I accepted cash at my first tournament in May of 2017. This was met with many people telling me that I had went pro too early. I have never played Am worlds or USADGC, even though I have qualified for both, and after accepting cash, I never will be able to play these events. I accepted cash when I was 940 rated and I think that I made the right decision for me and my game. I want to look at this situation from two perspectives to hopefully make your decision of when to “go pro” as easy as possible.

When I made the decision to play in the Open division at Two Days in May, I knew that I was not able to make it to USADGC or Am Worlds in 2017. This means that I would have to wait until 2018 in order to play those events. It honestly was something that I put a lot of thought into before playing in the Open division because I knew that there was a possibility of me accepting cash. Pretty much the decision I had to make was if I wanted to accept cash and forfeit my Amateur status, or accept merchandise in place of cash for a whole year in order to play at these two events. I felt like it made more sense for me to accept money for the whole year and not play in these events. I knew that I wanted to play in the Open division for the experience and increased competition. Had I not ever played Open, then my decision would have been easy. The reason behind playing Open was simply because I know that playing against better competition makes you better. This was the main factor in my decision to go pro and being able to get some money back from what I pour into tournaments was another big factor that helped me make my decision.

The other perspective came from my friends who did not agree with my decision. They all thought that I should stay as an amateur and not take cash and then make a name for myself as an amateur. They also thought that it would be better for me to get some more wins under my belt before I started playing Open. They tried to convince me that the transition to becoming a touring pro would be a lot easier if I was a well-known amateur first. Everything that they said made sense, but it just simply did not make sense for me. I knew that the competition I got as an amateur was not pushing me to be the best that I could be. I also knew that paying for as many tournaments as I was without making any money back was not going to cut it. If I did not want to become a touring professional in the near future or had been faced with this decision when I was younger, I probably would have stayed an amateur for at least one more year. The issue was that I wanted more. I did not care about winning as an amateur. I wanted to and still want to push my game as far as I can. In my head the best way for me to do that was to play as a pro and gain as much experience as I could.

With all that being said, the decision is still up to you. There is no perfect time to go pro unless you win Am Worlds in the advanced division. Whether you decide to go pro or you decide to stay an amateur, there will always be players who think you made the wrong choice. You have to evaluate your options and see what your goals are for your disc golf career. If you want to win consistently before moving up, then stay an amateur. Base your timing on going pro on your own personal goals for your career and go with whichever decision you feel like will help you accomplish those goals as quickly as possible.

Want some tips on transitioning from Am to Pro? Check this post out!