I have been pretty lucky to have found myself around a lot of professional athletes from hockey, football and baseball players to PGA Tour players.  It has been amazing to watch.  

Niagara Falls was loaded with current and ex NHLers and in my neighbourhood growing up lived Jim Lorentz from the Buffalo Sabres, Tom Webster from the Red Wings and Steve Ludzik from the Black Hawks.  These guys all had long careers and I watched the work that went into each of their efforts to stay relevant and at the top of their game.

I remember Steve Larmer hung over and asleep on Ludzik’s front porch at 6 am when Ludzik rolled out the door to start his morning run likely similarly hung over.  I remember Larmer still asleep when Ludzik returned sweat soaked an hour later.  Ludzik and Larmer had different roles and enjoyed different careers.  One scored goals the other muscled the puck out of corners and passed the puck to guys who scored goals.  One had a far more grueling regimen on ice and his summers were filled with much the same in order to continue to compete and to stay valuable and relevant in the sport.

The PGA Tour is actually not much different.  It takes a special effort, a special love for the game and a special commitment to the craft to stay competitive and relevant on Tour.  Many players get hot for a couple of years and make a small fortune and then just fade into the woodwork.  Still others plod along for years on tour making a decent living as journeyman pros.  They have little choice but to continue on trying to keep and maintain their tour cards because there is little else of any great appeal available to there. There are very few pro’s, however, and they are not around in large numbers, who have managed world class careers that have endured.

By that I mean players who have competed and triumphed at the highest level and yet have never simply rested on their laurels or jumped at the first opportunity to move into the commentator’s booth.  I'm talking about guys that are committed to continuing to chase what they love.

It takes some luck to last of couse and it takes a resilient body.  Golf at the tour level is a grueling sport.  Contrary to popular belief, 300 yard drives demand a very high level of effort and athleticism. The kind of effort and athleticism that isn't so easy on the body.  Hit enough bombs and you will be reaching for the Advil and these guys have to bomb it every day.  Now think about what time you have to get up to prepare like a tour player for your 7:10 starting time.  How about pulled muscles and blisters or chapped feet from playing on soaked fairways?  It is not unusual for weather to mean a round lasts through 7 or more hours or has to be completed the next day and a fresh one started to get everyone in.

The public has a very glorified notion of what life on tour is like and what playing the PGA Tour entails.  I can tell you that the thing that it takes more than anything is guts and perseverance.  That is what it takes to get there and that is what it takes to stay there.

This little blog in a way is really just a bit of commentary on what it means to be an athlete.  This morning at probably around 4am The Dirt's own Elk got up, likely a little sore from yesterday but without complaint.  He then went out to attempt to make his 400th career cut.

A very huge milestone.  When he is done his round he will likely begin thinking about preparing for his next round. If it does not happen this week it will happen next week or the week after that.  All that you can be certain of is that it will happen.  Some people perservere..... In between he will be doing what he can to make golfers here in The Dirt better and he will be thinking about how we can grow this game.  Perhaps it would be a good time for us to all think of what a great example that is.  The bottom line is that it takes something special to persevere.  It takes something special to never give up.  So how do you make 400 cuts?  Get good...Do what you have to do to stay good....And Don't Stop!!!!  Few can manage that.  Hat's off to you Elk.  You are about to join a very small club.

Hit 'em straight,
Sevam1

PS ...I filmed the video to go with the Hogan's Hands part 2 blog so look for it this weekend.  Now let's watch some vintage Elk.