Anyone here ever play in the same group with a tour player?

Since I played on the mini tours when I was in my early 20s along with numerous Monday qualifiers , I played with a few guys that are on the PGA tour or had their cards at one time. Two names that come to mind are Charley Hoffman and Scott Parel. Got paired with them back in 2000 for a Qualifier for the PGA Tour Compaq Classic in New Orleans.

Other notables I have teed it up with in events are Players Champion Craig Perks and Ryder Cup member Brett Wetterich along with Kevin Streelman and Patrick Sheehan.

I occasionally play golf with a member of the LPGA Tour (Megan Khang). It's amazing just how good touring professionals really are. I remember a thread titled something like, "Can a 4HI beat an LPGA Tour Player?" I just laughed out loud.

Craig Perks was the best ball striker I ever saw. We were playing at Le Triomphe in Louisiana and he hit 4 iron out of a fairway bunker on the par 5 12th hole to 2 feet over a lake all carry.

I've played in several LPGA pro-ams over the years, does that count?

Morgan Pressel, Laura Diaz, Lizette Salas, Dottie Pepper, Karen Stupples to name a few.

Loads of them if you included Canadian tour, Hogan or Nationwide tour, "big name" Canadians on the PGA Tour (Halldorson, Nelford) … and former Euro tour guys

Most recently … ~ 10 years ago .... Brendan Steele. 2 rounds in a row in a Nationwide event

If 3 holes in a golf simulator with a multiple major winner counts, put me down with Johnny Miller as well .. now THAT was fun

Hitting balls on a range beside Moe Norman also a highlite but we didn't play .. he was only practicing at that point in his life

Yes of course!

I've hit balls next to the University of Illinois (played at the JUCO of U of I) players such as Zack Barlow, Mason Jacobs (Actually played with him as well), and Thomas Pieters. Guys are incredible.

I can only dream about that, lol.

It was the year before he won the Players Championship. The guy's game was amazing to say the least.

The distance he had btw over the lake was 227 yards, I remember like it was yesterday. Before he hit his shot I said "Craig how many yards do you have to the pin?" He said "220 to the front, and 227 to the pin."

This was before GPS and all that. Le Triomphe was his home course so he knew exactly what he had in.

Another amazing thing about the shot was that he had to take the lip into consideration cause of where his ball sat in the bunker. He hits it to 2 feet and makes Eagle like it was nothing. 99% of players which includes tour players would have laid up.

I put it up there with that shot Tiger hit at the Canadian open over the lake.

While I was reading your post, I was thinking of Tiger's shot at the Canadian Open. When I see him broadcasting, I wonder if he ever has any aspirations to play on the Champions Tour. He had to have some game to win a Players.

I tried to Monday Qualify for the Mylan Classic (Nationwide) back in the day. Got paired with Manuel Villegas (Camillo's brother). He shot 66 to get into a playoff and went on to either barely miss or barely make the cut. He never had much of a career, but even so I quickly realized how far out of my league I was.

There was a hole that was about 270, but with the dog-leg and extremely tall pines, you literally had to hit 8i - PW onto the green.

Manny tee'd up a 3 wood about 3 inches off the ground, and hit a sky rocket over the trees to about 20 feet. I would have never even THOUGHT of that shot, much less tried it.

By the way, his 66 was AFTER 3-putting the first 3 holes for bogey. The greens were like glass that day.

It would be nice to see him re-start his playing career out there. He wouldn't be the first player to do so on the Champions tour as it seems like 1 out of 3 guys never really did anything on the PGA tour.

Guys that come to mind who have dominated the senior tour in recent years that never did anything on the PGA tour are Scott Parel and Gene Jones.

I was talking with a gentleman a few years ago...a +HI...and he told me he once played with Rickie Fowler before Fowler was on Tour. He told me he thought he was good, but after that round he realized what good really was. As I alluded to in a previous post, I don't think many of us realize just how good these touring professionals are. I make the analogy that a scratch golfer compared to a touring professional is like a 15 HI compared to a scratch golfer.

Yes, I remember watching Parel for the first time and wondered who he was. I also read that the hardest Tour to get on is the Champions Tour, though I think for a guy like Perks he could go straight to the final stage of Q School. He is almost 53 years old, so still plenty young to give it a try...if he is so inclined. I think Brandel Chamblee played in, or is going to play in, the final stage of Q School.

I played a variety of different sports in my youth, and didn't take up this game until I turned 50 (64 now). This is a very difficult game. And, even if one has the drive and commitment that is not enough. One has to have what I call the "it" factor. It is not quantifiable, it can't be measured. One either has "it" or doesn't.

Me, not having "it", or anything close to it, I work very hard on my short game. The nice thing about developing a good short game is one doesn't need to be young or athletic to do so. To get where you did is a testament to your skill. The percentage of golfers who make it on Tour is something like 0.000002%. Heck, I think the lottery gives better odds, lol.

I haven't played with any but when I was a kid i caddied. One of the members adult sons attempted to qualify for a mini tour in Europe. He routinely shot in the mid-upper 60's with relative ease from the tips at his home course. Didn't even come close to making the tour. Said not only was he not good enough but the pressure adds a whole other dimension you cant practice for. I was in awe of this guys game and it really made me appreciate how good the tour pro's actually are.

The thing about where I came from is that I had lots of people who wanted to see me fail. When I would come home to visit they would come up to me and instead of saying “I’m happy to hear you are giving it your best out there” they would say “heard you missed another cut out there.” Well then I would go out and shoot 66 or 67 against them and let my clubs do the talking. I was never an all state player in high school nor an all American in college. But when I eventually went on the mini tours I was competitive and I’m very proud of that. I held my own playing in the same group as these guys who had status on the Buy.com and PGA tour at one point in their career. No one can ever take that away from me and I'm so very happy to have picked up the game again after a 15 year break. I plan on going for the Champions tour when I reach 50 and see what I can do. The Sunbelt senior tour will be my proving ground as a prep once I turn 47. If I am competitive out there I'll put my money up for Q-school.

I'll completely agree - I was "that guy" who pretty consistently shot in the mid-high 60's in the courses in my area. Had a few folks convince me (and offer to fund) trying to play in some lower circuit tournaments. I quickly found out that even the guys who barely scrap it around to make the cut are absolutely phenomenal. I shot a 68 in one Monday qualifier at a 7,300 yard track in 20 mph wind gusts and light rain. The absolute best round I've ever played. Waiting for the rest of the field to come in, I was still low man.

8 guys in the second half of the field shot 64 or lower.

What mini tours did you play on? Thank you for sharing your story you sound like a hell of a player that has nothing to be ashamed about.

Yes you could have beat anyone on any given day with your talent. Sometimes even the great players shoot 75 when you shoot 66.

On another note, look at the guys currently playing the MIni tours in Florida who go out and shoot 65 or 66 every event.

Then once they tee it up in Q-school they can't get out of first stage.

Bottom line is from my experience playing the mini tours, anyone who goes out and shoots 65 or 66 at PGA national (Champions course) in a mini tour event from the tips has the talent to get their card. The mind is what seperates the guys at this level who make it and who do not.

Talent is far from the issue. Its the guys who know how to make putts under pressure and hit greens.

Some guys are only good on their home tracks in their home state. That is why if you take a guy who lives down in Florida and plays a mini tour where he lives, he just goes out there and makes 6 or 7 birdies and takes home a check.

But then have him travel and stay in a hotel instead of his own home and play in a state where the grass is different. You take him out of his element and he can't break 72 in a Monday Qualifier.

Nick Lindheim. Peter Malnati. George McNeil. Rory McIlroy. Rob Oppeneheim. Lanto Griffin. Billy Hurley. Shad Tuten. Maverick McNealy. Braden Thornberry. Dustin Johnson (Not a whole round just 6 holes). Brad Faxon. Olin Browne. Vijay Singh. Ryan Palmer. Tom Hoge. Tim Burke (Long Drive World champion). Brian Davis. Chris Couch. Chris Smith. Keegan Bradley. Adam Svensson. Kevin Chappell. Roberto Diaz. Joe Durant. Zach Johnson. Damon Greene. Jim Herman. Justin Hueber. Briny Baird. Espen Kofstad. Marita Enzelius. Suzann Petersson (not sure of spelling on those last three)

all through playin tournaments, work, or where I lived or girlfriend. Biggest advantage was living next to one of those names on the treasure coast then simply playing and tagging along with him.

I never even played consistently on ANY tour. Instead of trying to start out in low-mid amateur stuff and work my way up through tournament golf, I went for the gold and tried to go straight into Monday qualifying for what was the Nationwide tour back then (2008-2009). Went to about five of them. My very first one I was so shaken, I shot a 90. I would've quit then but had already paid for the next one. Shot a 70 in that one. Had two of them below 70. Never once sniffed qualifying.

Safe to say I didn't really have the motivation to put the work in. Coupled with the fact that I had a naivety thinking because I shot in the 60's quite a bit playing courses I knew well with people I knew even better, I was a little misguided on my talent. :)

Although I do have one "professional" win at my home course that threw a tournament every year where they played us as far back as they could, grew the rough to US Open length, and put the pins in stupid spots. Course probably played 7,600 and I shot 73. They have an amateur division where you play two-man best ball. To this day, no one has broken par that I know of.

The SOUND of impact when you compare even a scratch golfer to a tour-caliber player says enough.

Have you ever played on the mini tours in Florida and if so which ones? I will always have fond memories of the Golden Bear tour, that was the best mini tour ever created in my opinion. Too bad its gone.

They set you up with housing and everything if needed through Golden Bear Realty. My condo was a block from the ocean off of A1A in Jupiter.

You also got a range membership out at Hammock Creek for the season and the courses were outstanding. IBIS, Cobblestone (Now know as the Fox Club) Loxahatchee Club, PGA national (all courses) , Eagle Marsh, Jonathans Landing at old Trail, PGA Golf Club and Cypress Links which is now known as the DYE Preserve. That course along with Loxahatchee were my favorite on our schedule.

Those were the days! Played two years on that tour and wish I could go back. So many good players every week that made you a better player. Briny Baird won the money title if I remember correctly the first year I became a member.

That is what the gentleman who played with Fowler said...that the sound at impact was completely different.

What? Why would they want to see you fail? Jealousy? If so, very petty. They should have been offering you encouragement. Oy vey...

One. Willy Wilcox. Two years ahead of me in high school and my mom used to work with his dad.

First hole was a 340 yard Par 4, straight ahead with no trouble.

I stepped up and felt like I hit an absolute bomb! 60 yards in from the middle of the fairway. I was so proud.

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Will's 2nd shot was with his putter. He and I aren’t playing the same sport, on distance alone.

Yep I never understood it either. It was really nice to shut them up when they would make their little comments once we went out on the course and let our clubs do the talking. I was so focused back then and had that eye of the tiger mentality of never backing down to anyone on the golf course once they talked the shit they did.

The country club I worked at in Southern California pumped out a few notables, Si-Woo Kim and Jenny Shin. I never had the pleasure of playing with either of them, but spent a lot of time on the range with them. The way they hit the ball is like they're playing an entirely different game.

I go out with a tour guy from time to time at TPC San Antonio. He plays one pace from the back of the furthest tee box on every hole and routinely drops a score in the low 60's. For reference, the course plays about 7,600 from there and is statistically one of the hardest on tour. They ARE playing a different game than us.