Joe Tucker '17 Recruiting Profile

I cant wait to be apart of a great college program to help me improve as a golfer while I earn my degree in either Chemistry, Psychology or Visual Arts. My ultimate goal is to eventually play and be part of the PGA tour and to be part of a good college program that gives me the best chance at fullfilling these aspirations. Before golf, I recieved a brown belt in karate and was an all-star catcher and pitcher for little league. I starting playing golf mid baseball season and wanted to get better. Over that winter I devoloped a swing indoors without actually hitting balls, something we later found out may have been a good thing. The following spring I had to make a choice between the two sports, being that they were in the same season. At 11 years old I knew it was golf and I have been working very hard ever since. I started by playing on a par 3 course and a pitch and putt course, with 3 balls at a time, my local mulligans island. My dad and I started to play golf at the same time. We would go to our local city park and hit balls out to a bucket in one of the open fields for hours on end. This was when the strokes started to vanish and I would get better by 5-10 strokes at a time. We knew then, it was time to get a membership at a course because the greens fees to play every week started to get out of hand. We were able to get a junior membership at Cranston CC and I brought my average from low 80s to mid-high 70s. Cranston CC was great but we needed a better practice facility to improve my short game, if we wanted to bring my 5 handicap down to scratch or plus. We were able to get a junior membership at Potowomut GC, and I won the Junior Club Championships a month later with a 71. A lot of kids on my high school team also go there to practice and I enjoy helping them practice so we all can get better together. I've been a member at Potowomut for 3 years now and I have dropped 4 shots. I am now a hair away from being scratch in June of 2015. The way I acheived this was spending many hours at the range and the putting/chipping area. I typically spend 1-2 hours at the range and then spend an hour or two at the putting & chipping area. I then play 9 or 18 with some members and/or high school teammates. I have recently adapted a new style of practice on the range to prepare for a tournaments. I will set up my game plan for the tournament such as what to hit of the tee and what to hit on my approach shot. I will take this plan to the practice range. I will play that course on the range by hitting 5 shots each, with each shot I plan to hit at the tournament. This is over the course of 90-120 minutes. I'm hardworking, persistent and love to train. I'm a little hard on myself because I always want to become better. I know I can do it but I realize it will take many more hours to get where I want to be later in life.