pro at 17?

Question
dear Paul,
i am started to play golf at 3 years old, i am twelve years
old and last year my handicap was a 12 handicap. i have played in SEVERAL tournaments the last 7 years, like TSJGA,
PLantations jr. golf association, pepsi little peoples, and this year im playing in the pga junior golf tour.
MY dream is to be a lpga professional....

i am devoting my life to golf, this summer i will be attending a nike golf school.. i practice everyday for 2 hours. hah b/c i live in illinois and its cold right now. but this year probably 4 because i will be playing 18 holes everyday at my home course,

but i want to become a professional at 16 or seventeen,
but i dont know what to do...? should i wait a year?

i need advice,
Lucy Clark

Answer
Dear Ms. Clark,

Thank you for your letter.  I'll do my best to answer your questions.

First, I want you to know that there is no single, "best" way to achieve your goal.  And there is no way for me to know the best way for you to proceed.  There are just too many factors and the biggest one is "you".  What I'm trying to say is...the best way to proceed must be suited to your personality.  And I don't know you.

In general I think you are doing the right thing in playing in lots of events.  The more you play in, the more accustom you become to the feeling of competition.  That's really good.  I'm sure you must do a lot of practice and I'd imagine you spend at least half of your practice time working on your scoring game (putting, chipping, wedge approaches from near the green and bunker shots).

Do you have a teacher that works with you from time to time?  If so, great; if not, you should try to find a qualified teacher that will help you develop your game.  It should be someone that has developed other young players and knows how to help you.

It's good to have goals, but you might want to be careful with a goal such as becoming an LPGA pro by the time you are 16 or 17.  I would not press that one too hard.  Your golf game will dictate the right time to turn pro.  When you are beating everyone in your age group, go to the next level.  When you are beating everyone at that level, go to the next.  Most successful tour players played high school golf, they played college golf and then they played professional golf.  Even Tiger played high school and college golf.  If you haven't read the book about how his father guided his development, you might want to find it and read it.

If you skip a step, you will miss out on the fun and the lessons that should be learned at each stage.  So instead of setting a goal of being a professional at 16, make a goal of being the best player in your state at the age of 16.  If you develop your game and become the best you can be, everything else will fall into place.

One last piece of advice... Take time to develop your full personality.  Dedicating yourself to becoming an LPGA pro is a wonderful thing, but there is much more to life than the game of golf.  Work hard on your game when you are practicing and playing, but when you are away from the course, develop other interests and enjoy yourself.  In the long run, it will enhance your golf game.

Good luck.  I hope I've been helpful to you Lucy.

Sincerely,

Paul Dolman
PGA Golf Professional