Played my 1st pro-am, and got big leagued by a nobody!

Recently played in my first pro-am. I was fortunate to be a part of the pro am for the sony. I attend every year though don't play much. i was excited this year and the format was we get a pro for 9 holes and a different pro for the back 9. unfortunately, our back nine pro said a total of 0 words to me after initial introductions on the tee. Not even an courtesy nice shot or good putt. He was all too consumed with using this pro am time to practice on waialae where he had never played before. He also had the audacity to take 5-8 minutes after we putted out each hole to study the green we just completed. we would literally all tee off and then have to wait minutes for him to meander to the tee. i could see if we were held up by the group in front but no, and he even was holding up the group behind us and we could tell they were getting annoyed. walking to our balls he studied his shoe laces as he walked by himself and interacted zero times. Now, I've heard about Tiger being a bad pro am draw, but this kid is a rookie on tour coming up from Korn Ferry. Had the personality of a brick. His name is Robby Shelton. Does the tour do orientations for first timers on tour?

#inbeforethelock

Also, that sounds sucky. Wish you had a better experience, OP

Interesting. Could be lots of things like....

Hes consumed with keeping his card and keeping a roof over his head ; )

But I hear ya. Some interaction would be expected, I imagine.

Wow!

You joined this site to post that?

Sorry you had a bad experience. Supposed to be a great time on a great course with a great pro!

I thought they typically had the seasoned vets participating in the pro ams. It's no excuse but I can understand why a KF rook is more concerned about learning the course and trying to keep his card.

People only post on Yelp when something negative happens too :)

LOL!

OP, maybe a positive story about the front 9?

That sucks. Not a rookie though, been playing since 2015. Did he say anything at the beginning of the round about his intentions that day? I wouldn't take it personally but yeah for him to just ignore everybody in the group and slow play everything I would be upset. Did he shake hands afterward at least, or completely bail? Doesn't sound like your typical Pro.

How much did you pay for this experience?

And this is why pros begrudge playing pro-ams

IBTL. You lost me at the pro studying his shoelaces. Did you complain to the PGA Tour? Otherwise it's kind of a long winded babbling nothing burger misdirection of a post to take a shot at Tiger. Tiger is well regarded by his pro am partners. Looking forward to your next post in the DoND about the $40 Cameron you bought off Craiglist if it's real or fake. /s

Boy, how bad did he beat y'all?

i can understand the sour feeling. On the other hand, there are a lot of things worse in life that could happen.

"I got big timed by a nobody"

This is all about expectations and that you didn't set yours low enough.

Nothing like being mad at somebody working

You have to be lucky with the pro ams...

I understand where the pro is coming from. He's probably an introvert to begin with and is consumed with preparing for the tournament so he can keep his card. His actions aren't worth getting blasted on the internet.

The same reason so many pros hate playing in pro-ams, is the same reason so many of us adults hate "take your kid to work day."

Robby made half a million bucks so far this year so not really a nobody.

Great first post !

What you experienced isn’t unheardof, and TW is not in the pro am “draw”. His pro am group is selected well ahead of time and he is regarded as an excellent pro am host.

Ray Floyd was legendary for having his caddie tell players not to talk to him, play 18 holes in silence then shake hands on the last green saying “enjoyed it” then disappear instantly. There were a few events with east coast elites or Hollywooders that he knew well where this is different, but the run of the mill pro am was deep hell for him. I’m betting Shelton doesn’t give a sheet about you or what you think. You might have to get over that.

True.

But somewhere inside I have literally no sympathy for someone who pays for 4 hours of a fake experience. And is disappointed that 2 hours of it wasn’t fake enough.

My reasoning is That pga tour requires players to play in these. To shmooze the advertisers etc. pros aren’t actually wanting to spend their time there. Hence the “ fake”. so this guy either is hooked into an advertiser and paid to play. Or more likely , was an invited free guest of an advertiser etc. I’d be curious which.

Look. The pro am thing is a necessary evil for pros. And one should try to put on “ the show “ for their ams. But. I don’t think getting a dud for 9 holes is any reason for an Am to join the largest golf message site just to bash that pro. Especially when I’d bet they aren’t actually out of pocket a dime.

And thats not really a dig at you shank. Just saying that a lot of pro am players don’t actually pay anything , they are corporate guests. Which is like second hand shmoozing for the tax right off. It’s a whole ball of wax.

I know a lot of them don’t actually pay the fee out of pocket, but whoever ponied up the entry fee doesn’t change how the pro should act. It’s not that difficult to engage with a few words over two hour.

My only pro am was with Tommy Armour 3rd at LA Open. He smoked the entire time, and probably said 10 words to our foursome. Heck of a player, though.

Highlight of the day was practicing on putting green alongside Fuzzy, Freddie and Tiger.

Was invited last minute by a friend who had a connection at USA network. At least it was free!