How good are mini tour players?

I played with a mini tour guy at Memorial Park recently. He was practicing to try to Monday qualify for the Houston Open. He played the course from the tips of the tips and was like 5 under through 9 holes. He cooled off a bit on the back, but his good stuff was really really good.

There are a lot of great mini tour players who you’ll never hear about.

I played with a lot of guys who played the minis around from our area from 2005-2016.

Several made it to the Web.com, a few to the PGA Tour for a season or two, and two have remained on the PGA tour for a while.

They all can play, it’s just a matter of how well you can handle galleries and cameras everywhere you go.

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He played the course from the tips of the tips and was like 5 under through 9 holes

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Thats crazy

I know a mini tour guy and watched him shoot a non-chalant 65 once. Tom Coyne explains it best with his pyramid from Paper Tiger. This is a truncated version of it.

The bottom rung contains The Best Player You Know. "And here's the news about the Best Players You Know: They're shite. Scratch is shite. The Best Players You Know simply cannot play."

Club Pros are next on the pyramid. These are the guys we take lessons from. They may have once dreamed of making a living on tour, but they are now chained to the clubhouse. I

Then there are the Stud Amateurs: the golfers who compete in the USGA's amateur events.

Next are the Attached Club Pros. They are hired by country clubs just so the members can watch them on the driving range and follow them at tournaments. They actually win the USGA's amateur tournaments.

Mini-Tour Philanthropists are above the Attached Club Pros on the pyramid. These are the kids who played college golf but are not ready to join the real work world. They play in the Hooters Tour, the Gateway Tour, the Pepsi Tour, and others. But they rarely win. Their parents and friends are helping them pay their way. They are simply donating their entry fee each weekend, hoping to find their swing.

The Mini-Tour Grinders take the money from the Mini-Tour Philanthropists. They actually make money playing golf. As Coyne says, this is "where the pyramid moves out of the red and into the black." These players travel the world searching for a payday.

Then come the Nationwide Earners (now the Web.com Tour Earners), professionals with a steady, set schedule.

PGA Tour Survivors are next. They are the guys that earn their tour card the hard way.

PGA Tour Players are the ones who keep their playing card. They make better livings than most Americans, but how many names do you know on the PGA Tour's money list between 50 and 125? Not many.

PGA Tour Superstars are at the top. You don't just know their names, you know their first names: Tiger, Phil, Rory, Bubba, Hunter, Zach. Once you reach single-name recognition, you know you have arrived.
Coyne then goes on to describe a "golf-greatness pyramid."

A few years ago they had a mini tour tournament at beau chene. BC grew the rough out for weeks. It was brutal and normally very difficult to even find your ball. I believe the tournament was 3 days at there was a playoff at something like -22. Random guy shot course record 62 and wasn’t one in the playoff. It was at that point I realized I really wasn’t good at golf. I’ve was just better than the average weekend warrior.

I’ve played with a couple guys that have actually played in a PGA event or 2. Incredible golfers. They now do something totally different for their career because they couldn’t make it work.

A buddy of mine won the Adam’s tour event here in Alexandria. He told me one of the most difficult things about pro golf was the money needed to get to the tour, any tour. It can be a nomadic life style not conducive for some trying to start a family life. On a side note, the mini tour event in Alexandria attracts really good players. It is typically played a week prior to web.com in Lafayette. The Monday qualifiers are played immediately following the tight lies tourney. If so inclined a person could walk 18 holes and see some impressive golf up close.

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They say that a PGA tour player that makes most cuts would play to around a +9 at normal courses.

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Got damn lol. I want that.

I played 9 holes with John Peterson back when he was in college at LSU. He was fricking unbelievable, he had a few stints on the PGA, got third in the US Open what 2012? Hit a hole in one, but for the most part was a good Webb.com/Korn Ferry guy.

He was unreal in college so I can’t imagine how good an average tour pro would be

ETA: hell he probably reads this forum, hi John! You’re great at golf

They are very good. Several come into my buddy's golf shop.

It really is a putting contest.

That’s not what the statistics show. I forgot what podcast it was, I think no laying up, but the most strokes gained is from 150-225 approach shots.

The pros actually put on average about the same over a large statistical sample.

The second biggest area where strokes were gained was from the tee box.

Not really shocking when you think about it. If you can stuff a few more balls inside 10 feet from approach your chances of making those putts goes up.