Trip Kuehne was positioning his phone camera when one of his fingers blocked the lens. That could happen to anyone – but he was just asked if pro golfers should be reinstated as amateurs, and he made a joke of it.
“I have to figure out where my hand is, in the way of the damn camera,” Kuehne said.
“So, you made me nervous about this question.”
Of course, the question was touched. Should one-time pros regain amateur status, allowing them to play in amateur events, a move many players have made at the mid-amateur level? Or should professionals be blocked from doing so? Or maybe there is some kind of middle? As one of the best amateur players in the country – he won the Mid-Amateur in 2007 and was runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 1994 US Amateur and never turned professional – Kuehne is more familiar than most with the subject.
His answer? Appearing on the most recent episode of GOLF’s “Subpar” podcast, he began by referring to minor league baseball.
“My gut tells me, listen, if you only make it to triple A in baseball, you’re never going to be a major leaguer,” Kuehne said. “So you’re not a professional, you know. You’ve never played in the big leagues, you can catch up.”
But what about those who played in the big leagues, in this case, the PGA Tour?
Kuehne also said he could see that, to some extent.
“I think what we probably need to do, we might need to start or dress in the retirement fund,” he said. “I don’t know. I think drawing a hard line on the PGA Tour is probably a little hard. Maybe two years, three years max. I don’t know.
However, Kuehne also said he remembered what it was like playing former pros in amateur events.
“The toughest guy in the world to beat for me was someone who played 10 years on tour, made his living — not on the Tour, but on a satellite tour — made his living that way,” he said. “Man, the guys just didn’t put a foot wrong and they were really, really hard to beat.
“So, I know I don’t really have an answer, but I think the answer lies somewhere in the number of principles, whether it’s 50 principles, 75 principles, I think 100 is probably too many. I mean, I don’t know.
“It’s a tough deal because I mean these kids are so good, so young. I don’t think they’re going to have the longevity on the PGA Tour that you’ve had. I think there’s a lot of ways around it.”
Editor’s Note: To listen to the entire episode of Subpar with Kuehne, click here here or scroll immediately below.
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