Josh Apple takes a practice swing in a tournament last year while on the George Mason golf team. (Photo courtesy of Mason Athletics.)
This is the second installment in the diary series following George Mason alum and former C2M sports editor Josh Apple on his experience in professional golf. You can read the first part here.?
Hey everybody, this is Josh Apple again, a 2012 George Mason grad and former sports and recreation editor for Connect2Mason. Last time I updated the C2M community on my golf career I was playing in amateur events around the Middle Atlantic region, getting ready to turn pro. Now one month later, I am living in Arizona and am officially a professional golfer.
I ended my amateur career back in August by participating in the U.S. Amateur, the most prestigious amateur tournament in the world, followed by finishing T10 in the Middle Atlantic Amateur in early October.
My final event as an amateur was the Virginias-Carolinas matches, which is an event where the best amateurs from Virginia and West Virginia play against the best from North and South Carolina. It is a Ryder Cup format and the Virginias won 27-21?I won two of my three matches. It was a great experience for me as I had the opportunity to spend several days with the legends of amateur golf in the region, and it was an honor to be considered in that class.
But that is enough about amateur golf.
I recently moved to Tempe, Ariz. and am now a member of the All-American Professional Tour, a Phoenix-based pro tour that runs from the end of October until the end of February. There are 12 events out here this winter for the tour, and I plan to compete in all of them. There are about 150 players on the tour, and it is one of the most popular winter professional tours in the country this year.
I chose Arizona for this winter not only because the All-American is a great tour, but also because my swing coach from Virginia will be spending much of this winter in Arizona. He teaches both in Northern Virginia as well as in Phoenix throughout the year and during the winter spends most of his time in Arizona. Having my coach around will be very beneficial.?
The first event is Oct. 29-31 at the Arizona State University golf course, which is less than 10 minutes away from where I am living. I am really excited and can?t wait for the first tee in my first event as a pro.
I did play in two professional events on the East Coast this past summer as an amateur, making the cut in one of them. But once you have professional in front of your name, it all changes.
After the 12 events this winter, I do plan to return to the East Coast and join the eGolf Professional Tour based out of Charlotte, N.C. This is the now the most popular and fastest growing tour in the country below the Web.com Tour (formerly the Nationwide Tour). The eGolf Tour runs from the middle of February until early October. I plan on joining the tour in early March and will likely move to the Charlotte area.
I will keep you all updated on how this winter goes and I am just eager to get started.
Stay tuned for the next chapter in Josh's tale from the tour.?
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