Anyone ever try Q School?

TMAdidas

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 7, 2012
Messages
3,904
Reaction score
88
Location
Buffalo, NY
Handicap
2
Curious as to if anyone here has ever given Q school or a similar event a run, and if so, if they could share their experiences. I am 17, so I'm still just thinking about college competition and being ready for that, but I often let my find drift into the future and playing at the next level. I know my game is not currently where it needs to be for that, but hoping that just practicing more diligently, and putting on a bit more muscle (currently 5'10", 145lbs) would allow me to compete more competitively in the future. But like I said, I would be interested to know if anyone has ever given Q School, or professional events a try, and what the experience was like. Thanks
 
I have played in a couple Monday qualifiers and the first one was eye opening as to how far I needed to improve my game. The second one I was ready but was twelve stroke penalized for something my caddie kept doing. Long story short there is a mountain of things to learn that only experience playing in high level events can give you.
My advice to you is play in every serious event you can get into. It's one thing to shoot -5 on your home course, quite another to do it under fire.
 
Curious as to if anyone here has ever given Q school or a similar event a run, and if so, if they could share their experiences. I am 17, so I'm still just thinking about college competition and being ready for that, but I often let my find drift into the future and playing at the next level. I know my game is not currently where it needs to be for that, but hoping that just practicing more diligently, and putting on a bit more muscle (currently 5'10", 145lbs) would allow me to compete more competitively in the future. But like I said, I would be interested to know if anyone has ever given Q School, or professional events a try, and what the experience was like. Thanks

Try your state amateur first. If will give you a good idea where you stand. If you can take top 5 in your state amateur, you could consider some sort of professional qualifier. If not, your game likely needs more work.
 
I know someone who made it past pre qual but not stage 1. Don't know him super well but he played in college won his state am but he wasn't able to make it so he is getting his am status back. I think he was playing to a +3 or so. Start with high profile amateur tournaments and you should be doing AJGA events now. I assume you don't have any D1 offers otherwise you probably would have said you did. Don't let that get you down. Golf in college for men is one of the sports where Title 9 hurts, unless you are maybe top 50 or 100 nationwide in your class you won't get a full ride, even great players don't always get more than a 50% offer or less. Don't be afraid to try and walk on somewhere. Playing against better players will only help you and I am a firm believer in you need to learn how to win. Once you win at a certain level then move up and keep going. That isn't to say you shouldn't play an event that might have you lose by a lot, everything is a learning experience. Since I am 32 and long past getting elite at golf I am just starting to try city events, so the advice is a bit more general than just golf itself. Good luck, don't be down that you are only a 2 handicap, plenty of people make that just from 2 to +2 at different times in their development. Just keep working hard and don't ever miss a putt below 5 feet.
 
A full ride at a D-2 or D-3 school is still a pretty sweet deal.
 
Having been in your shoes, I know where you are now. I was coming out of H.S., I played pretty well. I was the 3 Man on my H.S. Varsity team, and that was just because my friend and my twin brother were 1 and 2, someone had to be #3. You SHOULD be playing in your States Junior Golf Program as MUCH as you can. It gets you name out to the Coaches and give you valuable experience. I didn't even KNOW about that until AFTER my Senior year, but I had already been offered a college golf scholarship. I wonder if I would have been able to get a bigger scholarship offer to a bigger school had I known and been in the KJGA for more than one summer. You need to be getting your name out to Coaches at any college you'd like, now.

With all of that said, if you're a 2 now, you need to be better before you think about Q School. You need to be more like a +2 before you start thinking about it. You need to be able to play around par at any course you tee it up at, even IF you've never seen or scouted the course before hand. At my best I was down to a .8 handicap while I was an Assistant Pro after college, and even though that's good, I knew I wasn't good enough to go Pro. Heck, the Head Pro at the course I worked at was a +2 at the same time...he tried to qualify for the US Open a few times, and didn't get past the first round of that, CLOSE...missed my 1 shot once. I'm not trying to burst your bubble, but you need to work on your game more if that's your goal.

If I'm you, I'm working on my game and getting the best I can and, winning all the event you can enter for your State Junior Golf Event and Amateur Events, and getting my name out to ALL the D1, D2 and D3 golf coaches you can. A free (or almost) ride to college will be worth a LOT of money saved and give you the most pride looking back on everything 10 years from now...TRUST ME!
 
A full ride at a D-2 or D-3 school is still a pretty sweet deal.
I don't believe they have full rides for golf at those schools. Even D-1 only gets like 5 full rides for a team of 10.
 
I don't believe they have full rides for golf at those schools. Even D-1 only gets like 5 full rides for a team of 10.

And D3 cannot give athletic scholarships at all
 
Playing in the AM with the son of a friend who is on a full ride to Wake Forest and has a sponsor invitation into the Byron in 3 weeks, the kid has serious game but the question is whether it's enough.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
My advice is to go to college where you will have LOTS of time to really work on your game and play some good competition. Then after school is done you go after Q school. Play good competition golf, get an education, then chase the dream. If the dream does not come true you have your degree and were able to play college golf.
 
I know someone who made it past pre qual but not stage 1. Don't know him super well but he played in college won his state am but he wasn't able to make it so he is getting his am status back. I think he was playing to a +3 or so. Start with high profile amateur tournaments and you should be doing AJGA events now. I assume you don't have any D1 offers otherwise you probably would have said you did. Don't let that get you down. Golf in college for men is one of the sports where Title 9 hurts, unless you are maybe top 50 or 100 nationwide in your class you won't get a full ride, even great players don't always get more than a 50% offer or less. Don't be afraid to try and walk on somewhere. Playing against better players will only help you and I am a firm believer in you need to learn how to win. Once you win at a certain level then move up and keep going. That isn't to say you shouldn't play an event that might have you lose by a lot, everything is a learning experience. Since I am 32 and long past getting elite at golf I am just starting to try city events, so the advice is a bit more general than just golf itself. Good luck, don't be down that you are only a 2 handicap, plenty of people make that just from 2 to +2 at different times in their development. Just keep working hard and don't ever miss a putt below 5 feet.

Great advice, thank you, and thanks to everyone else. I've received probably 15 or so offers, but only 1 or 2 have been D1 (Valparaiso was the only one remotely worth noting), but I had pretty much already decided where I was going to college (Liberty University), and was gonna see whether golf worked out from there or not. I will certainly contact the coach and look into a walk-on opportunity. Even if I don't play much the first year or two, I will for sure be taking advantage of the awesome practice facility they have. Thanks for the insight :)
 
Playing in the AM with the son of a friend who is on a full ride to Wake Forest and has a sponsor invitation into the Byron in 3 weeks, the kid has serious game but the question is whether it's enough.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Will Zalatoris? If that is who you are talking about he will make it on tour.
 
Great advice, thank you, and thanks to everyone else. I've received probably 15 or so offers, but only 1 or 2 have been D1 (Valparaiso was the only one remotely worth noting), but I had pretty much already decided where I was going to college (Liberty University), and was gonna see whether golf worked out from there or not. I will certainly contact the coach and look into a walk-on opportunity. Even if I don't play much the first year or two, I will for sure be taking advantage of the awesome practice facility they have. Thanks for the insight :)
I wish you good luck. There is zero shame if it doesn't work out, only shame is not trying.
 
Anyone ever try Q School?

I probably shouldn't say!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Great advice, thank you, and thanks to everyone else. I've received probably 15 or so offers, but only 1 or 2 have been D1 (Valparaiso was the only one remotely worth noting), but I had pretty much already decided where I was going to college (Liberty University), and was gonna see whether golf worked out from there or not. I will certainly contact the coach and look into a walk-on opportunity. Even if I don't play much the first year or two, I will for sure be taking advantage of the awesome practice facility they have. Thanks for the insight :)
Is Liberty a D3 school or do they offer scholarships? If the latter, does the coach know you exist? I get that you want to go where you want to go but free money is not to be trifled with. This may not mean a lot now but it definitely will when it comes time to pay the student loans.
 
Is Liberty a D3 school or do they offer scholarships? If the latter, does the coach know you exist? I get that you want to go where you want to go but free money is not to be trifled with. This may not mean a lot now but it definitely will when it comes time to pay the student loans.

They're D1, and I have met the coach and he has shown me around and we've talked about working out a walk-on tryout, but this was a year or so ago, so I would have to contact him again to set one up. I believe that this year they ranked 49 in the nation for men's golf, just 3 years ago they were 11 I believe. And I actually received a full tuition scholarship due to academics, so I'm just paying for room, board, fees, books, food, etc. Obviously those are still pretty big expenses to be covered at my age, but I am very grateful and fortunate to have received that compensation, and I doubt that I'd be able to go anywhere else for a whole lot cheaper. The only place I could probably go cheaper would have to be somewhere local like University at Buffalo, which doesn't even have a golf program. Also, if I am looking to progress, I can't remain somewhere that has a golf season of 6 months because of snow. South seems like the only option.
 
They're D1, and I have met the coach and he has shown me around and we've talked about working out a walk-on tryout, but this was a year or so ago, so I would have to contact him again to set one up. I believe that this year they ranked 49 in the nation for men's golf, just 3 years ago they were 11 I believe. And I actually received a full tuition scholarship due to academics, so I'm just paying for room, board, fees, books, food, etc. Obviously those are still pretty big expenses to be covered at my age, but I am very grateful and fortunate to have received that compensation, and I doubt that I'd be able to go anywhere else for a whole lot cheaper. The only place I could probably go cheaper would have to be somewhere local like University at Buffalo, which doesn't even have a golf program. Also, if I am looking to progress, I can't remain somewhere that has a golf season of 6 months because of snow. South seems like the only option.

Going to Liberty, you will be forced to avoid some of the temptations that derail many golfer's plans (not getting into the good or bad of that, this isn't the place). The drinking, partying, and chasing skirts that is prevalent on many college campuses isn't there at Liberty. That could make it easier to focus on golf.

Good luck to you, playing in college and putting the effort into getting into tour shape will need to consume your entire life. I passed on scholarship offers to D2 schools and walk on offers to some smaller D1s because I knew at 18 that like wasn't for me.
 
Great advice, thank you, and thanks to everyone else. I've received probably 15 or so offers, but only 1 or 2 have been D1 (Valparaiso was the only one remotely worth noting), but I had pretty much already decided where I was going to college (Liberty University), and was gonna see whether golf worked out from there or not. I will certainly contact the coach and look into a walk-on opportunity. Even if I don't play much the first year or two, I will for sure be taking advantage of the awesome practice facility they have. Thanks for the insight :)

Lots of interesting comments but something stood out to me. You said you got an offer from Valparaiso and your not taking advantage of that? You'd rather go to school and try to walk on?! Walk on to a team that you haven't been in contact with for a year. This doesn't make sense to me. Your foot is in the door at a D1 school, why not take advantage of that?

Let's look at Zach Johnson. He was 2 man in high school and led the team to state champ. #2 man at Drake with some serious success at the college level. Then he played mini tours until he broke through in the PGA tour. I'm not comparing you to Zach from a skill stand point but from the stand point that he had to work hard to make it. Sure he had talent but he dug it out of the dirt before making it big. He sold shares of himself to get the funds to play. Those shares have been paid back and then some.

Put yourself in his shoes for a minute.

What position are you on your high school team? What spot would you be in college (Valparaiso) how many competitive rounds have you played?

Here's another example. I played with the 3 man from the Georgia tech team that had David Duval and Stewart Cink a month ago. He won twice in college and lost NCAAs as a team by one shot in '98. He smoothed a little -4 on me and wasn't able to make it on tour.

I don't share this to discourage you but to give you a glimpse. The line between a 2 hdcp and scratch is wide. That line grows wider when you move into the plus side of the hdcp. But once you get there you have to learn to play and play under all conditions. The best place to start is at a school that would like for you to play. If Valparaiso wants you, that is where I'd go. Learn to play with other players. Let them push you and you push back. Enjoy the college golf experience. (It was the best three years for me) This platform will tell you a lot about your game and your future in the game. All the best to you on your journey.
 
Lots of interesting comments but something stood out to me. You said you got an offer from Valparaiso and your not taking advantage of that? You'd rather go to school and try to walk on?! Walk on to a team that you haven't been in contact with for a year. This doesn't make sense to me. Your foot is in the door at a D1 school, why not take advantage of that?

Let's look at Zach Johnson. He was 2 man in high school and led the team to state champ. #2 man at Drake with some serious success at the college level. Then he played mini tours until he broke through in the PGA tour. I'm not comparing you to Zach from a skill stand point but from the stand point that he had to work hard to make it. Sure he had talent but he dug it out of the dirt before making it big. He sold shares of himself to get the funds to play. Those shares have been paid back and then some.

Put yourself in his shoes for a minute.

What position are you on your high school team? What spot would you be in college (Valparaiso) how many competitive rounds have you played?

Here's another example. I played with the 3 man from the Georgia tech team that had David Duval and Stewart Cink a month ago. He won twice in college and lost NCAAs as a team by one shot in '98. He smoothed a little -4 on me and wasn't able to make it on tour.

I don't share this to discourage you but to give you a glimpse. The line between a 2 hdcp and scratch is wide. That line grows wider when you move into the plus side of the hdcp. But once you get there you have to learn to play and play under all conditions. The best place to start is at a school that would like for you to play. If Valparaiso wants you, that is where I'd go. Learn to play with other players. Let them push you and you push back. Enjoy the college golf experience. (It was the best three years for me) This platform will tell you a lot about your game and your future in the game. All the best to you on your journey.

Thank you very much for this post, it certainly has me thinking. I can say that I liked the campus and environment of LU more as well as the golf facility, but it is quite true that if Val already has the door open I should at least heavily consider it, probably more than I have already. As to answer your questions, I am the #1 on my team, but I am not sure what I would be at Val, as the only communication I had with the coach was email, and we didn't get too into specifics because for the most part I already had my mind made up, which I most likely should not have. As for competitive rounds, this is the area which I am lacking in. I played mostly local and regional tournaments, winning a handful, and typically finishing near the top in the smaller ones, and playing decently but only winning 2 of the bigger ones. This is the first year that I am going to be playing bigger tournaments (International Junior Masters, State Championship, US Am Qualifier, etc), but I am aware that it is now too late to get any good exposure due to how late I am arriving at the scene. I will certainly be considering Valpo, however I arrived at Liberty previously because I feel like it was the atmosphere where I felt most comfortable, and would have chosen should golf not have been an issue. Perhaps I will see how golf opportunities work out and possibly consider a transfer to another school should it not work out at Liberty. It's probably not the best idea, but I will sort through it with my family, and as opportunities arise.
 
To jump onto Freddie's point, play at the school where you'll actually get playing time. Being on a college team is cool, but you won't get better if you never actually play.

You'll get more out of a D2 where you start vs a D1 where you're on the bench.
 
Thank you very much for this post, it certainly has me thinking. I can say that I liked the campus and environment of LU more as well as the golf facility, but it is quite true that if Val already has the door open I should at least heavily consider it, probably more than I have already. As to answer your questions, I am the #1 on my team, but I am not sure what I would be at Val, as the only communication I had with the coach was email, and we didn't get too into specifics because for the most part I already had my mind made up, which I most likely should not have. As for competitive rounds, this is the area which I am lacking in. I played mostly local and regional tournaments, winning a handful, and typically finishing near the top in the smaller ones, and playing decently but only winning 2 of the bigger ones. This is the first year that I am going to be playing bigger tournaments (International Junior Masters, State Championship, US Am Qualifier, etc), but I am aware that it is now too late to get any good exposure due to how late I am arriving at the scene. I will certainly be considering Valpo, however I arrived at Liberty previously because I feel like it was the atmosphere where I felt most comfortable, and would have chosen should golf not have been an issue. Perhaps I will see how golf opportunities work out and possibly consider a transfer to another school should it not work out at Liberty. It's probably not the best idea, but I will sort through it with my family, and as opportunities arise.

No offense just an observation. You're head is not in the right place. Valpo should have been your first choice. The fact that you're going to lean toward a school that could set you back a few years tells me a great deal. It sounds to me like with the proper guidance and lots of sacrifice you could grow into a solid player. But it takes the right mindset. Do some soul searching, talk with you family and the coach at Valpo. What ever you decide is best for you, go at it 110%. PM me if you want to chat more.
 
No offense just an observation. You're head is not in the right place. Valpo should have been your first choice. The fact that you're going to lean toward a school that could set you back a few years tells me a great deal. It sounds to me like with the proper guidance and lots of sacrifice you could grow into a solid player. But it takes the right mindset. Do some soul searching, talk with you family and the coach at Valpo. What ever you decide is best for you, go at it 110%. PM me if you want to chat more.

Thank you, I'll certainly be talking it over and working it out.
 
Play as many events as u can. Practice more than the next guy. Work religiously on your short game. Sleep with ur putter if need be. I caddied for guy on Hooters Tour, Nike Tour who ended up winning a PGA Event and a cpl senior events. It is utterly amazing the talent that is out there. I remember being 4 under one day in this rinky dink tournament. I was playing with this older man and he was telling me he'd like to sponsor me to go pro. I literally cried laughing and still giggle when I think about it. I had no prayer. Good luck
 
No offense just an observation. You're head is not in the right place. Valpo should have been your first choice. The fact that you're going to lean toward a school that could set you back a few years tells me a great deal. It sounds to me like with the proper guidance and lots of sacrifice you could grow into a solid player. But it takes the right mindset. Do some soul searching, talk with you family and the coach at Valpo. What ever you decide is best for you, go at it 110%. PM me if you want to chat more.
I would have to disagree that his head is not in the right place. From a golf perspective maybe I could see that but this is a life decision. He is getting a full academic scholarship from Liberty. Is that worth giving up to go to Valpo.

Would he get the same from Valpo? Does Valpo have the major he wants to take? Would he be happy living in Valpo? Are all questions that need to be asked. IMO this should be more than about golf.

I wish the OP the best of luck. It sounds like you have worked hard in the classroom and the course. To afford your self with opportunities. Find some people you trust work out all the scenarios and make the best choice for you. Then sit back and enjoy the ride.
 
I would have to disagree that his head is not in the right place. From a golf perspective maybe I could see that but this is a life decision. He is getting a full academic scholarship from Liberty. Is that worth giving up to go to Valpo.

Would he get the same from Valpo? Does Valpo have the major he wants to take? Would he be happy living in Valpo? Are all questions that need to be asked. IMO this should be more than about golf.

I wish the OP the best of luck. It sounds like you have worked hard in the classroom and the course. To afford your self with opportunities. Find some people you trust work out all the scenarios and make the best choice for you. Then sit back and enjoy the ride.

You're missing the point of his thread. Sure getting an education is paramount but he didn't ask if any gone for an education. He asked about Q school.
 
Back
Top