When people scroll through Instagram and see Jess and James training under the Queensland sun, it looks like the dream: two 22-year-olds living on the Gold Coast, clubs in the boot, chasing the professional golf life. But as both are quick to admit, that glossy picture hides a reality filled with long nights, empty wallets, and more heartbreak than highlight reels.
In a candid webinar with Platform Sports, the pair shared what life is really like for young golfers trying to break through, and why their story might matter just as much to a 16-year-old with a U.S. college scholarship on their radar as it does to parents wondering how to support their child’s passion.
Jess grew up in Auckland, picking up a club at seven and only really chasing competition in her early teens. “Thirteen was late,” she laughed. “Especially now when kids are starting earlier and earlier.” By January this year she was officially professional, a milestone that looked glamorous online but, as she admits, was mostly grind. “Maybe one percent of it is glam. The rest is hard work, travel, and cost.”
For James, raised in Rotorua in a rodeo family, golf wasn’t the obvious path. “I’m the black sheep,” he said. “Everyone else did rodeo. I found golf.” By 2022 he too had turned professional, moving across the Tasman to test himself against deeper fields. His honesty was striking: “There’s a certain amount of luck that comes into it. But really it comes down to working harder than you think is possible because there are thousands of guys out there doing more than you.”
Both pointed to the same brutal truth: money is the biggest barrier. Before sponsorships arrived, they were pouring around $50,000 a year into travel, tournament fees, physio, and simply staying afloat. “In New Zealand you can get complacent,” Jess admitted. “Being the best there doesn’t mean much internationally. You need to get out early if you’re serious.”
And then there’s the losing. Golf is built on it. “We lose way more than we win,” James said flatly. “On TV you see the top point-one percent. Everyone else is grinding. That hate of losing, that’s what drives me.” Jess agreed, adding that the hurt of missing cuts or underperforming at a big event feels like heartbreak. “But I just love the game that much. That makes me go back to the course the next day.”
They’ve learned to cope in different ways. Jess practices meditation, using it to stay present when pressure mounts. James forces himself to step away after bad weeks: “Golf becomes your whole world. Taking a day to do something else makes me want the course again.” Both agree that support systems are critical—whether that’s parents who don’t push too hard or training partners who hold you accountable.
Neither chose college golf, though both now see it as the best pathway for most. Jess dropped out of school at fifteen, making academics a barrier to entry, while James simply jumped straight into pro life. But they’ve seen enough to be convinced.
“College is miles ahead of staying in New Zealand and playing amateur golf,” James said. “You get better players, better coaches, better facilities, better weather. And it’s now the only direct gateway to the PGA Tour at 22.”
Jess wishes she’d known more about it earlier. “If I’d understood at thirteen or fourteen, I would have worked towards it. At fifteen, without the grades, it was too late.”
For families weighing the options now, their advice is simple: prepare early, build options, and surround yourself with the right people. Social media, too, is no longer optional. “We were late to that party,” James admitted. “But companies need exposure. If they don’t get it from you, they’ll give it to someone else.”
Their closing words sounded less like motivational quotes and more like lived truth. Jess: “If I could tell my younger self anything, it would be to get out of New Zealand sooner and surround myself with people chasing the same goals.”
James: “Work until you know you deserve it. If the person next to you is doing more, neither of you deserves it yet.”
It was raw, it was unfiltered, and it was exactly what student-athletes and parents tuning in needed to hear.
If you’re a student-athlete or the parent of one, looking at the U.S. college golf pathway, this conversation is a reminder: preparation and the right environment can change everything.
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