nationwide

Question
Mr. Dolman,
I have been golfing for about 6 years now, i am 24, but only recently i have started taking the game seriously and have gained a passion for it. in May the first time i got out this season i shot a 95 from the Black Tees. i have been playing 3 to 4 times a week, and recently bought my first set of "real" clubs (clevelands), for the past month i have been scoring in the 70's and just today i shot my best score 70 for 2 under par. now to my question.. with my recent improvement i have been thinking about competing, and the monday qualifier for the nation wide stop is going to be at my home course in 6 weeks.. am i just waisting my time to play in that event? should i consider Qschool someday if my game continues to improve the way that it is? am i just dreaming?

Answer
Dear Dan,

First, welcome to the club.  I have the same passion you talk about.  There are many, many thousands of us, so it's a large club.

I don't want to say anything to discourage you, but on the other hand I make it a policy to speak candidly.  I get similar questions from young players on a fairly regular basis.  

I don't know you or know your game at the present time.  I certainly don't know your future.  So it's impossible for me to predict where your game will go over the next few years.  On your side is your youth and your enthusiasm.  Plus, you've obviously got some talent or you wouldn't have made such improvement over such a relatively short period of time.

But (you knew there was a "but" coming...right?) your competition is miles ahead of you at this point.  They've hit many more golf shots than you.  They've spent countless more hours working on their game.  And they've had many more tournament experiences than you.  So you've got a big hill to climb.  That doesn't mean you can't do it.

If you have the resources (time, money and passion), get yourself in contact with a really good teacher (preferably someone who's handled aspiring tour players before), work really hard on your short game and enter every event and competition you can qualify for (the better the competition, the better).  

So the short answer to your question about trying to Monday qualify for the NW tour event...do it!  If you can get into Q School at some point; by all means, do it!

At least you'll be able to say (in your old age) that you gave it your best shot.  That's a much better memory than always wondering if you could have made it.

Best wishes,

Paul Dolman
PGA Golf Professional