make a living, so why does he not go there?

When there's more events the chances of exposure is higher. There are so many smaller tour in US where they can judge on the standard. If u had not read on the strait times wk ago why Justin Han had to quit playing on the Asian tour and went into coaching and why CTH had to shift to KL?

Ａｓ to answer your qns. As an Englishman, Simon Dyson definitely would play in a European Tour more. C'mon, if he can made a decent living in Europe I don't see why he should go to US? But who knows? Rory is going to play in more PGA events this year. Remember Michael Campbell? He was struggling in the PGA tour. But of course we are looking at the glamourous side of the pro on TV. Who knows how much work they had put into it?

As for the joints events, of cos they are limited or else might as well change the Asian tour name to European tour. But still it's a great jumping board for all these players.

That is true that there is a better chance for exposure, but there also a larger failure rate as there are more people "chasing the dream".

I did not read the article in the Straits Times about those two gentleman, but I too can find many cases where people had to give up the dream because they could not afford it or opted to play somewhere else. During my time I saw many guys go over to South Africa to play on the tour there because they passed Q school for it. I think that sometimes it is also where can you play (meaning where are you exempt or can get into events), not just a money factor (although that is important).

As far as Dyson, Europe, Campbell and that paragraph I did not really understand what you were getting at. But to answer the question "who knows how much work they had to put into it?" I do know and have seen it first hand, during my days as a professional and working/playing with other aspiring and established players. Some made, some did not. It is a hard road, that is only getting harder as the talent pool is widening. And it is expensive.

I also do agree that it is a challenge over here because of the limited number of options with respect to the number of tours available. That could force people to travel to further parts of the region for events. There are also travel concerns that require flight, whereas in some instances in the US (depending on where you play) you can drive. But that is part of what you sign up for when you want to chase this dream.

The bottom line is unless you are a top shark in the pond (whatever tour you are on), you are going to have a tough go at it. Even then, some guys on some of the bigger tours in the world will have a hard time meeting expenses if they are not popular or in the top tiers. It is an expensive lifestyle and sometimes players need assistance either from fiscal or corporate sponsors.

But back on the OP's statement. If you want to give it a try go for it man!!! There is nothing worse than looking back 10 years from now and saying I wish I gave that a shot, or I wish I tried that. If you fail so what...it happens to a lot out there. My only recommendation would be (echoing what I said earlier) to practice and train very hard. Being a professional golfer is much harder than it appears, as the good ones do make it look rather easy.

my take is it takes a special breed to be a pro and stay a touring pro. for the other 99% its a dream, but it one makes it, the rewards is just damn attractive.

i do hope to see rookie david lipsky win a major in my lifetime...so it just goes to show the competition in the Asian Tour today.

DGman

DGman wrote:

my take is it takes a special breed to be a pro and stay a touring pro. for the other 99% its a dream, but it one makes it, the rewards is just damn attractive.

i do hope to see rookie david lipsky win a major in my lifetime...so it just goes to show the competition in the Asian Tour today.

DGman

The quality of the players on the Asian tour is on par with any of the major tours out there today. People are just not exposed to it as much, unfortunately. I saw some of the play at the Handa and it was impressive and some of it was as good as I have seen.

Also agree that it takes a special breed. There are guys that just have "it", and there are others that work really hard and find "it", it being whatever it takes to make it out there. But these guys at these professional levels are really, really good players. It does not matter what tour you are on.

DGman wrote:

my take is it takes a special breed to be a pro and stay a touring pro. for the other 99% its a dream, but it one makes it, the rewards is just damn attractive.

I agree. I think something very special needs to exist in the golfer before he/she can turn pro and succeed. Turning pro isn't difficult. It's succeeding in that career which is tough. Also (like DGman said) to those who do succeed, the rewards are mind-blowing. Sadly, however, for each golfer who succeeds, many others will not and that's difficult.

But I will say that if it is one's dream to try it, GO FOR IT! Don't ever regret not giving yourself a shot. Never let your last thoughts be that you didn't try. Don't let others tell you that you can't. If you believe in yourself, anything is possible.

Hey Jelvinpost, in your intro thread you mention you picked up golf only 2 yrs ago ... if that is the case , the odds are slightly more against you ... when the odds are already slim to begin with ... However, nothing beats chasing a dream, and having no regrets ... So go for it!

I suggest you create a roadmap, with regular milestones ... And challenge youself to regularly meet them ... And if u dont, then reevaluate your decision!

More importantly, soak up as much info as possible from Dgman and drgjr72 ... They know more about pro golf than most! Good luck!

I read that Nick Faldo played his first round when he was 14 and turned pro when he was 18. Everything is possible

DGman wrote:

my take is it takes a special breed to be a pro and stay a touring pro. for the other 99% its a dream, but it one makes it, the rewards is just damn attractive.

i do hope to see rookie david lipsky win a major in my lifetime...so it just goes to show the competition in the Asian Tour today.

DGman

Not trying to nitpick, but the actual percentage is probably closer to 99.995% of the rest of the golfers do not manage to sustain being a touring pro.

That being said, having a dream and actively pursuing it is fulfilling. Even if you do not reach the final destination, the journey can be a reward in itself.

All I can say is if u hv a dream and pursuing it in golf, u r 10times better than me


I play with no purpose since the retirement of my cult group ' the bad boys'

Technospaz wrote:

I read that Nick Faldo played his first round when he was 14 and turned pro when he was 18. Everything is possible

14 to 18, is when you are growing up... body is still young... and gets stronger by the day.

34 to 38 is a different story... each passing day, you were stronger the day before..

when you are 35, you need to do FFI you know...
See the Ippt passing criteria, you know that you are expected to be slower, weaker and less flexible with each passing year..

Begbie wrote:

Oh yah... if you're singaporean, most probably you were taught that u are never good enough.

Oi. Low Blow.

Wow!
Thanks for all the comments from everyone esp DRGjr72, DGman, Begbie and many more...
It really insightful and nice to see people with experience sharing their knowledge here.
Thats why golf is such a great game.

I know its not gonna be easy to play and earn a living as a touring pro right from the start.
I've also read the articles on how average professional golfers barely breaks-even on their touring expenses (i.e. tournament fees, accomodation, air ticket, etc)
I agree with DGman to a certain extent. It is not easy for anyone to earn a decent living as professional athlete in Singapore. What more with the high cost of living. I once trained as a full time athlete for another sport, and it was not easy at all!

But Tourswing's advice is fantastic! I know that I still have a long way to go to be even competing at a tournament. But thats exactly the reason why i started this thread. So that I can understand more as to what it takes/costs and I can draw up a routemap/ target board for me to work towards..

Even if i fail to achieve what I dream of becoming- As least i know in the future when i look back, i can tell myself that I tried, lived it and will have no regrets..
Like many of you guys said... live life with no regrets.

On a side note to yeoyc - I'm not insulting any pro out there, or at least i think i am not. I'm only seeking advice n knowledge from more experienced players in this forum.. i believe we are open to constructive feedbacks here, but not insults..
As to your question why i wanna turn pro? Its not to haolian.. whats there to haolian? Its simply because i love golf, i enjoy the game and If im good at it, why cant I make it something which I do as a profession?

nrafee wrote:

Technospaz wrote:

I read that Nick Faldo played his first round when he was 14 and turned pro when he was 18. Everything is possible

14 to 18, is when you are growing up... body is still young... and gets stronger by the day.

34 to 38 is a different story... each passing day, you were stronger the day before..

when you are 35, you need to do FFI you know...
See the Ippt passing criteria, you know that you are expected to be slower, weaker and less flexible with each passing year..

haha good point.. thats why got senior category mah!