Hey guys, at the end of August I am playing in my first professional tournament. The Hooter's Tour is coming to Dothan, AL Aug 31-Sept 6th. I am going to be playing the Monday Qualifier in hopes to enter the tournament the week of. Being a +5.1 hdcp and consistently practicing 7-9 hours a day, I think my chances are good to at least get in the field. Does anyone have any good advice/information regarding what to expect once/if I get in the field tueday-sunday? I researched last years winning number at the same course (-17) and believe I have a shot at posting a number close to that, all things going well of course. I've been playing amateur touranments all year to prepare myself for the feelings of real tournament play. (I'm 23 and haven't played tournament golf since h.s. Fraternity life and college girls will do that to you I guess).
Anyway, Thanks for any help ya'll can give. I'm sure there are some knowledgeable people on here that have good things to say.
On a side note as far as preparation. I'm going to go play practice rounds 3-5 times leading up to the monday of, getting a guage on the greens, distances, safe play,s pin loc, etc etc. Thanks again.

Almost forgot. Are traditional metal spikes ok in this Tour's play? Range finders w/o slope as most USGA events are?

dont really have any advice but DAMN +5.1
that's crazy lol

good luck and id wear soft spikes just to be on the safe side.

You can over prepare. I'd work on your short game and take an attitude that you have nothing to lose. I'm not saying don't care but putting too much stress on yourself won't help. I'd wear softspikes if I were you. Biggest key is not to get ahead of yourself. You can obviously play and you know that. From what I remember 71-75 got you into most events depending on course.

That's at Turtle Point right? I played in 3 Hooter's events and that was one of them. I'm pretty sure I shot 71 in the qualifier to get in. I'd wear soft spikes and leave the laser in the car, but you can always call the tour office and ask them. Good luck.

use soft spikes( you practice with them, so be used to using them)

I'm hoping to get to professional golf in a few years, so good luck!!

let us knnow what happens

Turtle Point is in Kilen, AL

I meant to say Point Mallard and now I realize I totally misread the 1st post. I thought it said Decatur, not Dothan. They used to play a Hooter's event in Decatur and that's the one I played in. Sorry.

Thanks for the advice guys. And, yes the tournament is in Dothan, AL at The Highlands (Robert Trent Jones). I have been working on my putter/shortgame. I practice this I would say about 70 percent of the time. Mostly rolling downhill putts to get somewhat used to the speeds I expect to be playing. The course is 7500+/- yds which plays to my advantage as well. Thanks also for the good luck comments. Everything going smoothly, we should be in good shape. Maybe I'll start keeping some sort of a journal on here as I progress through the stages of professional golf.


Thanks again.

I wish you the best of luck for the tournament.

Good Luck

good luck!

Good luck man. Keep us posted for sure!

And yeah +5 is pretty crazy.

Good luck man

as a +5 you can obviously golf your ball.

have you done anything to prepare yourself mentally? this will be a new experience for you and perhaps you may want to factor that into the equation?

good luck to you and please let us know how you do. :-)

Here's the player handbook:

http://www.hooterstour.com/pro/handbook.html

+5.1????? thats impressive, the top ranked amateur in the WORLD (canadian Nick Taylor) is like a +5.2, so I think you should be in good shape. good luck, and let us know how you do!

There's golf and tournament golf, and the two aren't very much alike. ~Bobby Jones~

Other than that, good luck to you.

+1

I was playing to a +3.3 when I tried to make it on the Hooters Tour with very little success. A tournament here and there isn't going to do it for you. You will need the backing and bank roll to play a couple of full seasons to get into the groove of the daily grind. And those guys are really, really good. You have a few PGA Tour vets and whatnot out there. Tons of tournament experience and the game to go with it. If at first you don't succeed you need to stick it out. Hope whoever is sponsoring you is willing to stick it out with you. The fees to enter the tournaments are quite high, high enough that you need to finish top 10 just to break even most of the time. I've played with and known many regulars on the Hooters/Nationwide tours. Everyone is in agreement that the Hooters tour is basically legalized gambling.

I'm extremely curious what kinda practice routine took you from a 4 handicap to a +5.1 in a years time?

good luck man.


oh, whats the difference between a 5 and a +5? just currious. Does that mean your index is under par?

HA...good find ! I believe it when I see a GHIN Index...

Alright, so are we being hookwinked here, or is it possible he meant to say he was a +4 in the above post?

WOW +5.1 hdcp?
If you keep that up, we might see you in PGA Tour in few years.
I really envy your hdcp.
Good Luck!

LOL if that is true that he was a 4 handicap a year ago then, yeh maybe he is playing in the monday qualifier, but the only reason he started this thread is because he wanted to let everyone know! What shall I expect he asks!? Umm....A golf course, a golf ball and a few clubs plus some top pros around you. From your monthly medal to a pro tournament......its just the same....your in a tournament....except your hitting prov1's on the range instead of pinnacles and the players around you are some of the best in your country. Golf is golf.

If you are off +5.1 then good luck to you, and you have as good a handicap as Mcilroy, Charles Howell, Tiger Woods did when they turned pro.

Best of luck to you

I must say I doubt that a +5 (who hasn't played in any tournaments since HS) will just decide to qualify for a Hooter's Tournament. At 23, and a +5, you certainly would be wasting a great gift in not playing any USGA events (pro and Am), college events etc. Heck, you probably are good enough to win your State Am, or State Open even. An easy way to prove the handicap issue is seeing your GHIN.
Not that I would lose sleep over it.
If you are truly a +5, get out there and play as many tournaments as you can. A very good friend of mine is a +2, and won the State Amatuer Player of the Year last year (MASS). If he can win at a +2, imagine what you could do with a +5.

Yeah man if you are really +5 there is NO reason why you shouldn't be playing in a tournament every week somewhere and gearing up for Q-School.

+5 is another planet good. I mean that is some really low numbers, at least to maintain it.

do you have to pay the whole eleven hundred entry to qualify?

Good luck

You pay a certain amount to get into the qualifier. I think it used to be $200-250. If you then qualified you had to pay the rest of the entrance fee. Once you add in the money for hotels, food, transportation, etc, etc... It takes a wonderful finish to break even on the Hooters Tour.

I agree with a few others here. If you are really a +5.1 handicap, going to Q-School is a better idea.

Or stick with playing and winning some big amateur events. With your handicap you are as good or better than 99.9% of all the top ams in the world. You are also better than a large majority of the PGA Tour. Get some winning experience under your belt and play in some majors as an amateur. You shouldn't have any problem getting in the Masters by winning or finishing runner up in the US Am.

That's great that you are a +5. But how many of those calculated scores came from a home club, or a course with a rating of 70 or 69.

I can get my handicap down to +2 easily, if kept my handicap at this local course that I know I can shoot 66 or 67 routinely, with a course rating of 69. It's 6,000 yds, and the slope is 121.

I talk to guys all the time that say, "I'm a + handicap". Really, because why can't you break 80 when I play with you. Is it because were not at your home club, because the course we are playing at is 7,100 yds. Because the course has Donald Ross greens, which have been physically unchanged since 1927. Why is it that you can't handle different greens, you are a + handicap. Right?

No, you are a 4 handicap at best. And that is if you even decide to post this 82 you shot today.

I know two people who tried the Hooter's Tour. Real good players, long drivers, good short games. Both complained about the greens. Too different from what they were used to. Pin locations were seemingly easy, accept for the fact that they put them in spots where the breaks were too subtle to see and the grain was a factor.

The problem for them was this, they needed to be great players, with straighter long drives, Great Short Games, and Amazing putters. You don't understand until you see for yourself how "good" you have to be to even make it on the Hooter's tour.

I hope this wasn't directed at me. Im about a +3.9 (last I actually updated) but thats because of the US system and all it takes is a great round or two. I'd be about a +1.5-2 in the UK. I know what it takes. I was simply stating that a true +5 would be other worldly good and I'd get my clock cleaned. My rounds aren't on mickey mouse courses and I shot a 62 just last Friday

I have no doubt in your ability, but I'd love to play a round w/ you one day just for fun. Never played w/ anyone who can take it that low before.

Doesn't happen that often. Once maybe twice a year I have everything click. I shoot most rounds between 67-76. Everythign has to click to go that low and for me doesn't happen that often.

How have the amatuer events you've been playing in all summer been going?? At least a few wins I would hope...a +5 is gonna dominate amateur golf on the local level.

Good luck in your first professional event...keep us all posted here.

In a nutshell, 10 strokes. A +5 would give a scratch golfer 5 strokes. So it's damn near PGA Tour level.

gotcha. that's sick!!

yea id love to play with someone that low
there isnt really that many people here in Scotland with + caps

Sorry if a little OT: But why do you think that equates to a +2 handicap in the UK as in your other post in this thread ?

I dont profess to fully understand the US system in any great depth,but i do know that a +2 UK golfer is one who has (And can only) achieve this handicap solely through competition play ****(Once below 5 handicap in the UK,nothing but competition scores can count toward your handicap: Either upward or downward adjustment).No friendly games,9 hole specials,rounds with friends or choosing wether to register a card or not.

Over here not only is your handicap a competition proven register of your golfing ability,but its also a measure of your ability to continually handle your game under pressure situations - the 'pressure' being an immediate increase in your index if you dont play to that handicap on any given day. Guys off this handicap (perhaps very slightly better) in the UK are bordering on Walker Cup potential / National squad status,and are generally knocking it round in 'a few' under par most weeks in a tournament scenario in order to maintain that level of handicap.

If thats you - kudos

yea i agree and its also harder in the UK for + caps to win weekly medals
as my uncle is +3.4 and hasnt won a medal in over a year

You fellas over in the UK have it "tougher" as far as handicapping goes, at least as I understand it.

Here in the good old USA our handicaps are calculated using the 10 BEST scores from the previous 20 in any given period. So in theory you could shoot 72 ten out of 20 times, and 85 the other ten...and still be somewhere close to scratch, depending on course ratings, etc.

Now obviously someone who can and does shoot 72 ten times out of twenty isn't gonna shoot 85 the other ten rounds, but you see my point.

Also, there are no requirements for tournament play...anyone can be a scratch or plus handicap and NEVER play in a tournament. Come to think of it, most "pluses" I know never play tournament golf...nice coincidence. Ha, ha!

i still cant beleive that there are +2's in the US that have never played tourney golf
heck here in the UK even 36 caps are playing tourney golf

Believe it...kind of. I don't think there is such a thing as a +2 who doesn't play tournament golf either. If you're a +2, let's see what you've got, ya know??

So there really are +2's over here who have never played a competitive round, according to the USGA handicap system. According to me and plenty of others I'm sure...they're not "real" +2's.

To the OP: GOOD LUCK! I'm excited for you.

Win or lose, you totally have to write a bit about the entire experience ...

GolfWRX may well have more single digit handicaps than any golf board on the internet. A great deal of the regulars here are really serious golfers. But there is this final line in golf that even most of us have never crossed (though many of us have thought about it) ... where a person looks at their game, their life, and looks deeply into themselves, and says "I'm gonna try to go pro ...".

To me ... doesn't matter whether its Hooters, the Nationwide, or the PGA.

From what you say, you do have the game. The question is ... do you have the heart?

My tournament average in the two professional events I played in last year was 70 (cashed a check in both) and I'd consider myself a fairly good golfer. I teach 5-6 days a week so don't play much tournament golf anymore.

I don't live across the pond so I don't know, but what exactly do you mean when you say "tourney" golf? I understand that you get a handicap by posting scores that are legitimate because you've played with another marker or whatever. Are there weekly tournaments or something you need to enter to establish? To me, that's really not tournament golf if you just sign up and get paired up with guys from the club and go out and play. Although here it is a bit more open because anyone could go out there shoot 75 and post 65 and no one would say a word or even really know.

yea weekly Saturday medal.. one round
you get paired with people in the same category as you

(at my clubs the cats are:)

cat 1 5-however low you can go
cat 2 6-12
cat 3 13-19
cat 4 20-36

and yea there IS cheating but normally in the higher caps so nobody really cares
but with lower people they will be playing with other low caps and they generally are more strict so if say a scratch cap shoots -2 you would believe him

Hey guys, just wanted to answer some questions/clear some things up I guess. Anyway, here's my story:

I played h.s golf for four years, and was tired of it after. I wanted to go to a big university, join a fraternity, and have a "real" college experience. At the time I was probably good enough to play at a small school. That's neither here nor there though.
I started really falling in love with the game again sophomore year of school, playing with fraternity brothers etc. I found that since I had finally stopped growing, my game was back, and fairly quick. I've always been a natural athlete, playing hockey, baseball, golf, you name it I played it. Anyway, Senior year comes and like I said before I was playing well and practicing all the time. After graduating, I could either find a "real" job in a terrible job market or I could pursue a passion. I chose golf. Towards the end of last year I started working with my old high school coach again once a week to see how things went. I was also practicing 6-9 hours a day. I'm not a cocky person, believe me, but my game was improving at a rate that I saw potential. People around me started noticing, my coach, family, local members, etc.
To answer the question about how I got to be a +hdcp:
I practice my a** off 5-6 days a week. I'm thankful to be naturally athletic. I have a will to learn and improve my game like no one I've been around. If there were, I'd recognize them, but I haven't seen it. I found the weaknesses in my game (mostly short pitches and putting) and I worked on them until they were the best part of my game. When I got to that point, I kept seeing what was the worst, made it the best, and this goes on still. I think this part it was makes me a good player. I can accept what my faults are, and work on them. I like to learn why I'm doing something the way I am, and how I can make it better. Trust me, once you get to this point, golf, at least for me became a job really fast. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun, but no doubt a job.
My home course is just shy of 7200 yds par 72 with a rating of 74.3 from the back tee's. I'm averaging 70.1 right now and like I said, hdcp states a +5.1. This IS the primary course I play with 90% of the hdcp scores entered being from this course. I IN NO WAY meant to pad my hdcp, or state something I'm not, I'm just telling you what the computer tells me. But to be honest, I'm not concerned with everyone's take on my game because, it's me who's going to succeed or fail right?
I started playing competitively again when I started working with my old coach. Believe me, I found out really quick tournament golf and Saturday afternoon with friends are two different animals. But there is something about tournament golf that makes me tick. I want people to watch, I'm the most competitive person I know... I don't know, there's just something about it that gives you that feeling that this is what your supposed to be doing.
Back to my hdcp. I HONESTLY have not played enough tournament golf at other courses to tell you how well my hdcp. travels. But, I I have no reason to believe it can't or won't.
I'm certainly interested in everyone's take. Please keep this on topic and positive. I wouldn't go to your job and tell you that you'll never get a raise/succeed/make it, so let's not take that here. This is my job, and will continue to be until I see a reason it shouldn't. Thanks to all of the previous encouragement and words of wisdom. Take care.

From what was said earlier in the thread it sounds like the Hooters Tour is pretty tough to make money in. You may want to try a few monday qualifiers on the Nationwide Tour. I don't know what the entry fees are now but they weren't that high when i checked it out a few years ago. When i looked into it there were roughly 10-12 spots open per event on monday so if you just shot under 70 you were pretty much a lock.

Of course things might have changed but it is worth looking into. Not much time left in the season.

+5 is pretty damn good, but the guys out there that are the top even on the Hooters tour and other mini tours are unreal. I have played some mini tour events, one of which was at a course with a 77 rating, and there were still plenty of 64s and 65s thrown up there even on the toughest of courses. I would say you should have no trouble making it through the qualifier, but you are gonna need to play very well to compete at one of these events. The main thing is to minimize the bogeys, if you are a +5 you obviously can make plenty of birdies, but you can get on the bogey train in a hurry if you aren't careful the way they set the courses up.