February 11, 2005

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Publication Date: Friday, February 11, 2005

He's not just playing a-round

The numbers 67-69-69-65-71 may not mean much to the average person, but they do to professional golfer Todd Fischer: They put him $62,000 dollars closer to keeping his job next year.

These are his scores from the PGA Tour Bob Hope Chrysler Classic last month, where his 19 under-par total earned him a tie for 18th place and a big paycheck. Now he needs to earn another $600,000 over the next 30 weeks if he wants to come back and play in 2006.

Life as a tour player has plenty of perks, but job security is not one of them.

As a third year PGA Tour veteran, Fischer - Fish to his friends - is not worried. He's done it before; he can do it again. As a matter of fact, each year of the 35-year-old Fischer's golf career has been a testament to that old adage of slow and steady shoots the lowest score.

Growing up in Pleasanton, Fish was not the flashiest junior golfer in town, but he was consistent. A three-time Junior Amateur winner, Fischer was a reliable competitor while playing for Foothill High School. At the University of San Francisco, Fischer was a four-time All-West Conference selection. In 1992, he won the Western Intercollegiate, the Pacific Coast Amateur and was a second team All-American.

What was he planning on doing with his degree in exercise and sport science? "That's easy," said Fischer. "All I ever wanted to do was play golf."

To the millions of fans watching the big names playing in exotic locations for million-dollar purses every week, life as a professional golfer seems like a dream come true. And they are right. Every one of those players spent many hours hitting a little white ball into a 4-1/4-inch hole, all the while dreaming of the day they would get to walk between the ropes that line the fairways, separating the spectators from the players.

"That," Fischer said with a smile, "is the best part of playing on Tour."

Each year thousands of players across the United States compete in a variety of mini-tours, the "minor leagues." There players work on their games and hone their competitive skills as they wait for October to roll around and bring the chance to compete for a spot in the big leagues ... the PGA Tour.

Forget Halloween. For any serious player the scariest part of this month is Qualifying School. Thousands of hopefuls work their way through three stages of competition to earn one of just 35 "cards" to the PGA Tour. It just may be the most horrendous job interview imaginable. "And you have to pay for the privilege," said Fischer with a laugh, "$12,000 each year."

After enduring the rigors of Q-School nine times, Fischer decided there must be another way. "I started following the Buy.com Tour (now known as the Nationwide Tour), which is the step just below the PGA Tour," explained Fischer. "I would try to qualify for a spot in the tournament each week, and I had a lot of success. By the end of 2002, I was No. 7 on the money list. The top 20 players get PGA Tour cards."

Once that coveted card was in his pocket, Fischer never looked back. In his rookie season he made $621,000, finishing 102 on the money list. There was no sophomore slump for the Fish who climbed past several seasoned players to finish No. 94 on the list with earnings of more than $847,000.

The top 125 money winners keep their cards each year. Last year the 125th player won $623,262.

"It's a funny thing about golf," said Fischer. "It doesn't matter how good you were in the past; you have to keep proving yourself each year. Every season we all start off even. And each week, each tournament, everyone who plays has a chance to win. Or not make the cut."

Fischer credits much of his success to the support he received from his friends and family in Pleasanton. "It is pretty incredible to think about all the people who really wanted to see me achieve my dreams," Fischer said. "Even before golf became a cool sport to play, there were a lot of individuals who went to great lengths to help me."

For example, Todd grew up playing and practicing at Castlewood Country Club, where his father, Dave, was a member. Once Todd completed his education at USF, he lost the right to play and practice there, just when he needed the facilities the most.

"Having a place to practice is imperative," said Fischer. "I felt so comfortable at Castlewood, it was my home course." Castlewood members went to the board on his behalf, and Fischer was granted an honorary membership.

Long before there were any guarantees of success, Fischer said, friends were taking time off from work to caddy for him, fly across the nation to watch him play, and just encourage him to keep trying when it seemed like his dreams might never become reality.

"There are families in Pleasanton who made me a part of their lives," he recalled. "They offered me time, money, whatever I needed. They are all a part of what I have accomplished."

It has been fun to share his success with his long-time supporters, he said, especially as the game's popularity has grown. "You have to remember, when I turned pro in 1993, golf was not the huge sport it is now," he noted. "Twelve years ago I wanted to play golf because it is what I love to do. Now pro golfers are celebrities of a sort; the huge purses we play for, the media and Tiger Woods have all propelled this game way beyond anything I could have imagined."

Fischer appreciates the opportunities this expanded world of golf has offered him.

"Golf has opened doors I didn't even know were there," he said. "I happen to have a talent for this game that has captured the attention of millions of people. I think that there is a certain amount of responsibility that goes along with the opportunities and recognition that fame brings. I feel an obligation to do my part to give back some of the incredible gifts golf has brought to my world."

To that end, Fischer is a founding board member of Partners Fore Golf, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing the life values of golf to individuals who might otherwise never experience the game.

"The ideals that golf is built upon, the ethics that the game instills, these can all be applied to anything someone might want to do in life," said Fischer. "Honor, integrity, dedication, patience, self respect, the list goes on and on. If you apply these principles to the way you live your life, you have a great chance for success. Not everyone has the chance to experience these values in their daily lives; you can't help but learn them if you play golf. No other sport can do that."

Fischer said that the Pleasanton-based Partners Fore Golf is in the process of filing a letter of intent to become a First Tee Chapter, part of the national program that is "dedicated to providing learning facilities and programs to promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf."

"The possibilities this program can offer to the youth of the community are endless," he said. "I feel honored to be in a position to offer my name and my time to promote the game of golf in the same neighborhood that fostered the love of the game in my life."

Fellow board members have pointed out that the better Fish plays, the better it is for the foundation. But Fischer may have another motivation to play well; last September he was married to his long-time sweetheart, Amy Jolley. Mr. and Mrs. Fischer are currently looking for a residence in Pleasanton so they can be near their family and friends when he's not on tour, which for Fischer is about 15 weeks a year.

"Motivation? I don't need motivation," Fischer said. "I get to go out every day and do what I love most - play the greatest game in the world with the finest competitors on the planet. How can it get better than that?"

This weekend near you

For more information about Partners Fore Golf, contact Laura Hadley at l.a.hadley@comcast.net.

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