A reader asked me to write a story regarding turning professional and what led me down the path to becoming a pro. I want to first explain the difference between someone who is a Golf Professional and someone who is a professional golfer.
A Golf Professional is someone who is in the business of golf. That person can be an instructor or a club manager, a director of golf, a head pro and or an assistant pro. I am a Class A PGA Professional and a member of the Professional Golfers Association of America. My title is Director of Instruction at the Boundary Oak Course in Walnut Creek. I have been at the same facility for 17 years now but before I went to Boundary Oak I was a Professional Golfer for 13 years.
How I came to the decision of turning pro was a life long dream in the making. I began at age eight, playing golf with my Dad at local municipal golf courses in the greater Portland area. My first Nine Hole score was a 71 entered my first junior tournament at age 12 and shortly afterward decided that golf is what I wanted to do more than anything so I quite all the other sports.
I had moderate success as a junior, never winning once but learning to be consistent and place high in most of the events I entered. I caught a break my senior year in High School by qualifying for the State High School Championship then going on to win it. That same year, my dream of going to college on a scholarship came true when I signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Oregon on a full-ride scholarship. Oregon was ranked number five in the nation so I had my work cut out for me.
Consistency, once again, earned me a spot on the varsity and I went on to play in every tournament the team entered over a period of four years. By the time I graduated I was a plus four handicap and had my sites set on playing on the PGA Tour. I would have never had the confidence to play at that level had it not been for playing golf at the University of Oregon. There were several players who had made it to the PGA Tour that had played at Oregon so I worked hard on my game and believed I could too!
I entered the PGA Q School for the first time in 1983 forfeiting my amateur status after a summer were I had won seven times, including a win in the Pacific Northwest Amateur Championship and a quarterfinal showing in the U.S. Amateur. I thought I was ready for the big time. I earned my TPS (Tournament Player Series) card that year which would be equivalent to a Nationwide Tour status now. For 13 years I traveled to nearly 20 countries, played on numerous tours including the U.S. PGA Tour as well as the Ben Hogan and Nike Tour, Austrailasian Tour, Canadian Tour, Asian Tour and numerous mini tours, earning more than a half a million dollars during that time. However, in the back of my mind, I knew that my playing days would come to an end and I would most likely end up in the business of golf.
Playing golf professionally has been something I am so thankful to have been able to do. I had some great help along the way. From coaches to mentors and some truly great friends, I could have never realized that dream without all of them. I have been fortunate and blessed to have met some great people, experienced traveling all over the world, and to have played a game for a living! With no regrets, I am thankful I made the decision to turn pro. Now, I enjoy helping people play golf and teaching them what I have learned over a period of some 45 years.
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