Before Their Professional Golf Careers Took Off

Ever catch yourself daydreaming about what it wouldinclude Phil Mickelson who attended Arizona State
be like to walk the links with your own personal caddyUniversity where he studied psychology. Tom Lehman
at a PGA golf tournament instead of watching all thewho got his degree in business and accounting. Fred
action unfold on TV? Wondering if the right training andCouples went to the University of Houston.
mentoring could someday help you channel your talentTaking a look back at some other players also proves
and passion for the sport into your own professionalthat golf was not always the sport these legendary
golf career?names started out playing, but rather, the one they
While it might seem like a far fetched idea that wouldstuck with in the long run. For example, Davis Love III, a
hardly turn into a reality, just remember all of the greatbig name on the course today, had a real affection for
golf legends. Take for example some of the true iconsice hockey in his younger years. Fellow teammate Lee
of the game like Lee Trevino, Phil Mickelson, and TigerJanzen took up baseball as a kid and spent his
Woods. These individuals learned the sport inside andsummers participating on Little League teams. He also
out and have realized such huge success andpursued tennis for a while before realizing golf was the
amazing accomplishments throughout their professionalsport he liked and played best.
golf careers.Other sports enthusiasts include Ernie Els who took his
It might be difficult to imagine these stars focusing onhand at rugby, cricket and tennis before turning pro in
anything other than golf since incredible drives, chip1989 and starting his professional golf career. Like Els,
shots, and putts seem to go hand in hand with theVijay Singh also played cricket and rugby when he
mere mention of their names. But here's a rare lookwas younger and dabbled in soccer before settling on
behind the scenes at where some of golf's greatestgolf and turning pro in 1982.
players got their starts and where the game tookWith golf as their main focus, many pros can't seem to
them.get enough of the sport and have kept with it in other
Perhaps with one of the most interesting stories, is Leeways. Fred Couples has done work involving golf
Trevino's. One of golf's first and finest players grew upacademies, equipment companies and clothing lines.
with little money and began working at an early age toTom Weiskopf has helped design several courses
help his family make ends meet. He started working inacross the nation and spent time as a golf analyst on
cotton fields and found his love for golf shortly after asTV.
he began caddying at a local course. Before making aSo as you can see, not every professional golfer
professional golf career for himself, Trevino alsostarted out on the greens. Many pursued other
served four years with the U.S. Marines.educations, sports and hobbies and some even had to
Starting out on the college track, crowd favorite Tigertake it upon themselves to create their own
Woods first attended Stanford University. He leftopportunities. It just goes to show that with the right
school after a few years to focus on golf and turnedtraining, focus and determination, a professional golf
pro in 1996 at the age of 21. Other college bound proscareer can be achieved if you're up for the challenge.