[CedssypeEdids]

Yesterday I played a round with s young guy(found out he was my age-20) and he was playing behind us when we would let him through but he stuck with us for the whole back nine. Before we let him through we would look back and we could just tell he was a player my first instinct was a real pro. So we let him through first thing is his name "Matthew hill" and man he could play. We just made some small talk and found out small stuff and then that he's on mini tours has played on the hooters tour and everything he could he played golf since high school and that's All he dies now is golf when and where he can

So we keep on playing and we get backed up and he tells us a story back a month ago where he played in a tournament at Disney and the leader was his buddy who over 4 days was -39 and he was in a 4 way playoff just to qualify for the miracle foundation tournament.

It then hit me that wow I know I'm good for my age atleast I thought I was decent but it then occurred to me that there will always be someone better than me and that golf is a bigger competition than I could have ever of thought. I realized that I may reach a peak and that one day I will have to settle for it no matter what it is. As Matt said "the guys you see on sundays have been playing sincerity could walk that's why their there" I'm sure he's not the best example but playing along side him I came to the conclusion that I may never reach the potential I want to.

I just wanted to share this and see what if others think the same way.

[Yarikoff]

Did you say -39 for four rounds at Disney?


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[Gscvbhhv]

Is this the same "Matt Hill" that is sponsored by Nike and is from Canada?

Great story. I feel the same way when I play with my best friend. He is just oo good to even compare my game to, and I know I will never be as good as him.

[pinawinekolad]

There will always be somebody who is better. Even Jack in his prime got beat.

[CedssypeEdids]

Did you say -39 for four rounds at Disney?


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Said the guy who won it shot 62-62-61-60 final roundabout it was a 4 way tie to a playoff. 39 might be too high but I know he said it was in the 30s

[quack!]

You should read "Talent is Overrated". http://www.amazon.com/Talent-Overrat.../dp/1591842247

Everyone in the world will tell you its impossible and you don't have the "talent". But there are many people who have overcome talent by working their tail off day in and day out. There are also plenty of people with great talent who never make it b/c it comes so easy to them and they get bored while not working hard on their game.

Wasn't it Y.E. Yang that beat Tiger to win a major? He didn't even pick up a golf club til he was 19, and 15 years later he beats the man himself.

Anyways, just want you to know that its not impossible. It can be done with years of HARD work, and I mean hard. You have to be honest with yourself knowing that hitting balls 3 times a week isn't going to get it done. You have to sacrifice everything and spend a majority of your time on the course/range/green practicing efficiently.

[vNZsk39B]

Yesterday I played a round with s young guy(found out he was my age-20) and he was playing behind us when we would let him through but he stuck with us for the whole back nine. Before we let him through we would look back and we could just tell he was a player my first instinct was a real pro. So we let him through first thing is his name "Matthew hill" and man he could play. We just made some small talk and found out small stuff and then that he's on mini tours has played on the hooters tour and everything he could he played golf since high school and that's All he dies now is golf when and where he can

So we keep on playing and we get backed up and he tells us a story back a month ago where he played in a tournament at Disney and the leader was his buddy who over 4 days was -39 and he was in a 4 way playoff just to qualify for the miracle foundation tournament.

It then hit me that wow I know I'm good for my age atleast I thought I was decent but it then occurred to me that there will always be someone better than me and that golf is a bigger competition than I could have ever of thought. I realized that I may reach a peak and that one day I will have to settle for it no matter what it is. As Matt said "the guys you see on sundays have been playing sincerity could walk that's why their there" I'm sure he's not the best example but playing along side him I came to the conclusion that I may never reach the potential I want to.

I just wanted to share this and see what if others think the same way.

Is it your goal to be a professional golfer?

If so and if you think you have the potential, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it.
Today, you have more access to quality teaching than there has ever been before and with clinics, mini tours, local and state tournaments, equipment fitting and even things like this forum, all you need is the desire and the drive to succeed.
Of course success won't be easy, but then again nothing worth doing is ever easy and at just 20 years old you should have more than enough energy to do whatever it takes to get to where you want to be.
You post an 8.2 handicap here and the first thing you'd need to do is work to get that down to somewhere around a +2 to have any chance at competing on a professional level.
If I were in your shoes, I'd look around for the best teacher I could find and tell him what your goals are and get him to work with you. If he can't do it, then find someone who can.
Natural talent will get you a long way but to play at the highest level, you're going to need more than that and that's where good coaching comes in.
Get involved in as much competitive golf as you can and see how you handle it and see how you stack up. That will give you an idea of what will have to be done to get better and then make a plan to do just that.

Another thing is to surround yourself with as many good players as you can. You're not going to get very far if you're just out there playing with people who can barely break 100. Find some real players and play with and against them. You'll probably get whupped a few times, but that's necessary in order to identify what you need to fix and then go fix it and start kicking their butts.

A long time ago, Lee Trevino was once asked what he thought it took to play professional golf and his answer was this: "If you think you have what it takes to play professional golf, go out and play five courses you've never seen before and play them all from the championship tees. If you can average one under par for all five courses, you're ready."

I think that advice still holds true and that would be something I would try to do even if it's just to find out how much work I need to do.

But the absolute bottom line is that only you can decide if this is what you want to do and if it is, don't let ANYBODY tell you otherwise.

Good luck and I hope you succeed!

[CedssypeEdids]

Thanks JW I wasn't getting down on myself it's just something that I realized. I mean I want to be the best I can be but at some point I have to realize I will reach a peek and I will have to settle.

[inhitoemits]

I agree that there is always someone better out there. I also agree that if you want something bad enough hard work and sacrifice will go along way in helping you to get there but I also believe that you need the natural ability to go with your desire.

If you take any of the great players Jack, Arnie, Phil, Tiger they are 85% natural talent and 10% working their asses off every single day to be the best and 5% luck.

I've often said that if you took Phil and locked him in a room for a year so he couldn't practice and took your average golfer and let them practice the way he does for a year and had them play a match Phil would still win 10 out of 10 times

[vNZsk39B]

Thanks JW I wasn't getting down on myself it's just something that I realized. I mean I want to be the best I can be but at some point I have to realize I will reach a peek and I will have to settle.

I know you weren't getting down on yourself. I think you saw something that's both awesome and scary at the same time and I think you want a piece of that.

At 20 years old, it's way too early to be thinking about peaking or settling. You've got your whole life in front of you and who knows where that's going to take you?
You've got plenty of years to go before you even have to begin to think about settling for something and right now you should be reaching for all the brass rings you can get your hands on.

Go for it, dude!
Don't let people tell you what you can or can't do!
And even if you don't end up teeing it up at The Masters someday, think of all the fun you'll have trying to get there!

[compiit]

My goals are to improve every year and the the main yardstick is my scoring average. I record every score and hole by hole scores of every round so I can have something to measure by. I even have a strategy for aging, at 62 the potential for improvement is limited but at some point I will move up a set of tees, hope it is a long time down the road though. (I am on the back tees now-6700 yds) I will never make it to a USGA tournament but I can continue to get a little better and that's enough for me.

[Goksiodiffeli]

i totally agree with your thought about being a good player. my handicap (irrelevant for college golf) speaks for itself and i consider myself a good player, but today i played in a state am qualifier where a lot of people are the exact same skill level. its kinda fun to get a reality check once in a while and realize i need to work even harder instead of get excited about practice round scores, ect. i am like you though, my goal is to play professionally and i know a good bit of what it takes having friends on the nationwide and pga tours as well as being a college player. best wishes to ya