Golf Q & A

Question:

How can I increase my driving distance?

Answer:

Modern day drivers are generally 460cc in size and have much deeper faces, therefore to gain maximum benefit from them, research has shown that teeing the ball higher aids launch and flight performance! So make sure at least half the golf ball is showing above the top edge of your driver at address to increase its consistency and gain maximum distance.

Question:

How can I improve my putting?

Answer:

Never miss a short putt again! Go to your local golf club's putting green and find a flat,straight putt and stand three feet from the hole. Then place 2 tees in the ground just outside the heel and toe of your putter head. This forms a goal or gateway for your putter head to just about fit through. Alternate hitting 5 putts with your right hand only, then 5 with both hands, until you sink 15 in a row. If you miss one putt you must start all over again, so the pressure is on! On these shorter putts it is absolutely crucial to keep the putterhead moving straight back and through. The tees should be placed so close together that if the putter veers off line even a tiny bit during your stroke, it will crash into one of the tees.

Question:

I see so many different grips, which way is best to hold my putter?

Answer:

Good question! There are several ways to hold the putter and none are really wrong so you must try a few but the most common is the reverse overlap. With this grip your hands work as one unit.To start lay the putter along the lifeline of you left hand, so it runs from the corner of your wrist down through to the middle of your index finger. Then close your left hand around the putter grip so that the thumb sits straight down or slightly to the left of the top of the shaft. Introduce the right hand to the side of the putter placing the grip this time slightly lower in the palm and more in the fingers. The hands are joined together by reverse overlapping the left hand index finger over the back of the right hand fingers and then rest the right thumb gently straight down the grip covering some of the left thumb. The hands now work as one unit, so grip lightly to gain feel for distance and concentrate on rocking the putter in a pendulum fashion from the shoulders with no wrist action.

WHAT PUTTER?

The putter is the most used club in your bag and can be used as little as 27 times but as much as 40 times! Therefore much care needs to be taken in choosing your putter. There are 2 main features of a putter you want to think about when buying it. One is the shaft length and the other is the amount of offset the head has. Both help you create a nice arching stroke which is our aim. The arch stroke means that you bring the putter back slightly on the inside and then slightly inside on the follow through. The length of the shaft determines the path and lie. If the ball is too close to your feet because the putter is too short, your style tends to create a more straight -back -straight- through stroke. The heel of the putter may come off the ground making it difficult to make solid contact. But if your putter is too long and the ball is too far away from your feet, your body tends to create a stroke that loops too far inside. The toe of the putter may come off the ground making it again very difficult to make solid contact. My advice would be to ask your local professional and see if you need your putter shorter than the standard 35" as most people do! The other very important feature is based on eye dominance. Right eye dominant players usually prefer putters with minimal offsets or even centre shafted putters. Left eye dominant players usually prefer putters with offsets. Some players forward press the shaft or lean the shaft back at setup but it actually appears straight up and down from the player's point of view. If the shaft leans too far in any direction, the resulting changes in loft will cause problems with your speed control. An offset putter helps prevent the shaft leaning too far forward and non offset putters help prevent leaning the shaft too far back. So when you are in the market for a new putter, go along and see your local Club Professional and remember these points and most importantly find a putter that you also like the look of as this also inspires confidence!

NIKE - UNITIZED PUTTER

FEATURE: This putter is used by Paul Casey on Tour and looks great. Its seamless Unitized construction creates an express line straight from the putter face to your hands. The head is laser welded directly to the shaft and plated as a single unit, no bonds or joints along the way to interrupt pure response , so it looks like one continuous metal.

BENEFIT:

Unitized construction provides unparalleled feel.
Transmits vibrations that have been engineered to resonate with the natural sensory systems which in turn gives better feedback for better distance control.
Absence of shaft to head bond provides a clean look at address.

PING - KARSTEN SERIES

FEATURE: Go back to the basics and use a traditonal looking ping putter with a difference .The new Karsten Series ranges are steel face putters with traditional looks but with an elastomer insert in the back cavity. They have multi level alignment aids also.

BENEFIT:

Cavity insert provides enhanced feel while maintaining the solid response of a steel faced putter.
Weight savings from the new cavity shapes are redistributed to the perimeter to increase each putters moment of inertia for added forgiveness and stability.

YES - C-GROOVE TECHNOLOGY

FEATURE: Testing shows that for any golf ball, the strike of a conventional heel-toe weighted putter results in skipping, whilst a blade putter causes the ball to skid across the putting surface and an insert putter causes hopping and bouncing. Only after these initial effects of the impact does the ball begin to actually roll across the surface. The problem is that the skidding and sliding caused by the impact of the putter can result in even a well struck putt, which sets off on the correct line, missing the hole by lipping out. Even a putt which holds its line can come up short due to the energy lost through skidding and hopping in the first few feet of its journey. It is when the ball begins to roll end over end that its movement is at its most stable, and least susceptible to deflections

BENEFIT: The key, then, to reducing energy loss and the ball's susceptibility to deflections is in reducing skidding and sliding after impact and promoting true roll immediately the putt is struck. Yes! Golf's C-groove putter technology, developed by master putter and teacher Harold Swash, is a patented system designed to reduce skidding and sliding, and promote forward roll immediately a putt is struck, enabling putts to hold their line and pace. The simple but precise concentric C-shaped grooves cut into the putter's face improve grip on the ball at impact, and exert forces which lift the ball from its resting position and impart a rolling motion. Generally this range of putters have less loft on their faces of 2 to 3 degrees to aid in rolling the ball truer.

Question:

How do I know if my golf clubs are right for me?

Answer:

You can gain a big advantage by having your clubs specifically built to your personal requirements. Most iron sets can be custom built for the individual. That means they are personalised to suit your game, giving you the chance to play your optimum game of golf.

A custom fitting session has two stages, a static and a dynamic fitting. Static measurements are taken such as your height, wrist-to-floor-measurement and hand size. The dynamic part of the fitting involves further lie angle and component refinements according to your dynamic measurements and observed ball flight patterns on the driving range. With this information a perfectly matched set of clubs can be ordered.

A lot of research has been undertaken by leading club manufacturers such as Titleist and Callaway to find the optimum launch and spin conditions of drivers to give their maximum performance to the golfer. This service is not just for pros and much improvement can be made by having golf clubs which match your swing etc. The money spent on a custom fit is always worthwhile.

The results from this research have concluded that the average golfer should be using at least a 13 degree driver for optimum launch and carry.

Many club professionals have now purchased launch monitors which help choose a driver that suits your swing by calculating your ball speed, clubhead speed, launch angles, sidespin and distance carried.

Question:

How can I increase my fitness & strength to help my golf swing?

Answer:

Golf is a very unique game as you start in a static position and then have to move your body suddenly into very athletic movements. Good players are taught to coil up their upper body (mid spine) 90 degrees against a more stable lower body by turning the hips only 45 degrees. These movements produce a lot of torque to transfer to the downswing to hit the ball. If either area is deficient in its range of muscular movement, the result will be to cause extra pressure on subsequent areas causing injury.

Athletic set up:

You must have good posture set up over the ball. The golfer must bend from the hips and not the waist in order to use the buttock muscles rather than the lower back. To do this stand upright and place your thumbs on the front of your hips and push your hips backwards, at this point the backs of your legs become tight and straight. To release the pressure off your legs and back bounce slightly with your legs to relax them. This also puts the weight onto the balls of your feet. This is where the weight should stay throughout the golf swing if it is to stay balanced and athletic. The bottom should sit backwards while the golfer maintains a straight spine and slightly dipped head with good upper body height (not bringing the chest down low).

Strengthening Exercises:

(1) Single leg rotation

Holding a club infront with both hands, the golfer adopts the stance of addressing the ball. Next they transfer all their weight onto the right leg with the knee slightly bent. Then rotate the thoracic spine (upper body) to the right over the stable right leg, working on buttock muscle control and taking care to turn the chest, rather than simply allowing the shoulders to move back and forth.

(2) Squats

Stand tall and straight and always face forwards. Hold a club with both hands in front of you just above head height. Now bend slowly from your knees keeping your feet flat to the ground at all times into the squat position. Hold the squat position for a few seconds and return back to the standing position. This is a great exercise to regain control and strength of the buttock muscles.

Rotational Exercises:

Good rotation through the upper body is essential to wind up in the backswing and rotate through the shot. Some ways to increase spinal range of movement:

(1) Sit with a golf club placed horizontally behind the back, tucked into the elbows, and twist round. Aim to turn through 60 to 80 degrees. The positioning of the club restricts movement at the shoulder blades, forcing you to use the spine to turn.

(2) Get into your address position and hold the club horizontally with both hands in front of your chest. Turn to your right as in the backswing and feel the side stomach muscles tighten and stretch.

(3) Hold a club across your chest and breath in, keeping the pelvis still and without turning the head. Breathe out and turn to the right as far as you can through the waist. Hold at the end point for a couple of seconds, then rotate back through as far as possible to the left. Hold this position again for 2 seconds and repeat several times.

Question:

What is the difference between cavity backed clubs and blades?

Answer:

FEATURE:

Forged or bladed clubs start their life as bars of steel, which are rolled and hammered into rough iron shapes by large presses. After the grooves are stamped into the face, each head passes through lots of skilled workers who grind, polish and finish the clubheads, before they are made into sets of irons. This whole process obviously is very labour intensive and therefore has high costs.

BENEFIT:

Forged irons because of the manufacturing process lend themselves brilliantly to producing traditional looking irons which lots of the better players prefer. This process also allows for softer grades of steel to be used therefore increasing feel in the end of the club. Forgings also tend to offer more control and shot shaping capabilities.

DRAWBACKS:

Unfortunately the series of rolling and stamping machines make it really difficult to create a deep, more forgiving cavity back, so it is more difficult to make really forgiving clubs using the forged method. Therefore forged clubs generally mean that more ball speed is lost on off centre shots compared to a cast club.

FEATURE:

CAST or cavity backed golf clubheads start their life in a completely different form. By heating steel to a molten metal, manufacturers are able to pour the material into precise moulds. This process allows for more intricate cavity designs, increased perimeter weighting and lower labour costs.

BENEFIT:

The benefit of casting lies in its ability to give the clubs designer extra control over the shape and weight location within the head, which allows the designer to increase efficiency and performance for the higher handicap player. So if you want a club to hit the ball higher and be a little more generous on the off centre hits, cavity irons are for you.

Question:

What is the difference between different types of golf ball?

Answer:

(1) Two Piece Balls

These balls consist of a large resilient solid core which is compressed and moulded into a perfect sphere shape. It is then covered with a plastic cover of surlyn or ionomer, which is compressed into a dimple pattern when fused onto the core. These types of ball tend to feel a little harder and travel further.

(2) Three Piece Balls

These balls have a slightly smaller central soft core, which in turn is then encased in a highly resilient ionomer boundary layer. Then the outer cover on these balls is normally a ultra thin urethane/elastomer cover. The softer centres and covers of this type of ball give better spin and soft feel but tend to be more expensive.

History of the Golf Ball

Golf Ball In the earliest days of golf on the eastern coast of Scotland, players used primitive equipment to play the game in a rather haphazard and casual manner. The first clubs and balls specifically made for golf were fashioned from wood. One documented reference is that of a John Daly playing with a wooden ball in 1550.

In 1618 the feather golf ball or 'Featherie' was introduced. This was a handcrafted ball made with goose feathers tightly packed into a horse or cow hide sphere. The feathers and leather were fashioned into a ball while wet. As the assembly dried out the leather shrank and the feathers expanded to create a hardened ball. The ball was then finished off by painting it and punched with the ball-makers mark. Quality varied according to the skill of the craftsman. Unfortunately, the handcrafted nature of the balls meant that they were priced beyond the pockets of the masses, sometimes more expensive than a club. Notable ball-makers of the 1600s were Andrew Dickson, Leith and Henry Mills, St Andrews.

The introduction of the Gutta Percha ball or 'Guttie' in 1848 by Rev Adam Paterson of St. Andrews and the spread of the railways directly contributed to the expansion of golf. The Guttie ball was made from the rubber like sap of the Gutta tree found in the tropics. When heated the rubber could easily be fashioned into a sphere and used as a golf ball. Not only could the ball be relatively cheaply produced, it could also be easily repaired by re-heating and then re-shaping. Initially Gutties had a smooth surface which meant that they didn't travel as far as the Featheries. The balls were usually stamped with the ball makers stamp, most notably Allan Robertson.

After 1880, gutties were produced with patterns on their surface in an attempt to reproduce the distance characteristics of a scored Featherie. With the Victorians came industrialisation and mechanisation, and by 1890 Gutties were being made in moulds which further increased their affordability, consistency and quality. The most notable pattern of the period was the 'Bramble' - raised spherical bumps across the surface of the ball. Many of the rubber companies including Dunlop began mass-producing balls which killed off the handcrafted ball business.

Golf Ball In 1898, Coburn Haskell introduced the one-piece rubber cored ball which was universally adopted by 1901 after it proved so effective in the British and US Opens. These balls looked just like Gutties but gave the average golfer an extra 20 yards from the tee. These balls were constructed from a solid rubber core wrapped in rubber thread encased in a gutta percha sphere. Once W. Millison developed a thread winding machine, Haskell balls were mass-produced and therefore more affordable.

Throughout this period there was a lot of experimentation with the patterns on golf balls - one of the reasons why golf collecting is so interesting. When William Taylor first applied the dimple pattern to a Haskell ball in 1905, golf balls took on their modern form. The dimple pattern maximises lift while minimising drag.

Manufacturers continued to experiment with golf ball design including Goodrich who introduced the pneumatic ball in 1906 (the patent was held by T. Saunders and filed in 1901). Quite simply this was a Haskell ball with a compressed air core which unfortunately was prone to expansion with heat and therefore causing the ball to explode. Others tried mercury, cork and metal cores. Only in 1972, when Spalding introduced the first two piece ball, the Executive, was the basic Haskell design improved upon.

In 1921, the R&A and USGA standardised the size and weight of the ball. Since then further constraints have been proposed which are detailed in the rules. Between 1931 and 1990, both organisations differed on the dimensions of the golf ball which meant that the game played on either side of the Atlantic was similar but different.

Today there is a rich variety of golf balls to suit the individual game and circumstance. Some offer control, some offer distance while others are suitable for practice only. Antique golf balls are avidly collected and are becoming increasingly valuable. A dimple patterned Guttie in good condition is worth about $US 500. (This info supplied by The R & A official website, June 2008)

(Some images and text supplied by Wikipedia, June 2008)

What is The R&A?

The R&A or Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews is golf's world rules and development body and organiser of The Open Championship. It operates with the consent of more than 130 national and international, amateur and professional organisations, from over 120 countries and on behalf of an estimated 30 million golfers in Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and The Americas (outside the USA and Mexico). The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the game's governing body in the United States and Mexico.

The R&A takes its name from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, which has continuous records dating back to its foundation in 1754, and although the Club continues its long history with 2,400 members throughout the world, The R&A has become a separate entity to focus on its governance role.

The R&A took over the running of the Amateur and Open Championships in 1920 and has since acquired responsibility for a further nine championships and international matches from the Boys to the Seniors, the Junior Open to the Walker Cup. Authority for administration of the Rules was accepted by The R&A in 1897 and, since 1952, it has jointly issued the Rules with the United States Golf Association.

By developing The Open Championship as one of the world's great sporting events and an outstanding commercial success, The R&A is able to invest an annual surplus through The R&A Foundation into grass roots development projects around the world.

Particular emphasis is placed on the encouragement of junior golf, on the development of the game in emerging golfing nations, on coaching and the provision of open-to-all courses and practice facilities.

The R&A also provides best practice guidance on all aspects of golf course management, with specific reference to ecological and conservation issues, to help the growth of the game in a commercially and environmentally sustainable way.

How Did Golf begin?

Golf as we know it today originated from a game played on the eastern coast of Scotland in the Kingdom of Fife during the 15th century. Players would hit a pebble around a natural course of sand dunes, rabbit runs and tracks using a stick or primitive club.

Some historians believe that Kolven from Holland and Chole from Belgium influenced the game. The latter was introduced into Scotland in 1421. However while these games and countless others are stick and ball games, they are missing that vital ingredient that is unique to golf - the hole. Whatever the argument, there can be no dispute that Scotland gave birth to the game we know as golf today.

During the mid-15th century, Scotland was preparing to defend itself against an English invasion. The population's enthusiastic pursuit of golf and soccer to the neglect of military training (archery primarily) caused the Scottish parliament of King James II to ban both sports in 1457. The ban was reaffirmed in 1470 and 1491 although people largely ignored it. Only in 1502 with the Treaty of Glasgow was the ban lifted with King James IV (James 1 of England) himself taking up the sport.

Golf's status and popularity quickly spread throughout the 16th century due to it's royal endorsement. King Charles I popularised the game in England and Mary Queen of Scots, who was French, introduced the game to France while she studied there. Indeed the term 'caddie stems from the name given to her helpers who were the French Military, known in french as cadets.

The premier golf course of the time was Leith near Edinburgh. Indeed King Charles I was on the course when given the news of the Irish rebellion of 1641. Leith was also the scene of the first international golf match in 1682 when the Duke of York and George Patterson playing for Scotland beat two English noblemen.

The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith (1744) was the first club and was formed to promote an annual competition with a silver golf club as the prize. Duncan Forbes drafted the club's rules.

The club was later renamed the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers with a clubhouse erected in 1768 (moved to Musselburgh, Lothian in 1836).

The first reference to golf at the historic town of St Andrews was in 1552. The clergy allowed public access to the links a year later. In 1754 the St Andrews Society of Golfers was formed to compete in it's own annual competition using Leith's rules. Stroke play was introduced in 1759 and in 1764, the 18-hole course was constructed which has of course become a de-facto standard. The first women's golf club in the world was formed there in 1895. King William honoured the club with the title 'Royal & Ancient' in 1834 and the new famous clubhouse was erected in 1854. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) became the premier golf club because of it's fine course, the publication of rules, it's royal patronage and it's promotion of the game as a proper sport.

Of course, by this time golfers were using proper clubs and balls. Club heads were made from beech or the wood of fruit trees such as apple. Some club heads for were made from hand-forged iron. Shafts were usually ash or hazel. Balls were made from tightly compressed feathers wrapped in a stitched horse hide sphere. The sport was somewhat exclusive due to the expense of the handcrafted equipment. After 1826, persimmon and hickory were imported from the USA to make club heads and shafts respectively. Today these antiques are highly prized by collectors.

So how did Golf evolve

Golf courses have not always had eighteen holes. The St Andrews Links occupy a narrow strip of land on Queen Mary of Scots land along the sea. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St Andrews established a trench through the undulating terrain, playing to holes whose locations were dictated by topography. The course that emerged featured eleven holes, laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property. One played the holes out, turned around, and played the holes in, for a total of 22 holes. In 1764, several of the holes were deemed too short, and were therefore combined. The number was thereby reduced from 11 to nine, so that a complete round of the links comprised 18 holes.

The Prestwick Golf Club was formed in 1851. The precursor to the British Open, the first major national championship, was played there for the first time in 1860 with Willie Park as winner. The legend of Old Tom Morris was born when he won the event in 1862, 1864 and 1867. However his son, Young Tom Morris, was the first great champion winning the event a record four consecutive times from 1869. Other illustrious winners were JH Taylor in 1894 and Harry Vardon in 1896. Together with James Braid, these three men were known as the Great Triumvirate.

Besides the few sponsored events such as the British Open, most golf professionals made a living from competitions by betting against their opponent. Professionals also earned a living from tuition, ball and club making and caddying.

Is it true they played Golf on the moon?

The most famous golf shot ever must surely be Alan Shephard hitting a ball on the moon in 1971, watched by an audience of millions around the world. Does this make golf the first sport in space? The club he used can be viewed in USGA museum.

How Did the Ryder Cup Start?

In 1921, the R&A imposed a limit on the size and weight of the golf ball which began a 30 year split between the European and Commonwealth game and the US game (regulated by the USGA). Most of the differences were resolved in 1951 when both parties agreed to a common set of rules. However the golf ball issue was not settled until 1988 !. Today golf worldwide is regulated jointly by the R&A and the USGA. They hold a summit every four years where they agree alterations to the published official rules of golf.

The rift was accompanied by the introduction of the Ryder Cup matches in 1927. Initially the Europeans were represented by golfers from Britain and Ireland. The Americans with their wealth of talent won every event between 1935 and 1985 with the exception of 1957. Only since 1979, have players outside the British Isles been allowed to play for the European Ryder Cup team and the competition become truly competitive.

When did ladies start to play professional golf?

The Ladies PGA was formed in 1951 (European version in 1988) and replaced the Women's Professional Golf Association. The first Women's Open was held in 1946 and won by Patty Berg.

Perhaps the greatest lady golfer of the time was Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias. She won the US Women's Amateur in 1946, the Women's British Amateur in 1947 and the US Women's Open in 1948, 1950 and 1954. If that wasn't enough, she only took up golf after retiring from an athletics career which included three Olympic gold medals and world records.

How did the American PGA start ?

After the war, most professionals, with the exception of the great Ben Hogan, chose to compete exclusively in America because of the sizeable prize money on offer. In recognition of this fact, the R&A increased the prize money for the British Open which helped to bring the top players back to Europe.

The 1960s brought with it something special in the guise of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player - the Modern Triumvirate . They dominated the game into 1970s winning nearly every major event around the world and competing in the prestigious international matches. Nicklaus for example, can claim an unbeaten record of four US Open, six US Masters titles and five US PGA Championships and three Open Championships.

While the pre-war period might be considered as the age of women's liberation both socially and golf wise, the 1960s brought with it the struggle against bigotory. In 1961, the PGA withdrew it's 'whites-only' rule from it's constitution. Charlie Sifford became the first black golfer to contest a PGA event and Lee Elder the first to contest the Masters in 1975. However even in 1990, when the PGA introduced further measures to end racial discrimination, more clubs notably, Cypress Point, withdrew from the Tour. Perhaps Tiger Woods' outstanding victory in the 1997 US Master has finally changed attitudes.

The Americans and South African Gary Player dominated world golf during the 1970s. Only when Severiano Ballesteros won the British Open in 1979 and the US Masters in 1980, did the pendulum swing back in favour of the Europeans. Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam re-established Britain's competitive presence in world golf.

Individual success was matched with team success when the Europeans, captained by Tony Jacklin, won the Ryder Cup in 1985 - ending a 28 year American dominance. The Solheim Cup, the women's version of the Ryder Cup, was launched in 1990. By 1991, Europeans were at the top of the Sony World Rankings with Ian Woosnam hitting the top spot.

Question:

How can I become a golf professional?

Answer:

Becoming a PGA professional opens the door to lots of different and exciting career prospects in the sporting industry. The game is played by over 60 million people worldwide. Many young golfers set their hearts on playing on tour, walking along side Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Darren Clarke and the flamboyant Ian Poulter but plenty of other opportunities exist in professional golf far beyond the confines of the golf course and PGA professionals fill many of these roles while also successfully playing.

Opportunities

The PGA, both regionally and nationally, organises upwards of 900 tournaments a year with prize money in excess of £3.5m. Joining the ranks of the PGA unlocks the door to a broad spectrum of career opportunities. PGA pros can be still a high standard of player but are also trained and qualified in other areas of the golf industry, such as managing a retail outlet as a club professional and coaching and teaching, utilising their equipment knowledge as custom-fit experts or taking on more senior administrative roles such as Director of Golf.

Playing Professionals

European Tours

This is the aim and dream for many talented golfers. Their goal is to compete against such players as Justin Rose and Nick Doherty and play tournament golf around the European circuit. If playing full time is an ultimate goal then the PGA European Tour (Ladies European Tour for women) and the Challenge Tour and PGA Europro Tour will best suit your needs and career path.

PGA Professional

For golfers keen on playing but also intent on making a career as a club professional, coach or in some other area of the golf industry, becoming a PGA qualified pro offers the best opportunity. Some players, such as Paul Lawrie and Ian Poulter, elect to become PGA professionals first and then pursue a full time tournament career, safe in the knowledge they have other career options to fall back on if their playing careers are short or not quite as successful as they hoped! But even if you don't return to full time tournament golf, PGA members nevertheless enjoy superb playing privileges and opportunities with the PGA offices both Nationally and Regionally organising lots of Professional Tournaments. Among its most prestigious tournaments are the Glenmuir Club Professional Championship, the PGA National Pro-Am Championship and the PGA Cup - the club pros equivalent of the Ryder Cup.

The PGA & PGA European Tour

The PGA and PGA European Tour are two separate bodies, although with close historical ties. The current European Tour was created when the PGA's tournament playing division became independent in 1984 . The PGA itself looks after the interests and training of club professionals and coaches and is based at the Belfry Golf Club, Birmingham. The PGA European Tour is actually situated at Wentworth in Surrey and is solely concerned with running tournaments for its members. When young golfers talk about 'becoming a golf pro' it's highly likely they are referring to playing on the PGA European Tour. The prospect of playing Europe's best courses, in front of large galleries, against the best players for huge sums of money is an attractive proposition to say the least but the competition is hard and risks are big. Every year there are only 150 tour cards available for the European Tour and the standard of play is very high. The annual pilgrimage to Tour School at San Roque in Spain, remains one of golf's most daunting trips with literally hundreds of great golfers battling it out for just 35 or so cards.For that reason, amateurs thinking about going for their tour cards or turning professional will probably need to be playing off, or equivalent to, a handicap of plus three or four as a minimum to have any realistic chance making a living at the highest level.

Developmental Tours & Other Routes

Players keen to make their way in tournament golf are advised to try some of the ever growing minor tours, such as the Challenge Tour and below that the PGA Europro Tour and below that the Omega Tour. These provide a stepping stone with the Challenge Tour feeding the European Tour, and the PGA Europro Tour feeding the Challenge Tour. Opportunities exist further afield with tours throughout the world including the Sunshine Tour in South Africa, the Asian and Australasian Tours.Other routes for talented golfers include golf scholarships in America which has a strong collegiate system and has proved a breeding ground for players from around the world. Ryder Cup star Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell both came through the US college system.If you have got your heart set on following in Nick Faldo's footsteps and becoming a full time tournament player, good luck! And remember that down the years a number of golfers with determination, dedication and skill have shown it's possible to turn the dream into reality even if it can take a long time. Golfers sometimes don't make the grade until as late as their mid-30s. If it's your dream - don't give up.However, the bottom line for many golfers eager to pursue a career as a full time tournament professional is money. Quite simply it costs money to compete - entry fees, equipment, hotels, travel expenses, paying for expert coaching - it all adds up. Most players have to generate sponsorship to cover the expense of competing full time and this is very hard to get until you start performing in bigger, more well known tournaments.

Teaching professionals.

Qualifying

Qualifying as a PGA professional is done via two routes. The first, and most popular, is by becoming a registered assistant at a PGA recognised golf facility where trainees complete a three year Foundation Degree in Professional Golf Studies, accredited by the University of Birmingham. The degree involves working through study guides, assignments, and residential weeks at the National Training Academy at the PGA's Belfry headquarters, exams and attaining coaching awards. Among the subjects studied are golf coaching, sports science, equipment technology, business management, marketing, golf rules and tournament administration. This route takes around 3 years to complete and become fully qualified and is a fantastic way to see how it all works on the job and earn a little bit of money too.

The second route into the PGA is via a three year BA Hons Degree in Applied Golf Management Studies at the University of Birmingham. The AGMS is the first degree of its kind in the UK and is ideal for golfers interested in pursuing senior managerial roles in golf.