What Got You Into the Game? This Was My Way In

[Thewaythatgoes]

What Got You Into the Game? This Was My Way In

 

I didn’t grow up around golf. I was all-in on tennis. My older brother was a great player, and I followed him into the sport—copying everything he did. Tournaments, training, rankings—that was my world for years.

Then I tore my labrum, and serving became painful. It limited what I could do on the court, and eventually I stepped away from tennis. I needed something else to focus on.

The Range Job

I picked up a job at a local driving range. I didn’t know much about golf—I just wanted to stay around sports. But being there every day, I started hitting balls. A lot of them. Hundreds a day, just figuring things out on my own.

One of the pros gave me a tip I still use. He showed me the overlap grip and told me to strengthen my left hand until I could see three knuckles. That helped me start hitting a consistent draw and took the right side out of play. I still missed left sometimes, but I never missed right. That became my foundation.

Within six months, I was down to a 4 handicap and shooting around par pretty regularly.

Skins Games and a Tryout Tip

On days off, I’d jump into local skins games—usually ones I’d hear about from guys at the range. I met a few JUCO players at one of them who got a kick out of me being a tennis player just showing up and competing. Every now and then I’d sneak in a birdie and steal a skin. Eventually, one of them told me, “You should try out for a team—JUCOs have open tryouts.” He gave me a coach’s number.

I called, showed up, and shot one under. The coach offered me a spot. That was the turning point—I left the tennis team I’d been on at another school and committed to golf full-time.

From JUCO to D1

JUCO gave me structure—practices, qualifiers, tournament experience. I was still new to competitive golf, but I was improving fast. Toward the end of that season, I shot a 67 in a one-day event. That round helped me get picked up by a Division I program.

I showed up feeling like I could compete.

I was wrong.

I started playing in D1 events with guys like Scheffler, Morikawa, Xiong, Salinda, McNealy, Clark, and Hovland. Their games were dialed—consistent, smart, sharp in every part. Meanwhile, I was still only playing a push-draw. If I ever tried to hit a cut, it’d probably just turn into a five-yard draw. That was the shot I had, and I leaned on it.

It was a reality check. But it gave me direction. I watched how those guys worked, adjusted my habits, and stayed with it.

By the time I finished school, I was playing to around a +3 handicap. My senior year, I averaged 73 in competition and had five rounds in the 60s. I wasn’t one of the top prospects heading to Korn Ferry or the PGA Tour, but I was good enough to give pro golf a real shot.

Turning Pro

After graduation, I turned pro and started playing on mini tours and in events across Asia. It was a grind—traveling on my own, finding places to practice, managing everything myself.

But I had some support. A few school donors, family friends, and small business owners helped sponsor me and cover expenses. That made a real difference.

My best finish came in Taiwan, where I shot 10 under over four rounds and finished in the top 5. That week felt like everything clicked.

Then COVID hit. Events got canceled, travel shut down, and momentum disappeared.

Life After the Tour

During the downtime, I started chasing speed—trying to gain distance—and ended up messing up my back. Between the injury and the realization that I probably wasn’t quite good enough to make it on the big tours in the States, I made the decision to step away.

I moved into the corporate world and now work in tech sales. I’ve regained my amateur status and still play for fun—planning to tee it up in mid-am qualifiers and local events when I can.

 

 

 

I never planned on being a golfer. I just needed something new to chase after tennis, and it all started with a range job. From there it was a bunch of range balls, a few skins games, and some people pointing me in the right direction.

Not the usual path, but it’s mine.

What’s your golf story?
Did you start late, switch from another sport, take a break and come back?
What was your “turning point”—a shot, a round, a conversation?
I’d love to hear how others got into the game and where it’s taken you.

[J-Blade]

Great story.

 

For me, I was heavily into baseball and basketball as a kid. Golf was mostly watching it on TV with my dad (Must see TV if Nicklaus was near the lead). One day, dad (A decent weekend player) told me that golf was a sport I could keep playing long after I could no longer play baseball or basketball (I pretty much sucked at both of those anyway 🙂 ). He got me lessons at the local muni when I was 14 and I am still playing 50+ years later.