Yo Blade, Welcome back.

What’s on the agenda for this year?

Hey GoonerAl, and hey boys. Mate, I’ve still been lurking around the forums…. just not posting as much as I used to. Often seeing the same topics start to repeat makes it a bit boring, kinda like a yearly cycle. But I always have a glance and a read.

Well, I lost my Korean Tour Card by playing poorly there last year. I learnt a heck of a lot about tour life playing there, especially about managing travel etc. I went back to the Tour School in January to get the card back, but missed by 1 shot.

Thankfully I finished 27th at the Aus Tour School in Dec which grants players finishing in the top 35 an Australasian PGA Tour Card and Aus PGA membership. So I’m going to hit the Von Nida and pro-am circuit hard this year! I’ve been playing my first bunch of pro-ams in Vic the last few weeks which, I must say, has been fun. I look forward to playing events all around Aus for the first time.

The big events at the end of the year are obviously the ones I’m most looking forward to. However, I have no idea which events I may end up getting a start in. Could get Aus PGA, Masters, NZ Open….. or could get nothing.

You’ve made a good start in some of the pro-am’s congrats, hope the form continues to improve and look forward to seeing another goofy handed aussie on the box later in the year.

Hey Blade, long time no see. I was at Indooropilly GC first week of jan for a wedding and apparently you were at the bar. I was whacking some balls on the range in a suit, lol.
I was coming over to say g’day but got dragged back for wedding stuff.

what are you working on at the minute blade?

Hey Blade, long time no see. I was at Indooropilly GC first week of jan for a wedding and apparently you were at the bar. I was whacking some balls on the range in a suit, lol.
I was coming over to say g’day but got dragged back for wedding stuff.

Surely I wasn’t at the bar…. :-)

Since you had trecked all that way from W.A. to Indro you should of said g’day for sure! It is a good place to hold a wedding function, heh.

Maybe next time.

what are you working on at the minute blade?

Simple stuff realy. Setup and allignment combined with good pictures of the shot I want to hit. If setup gets a bit shut, or something gets out of whack, I get in trouble. A little bit open encourages me to swing down and out, producing a little draw that works back to the target.

Errors during the setup and routine (poor thinking) seem to be the cause of my really poor shots. As Moe would say: Poor thinking hurts more than poor swinging. At the moment I’m hitting a lot of really good quality shots, but they’re being combined with some really loose ones. So it’s all about reeling in the quality of the loose ones.

Short game needs some work on the rhythm and tempo of the swing. A consistent pace going back and through, then it will be firing on all cylinders!

Putting is much the same, going well. Everything is really starting to become automatic. Golf is fun when it’s on auto.

Rather than slug it out playing in small pro-ams, why not head over to the USA and play on the small tours there. ie. Hooters

Rather than slug it out playing in small pro-ams, why not head over to the USA and play on the small tours there. ie. Hooters

I’m actually thinking about that right now. I was considering doing the Gateway Tour Desert Summer Series.

Most the guys there do the monday qualifiers and fly back to Phoenix and play the Desert Series event if they missed qualifying.

I’m not sure if there are that many positives to draw from by playing the pay-for-play events.

There are heaps of positives to this. You will make more money if you play well and gain more experience.

Surely I wasn’t at the bar…. :-)

Since you had trecked all that way from W.A. to Indro you should of said g’day for sure! It is a good place to hold a wedding function, heh.

Maybe next time.

I’m actually living in Vic these days.

I learnt a heck of a lot about tour life playing there, especially about managing travel etc.

Are you sick of the travelling or is it still exciting going to places you haven’t been before?

Most of us will never do what you’re doing so give us an insight into that life.

Cheers Blade.

Let us know if you get to Adelaide. I wouldn’t mind watching you play if I can get the chance.

There are heaps of positives to this. You will make more money if you play well and gain more experience.

Yeah, I agree there are positives.

But I don’t think the pay-for-plays are that great. They are really a setup for guys to keep active who don’t have anywhere else to play. Let me use the Gateway Tour Desert Summer Series as an example because I played a couple of events there last year to see what it was like:

They are 3 or 4 rounders which is a positive. Playing against the quality of players over there….. that’s a real positive. A lot of partial Nationwide Tour players, some ex Canadian Tour, some ex PGA Tour players, all trying to find their feet again. It’s also great that they pick the dates for the events so that you could run around to the Nationwide monday qualifiers if you wanted to.

But the overall running of the events is quite laid back and they play on courses that wouldn’t be considered championship standard. There are no crowds, everyone plays in carts. I’m not saying pro-ams are better (far from it), it’s just that the pay-for-plays don’t stack up to other tours in terms of experience, prize money and opportunity.

After playing there, I fail to see how I could draw a lot of experience from these in comparison to the pro-am and Von-Nida circuit. But I am assuming the Von-Nida circuit is intermingled with the pro-ams during the year…. which they now are not! That is a real downer. They only have two Von-Nida’s until October, which leaves a BIG VOID for Australian players through the middle of the year in Australia. There are a few pro-ams/events during that time which are four rounders, like the ones in Papau New Guinea, but not many.

So, personally, I am considering going to play the Gateway Tour Desert Summer Series. Let’s have a look at the financial side of the trip:

Take a look at the Desert Summer Series money list from last year:
Desert Summer Series 07
(Go there and click on “moneyleaders” in the middle of the page)

Now consider you have to put in US$18,500 for the entrance fees just to buy into those 13 events. Only the top 29 guys actually earnt their entrance fees back and that’s not even taking taxes into account. Then factor in flight from Aus, some accom, a car, a few Nationwide pre-qual entrance fees etc. and you see the 3 month venture has a lot of up front costs. It’s $400 to enter for each Nationwide pre-qual.

So you have to have a good bankroll to get started there. If you play well, obviously everything will work out sweet. But you still need about AU$30,000 to just get the ball rolling without messing around. For many guys just starting out, that’s a lot of money up front.

So, I am questioning the pay-for-plays value. Some other better options may come up during the year.

What about the Euro-pro tour?

In regard to the cost of the pay-for-play events, surely the pressure to perform to ensure you break even or better is a good thing to learn. A bit like playing a match for $10 when you only have $8 in your wallet!

I learnt a heck of a lot about tour life playing there, especially about managing travel etc.

Are you sick of the travelling or is it still exciting going to places you haven’t been before?

Most of us will never do what you’re doing so give us an insight into that life.

Former Top 10 on the PGA Tour ISG Money List.

I still like the travelling and going to places I haven’t been before.

I’m the sort of guy who’s happy killing a few hours at airports. So I’m quite comfortable with all the travel. Mind you, I can’t stand how damn small some planes are. Goodness. How is someone who is 6’5” with legs longer than light poles ment to fit in some of those things…

New places are usually great. But sometimes they can be bad: Great because I love seeing new places. But sometimes it could end up a grind because you may be in a new country where you have no idea what to expect or how to get around.

It depends where though. What countries you’re comfortable with, who you know there, etc.

For example: on the Korean Tour, every event they listed an official hotel to book with and travel details on how to get there. So that made things fairly easy considering it was a country I’d never seen before and the language barrier that exists. But after a few tournaments you start to realize, through some of the players with better knowledge, that there are other places to stay at which were more convenient etc.

Also, it is extremely hard finding anywhere to practice in Korea. Trying to work on your game over there, when you have no idea where you could possibly do it… that’s tough. Nothing like Australia (we actually have it so good here it’s rediculous). That’s why so many Korean’s come to Aus.

One of the Korean tour events was in China at a place called Yantai. I still have no idea where in the world that place is. Middle of nowhere will do.

When travelling to that event, I didn’t know that once I went through the security check in at the Incheon airport (departing Seoul) there were no ATM’s inside. So I turned up to Yantai without US dollars or Yuan. Big !@#$%^ mistake. ATM’s and Credit Card facilites didn’t exist there. Period. And the golf course wouldn’t event except a lot of the US notes the guys bought in because they had creases in the them. They were very worried about fradulent money. So that event turned out to be a mission.

So you can see how important preparation and being organized is to managing the challenges of travel and getting the best out of your game. Those are the sort of mistakes that you just don’t need to be wasting energy on when travelling.

It’s great fun doing it and experiencing it. It’s all part of the experience, all part of learning, all part of touring golf…. all part of the fun if you can sit back and laugh, then learn from it :)

If you have a look at my website/ tour blog, I covered a few of the unique experiences during my time overseas. It’s a fun read and will give you a bit of insight into the touring lifestyle.

What about the Euro-pro tour?

In regard to the cost of the pay-for-play events, surely the pressure to perform to ensure you break even or better is a good thing to learn. A bit like playing a match for $10 when you only have $8 in your wallet!

Yeah, that’s what it can be like. I think that has a lot of value.
But that’s what all events are like for all players. More so a player who is struggling for coin. It’s just that the pay-for-plays have one other factor, the entrace fee. Otherwise the costs are the same.

I’d have a preference to do the Gateway Tour over the Euro-pro. I’d rather be in the US. I still think they are a last resort for the guy who’s got nothing else worthwhile playing in.

Seeing I’ve never played pro-ams before, I’m keen to travel around Australia and do the circuit here this year.

Thanks for sharing your life on tour with us Blade,
Just wondering how long have you been a touring pro or being a pro ?

Thanks for sharing your life on tour with us Blade,
Just wondering how long have you been a touring pro or being a pro ?

If Tiger plays Lefty will he be that good ?
You sure Square is Good ? Don’t Think So !
Good Golf is Fun plus the Great Outdoors…
In the Bag: Clubs and Balls. My Handicap is Bad Golf.

1 year. Just touring.

If you have a look at my website/ tour blog, I covered a few of the unique experiences during my time overseas. It’s a fun read and will give you a bit of insight into the touring lifestyle.

What is the site mate?

Learning the ropes is The Blade. Its hard to make a living off the pro-am circuit. It does teach you to compete fast.

Blade, you came to Victoria and didn’t drop in for a feed?? What’s going on??

And by the way, you are much taller than 6’5”, I have mates that are 6’6” and you’re taller than them!

Blade, you came to Victoria and didn’t drop in for a feed?? What’s going on??

And by the way, you are much taller than 6’5”, I have mates that are 6’6” and you’re taller than them!

Friggin slack heh. I was out in the Gippsland area most the time, travelling with a mate, and was only in the Melbourne area for a couple days. So I thought I’d give you a rest :S You know as soon as I’m back in Melbourne I’ll come crawling back :)

You reckon I’m that tall??? I have had a few comments the last couple weeks from people that reckon I’ve grown…. But I don’t buy it!

Is juniorsmails still catching me? slowly surpassing his dad?

BLOCKQUOTE>

What is the site mate?

www.nathanuebergang.com

Nathan,

Read your website regularly last year and it was great keeping up with what you were doing and gives a good insight into what you have to go through to get someone in Golf.

Look forward to reading it again this year