Difference between PGA Tour and Mini Tour players

Nate<80

Team Hackers, Morgan Cup 2022
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Good read. It's a thin line and a broad divide at the same time. I've heard people say that it's a lot easier to get from a 20 handicap to single digit than it is to get from single digit to a plus handicap. I imagine the same applies to the Mini Tour vs. PGA Tour players.
 
Good read. It's a thin line and a broad divide at the same time. I've heard people say that it's a lot easier to get from a 20 handicap to single digit than it is to get from single digit to a plus handicap. I imagine the same applies to the Mini Tour vs. PGA Tour players.

That’s a great take.

All I know is.. The guys even on Mini Tour are stupid good.
 
That’s a great take.

All I know is.. The guys even on Mini Tour are stupid good.
I've played with one guy who was a Mini Tour player. He was insanely good, and when you see that kind of play up close and personal it's amazing to think that even a guy like that is nowhere near good enough to play on the PGA Tour.

It was interesting to talk to him and hear his stories about the mini tour circuit. It's certainly not a glamorous life.
 
I had a client who held a handicap of about +3.5 at one of the hardest courses in the area - Murcar Links. I played one game with him and it was just jaw dropping, as in I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Bearing in mind he maintained this whilst still working a very stressful high powered job and a young family, he was even better when he was young and played every day. I asked him whether when he was absolutely at his peak had he ever thought about making it a career, and he laughed and said that he wasn't even close to being almost good enough. Blew my tiny mind.
 
If I remember hearing it right, most pros would be +5 or better if they kept/used handicaps. So over the course of a four-day tournament format (PGA Tour style), that would mean they'd have the potential to pick up 20 strokes or more on a scratch golfer. Mind blowing.
 
If I remember hearing it right, most pros would be +5 or better if they kept/used handicaps.
I think that number is underestimated. By a lot.
 
Our club pro's son was on the European Tour for a number of years. He was never quite good enough to retain his card , got injured, came back, got his card at Q school, lost it , got it back , then his wife had kids and he went to a club job. He played Walker Cup . As a skinny thirteen year old he would be hitting balls on the range like a pro. His dad said that the difference between top 100 on main Tour and top 100 on minor tour was one shot a round.

 
i’ve told this story before. in my career round i shot 72, playing alongside a player in the latin pga tour. he shot 62 and was livid because it should have been in the 50s. the guys game was pristine. not miles long, but incredibly consistent. something i would only dream of having. and walking away from that round, it was clear that as good as that guy is, he has NO CHANCE to be on the big tour.
 
At the highest level it is a very mental game. The ability to stay very calm under tournament pressure is a rare trait that I certainly never mastered just at the college level. I use to sometimes throw up before a college match and remember my hands shaking on some of those pressure packed 4 footers. All that competitive golf before age 25 did have an upside - it makes other golf matches like a club championship or even a city tournament seem like child’s play. At age 55 I play better in a match that means a little more whether it’s a little money on the line or one of our traveling 6 man scratch team events that our club participates in locally.

I’ll also add that great putters are born not made and that often is the difference between a Tour and a mini Tour player. Putting is also mostly confidence at the highest level and making one or two extra putts per round can be the difference on which tour is your home.
 
To see how rough everything is just look at Monday qualifiers for some Korn Ferry events. You will see former pga tour winners and that next generation of players trying to break through.

The PGA tour has something like 150ish people with full status and a number of people with conditional status. There are not that many slots and stepping down to Korn Ferry it continues.

I've played with some + players who hoped to try in the mid amateur, they hit the ball consistently long and played boring golf. Fairway, green, 2 putt par. But they recognized they are so far from the mini tours. Over 4 rounds on the course they would be happy with 6-8 under when playing as par 72. When a mini tour used the course the winning score was something like -21 while playing as a par 71 and the leader played safe the last day shooting only -2 or -3. Even going beyond that level having that mental fortitude to keep rolling in putts and hitting good shots knowing that 10k, 100k, 1 million is on the line is probably incomprehensible for most people. Maybe we have a few degenerates that have bet 1k or more on a shot on this board (I love you all for this) but that amount of pressure is just unheard of the majority of us.
 
I've played with one guy who was a Mini Tour player. He was insanely good, and when you see that kind of play up close and personal it's amazing to think that even a guy like that is nowhere near good enough to play on the PGA Tour.

It was interesting to talk to him and hear his stories about the mini tour circuit. It's certainly not a glamorous life.

Right. I played with someone who was on the Canadian tour trying to make it on the PGA tour and I was in awe of his game.. But he honestly will never sniff the PGA.
 
Our club pro's son was on the European Tour for a number of years. He was never quite good enough to retain his card , got injured, came back, got his card at Q school, lost it , got it back , then his wife had kids and he went to a club job. He played Walker Cup . As a skinny thirteen year old he would be hitting balls on the range like a pro. His dad said that the difference between top 100 on main Tour and top 100 on minor tour was one shot a round.


Wow, very cool. Thanks for sharing 🙏
 
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