PGA Tours: Do You Have What It Takes to Play Golf On Tour?

PGA golf qualifying school could just possibly be the most difficult job application process in the world.

Can you imagine applying for a potentially very high paying job as a golf tournament pro that required you to go through a minimum of three gruelling 72 hole qualifying tournaments starting with over one thousand other golfers from fifteen different countries before you make it to the final qualifying stage where you have to compete over another 108 holes with about 120 other golfers for just twenty five available spots on the US PGA tour?

Every year ambitious and highly skilled male and female amateur and professional golfers aged somewhere between eighteen and fifty five test their courage and skills competing to gain a place on one of the lucrative professional golf tours around the world by going through a process just like this.

---

In this article I’ll attempt to give you an idea of just what it would take for you to compete head to head with the stars of the PGA tours or for that matter, the LPGA tour or Champions tour.

LPGA and PGA golf tournament pro’s are the product of literally thousands of hours of dedicated practice and competition; but when all is said and done what really matters to them is qualifying to play on one of the pro golfing tours and staying there.

This as you will discover is a lot easier said than done. So here’s what you have to do to apply for a golf on tour job.

GOLF ON TOUR JOB DESCRIPTION – PGA TOUR PLAYER

• Potentially lots of weekend work
• You will be away from your family for weeks on end
• Lots of stress, anxiety and time on your own.
• Lots of domestic and international travel.
• You will be required to work for the majority of your income from Thursday to Sunday however if you don’t perform to the best of your ability after two days you won’t get paid for that week.
• You will have considerable expenses which will come out of your income, such as travel, meals and accommodation expenses.
• You will be required to have a personal assistant who will travel with you and assist you with your work and be paid a minimum wage as well as a percentage of your income.
• You will have the potential to earn additional income from other business deals based on your ongoing performances in competition.

---

The Locker Room at Riviera Country Club

GOLF ON TOUR PERFORMANCE CRITERIA – PGA TOUR PLAYER

• You possess the character that can overcome extreme mental challenges
• You have an abundance of self confidence
• You have developed exceptional golfing skills and an average golf score of 71 or better in rain, hail and shine on any championship golf course you play in competition
• You possess exceptional patience
• You possess exceptional attention and focusing skills
• You have an extremely competitive drive
• Your frustration tolerance is exceptional
• You enjoy spending hours on your own practicing and honing your skills
• You enjoy working on your fitness on a daily basis
• You are continually learning and you strive to achieve exceptional performances every day

THE PROCESS TO GAIN ADMISSION TO A GOLF ON TOUR POSITION – PGA TOUR PLAYER

To qualify for a Golf On Tour job you will be required to carry out the following four steps:

1. Pre-qualify for the first stage of PGA tour qualifying school with more than one thousand other hopefuls over 72 holes of golf if you have no prior history of competing.
2. If you qualify for the first stage you again play 72 holes to qualify for the second stage of PGA tour qualifying school with golfers from at least 15 countries around the globe.
3. If you qualify for second stage you again play 72 holes to qualify for the third and final stage of PGA tour qualifying school.
4. If you qualify for the final stage you will play 108 holes to qualify for twenty five places on the next year’s PGA tour.
   

For more information on the different requirements for tour qualifying schools around the world you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualifying_school

Can you imagine playing 324 holes of golf at the highest standard possible to compete for just one of twenty five places on the PGA tour? Oh, and did I mention that you have to pay a minimum twelve thousand dollars just to get a shot at it?

That’s right, not only will you have to compete with the best players in the game, to gain a place on the PGA tour, you will have to invest a significant amount of money as well.

This could possibly be the ultimate litmus test for a prospective golf tournament pro.

Any man or women contemplating a life as a golf tournament pro is betting on their skills and capability by paying for the privilege up front to play and compete on one of the pro golfing tours.

And if you are fortunate enough to make it onto the PGA tour you will need to earn at least one million dollars over approximately 100 competitive rounds, or about forty thousand dollars per week over twenty five weeks to retain your playing privileges for the next year.

What could be easier than that?

Lawrie Montague

---