Most talented young players wish to pursue a career in professional golf; and who can blame them with the riches which appear to be there for the taking, especially on the US, Japanese and European Men’s and Women’s Tours.

There are some sobering statistics from the Qualifying Schools which were held late last 2009 and early 2010.

Below is a table which outlines the total number of entrants at each Tour Q School and the number of cards which were available

Tour	Entries	Cards	%
US PGA	1389	28	2
European	973	32	3.3
Asian	502	40	8
LPGA	311	20	6.4
LET	142	30	21

From the list on the left it is clear the success rate is very small, particularly on the men’s tours.   Not only that, but at each Tour Q School, young amateur golfers will be competing against seasoned professionals, some who have many years of experience and who have perhaps been winners on Tour.

From the statistics it would be fair to question whether the life of a Tour professional  is worth pursuing.   Of course it is; however most aspiring professionals don’t consider the harsh reality in advance.

This is a major flaw in thinking and one reason why most young players fail in their pursuit of their dream.

It is incredibly important to know how difficult success is to achieve at this level.  There are thousands of Tour aspirants around the world at any one time dreaming of their golfing pot of gold.  These will include the best golfers in lots of different countries.  There needs to be some thought well in advance of turning pro.

Statistically, the Australian players who succeed are those who have ranked in the top 2 or 3 nationally for two years or more.  A young player’s aim should therefore be to reach this standard as a starting point.

Whether you are 14 or 21, or anywhere in between, do should have a real plan for achievement of your golfing goals.  Ask yourself whether you have the level of commitment to work hard (really hard) to achieve your goals.  Do you accept responsibility for the ups and downs along the way, or is it someone else’s fault?

These are hard questions, but ones which need to be answered honestly if you are realistic about your ambition.

When you are competing, the only people sympathising with you are those who are not competing against you.  Your competitor doesn’t care if you are tired, recovering from injury, in the middle of a swing change or are the world’s unluckiest person.