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

[GoGoErky]

And hasn’t come back into the thread to answer the questions about the front 9 experience or anything else.

[Sean2]

I lean toward believing the OP. Why start an account and post this story if it wasn't true? I don't see him deriving any benefit for posting a falsehood.

As far as Mr Shelton's behavior is concerned, it doesn't take much to be polite. And, if he had other things on his mind he could have simply informed the group of that at the outset.

[MaxBuck]

While this is true, the pro-ams collect a lot of coin for the charities the tournaments support. And the amateurs, like it or not, are the ones shelling out the coin to fund the charities.

If pros are unwilling to play a round with an amateur and be friendly and helpful while doing so, they shouldn't sign up for the pro-am IMO.

[Sean2]

I agree, but I think the Tours have a policy where the pro is obligated to play in a pro-am, and if he or she fails to show up, they get fined or some such.

[One Putter]

I always laugh at people who try to compare what athletes do to normal every day jobs.

 

Whether his bosses like him or not isn't what determines whether he continues to be employed. His results un tournaments do that. He plays well enough, he keeps his job. That's it. One small aspect of his job is to play in the pro am. He did that. He has no obligation to be nice to anyone.

 

That said, if you're gonna be a pro golfer and be "that guy", you had better perform well. People will say "oh, that's just his method. That's just how he is". Otherwise everyone will think you are just an asshole for no good reason.

[MtlJeff]

So you are laughing at me right now? At 10:28AM , I am assuming at work while staring into your phone? That must be kind of awkward!

Why is there any need to even start a reply like that? Can people just have a conversation without passive aggressive remarks?

Most jobs , if you perform tremendously well you will stay employed even if you are a d*ck. However in most if you are a mid tier performer and are a d*ck there are ways the employer can make your life difficult. I am not familiar enough with the inner working of the PGA tour to comment more than that I suppose. Or maybe as Lowheel suggested earlier the PGA tour just doesnt care because the Pro Ams have too much demand right now , and it is not in line with how typical markets behave and I am wrong

 

 

 

 

[One Putter]

I mean, the comparison is not valid. That's all I'm saying. You don't get to be a pro golfer by joining linkedin and applying. These dudes live a different life. And yeah, they have potential to make great money, but that's just the guys at the very top.

 

I'm just saying, it's a grinder's lifestyle. You're not always gonna get super outgoing personalities.

[bscinstnct]

Dss! Happy New Decade ; )

 

Hey! Round of golf with me is fun. Be like,

 

[bscinstnct]

One Putter be like,

 

"Laughable man!"

 

He does have an obligation to be "nice to everyone". I agree he gets there on tour on his own and doesn't "owe the fans". But these pro ams are put on by the sponsors, they are part of the even he is playing in, so you owe it to the ams to provide at least something of a positive experience. That said, nobodys perfect. He may have been having a tough day, OP said he was not familiar with the course. Of, who knows, maybe dealing with some negative stuff otherwise. I also agree, the more of a "big shot" you are, the more you can act like a jerk and people will accept it. That's the difference between, "this guy is snubbing me, who he think he is" and "wow, he didn't even say hi, man, he's so focused!" ; )

[Hawkeye77]

There is that, but we've had 100s of threads started over the years that were one post wonders and more often than not (especially when they are rants) they weren't real and/or exaggerated versions of whatever, so the open an account and first post and a little excitement trying to be generated with that is a pretty standard red flag. Not a lot of skin in the game.

Look where this one went - no surprises. We have people that would agree on 95% of what a pro am should be and how you would hope your pro would behave but we are seeing some serious back and forth all based on the credibility of some anonymous statements that is probably unnecessary.

IMO.

 

 

 

[Hawkeye77]

People forget Furyk got DQ'd from a playoff event.

[grm24]

Retief Goosen in the 2000's was also DQ'ed from an event for missing a Pro-Am.

[bladehunter]

Most likely to catch the eye of someone who would compensate him for the experience but do it in privacy. Twitter would be much less anonymous.

[ebrasmus21]

Jury’s aren’t needed anymore. He’s guilty and that’s it, end of story. That’s how this works now.

[Roody]

I've participated in 13 LPGA pro-ams from 2001-2014 when they had the regular tournament stop here in my city. Of those 13 experiences I'd say maybe 2 of them were "less than ideal". I won't name names for the bad experiences, but:

In 2002, one behaved similarly to what the OP described with his experience. She didn't talk to us amateurs much, and spent most of the time talking to her caddie. When we did try to talk to her, we got quick responses and then she'd head back towards her caddie to talk with him. Acted like she absolutely dreaded being there. Grumpy and disinterested. Another one, who admittedly was much friendlier than the first one I mentioned. However she had her cell phone with her, and took probably 4-5 phone calls during the round. And the conversations did not sound business-related. I think one of the other amateurs reported her, and she got a talking to from the LPGA folks. Beyond that, most of the other experiences were great. My absolute favorites were Laura Diaz, and Morgan Pressel. Some positives to mention:

One of the two times I got to play with Laura, we were walking down hole 10 when bad lightning came through. We all had to go into the club house and wait it out for about an hour and a half. Most people decided to hit the dining room to get lunch. The pros headed off to the locker rooms. But not Laura. She came out, grabbed lunch, and sat down to eat with us. It was great. You could see the other amateur groups looking at us and probably thinking "man, wish my pro came to eat lunch with us". Laura was a class act all around. Morgan was one of the nicest young ladies. I don't think I saw anyone take as much time to stop for autographs and pictures with young kids during the round as her. She was very chatty, and seemed genuinely like she enjoyed sharing her experiences with us.

[nitram]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this is just the way it is in 2020. The younger guys are more naturally introverted as compared to Phil or even Dustin's generation. It's the environment in which they've been raised and educated. For most, small talk is not their forte' and once out of school they have a very difficult time conversing with folks outside their circle. Give 'em a keyboard and they will type your eyes out but just too uncomfortable having a chat with a total stranger.

[One Putter]

On the flip side, it must be nice to be able to flagrantly commit crimes and have people on the jury publicly declare you innocent and say they don't care what the facts say before the trial.

[Hawkeye77]

Ah - but who's guilty? OP or Shelton?

 

I'm still sticking with don't know but skeptical. ;-)

[straightshot7]

Not disagreeing with you but to clarify - - I was the one that originally brought up the "grand jury" and my point was not that he should be considered innocent or anything. (however, "flagrantly commit crimes"? Who are referring to and what crimes?)

My point was, we're talking about a relatively meaningless event and people take it way too seriously. I mean it must be a slow time on the board as far as threads to debate things in.

e.g. "I demand to know what happened on the front 9!" - - lol.

I understand and join in when things get heated on the Deal or No Deal board when someone is getting scammed out of money. But a story like this? Why are people so concerned with disproving the OP, etc. it's like the pro is their brother or something. Maybe he is.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

Exactly! And I doubt the OP was alone in his assessment. Guessing the other two players in his group felt the same way, and in an inebriated blog, posted here at the 19th hole.

Depending upon where you come from, what the OP stated was likely very subdued in his mind. I didn’t think twice about what the OP stated other than at face value. He got “Big Leagued”, meaning “snubbed”. Nothing to it.

[Hawkeye77]

Only one person asked him (very politely and twice) to post up his front 9 experience - I extended a sincere invitation and no “demand” involved and suggested many would be interested, and they would.

 

Mischaracterizing posts seems to be contrary to the "spirit" of yours - maybe think about that.

[Sean2]

Seems like a lot of effort for little return, lol.

[Sean2]

The only social media I engage in, if it can be called social media, is this forum. No one cares what I had for lunch, and I don't need a lot of Facebook and Twitter "likes" to validate myself as a person. Not that that is what the majority of people use FB and Twitter for, but I imagine that some do.

[dlygrisse]

Well, you'd think they could Snap Chat with their foursome then or something. I mean for F's sake I am sick and tired of people making excuses for millennials. Most I have encountered tend to be a bit sensitive, but not anti-social.

[stevopagolf]

I participated in 1 LPGA pro-am. I was paired with Karin Sjodin. She could not have been nicer. Walked with us, encouraged us, teased us once she got to know that we were all about a bit of the needle. After the round she asked us if she could join us for lunch! Was a great experience! Hoping the OP's pro was just under the gun stressed about making the cut.

[Sean2]

Yes, the court of public opinion.

[lowheel]

when you havent heard a criticial word or faced any adversity for the first 20 years of your life thats what happens...

[lowheel]

this guy thinks we scared him off because we had the audacity to ask gasp questions...

[dcfas]

Personally, I would be overjoyed to play with a pro during a PGA event, even if it is the pro am the day before. If the guy or gal decided to be social even better. However, I wouldn’t pay thousands. So, I guess I see both sides.

[lowheel]

I see your point and the scenario you described makes me really understand where you stand on these situations. I think the problem with pro ams is the human element. some people think its a walking clinic where they can ask non stop questions and some are there to play and observe. The players are in the same boat. I can tell you having lived it some guys get a few pops in them and its unbearable.I played a few canadian tour events last summer and in one of the pro ams one of the guys kept asking me political questions the whole front 9. I wouldnt engage with him because he was drinking and loud about it. Guy was giving me stink eye the whole day. What can you do? the other 2 guys came and shook my hand and thanked me. he gave me a nod and walked off. All because i wouldnt talk politics with him... these were men in their 50s-60s not kids.

We might be ribbing the op and ribbing the pro but posting something in that manner isnt taken seriously. Stay and engage and explain further. ask if others have played in these and their experiences. too many red flags to ignore. I would love to hear more from him but i think we know hes gone... the best pro ams are on the champions tour. Friendlier and worth the money/time.