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There is of course a lot of money and prestige for professional golfers that manage to make it to the PGA Tour. However, for many PGA players, their longstanding desire is to simply make a living playing the game they love.

That means for every overnight sensation there are another ten players who work at their games, qualify for the tour only to struggle. They then manage to lose their card and have to qualify yet again. Many of those players make a few efforts then never return to the big time. Still others seem to go through the qualifying aspect over and over again.

Brett Wetterich is one of those guys. The man deserves enormous credit for believing in himself, for his path has been one that would test anyone. Though he turned pro in 1994, he would not manage to make the big time Tour until the year 2000. His promotion was not matched by great play, instead he performed poorly. Getting the opportunity to play in only nine events, the Tour newbie made only one cut and lost his card.

Returning again to the harrowing event known as Q-School, Wetterich managed to earn his card in 2001 but could not make the top 125 money list to earn an exemption. He returned to Q-School again and earned his card for 2002, only to miss the top 125 money list yet again.

It got worse. The journeyman missed the Q-School cut for the big tour in 2003. However, he did play well enough to earn a spot on the Nationwide Tour. A tour win in 2003 and a decent performance earned him yet another year on the Nationwide in 2004.

Then some relatively strong play on the Nationwide Tour in 2004 brought Wetterich to the Tour Championship in the number 23 spot on the money list. But the longballer got his game together and finished runner-up in the Championship, earning enough to climb 13 spots and finish tenth on the Nationwide money list to earn his way back to the Tour for 2005.

Sounds like maybe he had finally arrived? Just the opposite. The unheralded Wetterich could not quite keep his PGA card. After finishing 132nd on the money list, he once again had to return to Q-School if he wanted a chance to play in 2006.

But return he did, finishing in a tie for 26th to earn his card once again. Then, in 2006, in his fifth year on Tour, the veteran golfer emerged as a force to be reckoned with, finishing tenth on the money list, earning more than $3,000,000 in the process. He won the 2006 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, and had three other top five finishes, two seconds, at the Memorial Tournament and the Chrysler Championship and a fourth, at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. So solid was his play, the he qualified for a coveted spot on the United States Ryder Cup team.

The win at the Nelson proved to be monumental for Wetterich. In fact, the 1.1 million dollar check for first nearly matched his career earnings for his first 12 years as a professional, even though he owned two victories on the Nationwide Tour, the 2003 Chitimacha Louisiana Open and the 2004 Envirocare Utah Classic.

As yet another sign of the growth in Wetterich, prior to his first top ten performance in 2006, a tie for sixth at the Shell Houston Open in his sixth start of season, Wetterich had managed just three top tens in 76 prior Tour starts. In fact, his record prior to the 2006 season was one marked by his dream and a run of futility. In fact, that 132nd finish had actually been his best in four prior years on Tour.

In 2006, his overall stats also reflected his fine play. His average driving distance of 308 yards ranked him fourth on Tour and his percentage of 300 plus dives topped 45%, good for fifth overall. When it came to scoring, his birdie average of 4.04 per round ranked him sixth and he was eighteenth in overall ranking for ball striking. Most importantly, his six top tens ranked him fifteenth overall, and his earnings put in him in the top ten.

For a man who started playing golf at age the age of two, it has been a long hard road. But Wetterich's faith in his game and his longstanding desire to make a go of it on the PGA Tour finally came to fruition in 2006.

It took 12 long years overall and four on the PGA Tour before this hardworking and dedicated professional made it. Wetterich's story is one that every future golfer will point to, especially those that find the road to making a living on the PGA Tour one filled with roadblocks.

The pundits put it all in context with their comments after Tiger Woods took home yet another title the recent Target World Challenge.

"One last birdie putt he didn't need. One final victory that didn't count."

How fitting.

Tiger wrapped up what might have been his best season ever when his final round 66 helped him cruise to a four shot victory over another limited field, although many competitors were amongst the best the world has to offer. For Woods, it was his third victory in eight years at the Target event. Tiger promptly donated the $1.35 million prize to charity, his own Tiger Woods Learning Center.

After his father and trusted confidante, Earl Woods, passed away in May after a long and difficult battle with cancer, Woods had one of his lowest moments of his life and his golfing career. The loss of his dad was so traumatic that Woods missed the cut at the U.S. Open, his first ever missed cut in a major. But once he put the emotion behind him, Woods went on one the greatest runs in modern golf.

From that point on, Woods won the year's final two majors and at one point amassed wins at six consecutive PGA Tour events. Even more amazing, Woods never finished worse than second in a stroke play event for the rest of the 2006 season.

Moreover, the Target World Challenge represented his 11th overall title of the year. What may even be more amazing is that Woods skipped the final five events on Tour in 2006, including the Tour Championship, yet still won eight times in official events. That matched his win total for 1999 and represented one less than his own standard of nine titles in 2000.

It will be fun to see what the red hot Woods will do in 2007. Given his strong finish in 2005 on top of his sterling 2006, many see him once again as the unequivocal favorite at every PGA event. So hot is Woods that even Golf magazine is picking 2007 as the year that he manages the single season grand slam, winning all four majors in the same year.

However, his 2005 total of six wins means his last two seasons of 14 wins still trails that 1999-2000 stretch of 17 titles. Yet that is exactly why 2007 looms so tantalizingly before golf fans. So the question remains, will he continue his run and top even his 1999-2000 run, or will he slow his torrid pace as he did after that amazing stretch? After all, the last PGA Tour event Woods entered that he did not win goes all the way back to the Western Open in early July.

Perhaps to add some suspense, Woods still has not indicated his exact schedule for 2007. Will he start at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii in early January? Or will he wait for one of those tournaments associated with his name, the Buick Invitational?

Whenever he does decide to tee it up, he will put his six tournament win streak on the line. But for amny, the real excitement will not come until April with the first of the majors, The Masters. Only then will we begin to see whether Woods can put that final indelible stamp on his resume, that of the golf grand slam. That honestly seems like the only question left about Woods, as he seems destined to earn all of the all time victory records before he hangs it up.

Yes, everyone will have their eyes on Woods in 2007, to see what this guy can do for an encore.

George McNeill, 31 years young, emerged as the medalist at the extraordinarily difficult PGA Q-School event, leading the group of qualifiers that carry exempt status to the Tour for 2007. For McNeill, his ninth attempt at qualifying proved to be the charm.

Each year, literally hundreds, if not thousands of golf pro wannabees take the plunge to compete for the coveted privilege of playing on the PGA Tour. It begins with various qualifying stages, then ends with the Final Q-School event where 140 players vie for a PGA exemption card, battling over six incredibly grueling rounds.

McNeill shot a 5-under 67 final round, pushing him five shots clear of the field. His 23-under-par 409 featured five consecutive rounds in the sixties and was the best Q-School performance since that of Scott Verplank in 1997. The current Tour regular Verplank coasted to a six-shot victory that year.

McNeill also earned $50,000 for his performance. The assistant pro at Forest Country Club in Fort Meyers had previously tried, and failed the Q-school, a total of eight times.

Forty players overall earned PGA Tour cards for next season. McNeill was one of 17 golfers who qualified for the exempt status for the very first time. The players with the lowest 30 scores, along with ties, over the six day tournament qualify for the big Tour. The remaining players received various options for play on the Nationwide Tour.

Robert Garrigus was runner-up to McNeill, with an 18-under 414 while Rich Barcelo was third with his 17-under 415.

Twelve players finished tied for 29th at 8 under par. That led to a number of amazing stories in one of golf's greatest pressure cookers.

Jonathan Kaye, twice a U.S. PGA Tour winner, manage to hole a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole to finish at 8 under. However, at the time the cutoff was 9 under so Kaye, thinking he had just missed, proceeded to fling his ball into the water.

Ten players who started the final day outside of the top 30 ended up earning their cards. Michael Allen, who began the day far down the list, tied for 61st starting out, managed a final round 66 to qualify. And former PGA Tour winner Paul Stankowski put aside his opening round 79 to play five solid rounds to earn his card as well.

But the biggest final move belonged to none other than Jaco Van Zyl. Starting the final round tied for 75th, the South African closed with a phenomenal final round of 64 that included holing a 20-25 foot birdie putt on the final hole that helped him earn his card right on the 8-under number. Van Zyl also birdied three of the last four holes in his push to earn a coveted card.

As part of the qualifying process, the next 49 players on the list earned full exemption status for the Nationwide Tour. In a sign as to just how competitive the Q-School event is, that group included a two-time U.S. Open champion in Lee Janzen and past PGA Tour winners Duffy Waldorf and Bob Burns.

When you are the world's best and most popular golfer, your name carries an emphasis that is beyond comprehension. Such is the case for the incomparable Tiger Woods, who will turn his attention in the years ahead to golf course design.

It easy to see why Woods would seek to develop a golf course, not the least of which is the money that would be associated with such a project. At the same time, it is easy to see why any entrepreneur would want to have Woods do a course design. After all, nothing could be a greater draw for a new course than to have its name forever linked with the game's best player.

But in perhaps a bit of a surprise, the first such marriage between Woods and a golf course development entrepreneur will occur in the city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Tiger Woods Dubai, set for completion by late 2009, will be comprised of a 7,700-yard, par-72 course and a 60,000-square-foot clubhouse. In addition, the design for the new facility will include a golf academy, 320 high end villas and a hotel to feature 80 suites.

Dubai is an oil-rich city that currently plays host to two European Tour golf events. The city features eight golf courses already including the well-known Emirates Golf Club where the annual Dubai Desert Classic is held. Of course, the Desert Classic on that same Emirates course, originally designed by Jeremy Pern and Karl Litten and recently redesigned in 2006 by Nick Faldo, featured non other than Tiger Woods as the champion earlier this year, topping Ernie Els in a playoff.

Woods joins Els (The Dunes), Thomas Bjorn (Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club), Colin Montgomerie (The Montgomerie Dubai), and Ian Baker-Finch (Arabian Ranches Golf Club) as golfers either currently designing, building or having built courses in Dubai. Woods will be working with Tatweer of the government-affiliated Dubai Holding to create his course, one he hopes will set a new standard for golf courses, much as the game's best player has set the standard for play in recent years.

Tatweer was launched in December of 2005 as the strategic and operational driver of a selected group of Dubai Holding entities. The company features a focus on the development of new markets to foster further development in Dubai. The company motto contains many references to world-class performance and the sustaining of business excellence.

Saeed al-Muntafiq, the CEO of Tatweer, indicated that his group never looked beyond Woods as a designer and colleague. According to the CEO, the company wanted the very best it could muster to create the new course. Woods in turn, stated he was excited by the opportunity and the challenge of turning desert terrain into a world-class golf facility.

The association is likely to be one of many for Woods as he moves from his competitive career into an even more lucrative field financially. It is a move that has many wondering if he will be able to continue his dominance as a player if he begins to focus energy on other aspects of the game.

One of the more interesting clubs for the weekend golfer to consider is one referred to as a chipper. It is a club that is constructed to match the traditional length of a putter but comes with the loft of a seven iron.

The concept of a chipper is quite simple. Many players, especially those who play irregularly, find that chipping around the green is a difficult skill to learn. Though I play 20-25 times over the course of the summer, I find that chipping well is something that comes only later in the season when I have played a lot or only if I am playing regularly, two to three times per week.

The chipper is designed so as to take away the two most common mistakes that a player makes when chipping around the green. Those two mistakes are striking the ground first, something that will take the speed off the head of the golf club, and the opposite, rising up slightly and skulling the ball, that is blading the center of the ball with the club head.

Consider the case of being in the vicinity of the green, either in the semi-rough or rough, but not having a full shot to the hole. Many players find that creating just the right swing to advance the ball far enough that it reaches the vicinity of the hole without hitting it completely over the green very difficult. A common mistake is to strike the ground just before striking the ball - because of the fact that the player is also trying to swing somewhat softly so as not to hit the ball too far, striking the ground first causes the club to decelerate immediately. The result is often a big divot and a mishit that often travels only a few feet. Sadly the player is then still short of the green and has yet another shot on the score card.

A second problem is to sway or pick your head up as you are about to make contact. If your body rises up even a modest amount you are likely to raise your club as well. The result is a swing that does not come down onto the ball with the proper pinching motion but a flatter approach that causes the club to strike the ball first, often in the middle of the ball. Because the swing is not continuing downward in that case, there will not be a divot and the result will be a skull, the ball being driven too hard, flying across the green so that you often wind up in the rough on the opposite side, having the exact same shot again coming back to the hole. Once again, the player is still not on the green and he/she has recorded a wasted shot.

Because the chipper has the same shaft length and grip of a putter, you use the same stroke as you do when putting. The chipper is designed to elevate the ball slightly but not produce much in the way of back spin. The idea is strike the ball so that it pops into the air to the fringe or edge of the green, then rolls to the hole. Generally speaking, using the exact same stroke (including speed of the club)that you use for a lengthy lag putt will produce enough force to get the ball onto the green and headed towards the hole.

The key in using a chipper is that your consistency will be much greater early in the season. First, you will not have the two big problems most golfers face. Because you are using a flatter putting stroke, hitting the ground first will not take as much speed off the club face as doing so when using a downward striking motion. Likewise, the flatter motion should help keep you in the putt/chip, meaning you will be less likely to pull up and blade the ball. Even if you do, you will find that your miss will again be minimized, meaning you may be short of the hole or may go well past the hole, but you are likely to still be on the dance floor and putting, not repeating another chip.

Yet another reason to carry a chipper in the bag is that such a club can be purchased as either a one-way or two-way chipper. The two-way has a double-sided face, meaning it is made to work exactly the same in both directions. There are many times when a right-handed player will not be able to strike a ball properly due to obstacles in his/her way but could advance the ball if they turned around and used a club left-handed. The two-way chipper is just the ticket, providing a left-handed or right-handed club that is used as a putter. Even without any practice, I can still use a chipper left-handed, putting the ball very firmly, to move it from the obstacle and at least get some advancement of the ball. Otherwise, a player may have to waste a complete stroke with a drop.

I begin each golf season using the chipper around the green. I find I am more consistent early in the season and the club helps me develop my lag putting as well. As the season advances and I begin to get a better feel for my short game, I move to using my seven or eight iron and my wedges, especially if I am in the deeper rough. But if I am in the semi-rough or extended fringe, I feel very confident with the chipper in my hand, assured that even my worst effort will still leave me on the putting surface. Nothing is more frustrating than to fluff or dub a chip then have to step up and try the very same shot yet again. Many times, one mishit leads to another to another, etc.

If you find that your are not as consistent as you would like with your chipping, consider giving a chipper a try. An inexpensive one will run no more than $20.00, a small investment in what could be a major help to your game.

Probably the worst thing a weekend golfer can do is head off to Dicks Sporting Goods or one of the other big sports discount stores with the mindset that the Big Bertha driver or those Callaway irons will make a big difference in their golf game. In fact, the only thing worse than doing that is to go to Pro Shop at your local club and buy those same items, often for twice the price of Dicks, thinking they will deliver you some serious new game.

However, it can be very tempting when you see those large shiny heads perched on the end of brand new driving shafts to succumb to the notion that they could be just the key to turning your game around. Likewise, though a high end putter may run a couple hundred dollars, it still might feel really good in your hands, so good in fact that your are convinced it will make you more consistent from ten feet in.

That said, the newer golf equipment is often tempting, particularly because a certain style will often feel almost perfect in one's hands. That driver does feel powerful, that putter seems easier to line the ball up, etc.

If you find yourself tempted by the higher end equipment because of this better feel, then you should likely pay attention to it. After all, confidence is half the battle and if a certain club feels better, then when it comes time for you to pull the club from your bag you will likely pull it out with great confidence. That in turn will generally lead to better and more consistent shot making.

So if that Big Bertha driver or that Titleist Rescue wood or that Odyssey Putter gives you that feeling of confidence, then you might just want to try those type of clubs out for real. If you cannot try such new equipment at a shop or even if you do try it at the shop and find you like it, you may want to consider the fact that there are many clones on the market, clubs that are extremely similar in design yet are priced at 25 cents on the dollar.

Truth be told, many of these clones offer the same quality and performance as a name brand club would for the weekend golfer. Yes the pros might actually be able to feel or see a difference but the average golfer will never be able to sense of feel the difference.

So if you are thinking of buying a set of those Callaway, Ping, Titleist, TaylorMade or Cobra woods and irons, you should think again. Yes, these are the biggest name brand clubs on the golf market but they are also the most expensive.

The weekend golfer needs to understand that clone golf clubs are made from the same materials as the high end clubs. They are also designed to match the feel and appearance of the big name outfits, and once placed in the hands of a player with a medium caliber swing, may actually out perform the high end clubs where the entire focus is placed on a very small sweet spot. In other words, the high end clubs will only perform better if the contact point with the ball is identical every time, i.e. when used with a pro caliber swing.

The thing for the weekend golfer to remember is that the clone companies buy their club heads, shafts, and grips from the small set of suppliers that the big companies do. Clones will provide great performance but at a much better price.

So if you are tempted by those larger head drivers that run $250.00 per club or more, take a look at a clone like those offered on Pinemeadow.com, where woods are offered as low as $49.00 that will match many of those you see with the big names. That same company offers a putter for $39.00 that matches the looks and feel of the Odyssey Two Ball White Hot Putter that runs $299.00 in most shops. Many other sites like Redwinggolf.com and Diamondtour.com offer similar types of clones, again at numbers pushing 10 cents on a dollar at times.

So if those high end clubs do tempt you, then before throwing away a thousand dollars on clubs that may yield little in the way of improvement, try one of the clones that most resembles the high end club you seek. If the clone doesn't work for you the way you thought it would, you can be guaranteed that the big name brand will have a been a major disappointment, just as dissatisfying because your game has not improved any but many times more aggravating due to the initial outlay of funds.

And if you find the clone does give you that confidence that leads to game improvement, don't be swayed into thinking the higher end club will lead further. In fact, if you find a club that works for you consistently, you should stick with it.