PGA Here I Come

July 2008 - Posts

• My Journey to Reach the PGA Tour Has Come to an End

  Dear Readers, Thank you for visiting the blog during these past months. It was an arduous adventure but, I can honestly say, from what I learned about the game, the people I met and the places I visited, It was well worth the effort. The knowledge I've gained about the game and my ability is priceless. I've decided to take some time off from golf in the next few years; I'll continue to play here in there in local tournament when possible, but, at the end of the day the only way to pursue this dream later in life is to take time off now, to get a lot more later. Feel free to visit the old homepage by clicking here and voting for a PGAhereIcome reality show on americantvstar.com! Best, -Erik Posted Jul 31 2008, 08:56 AM by Erik Tammar with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Erik Tammar, PGAHereICome

• Sobering Email - Should I Continue My Quest for the PGA Tour?

  Today I got quite a sobering email from a site visitor (who is also a master club maker)… “Your problem is not a lack of money, it’s a lack of tournament experience. Even if someone stepped up and paid ALL of your expenses for the next year you wouldn’t get any closer to getting your card because you have no tournament experience. You need to join a course (or club), get your SCGA handicap card, start posting ALL of your rounds and playing in local tournaments. You’ll soon realize that if you can’t break par at the Long Beach Open or Inland Valley Amateur (they have pro flights), there’s no way you’ll get -10 at Q-School (which is probably what you’ll need). 95% of Tour players worked at golf courses while they were trying to get their card (the other 5% went straight from college). They played in local and regional mini-tours , and local tournaments that offered some sort of prize $$, and any big skins game they could find. Ask around at Shorecliffs or Roger Dunn Santa Ana and you’ll find where the big skins games are every day of the week. You need to work at a golf course so you can play often. Just tell them your plans, I’m sure you won’t be the first guy they’ve hired trying to get his card, they’ll work with you on your schedule. You cannot skip over playing local tournaments and getting experience posting under par numbers on pro-length courses under pressure. If you think you can just practice a lot and show up at Q-School and shoot -10, you’re fooling yourself. While I’m sure all the attention this blog gets gives you encouragement, I’ve read all your posts, seen your swing clips, listened to your descriptions of your rounds, and what I can definitely tell you is this: You’re not as good as you think you are. I hope that doesn’t come off as harsh, but it’s the truth. You’re not going to get your card any way other than what I just described above, so start applying at courses, and ONLY at pro-length courses. Getting good at 6400 yard tracks will only set you up for a shock when you play 7200 yard beasts in tournaments. Good luck ! Carl” So I wrote Carl back, first thanking him for the reality check, but more importantly, I asked if he plays much himself, and would be interested in a match… His Response: “I like it. I’ve played Shorecliffs a few times so we can play there, that way I won’t have to listen to you cry about not being familiar with the course We’re probably about the same handicaps, so we can play straight up. I’ll offer you a prize: if you win, I’ll set the lofts and lies on your irons for free.” So Carl and I are scheduled to play Tuesday. Cant wait to get those clubs lofted my man! Posted Jul 23 2008, 04:13 PM by Erik Tammar with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Erik Tammar, PGAHereICome, Sobering Email, Master Club Maker

• Staying Positive

  The past few weeks have been a lot of fun. I’ve been playing every day, shooting good scores. Last week I got to caddy for Alan (swing coach) in the SR USOpen qualifier @ San Gabriel CC. Watching Alan play was a great experience (a former US Tour player and now SR Euro-Tour pro). He was on point throughout the day, but ran into some trouble on the par 5s, and one par 4 with 3 bogeys, hit one birdie later on, but missed the play-off cut by 2 strokes. Talk about a heart breaker. This week, I’ve had to face the harsh reality that I’m probably not going to make to Qschool next month because, A. there’s a $3500 entry fee and B. Even if I did enter, my gut tells me it’s a 50/50 chance of getting through the prequal & stage 1. I need more time… So, at the moment I’m struggling between going back to work for a few years and potentially doing this again in 10′/11′, or, try and scrape by and keep playing for another year…which I’d love to do, but, doesn’t seem realistic as there are bills to pay. Here’s how it breaks down: I have a car, that after insurance costs about $500/mo, a health insurance policy that runs $230/mo, mobile communication for $100/mo, a gym membership @ $40/mo, the ShoreCliff’s unlimited golf pass @ $300/mo, oh, and throw in another $500/month to put some food in the stomach and gas in the car, and $550 for a place to sleep at night. So all in, to keep this project going we’re looking at over $2K/month in expenses. For the most part, my peers provide mixed feedback. Some fellow risk-takers push me to keep going. “live in a tent, get a motorcycle, eat rice and drink water, you went from shooting in the 100s to 70s in 9 months, do you know what you’ve accomplished?!?” while the more reserved ones usually say “You had a great run Erik, but, it’s time to face reality, your resume is getting cold”, and, that is also very true. One option considered was to get a part-time gig at night to allow me to still play during the day; bar tending seems like and obvious route, but those gigs are hard to come by this time of year and staying up all night working another type of shift job would just cause me to sleep all day instead of play golf. Getting a job at a course was another idea as it would eliminate the cost of playing golf and provide some income, but, not many places are looking for a guy who wants to work 15 hrs/week just to get free golf. Giving golf lessons was also something considered investing; I’ve given a few here and there and most people have thoroughly working with me, but punching the numbers, it would require giving somewhere between 40-50 lesson/month to cover the cost of this adventure… So, for the time being, all options are staying on the table; I’m entertaining putting a suit back on and going to work and still looking at ways to the continue PGAhereicome. Got any bright ideas???   Posted Jul 16 2008, 06:11 PM by Erik Tammar with no comments Filed under: Erik Tammar, Q-School

• Took Down The Club

  Yesterday I didn’t play well. Luckily though I pressed the competition and ended up all square on our skins by the 18th hole. Getting back to the clubhouse, not having made any money, I spotted a guy putting quite well on the green. Greg, a former greens keeper and now lifeguard for the city of San Clemente, informed me the guy’s name was “JJ” and was one of the best putters in their mens club. “Yea right” I though to my self. I quickly grabbed my putter and asked JJ if he and his friend wanted to play first-to-7. So off we went, and they took a quick lead, 0-1-3. Then I sunk a putt, putting me on the board in 2nd place with two points. Next JJ’s friend sunk a put, there after, I got closest to the cup, making the score 3-2-3. JJ sunk another one, putting him up two points, but, I then hit one there after. Next hole I got closest to the cup for 1 point. Going first, I chose a hole 15 feet a away and left the ball 2 inches shy of the cup…JJs buddy went way left, then JJ sunk it to take the game. Now I was down 5 bucks for the day. Feeling defeated, I quickly asked for a rematch and they both agreed. But, before we knew it, word spread around the clubhouse and we now had 7 players for a $35 pot. To accommodate the large field, we changed to game to 1-in-all-in, were everyone putts at the same cup, same ball, same putter, and if 2 people make the putt, you start over, but, if only 1 person makes it, they win the pot. The first cup, not one guy hit. It was a 20 footer that rolled off the back no matter how you hit it. The second cup, one guy hit, but the last guy to putt (who shot a 68 that day) ended up saving the day by draining it bringing us to the 3rd cup. The placement wasn’t very hard, a slightly down hill 16 foot putt, but for some reason no one could read it. Even though the whole green is built on the down hill slope, some balls were breaking slight left to right, some didn’t break; it was just one of those odd lines. Going 3rd to last this time, I was taking a lot of heckling from the gallery. Getting on one knee to read the green, I said to myself, “This is a strait putt, don’t let the slope fool you”. From there I lined up, waggled, hovered over the ball, said a quick prayer to Ben Hogan, and let it rip. I heard the ball, but waited a full 2 count before turning my head to watch it. It was moving at perfect speed toward the cup, but, as it got closer it started bumping around just a bit from the poor surface of the green. “Crap, here we go,” I thought, “it’s going to break right”. Hogan must have been guiding that ball, with the gallery heckling, “not a chance, no way, etc…” it ended up dropping right in and I won that match. So, off I went with my $35 of winnings and on the way home filled up the car with some gas and had a juicy Carl’s JR 6 Star Burger for dinner. Posted Jul 02 2008, 08:30 AM by Erik Tammar with no comments Filed under: Erik Tammar, Skins Game, First-to-7, Carl's Jr., 1-in-all-in