Schefler might be the best golfer and for all I know the nicest dude in the world, but he's boring as dried mud. Even for a pro. And to say golf doesn't define him ... um, he got lessons at the age of 6 from the teacher of of Justin leonard who had just won the British Open. not only does it define him, it's all he's ever known. I did this for a living on mini-tours. Many of these guys make up a narrative to fit what they want to believe they are. Schefler is 100% defined by golf, on and off the course. No matter what he says. It's 8-12 hours of every day of his life.
Care to share some details of what it was like or can you point me to another post where you have done this? Personally I think it would be most interesting. What's the separation between playing on the mini-tours and kicking around the bottom of the PGA.
Sorry for the delay. Work
PGA Tour vs mini tours is immense IMO. Bigger than anyone thinks. I was a +5 handicap. I could shoot 66-70 pretty much every day. Doing it under pressure, with people watching, when your tour card is on the line, when you just paid for hotels, when you've been traveling by car for weeks on end and are running out of money .... well that takes something special. The top 50 guys on the PGA Tour are +8 handicaps in tournaments. 3-4 shots at that level is enormous. Yes I'm old and did this 25-30 years ago. So the kids have it a bit easier now. But the talent difference is still enormous between the levels.
1) Physically .... just like guys in the NBA and NFL are bigger, stronger and faster. in golf, while physical makeup like flexibilty, build, hip speed, etc matters ... more so it is the technical skills like ability to recreate the same shot over and over, touch, and hand eye coordination. More like being a good FT shooter. Much of it is natural ability. And some is what you learn growing up. Just like an elite college QB that has foot movement or arm angle issues going into the NFL, almost all golfers have poor tendencies they learned growing up (inside out swing, angle of attack, putting stroke, bunker game, etc.) . Some QBs overcome those flaws they had and become elite. Some don't. Likewise some golfers overcome their poor tendencies. Others don't. Some were taught so well they don't have much to overcome. In my case, I could not overcome some poor tendencies with my short game no matter how hard I tried. It's really good still to the average golfer But it's absolutely nowhere near tour level and I still play with some Senior Tour guys. They are happy to give hints. I just can't make it happen. All on me. ETA ... this is why in Asia and Sweden many girls never step on a golf course until they have perfect swings. They get it right in a simulator. Thus the mostly Asian and Scandinavian dominance on the LPGA tours the last 20 years (Nelly aside). There are no faults to overcome doing it this way.
2) Mentally ... once you have the above, you have to be able to focus, deliver when it matters, work ethic, and above all else confidence. It's hard to have confidence when you know you aren't doing a certain part of your game correctly. With the NFL comp ... assume a LB in the NFL has a tendency to maybe move up too soon on run plays, or a CB has a tendency to flips their hips wrong. It's hard to overcome. The average person says just do it the right way. It's hard when your mind tells you something else. Really hard.
3) Timing .... if you aren't top 50 in the world, you also have to get lucky with when you play well. Like play well in an important event, get a sponsors invite and do something special, qualify for a US Open, Monday Q for a PGA event (I was first alternate 3 times for those). Just like a WR needs the luck (or timing) to be with a good QB, or have a good junior year, or play well in a big game ... that's the same for all sports. Doing something great at the right time gives you the chance to parlay it into something bigger.
People say the difference is minute for golf. I can see how someone on the outside looking in thinks that. It just isn't IMO. Like being a starting QB in the NFL versus 3rd string .. is the difference in Mahomes and 3rd stringer Ian Book small? I'd say it's enormous.
Back to Scottie. Sure he's an nice, polite, easy-going dude. But he is a golfer through and through. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But for it not to be how he defines himself .. maybe that's how he sees it. But it is exactly how everyone in the world defines him.
