Most high handicappers delude themselves into thinking that with the right tip from a golf magazine, they’ll be par shooters. Likewise, many a scratch player believes (if only he had the practice time!) could make it to the professional circuit.

In that vein: How tough is it really to make it to the PGA Tour? More specifically, how large is/what constitutes the divide between mini tour players and those with PGA Tour cards?

GolfWRX member wmblake2000 devoted a thread to the topic. He writes.

“I met a young guy at the range today – 23 yrs. This kid had a stunning swing, professional grade. So much speed, just beautiful to witness. I never really saw him putt chip nor, obviously, play. But the boy was impressive and has serious talent.

“I asked him what he was doing – trying to make the pga tour, of course. Next year he’s going to play the South American tour, which I had never heard of. He said top 5 make the web.com tour. Out of 100+. The average driver carry distance on this tour is 297, he said. His point was, the guys on this tour could all play.

“Now, distance and swing isn’t the same as scoring under pressure but, damn, this kid looked good to me and his odds of making the pga tour are very slim at best.”

The early replies are stellar. WRXer bcinstinct pulls this quote from an NPR interview with John Feinstein from when the sportswriter was doing his research for Tales From Q School

“If you walk down the range at the first stage – there are 14 first stage sites of Q School every year – and just watch the guys swing a golf club, you couldn’t tell the difference between them and the guys on the tour. They can all hit it 300 yards, they all have beautiful swings.

“The difference is that the guys at the top level can play under the most pressure. That’s where you separate the men from the boys, the women from the girls in professional golf. It’s your ability to repeat your swing under pressure and to make putts under pressure. Tiger Woods, in 2005, had 485 putts on tour of five feet or less. He missed none of them. That’s one of the reasons he’s Tiger Woods.”

The insights and anecdotes that follow make this a must-read thread even though it’s nary a few days old.

And at the risk of stomping on any dreams: For anyone who hasn’t grown up competing as an elite amateur and at least been recruited by a top college golf program, it’s incredibly, incredibly, unlikely you’ll ever make it to the PGA Tour.

Anyway, check out the full thread.