If you follow golf then you probably consider Max Homa a household name. At the age of 30 he has won twice on the PGA Tour and continues to work to improve. So how does someone get from taking up the game of golf to competing as a junior golfer and then ultimately not only make the PGA Tour but become a multiple winner? Well, the journey may be different for different players but there are some commonalities that we can all learn from.
Max was a good junior player but he didn’t shoot under par from the age of 10 years old. In fact, I was able to find tournament results from when he was 16 years old and he shot in the 80’s many times. Yes, he also shot some great scores, but the consistency took time for him to develop. If you look at his college golf career at Cal Berkley he showed a steady decline in his scoring average over his four years.
The scoring average for his four seasons at Cal Berkley are listed below:
2009-2010 – 73.7
2010-2011 – 72.2
2011-2012 – 71.2
2012-2013 – 70.6
This four year career culminated in him winning the NCAA Championship in 2013 and setting himself up to turn professional with confidence. However, even when great players turn pro the journey of rising to the top starts over again. Max has had to battle his way onto the PGA Tour and finally this year for the first time as a professional has a scoring average that is lower than that of his senior year in college.
So, what does all this mean? It means that the journey never ends, there is just another stage, another challenge to face. Max learned what this process looked like and felt like from his days as a junior golfer. Every time he went to the next level he had to find ways to improve just as he did at the previous level.
