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Army12Bravo

Army12Bravo

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Feb 24, 2015
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Location
Chuckey, TN
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I have played golf actively for 2 years now. In the past I played, but was more interested in wasting time and getting hammered on the course, I don't drink and play anymore.

One thing that I have noticed is the price to play and the price to be good is ridiculous. Yes you can be good with basic equiment. While I shot archery, at a local, state, regional, national and world level, equipment was important, but you could survive with reasonable priced bows and assecories. In golf, I just don't see that, the distance needed to compete, the workability needed to play tight courses.

Then you have the cost to enter a tournament, $35-65 for a three day archery meet was normal. Golf is WAY more than that! For get about getting good and thinking about Q school, $12,000-$15,000 to just have a shot at making the top 25. This is all to just get started and have a sponsor see and even think about talking to you.

I like this sport, but am not rich enough to actually put the time into it like I did archery, with the idea I could also compete on the world stages as I once did shooting.
 
Professional golfers make up around 0.01% of all the worlds golfers. Anyone world class at anything, were gifted some level of natural ability. I think it takes money to become a professional golfer, more so though it takes a lot of natural talent/ability, more so than just money.

JMO of course........
 
I shoot a bow, no comps just hunting. Think of it this way, how much money did you win, or had the potential to win, in an archery comp? Who other than archery companies sponsor a comp? Not many if any. Now compare that to the money and sponsorship's available in golf tourneys. No comparison. Gotta pay to play, as the saying goes.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
Professional golfers make up around 0.01% of all the worlds golfers. Anyone world class at anything, were gifted some level of natural ability. I think it takes money to become a professional golfer, more so though it takes a lot of natural talent/ability, more so than just money.

JMO of course........
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That's kind of my point, no matter how hard I practice or how good I get, my bank account can't handle playing at a competitive level. Which is a real problem, as my wife say's, I can't do ANYTHING half A**. It's all or nothing, I have always been that way.

I will still play and try to get as good as I can.
 
DufferRob said:
I shoot a bow, no comps just hunting. Think of it this way, how much money did you win, or had the potential to win, in an archery comp? Who other than archery companies sponsor a comp? Not many if any. Now compare that to the money and sponsorship's available in golf tourneys. No comparison. Gotta pay to play, as the saying goes.
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Actually, you are not going to make millions shooting. But you can live comfortable being a staff shooter and winning in Vegas or Atlantic City. But you can't win money if you want to go to the Olympic's. Which is crap, Basketball players and now Golf is in the Olympic's, yet archers can't make more than $2500 off shooting or they lose their amateur status and can't compete in the Olympics......
 
Army12Bravo said:
That's kind of my point, no matter how hard I practice or how good I get, my bank account can't handle playing at a competitive level. Which is a real problem, as my wife say's, I can't do ANYTHING half A**. It's all or nothing, I have always been that way.

I will still play and try to get as good as I can.
Click to expand...

Play golf for fun. The odds are not in your favor to make it. Not to be a SA, just the cold hard facts. Very few that try make it, and I'm talking people with a +1 to +4 handicap.
 
Army12Bravo said:
I have played golf actively for 2 years now. In the past I played, but was more interested in wasting time and getting hammered on the course, I don't drink and play anymore.

One thing that I have noticed is the price to play and the price to be good is ridiculous. Yes you can be good with basic equiment. While I shot archery, at a local, state, regional, national and world level, equipment was important, but you could survive with reasonable priced bows and assecories. In golf, I just don't see that, the distance needed to compete, the workability needed to play tight courses.

Then you have the cost to enter a tournament, $35-65 for a three day archery meet was normal. Golf is WAY more than that! For get about getting good and thinking about Q school, $12,000-$15,000 to just have a shot at making the top 25. This is all to just get started and have a sponsor see and even think about talking to you.

I like this sport, but am not rich enough to actually put the time into it like I did archery, with the idea I could also compete on the world stages as I once did shooting.
Click to expand...

Cost is all relative. What seems expensive to some will seem relatively inexpensive to others. You don't need a $500 driver to hit long drives, nor do you need to spend $1,000 on a set of irons to have irons that are easy to hit.
 
I'm going to keep playing, I'm a little late into the game to think I would have a real chance of playing on the big stage. It would be nice, but I am a realistic person. We can all still dream right?...

The way I figure, only playing 2 years and being a single digit HCP, I have some ability. Just makes me wonder what could be down with a larger bank account, and a coach for that matter. Never had a lesson other than a playing partner point some issues out.
 
Mulligan9111 said:
Cost is all relative. What seems expensive to some will seem relatively inexpensive to others. You don't need a $500 driver to hit long drives, nor do you need to spend $1,000 on a set of irons to have irons that are easy to hit.
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Everything I play with now is second hand, paid $100 for my MP-67's, $100 for the R11 and my wedges were from the course lost bin (Head pro said they was there for over a year and was fair game now, he actually separated clubs from when they was found).
 
Army12Bravo said:
I'm going to keep playing, I'm a little late into the game to think I would have a real chance of playing on the big stage. It would be nice, but I am a realistic person. We can all still dream right?...

The way I figure, only playing 2 years and being a single digit HCP, I have some ability. Just makes me wonder what could be down with a larger bank account, and a coach for that matter. Never had a lesson other than a playing partner point some issues out.
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THP Events...Where dreams become reality.
14 club deals, tournament play, Hall of Fame
#OutingApproved
 
JB said:
THP Events...Where dreams become reality.
14 club deals, tournament play, Hall of Fame
#OutingApproved
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I will have to look further into this.
 
JB said:
THP Events...Where dreams become reality.
14 club deals, tournament play, Hall of Fame
#OutingApproved
Click to expand...

So much this.

The irons in my bag came from THP and Callaway. With my budget, I'd never be gaming them until they dropped really low and then I risk not having them be fit for me. Oh yeah I should mention that as well. Matty H from Callaway personally fit us after watching us swing a few times. Matt has fit the likes of Mickelson and other pros on tour. That's pretty special to me
 
Army12Bravo said:
Everything I play with now is second hand, paid $100 for my MP-67's, $100 for the R11 and my wedges were from the course lost bin (Head pro said they was there for over a year and was fair game now, he actually separated clubs from when they was found).
Click to expand...

That pretty much proves what I was talking about. You have yourself a nice set of clubs for not a lot of money. I don't know what the costs are where your from, but I do know that where I live I can go to a course and spend $10-15 on a bucket of 100 or so range balls, and I can use the practice green for as long as I want without paying a dime. Yes, to continually play rounds of golf can be expensive, but there are ways to hone your game without paying much money.

Also, some tournaments are very expensive to get into (some aren't expensive at all), but chances are if you are that good that you are trying to qualify for the tour, you could probably get a sponsor to help you with the entry fee.

Finally I just wanted to note that it's awesome that you've got yourself down to a single digit handicap in two years time, keep at it!
 
Maybe amateur competition is an option? I have no idea what it costs money-wise to compete in these, other than that local amateur events are usually inexpensive in this regard. But there are some pretty competitive and prestigious amateur competitions....
 
Army12Bravo said:
I have played golf actively for 2 years now. In the past I played, but was more interested in wasting time and getting hammered on the course, I don't drink and play anymore.

One thing that I have noticed is the price to play and the price to be good is ridiculous. Yes you can be good with basic equiment. While I shot archery, at a local, state, regional, national and world level, equipment was important, but you could survive with reasonable priced bows and assecories. In golf, I just don't see that, the distance needed to compete, the workability needed to play tight courses.

Then you have the cost to enter a tournament, $35-65 for a three day archery meet was normal. Golf is WAY more than that! For get about getting good and thinking about Q school, $12,000-$15,000 to just have a shot at making the top 25. This is all to just get started and have a sponsor see and even think about talking to you.

I like this sport, but am not rich enough to actually put the time into it like I did archery, with the idea I could also compete on the world stages as I once did shooting.
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Cost of equipment imo is not an issue. With multiple websites you can find newer gear at a low cost. Having new clubs, new technology won't make you a better player. Getting better requires practice and playing the game. It doesn't require playing 18 holes everytime if that isn't in the budget. Lessons can be expensive but with Tips from Freddie and the amount of help and knowledge he provides can go along way in helping someone get better.

Not to mention that being able to play on tour isn't something that is easy or will be an achievable goal for many golfers. Golf is a sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The key thing for amateurs is to play golf and have fun and be the best you can be with the resources you have available to you.
 
If it was easy and inexpensive to become a millionaire pro golfer, I believe more people would be doing it. I dont mean to sound flippant about it or anything, but the game is hard. One can work on getting to that positive handicap number for quite a bit less however and then from there worry about whether or not Q-School is an option.
 
Equipment costs would be the least of my worries.
 
Competing at THP events is all of the competition I need. Great people and fun golf courses. Doesn't get much better than that.
 
JB said:
If it was easy and inexpensive to become a millionaire pro golfer, I believe more people would be doing it. I dont mean to sound flippant about it or anything, but the game is hard. One can work on getting to that positive handicap number for quite a bit less however and then from there worry about whether or not Q-School is an option.
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This.

Play with cheap clubs, try to get to +4 handicap.

You may die of old age before reaching that goal, so no sense worrying about the cost of Q school now.
 
This is the way I look at it...

I know there is absolutely ZERO chance for me to become professional, so I just play golf for fun. I am as competitive as anyone, but I just realize that golf is extremely hard, so I go out there to spend time with friends and have a good time.
 
I'll also add what I have experienced. Playing to a single digit handi (5-9) is one thing, getting into the 2-4 range is a whole other ball of wax. Being a scratch golfer is at a level that takes serious commitment, natural talent, constant coaching. I dont know how old you are or what other commitments you have in your life right now, but if you are over 24 and have not reached being a scratch golfer the odds are exponentially against you to make a living at a competitive level in this sport. Get over it, practice diligently, and enjoy the gift that God gave you, and get your competitive itch scratched with some local amateur events.

Golf can actually be done on the cheap as you have proven with what you paid for your clubs. Not sure about where you live, but if you can play during the week, rounds at decent courses where I live can be had for $10-$15. Go work at a course and you can play for free all you want.
 
If you have a flexible schedule, you can get some serious deals on rounds on GolfNow. You just have to be content to play at odd times sometimes, depending on how cheap you want to play for.

As others have stated, equipment costs are not a factor. My entire bag, which I think is pretty decent cost me under $300.
 
Once you're winning your state amateur tournament on a regular basis, you're ready to consider how much becoming a professional might cost.
 
wadesworld said:
Once you're winning your state amateur tournament on a regular basis, you're ready to consider how much becoming a professional might cost.
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Not even in the same ball park as the professionals. I don't think people realize just how good the pros are, even the journeymen ones.
 
I don't think people realize that travel, room and board is usually paid for by the golfer. That adds up for a guy, or more importantly a lady, who is struggling to keep their tour card.
 
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