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Silly to think about Qualifying for Mid-Amateur?

fupresti

fupresti

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I am 35 years old, handicap is down to a 5.7 and feel like I am on the cusp of moving even lower. I was talking to my coach today about goals not that I reached my first one of breaking a 6 HDCP since I started lessons in April. He asked me what my next goal was and I just kind of blurted out I would love to be able to enter a sectional qualifier for the Mid-Am. I know you have to be a 3.4 or lower, so I said I wanted to work towards being prepared to try and qualify in 2015 and he asked "why not next year"? TO which I replied it's not enough time to drop from a 5.8 to a 3.4 and he looked at me like I was a quitter.

Fo you guys in the low single digits, does this sound like a reasonable goal? I mean, were talking less than a year for sectionals. Anyone else tried qualifying? I have no aspirations of being a champion, but being on THP has made me want to try and take my golf to a competitive level.
 
I'm not as low as you but I don't think it is out of the question by any means. Keep a positive attitude man and go for it!
 
Why not?
 
Gotta have a goal and you've got a great opportunity to go for it.....Keep working hard and you'll get there with no problem!
 
Firm believer in setting goals for ones self, even if they are lofty goals. It will definitely take a lot of work, but nothing is out of the question.

I have no personal experience, but one of our guys from the shop missed qualifying at sectionals by 1 stroke yesterday. He is a +handicap and has some serious game.

This isn't to scare you off, rather stress the importance of putting in the time and practice. With the right preparation, anything is possible.
 
It is a great goal. Lots of people have played in tournaments. But, there is nothing like playing in, and being able to say you have played in, a State and/or USGA event.
 
fupresti said:
I am 35 years old, handicap is down to a 5.7 and feel like I am on the cusp of moving even lower. I was talking to my coach today about goals not that I reached my first one of breaking a 6 HDCP since I started lessons in April. He asked me what my next goal was and I just kind of blurted out I would love to be able to enter a sectional qualifier for the Mid-Am. I know you have to be a 3.4 or lower, so I said I wanted to work towards being prepared to try and qualify in 2015 and he asked "why not next year"? TO which I replied it's not enough time to drop from a 5.8 to a 3.4 and he looked at me like I was a quitter.

Fo you guys in the low single digits, does this sound like a reasonable goal? I mean, were talking less than a year for sectionals. Anyone else tried qualifying? I have no aspirations of being a champion, but being on THP has made me want to try and take my golf to a competitive level.
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The difference between a 5.8 and a 3.4 is essentially a couple strokes a round, it's definitely attainable. Also, if your coach is wanting you to push to get there, I think he has the best insight into whether or not the goal would be attainable. Keep at it!
 
arydolphin said:
I think all of us need goals in our golf game. If you think that a Mid-Am qualifier is too much of a goal to shoot for right now, why not shoot for tournaments around your area and state to play in first? Some quick Googling shows that for the Arizona Mid-Am championship, you only need to be less than a 6.4: http://www.azgolf.org/index.php/Tournaments/event_detail/2013_az_mid_amateur_championship
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I agree with this. The U.S. mid-am is the top level tournament for ams over 25. I would definitely do city/state first to get an experience. I know several guys who are "scratch" that tried to qualify for US mid-am as their first tournament and throw up mid-80s...

Our qualifier just happened yesterday and -3, -1, -1 were the 3 scores to make the cut out of a field of around 70.
 
One of the things in Bob Rotella's latest book that really made me think was the part about comfort zones and how our score stays within what our golf self image thinks it should. I see it on here all the time "It was the best round of my life - up to the 16th, where I blew up and shot my usual score."

If you set the goal and keep it in sight and tell yourself you are good enough to drop those two points you can do it. The problem with most people is they reach a goal and say woo-hoo I did it, but they never set the next goal and slip back from where they were.

Set the goal and go do it.
 
if you like playing competitive golf then absolutely. usga qualifiers are extremely intense. ive played tons of them and the best ive done is miss alternate on a tiebreaker. I was a + hcp back then and now im a 1.4 and stand zero chance. the competition is absolutely fierce. when you see how usga sets up a golf course bricks will be shat. I beat out a lot of the field lots of times but compared to the real sticks out there I was back of the bus at best. I never did it with dreams of making any pro tour, not even the prophylactic tour. but for the competitive golf experience its amazing. on a scale from 1 -10 us am,mid am and publinks are all 11's
 
Definitely attainable, you're just a few strokes away! Maybe one or two more GIR, or one or two less putts is all it takes. Not that I have any real insight, given that I'm a double digit capper right now, but since you're way close to the mark, no reason to not try it. Agree with what others said about local tourneys first to build up the nerves - even playing in the open tourney at your local course could be a nerve wracker. I used to play a lot of tennis tournaments in high school and the years after, and the pressure even in small tournaments is massively ramped up - took me playing like crap in several of them before I started being able to get over the pressure and play like normal.
 
Definitely a reasonable goal! To drop your index by another 2.3 by next summer is a goal thats well within your reach, and playing in a sectional qualifier for the US Mid-Am will get you some exposure to how guys at that level play and will elevate your game even more. I was a 3.5 in June of 2012, at a match play tournament in August of '12 I nearly beat a player that shot a 64 in US Amateur sectional qualifying and it made me realize that I can play on that same level as scratch golfers. I put a lot of work into my game over the winter and this spring and in the span of a year I dropped my index to a +1.2. You can get there! Keep that goal in your sights and refuse to let it slip away. Good luck in your journey.
 
If you think you can do it, why not? I'm going to try and qualify for the US Amateur next year.
 
Definitely seems attainable for next year. Don't doubt yourself! You've obviously got game, and I believe it's better to push yourself to a goal that's hard to achieve than to an easy one.
 
It is plenty of time. I carried a 12 handicap for years when I was playing softball. Once I quit, I started golfing again and dropped my handicap to a 4 in a year. I am around a 2.9 to 3.0 now, and plan on getting to scratch next year.

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I'm with everyone else. You have to challenge yourself, so you can be better. Practice and play with the mindset that you are already at your goal. If I'm you, I'm also playing in as many individual stroke play or Match Play tourney I can in between. You'll learn a lot about your mental game when you're actually in the trenches. Its easy to get comfortable playing with the guys on your home course, but playing with someone you don't know with something on the line. That will help you see where your game sits. PLUS, events like that are a blast!
Good luck, you've got this!

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Do it. What do you have to loose?

I had been thinking about entering the mid am qualifiers here as well, haunted with similar thoughts...now looking at the same situation from a different perspective, I can't see a reason why I would not enter. The worst that can happen is that you get to play a round of golf :D
 
I think the hdcp is attainable for sure. But playing well enough to hold your head high in one of the premier Am events is not about a number. There is so much more to playing or qualifying for an event such as the Mid-Am.
I would seek out the council of a few top players in your area and see what their thoughts are. Maybe tee it up with them and see how they perform on the course. Measure your game against someone that can take it deep and then ask yourself if you are close. But dropping the hdcp to the threes is doable.
 
Getting your handicap there is definitely possible.

I like some of the others advice of getting into some local and state tourneys where you'll be teeing it up with some great players and you can judge your game by playing against other great players will give you an idea of what you need to fine tune in your game.
 
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