Golf Clubs � Junior Golf Clubs � Was Tyron too young?

Ty Tyron swapped his junior golf clubs to turn pro at the young age of 17 � but how young is too young?

Ty Tyron

Ty Tyron may sound like the name of a movie star but he is one of golf's young guns who caused a stir when he turned pro at the age of just 17 in 2002. Still a junior in high school, turning pro with his golf clubs at 17 caused ripples of controversy across the golf world. Tyron is a long way off from when he first picked up a set of junior golf clubs �he was playing on the PGA Tour at 17, becoming the youngest person ever to qualify for the PGA tour. Tiger Woods is considered young for the game, but to give some perspective, Woods didn't swap his junior golf clubs to turn pro until he was just shy of 21.

How young is too young?

Tyron's youth brought to the fore the issue of age and professional sports. There are plenty of young kids swinging junior golf clubs being pushed into becoming professional athletes at a very young age. The fact is, golf, like any other sport is now a major money making game for those who play at the top. Tiger Woods has shown that with his multi-million dollar empire.

Junior golf clubs

The fact Tyron had never won a USGA amateur event as a junior meant some critics felt he needed to polish up his golf clubs first and develop his game. Perhaps the critics were right and 17 was too young to swap his junior golf clubs to hang out with the grown-ups.

Illness

Fate also stepped in the way for the boy who made good with his junior golf clubs � aged 18, instead of hanging out with Tiger Woods he had to have his tonsils out. The closest he got to the PGA was watching it on TV.

�For the most part, I was at home, watching TV, playing video games, reading, a little clubbing, hanging out with my girlfriend, not much else,� Tryon said of his final year in high school.

Still a junior?

Ty was forced to put down his golf clubs for six months, and still had the junior tag to shake off � he still needed to prove himself as a pro. When he did get back to swinging his golf clubs, perhaps he still felt like a junior at heart.

�I was so overwhelmed," he told the press. �It was a mess for me. I had a good time on the golf course, but I didn't know what to do, how it all worked. I didn't know the crowds were going to be so big.�

Being a success with junior golf clubs can turn you into a big fish in a small pond, but it can be a different ball game if you're playing the pros. But like any kid, Tyron kept proving himself.

On the way up

He may be one of the youngest golfers every to leave his junior golf clubs behind and turn professional � and some people may have thought he was too young and should have gone to college before taking up golf as a career. But the fact is, at 17, he was already a millionaire from sponsorship deals from Callaway Golf and Target department stores.

�You cannot underestimate the power of a dream,� his dad Bill said.

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