Professional golf offers a range of career choices for talented golfers to pursue from full time tournament player to rewarding roles as club professionals, coaches or director of golf management positions.
European Tours
For many aspiring golfers their immediate goal is to emulate players such as Lee Westwood and Colin Montgomerie and play tournament golf and compete with the very best on the PGA European Tour and the world stage.
If playing full time is an ultimate goal then the PGA European Tour (Ladies European Tour for women) and the Challenge Tour and PGA Europro Tour will best suit your needs and career path. (For further details on qualification and eligibility to join these tours go to: www.europeantour.com , www.europrotour.com , www.ladieseuropeantour.com
PGA Professional
For golfers keen on playing but also intent on making a career as a club professional, coach or in some other area of the golf industry, becoming a PGA member offers the best route - see How to Become a PGA Pro . Some players, such as Paul Lawrie and Ian Poulter, elect to become PGA professionals first and then pursue a full time tournament career, safe in the knowledge they have other career options to fall back on.
But even if you don't return to full time tournament golf, PGA members nevertheless enjoy superb playing privileges and opportunities with the PGA organising nationally and regionally around 800 tournaments a year with prize money exceeding 3m. Among its most prestigious tournaments are the Glenmuir Club Professional Championship, the PGA National Pro-Am Championship and the PGA Cup - the club pros equivalent of the Ryder Cup.
The PGA & PGA European Tour
The PGA and PGA European Tour are two separate bodies, although with close historical ties. The current European Tour was created when the PGA's tournament playing division became independent in 1984 - see History of the PGA . The PGA, which looks after the interests and training of club professionals and coaches, is based at the Belfry while the PGA European Tour is situated at Wentworth in Surrey and is solely concerned with running tournaments for its members.
When young golfers talk about 'becoming a golf pro' it's highly likely they are referring to playing on the PGA European Tour. The prospect of playing Europe's best courses, in front of large galleries, against the best players for fabulous sums of money is an attractive proposition to say the least.
The reality is that competition is extremely fierce.
Each year just 150 tour cards are available for the European Tour and the standard of play is very high. The annual pilgrimage to Tour School at San Roque, remains one of golf's most daunting trips with literally hundreds of great golfers battling it out for just 35 or so cards.
For that reason, amateurs thinking about going for their tour cards or turning professional will probably need to be playing off, or equivalent to, a handicap of plus three or four as a minimum to have any realistic chance of cutting it and make a living at the highest level.
Developmental Tours & Other Routes
Players keen to make their way in tournament golf are advised to try the developmental tours, namely the Challenge Tour and below that the PGA Europro Tour. These provide a stepping stone with the Challenge Tour feeding the European Tour, and the PGA Europro Tour feeding the Challenge Tour.
But opportunities exist further a-field with tours throughout the world including the Sunshine Tour in South Africa, the Asian and Australasian Tours.
Other routes for talented golfers include golf scholarships in America which has a strong collegiate system and has proved a breeding ground for players from around the world. Ryder Cup star Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell both came through the US college system.
Good Luck!
If you have got your heart set on following in Nick Faldo's footsteps and becoming a full time tournament player, good luck! And remember that down the years a number of golfers with determination, dedication and skill have shown it's possible to turn the dream into reality even if it can take a long time. Golfers sometimes don't make the grade until as late as their mid-30s. If it's your dream - don't give up.
However, the bottom line for many golfers eager to pursue a career as a full time tournament professional is money. Quite simply it costs money to compete - entry fees, equipment, hotels, travel expenses, paying for expert coaching - it all adds up. Most players have to generate sponsorship to cover the expense of competing full time or rely on generous parents!