The hard works pays off. "Jim knows what he has to do," says the PGA's Becka. "He treats his amateur partners well. He is great with kids. He'll visit the sponsor tents. The people who put on the tournaments appreciate it."
And so they give him an exemption -- which is another chance at a payday.
This is the guy you're going to be competing against week in and week out. What does Jim Holtgrieve think about your plan of turning pro?
Well, Holtgrieve is a polite man. He says to give it a shot. "Of course, if you're not used to playing extremely competitive golf, you may be surprised," he offers.
Becka is more blunt: "Most of these guys have been playing in tournaments since they were 15. You really don't understand how good they are until you play with them."
But that's the whole point, isn't it?
Paul B. Brown is the author or coauthor of 10 books and editor-in-chief of DirectAdvice.com.
Have you got game?
Compare your game with this: Jim Holtgrieve's season stats, through August 1, 2001
|
Standard
stats |
Rank on
senior tour |
| Driving distance |
279 yards |
8th |
| Driving-accuracy percentage |
64.7% |
71st |
| Greens-in-regulation percentage |
64.5% |
43rd |
| Putting average (number of putts per green hit in regulation) |
1.805 |
54th |
| Eagles (holes per) |
198 |
34th |
| Birdie average (per round) |
3.11 |
52nd |
| Scoring average (per round) |
72.30 |
48th |
| Sand-save percentage |
38.4% |
75th |
| Total driving (combination of distance and accuracy) |
79 |
29th |
| All-around ranking |
385 |
47th |
| Winnings |
$258,848 |
48th |
| Putts per round |
29.80 |
68th |
Source: The PGA Tour.
How a golfer makes money
Jim Holtgrieve's profit-and-loss statement for the NFL Golf Classic, a Senior Tour event played last June in Clifton, N.J.:
| INCOME |
| Outing (playing with MasterCard reps and customers on Monday) |
$1,000.00 |
| Pro-Am (game with local businesspeople on Wednesday and Thursday) |
975.00 |
| Tournament prize winnings (for finishing 10th) |
27,600.00 1 |
| Total revenues |
$29,575.00 |
EXPENSES |
|
| Airfare (coach, 21-day advance purchase with Saturday-night stay and a nondirect flight) |
$318.62 |
| Car rental (this is one of only a few tournaments for which Holtgrieve got the free use of a car) |
0.00 |
| Caddie's share of winnings (7% plus a $700/week guarantee) |
2,750.00 |
| Meals for the week |
267.90 2 |
| Hotel for the week |
1,227.73 |
| Tips |
145.00 |
| Miscellaneous |
55.00 |
| Tournament entry fee |
100.00 3 |
| Total expenses |
$4,864.25 |
PRETAX EARNINGS |
$24,710.75 4 |
1This paycheck is well above Holtgrieve's average, which is about $13,000 per event. 2Meal expenses were substantially lower than usual. Holtgrieve toured lots of the sponsors' tents during the week as part of the trade-off for his exemption, and the sponsors fed him. 3Golf is one of the only sports where the participants pay to play. The fee is nonrefundable. 4This net was high. Holtgrieve's average is $8,000 to $9,000 per event.
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