Bulletin E-Edition:
Chasing a dream
Bend grad Adam Martin is trying to make it as a pro, but doing it without much backing is a huge challenge
By Zack Hall / The Bulletin
Published: January 09. 2008 4:00AM PST| order photo
Aspiring pro golfer Adam Martin is spending his winter in Central Oregon — here he’s shown at River’s Edge Golf Course in Bend — because of problems finding backing to play in warmer climates.
Andy Tullis / The Bulletin
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Adam Martin is a golfer without a place to play — at least this time of year.
The 24-year-old Bend High School graduate is braving another Central Oregon winter — not exactly ideal for a young golfer trying to make it as a touring pro.
At a time of year when most golfer his age and ability are in places such as Southern California and Arizona sharpening their skills on mini-tours, Martin is at home in Bend unable to afford to play in paradise because he is without the financial backing.
It’s enough to make a golfer do an about-face.
A self-described hothead, Martin hopes an attitude adjustment and some newfound humility will help him reach the ultimate in his profession.
“It’s frustrating, but at the same time, I’m just trying to put it all into perspective and set some long-term goals, not, ‘What can I do now?’” Martin says. “I’ve always been a want-it-now type of guy. But sometimes you have to look for those long-term goals.”
Because the purses on mini-tours are modest, sometimes not even topping $1,000 a first-place finish in a tournament, most golfers look for outside assistance from sponsors to help ends meets.
Others skip around the country playing in Monday qualifiers for tournaments on the PGA Tour or Nationwide Tour, trying to earn a spot in that week’s event — a pursuit that can be even more expensive.
Martin has had the financial backing at times, playing on the A.G. Spanos California Golf Tour in 2005 with the help of a consortium of private investors and family friends.
But the funds have dried up, in part, Martin says, because of his attitude on the course that often led to poor play.
“My attitude as a younger player was probably a pretty good reason why I don’t have the people backing me that some of these other guys do,” Martin says. “When you don’t have people backing you or money to travel, its kind of hard. I’m not exactly doing what I want at the moment, but I am learning how to be patient.”
Developing patience is critical for Martin.
Martin says that as a younger player he would easily become angered if he wasn’t playing his best golf, often walking off the course discouraged if he didn’t shoot the course record.
For instance, he says, a slow start could easily doom his round, and he would dwell on that poor round until it would snowball into long stretches of bad golf.
Martin has heeded the lesson, says Casey Watabu, a fledgling pro himself who was Martin’s roommate at the University of Nevada and now lives in Orange County, Calif.
“He has definitely changed his attitude from freshman year in college,” says Watabu, who played in the 2007 Masters after winning the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links. “He showed more of his emotions back then than he does now. I think it is from just growing up, getting mature. I think he finally realized that you are just wasting energy and you take yourself out of the game when you get mad.”
One thing that hasn’t changed is Martin’s goal: to play on the PGA Tour.
But the strategy to reach his goal is different.
Martin is now in the PGA of America’s apprentice program to become a PGA-certified teacher, currently working with his father, Bill, who is the director of golf operations at Quail Run Golf Course in La Pine.
Adam Martin, who now teaches at Quail Run, passed the PGA player’s ability exam last summer, the first step in becoming a PGA teacher.
To pass the player’s ability exam, Martin shot a two-round 143 at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, 11 shots better than what he needed.
Becoming a PGA-licensed pro means he can enter into such PGA sectional tournaments as the Oregon Open Invitational, which will be played in June at Aspen Lakes in Sisters, and the Northwest Open Invitational.
He also plans to enter Monday qualifiers this year, particularly those on the Nationwide Tour, the main developmental tour for the PGA Tour.
In addition, Martin is taking online classes to complete his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at Nevada after he stopped attending the Reno school midway through his junior year.
All of it is part of growing up for Martin.
“I’m just trying to tie things up; just some stuff that I think mentally could help my golf game and my life in general,” Martin says. “It’s frustrating being up here (in Central Oregon), but at the same time I love it up here and I am close to my family and I’ve just got to make the best with what I can do right now.
“For me right now, I guess I am just supposed to be here, and I am going to see where it takes me.”
Martin’s game doesn’t appears to be a problem.
In 2007, he set the Quail Run Golf Course scoring record three times, including the current mark of 7-under-par 65 set in October. And he tied Champions Tour veteran Bob Gilder’s course record at Brasada Canyons Golf Course in Powell Butte in November with a 6-under 66. He has increased his workout regimen, too, he says, joining the recent fitness craze in professional golf.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised with my own game,” Martin says. “I came back after a 10-day layoff (last week) and went out and played with my dad and shot a 66 at Crooked River (Ranch). So, the game is still there, it’s just trying to find the time and the means to travel.”
Adds Watabu: “He just needs to start making some putts and he’ll be fine. He definitely has the talent.”
Zack Hall can be reached at 617-7868 or zhall@bendbulletin.com.
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