# To EVERY AMERICAN! PLEASE HELP ME



## roryf (Jan 4, 2011)

ok so what it is, im doing a assignment in in school which is an international study of golf, we had to pick 1 country and obviously I chose the US. 

I need to find the best way to get from a grass route player (casual golfer) to progress into professionally playing. what ways would you say are the most POPULAR in the US? I know collegiate sport is usually a proffered way so if you could give me some detail on this. whilst also any other interesting ways that people progress through would be great. 

these are basically what things I need to find out, even if you can answer just a few of just what is stated above it would be great help.


Sports standing of nation – World Cups /Olympic success

Sporting Ethos – winning v. participation

National Image / identity / global image 

Religious / Indigenous population 

Government Standing /Involvement – social and economic impact

Topography – climate / land mass



Grass Roots: Mass Participation 

Schools / College Provisions – ethos / matches / competitions / P.E

Local community / club provisions – numbers / ethos / structure

Funding and voluntary schemes – overview


Elite Development: W 

Provisions: Amateur / Professional - overview

National pathways / competitions / provisions (national academy?)

Professional structures – academies / selections?

International opportunities – how can you make it as ‘international player’

Labour migration issues – foreign imports? Adoption issues?

Funding / Agencies – how is elite sport financed

What is good and bad about the sport in your chosen role in your chosen nation?



there is a lot of information, but I need to cram it into 1000 words, so just a little sentence would help me out with starting to write all this stuff down!, thanks a lot hope you can help me out


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## FrogsHair (Mar 4, 2010)

Just about all the biographies I have read on the successful professionals is that they started picking up the game at a very young age, had natural talent, had access to play/practice, a natural desire to play the game, and a mentor who some how had ties to the game of golf itself. Their mentor was either a decent player, golf instructor, greens keeper, or someone else related to the game golf. Yes their are a few who took up the game later in life and had some success. KJ Choi readily comes to mind. However, for the most part, the common denominator of the really good professionals, is that they all started out at a very early age, and had the raw talent to become a success. 

Not every person who picks up a club, regardless of their age, has the genetic make up to become a card keeping pro tour player. 

College is a good way to test one's mental, and playing skills to see if they are good enough to make a decent living on a golf tour some where. But even the better college players had ties to golf starting at a very early age. Of course not all college players can compete on the pro tours. Just as an example, I had a four year ride playing division 1 baseball, and was not near good enough to play profession baseball. Another good example is the NFL. 0.01% of all high school players make it into the NFL. Only 1.0% of all college players make into the NFL. Golf is not that much different I would think. 

Side note. Can you picture KJ Choi as a 13 year old, 95 lb kid, squatting 350 lbs in competition???:thumbsup:


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## broken tee (Jan 13, 2008)

Golf is a world wide sport so I believe you can rule out ethnicity as well as religious diversity. Social Economic status in my opinion would be a stumbling block for some to play golf and they may have natural ability to play or learn. Otherwise I support Frogshair's statement. They even have a golf course in Afganistan. Anybody know about Russia yep Russia established their first course in 1987 then the second in 1995


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## roryf (Jan 4, 2011)

thanks for the post guys. you have very deeply analysed this for me so thanks  , anyone else that wants to spread an opinion would be much appreciated


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## Hogan (Jan 23, 2007)

Like any other professional sport, those that succeed (make it to that level of worldwide competition) have played the game from a very early age, progressing through higher levels of competition on the way up. The big difference today versus 15 years ago and earlier is the integration of science: that is specialized coaching, the ability to employ highly custom fitted equipment and pyschologists and sports therapists to provide a deeper understanding of how to handle pressure and maintain focus. Like any sport, conditioning strategies improve, technology improves and as the sport grows competition gets tougher. At the end of the day it's smarts, dedication & commitment and access to the best training. Now, take all this stuff, roll it up and you still end up with THE only real answer: "If you ain't got a swing, you ain't got a thing".


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