Duramed FUTURES Tour College Corner “Frequently Asked Questions & Answers” Q:  If I play on the Duramed FUTURES Tour do I lose my amateur status? A:  No. Qualified women who have attained status on the Tour can join the Duramed FUTURES Tour as an amateur and pay entry fees just as the professionals do. Also, each tournament has a special amateur invitee. That player does not lose her amateur status by participating in a Duramed FUTURES Tour tournament.

Q: I am an international player. Do I need a special visa to play on the Duramed FUTURES Tour?

A: Yes, a P-1 visa works great. It might cost up to $2,300 and it takes about three months to get, but it lasts for five years. With a P-1 visa, you are allowed to earn prize money, but you are not allowed to work. If you want to work in the off-season after the last tournament, you will need to apply for another visa, but you must leave the U.S., and return with a different visa. You can’t have two visas at the same time.

~ Caroline Larsson, Duramed FUTURES Tour member, played at Florida State University

Q: What does a typical tournament site look like?

A: Tournament sites all look different. Some have small driving ranges, so we are assigned “range time” and others have large practice areas. It varies from tournament to tournament.

Q: How does the registration process work? When do I pay my entry fee?

A: Registration for each tournament is typically held on the Tuesday or Wednesday before the tournament weekend and can be done either in person at registration at the course or by telephone.  Tournament entry fees are due about a month before the first tournament in each of the designated series, so sometimes you will pay for a tournament almost two months in advance.

 ~ Caroline Larrson, Duramed FUTURES Tour member, Florida State University

Q: How much does it cost to play a full season on the Duramed FUTURES Tour?

A: It typically costs approximately $35,000 to travel comfortably on the Tour for a year. Private housing is usually offered to about 80 percent of the field each week on a first-come, first-served basis. A host hotel is always available at a discounted rate, ranging from $69 to $129 per night. Remember, you will need to pay for things like food, gas, travel fees, entertainment, laundry, equipment, etc., and you’ll need to have enough money in the bank “for a rainy day.” Our profession is difficult because there is no set salary each week. It is based on your performance. If you make the cut each week, you’ll always get at least your entry fee back, but it’s important to have more money than you need so you can travel with ease and not have to worry about money all the time. Plan ahead!

~ Tina Miller, played on Duramed FUTURES Tour for two years, University of Miami

Q: Does the Duramed FUTURES Tour offer health insurance to its members?

A: No. You should take out your own health insurance policy, even if it is only for catastrophic coverage.

Q: What is it like to travel on the Duramed FUTURES Tour? Do the players stay in hotels, private housing, in an RV, etc?

A: Traveling on the tour is like living out of your car. You CAN fly from tournament to tournament if you have about $75,000 in sponsorship money, but when you graduate from college and come out on tour, you are typically under 25 years old and rental car fees can add up quickly. You will put about 15,000 miles on your car, so it is important to make sure you have a reliable car. Many of us have SUVs or vans, but that does not mean you are limited to those types of vehicles. It is just easier to store more of your things because you will probably be on the road for over five months. Luckily on our tour, we do have host housing. This allows us to do our laundry, get a few free meals (or cook our own) and to have a nice bed to sleep in from week to week. If you are not talkative or do not like interacting with random host families, the host housing is NOT for you and you will need to allot for more money in your travel budget. A lot of players also choose to stay in the host hotel that is offered at a reduced rate on a weekly basis. All that information is posted on the Tour’s “Virtual Player Area,” which is a website attached to duramedfuturestour.com that only tour members and staff can log on to.

~Tina Miller, Duramed FUTURES Tour alum, University of Miami

Q: What is the biggest difference between playing collegiate golf and professional golf?

A: The most difficult transition is playing a full season of events. It is a much more demanding schedule than college golf. Learning to find the energy to travel, meet the Tour’s social obligations, make travel plans, practice, work out and still be able to compete every weekend is quite a balancing act. You have to find what works for you and be diligent about keeping a healthy schedule. Another big change is that as a professional, you have to buy -- or obtain through sponsorship -- all golf clothes, balls, gloves, towels, clubs, umbrellas, bags, golf shoes, etc. You don’t have a coach there to supply you these items like you do in college.

~Allison Fouch, Duramed FUTURES Tour alum and current LPGA member, played at Michigan State University

Q: Does the Duramed FUTURES Tour provide caddies for each event?

A: There are volunteer cart drivers at every event except for the mandatory caddied events. You are allowed to put your bag on the cart and the volunteer will act as a bag carrier and drive your bag around. Since they are a bag carrier and not a caddie, they aren’t allowed to offer any advice. And you have to understand that some of them may not be knowledgeable about the game. The mandatory caddied events provide volunteers if you cannot make arrangements to bring your own caddie. However, I would strongly suggest having someone you know caddie for you if it is financially feasible.

~Allison Fouch, Duramed FUTURES Tour alum and current LPGA member, played at Michigan State University

Q: Once you turn professional, do golf companies give you golf balls, clothing, etc., for free? Do Duramed FUTURES Tour players have golf equipment sponsors? And once you turn professional, do you automatically have a sponsor?

A: My college coach helped me get balls and gloves through the Titleist college/pro program. Any other products I found were from local companies in my hometown. I made a huge effort to contact as many people as possible to help with sponsorships and products when I turned professional.

 ~Allison Fouch, Duramed FUTURES Tour alum, LPGA member, played at Michigan State University

Through time and with connections you make along the way, it is possible to have those types of sponsors for golf equipment and clothing. Making relationships with the people who help out your college team is something I never did, which is something that definitely would have helped in my transition to professional golf. When you are in college, it’s easy to take for granted that your coach takes care of everything, but it is important to “network” while you are still in college. You definitely do not automatically have a sponsor once you turn professional. Most people start with friends and family and a contract, which allows for a return on sponsorship investment. Unless you have had a lot of success on the collegiate level, it is difficult to expect people to throw money at you, especially since they won’t be getting TV coverage and high-profile media coverage with our tour. Once again, it comes down to how you network in college. For me, making relationships with team boosters was a big step in gaining sponsors right out of college.

~Salimah Mussani, Duramed FUTURES Tour member, played at Stanford University and current assistant coach at Stanford

Q: Do you have Monday qualifiers or is there another way to play in a Duramed FUTURES Tour tournament without going through Q-school?

A: There are no Monday qualifiers. The only exemption offered into a tournament is a local amateur exemption. This local amateur has to live within a 50-mile radius of the tournament site. On a few occasions, when there are several local amateurs in contention for that one spot, the tournament organizer will hold a local amateur qualifying tournament in which the winner earns a spot in the professional event. Also, some players may be eligible to compete in Duramed FUTURES Tour events based on their amateur and collegiate rankings.

Q:  Can I wear golf clothes from my college program or carry my college team golf bag during the qualifying tournament or regular-season tournaments on the Duramed FUTURES Tour?

A: Absolutely. Wear your team’s clothes and carry your team’s bag with pride. It shows that you are a college player who is really serious about improving your game or that you got your start in a great collegiate program.