What's the usual route for becoming a pro? Are there any players out there who have played in maybe one or two adv. am touneys and decided to just go pro, or do most people stay in Adv. ams for a year or two? And are there any people out there who have just decided to go pro, even if they aren't ready, to kind of force themselves into improving and being in the pro enviornment>?

A player starts playing tournaments in Intermediate. Depending on how good he is he moves up to Adv. fairly quickly. From there it all depends. Some people stay Adv. players forever for different reasons(skill, distance, mental game,etc.). I'd say the average player plays 2 years in Adv. before moving up to Pro. Some stay in Adv. longer and may be called baggers if they have a season with multiple tournament wins. Some move up before they have that season at the top if they feel they can compete. I've seen players have success both ways.

I've seen players go Pro before they should. I played Pro a few times before this season, but it was more for a change of pace and for fun than trying to turn Pro. A friend of mine played Pro at a local tournament last weekend. He has only played a few PDGA's, but is a 920ish golfer who is getting better. My advice to him was to play a lot of out of town tournaments, get experience, then play Pro the next year. He didn't take my advice and ended up in a tie for last cash in a tournament with a deep payout. He only shot 950 golf at a local tournament. He took the cash. I'm worried that he will become like some other I've seen in that situation. They end up being non-contenders because they never gained that needed experience.

For me the change was from "I can cash if I play Pro" to "I'm going to cash and I can win the tournament"