Understanding how good the pros really are is best illustrated by the story of Kip Henley
All Kip Henley ever wanted was to be a tour player. His obsession began at age 5 when his mother, who worked folding boxes at the Arnold Palmer company in Chattanooga, provided her young son with a cut-off set of Arnold Palmer signature clubs.
Kip gave up his amateur status in 1982, trying tour school. No one tried harder and got less out of it than ol’ Kipper,” he said. “I paid a fortune in Q-School fees for probably 12 years.” After running out of funds, he turned to the life of a club pro and became a Class A PGA professional.
He has maintained his Class A standing with the PGA of America for years. Over the past 5 years, he made the transition to caddying for Tour Pro Brian Gay (that’s Kip in the white jumpsuit with Brian at the Masters) . 
In fact, Kip picked up $100,000 a couple of years ago when Gay won the FedEx/St. Jude Classic in Memphis.
Last fall, for reasons he still doesn’t understand, Kip Henley played in and won the Tennessee PGA Section championship, “even though I hadn’t broken par all year.” Talk about the blind squirrel finding a nut. “I shot 10 under for 54 holes,” Henley said. “Like I said, a miracle. I stood on the 16th hole in the final round and made birdie on 16, 17 and 18, with my hands shaking.” Continue reading “They’re even better than you thought”
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On the Course with Dan Gonzalez: Dan is an amateur golfer and golf writer, who will be sharing stories from on the course. Though he has a handicap index of 2.6, we believe golfers of all skill levels – from beginners to professionals – will identify with his stories.