MY decision to enter the Qualifying School for the European Senior Tour - so forfeiting my amateur status - was certainly a jump into the deep end. Still, after a shaky start and a near disastrous speed wobble coming down the stretch, I competed successfully and got my card.

There were two reasons for turning professional. Firstly, having remained very competitive I felt that amateur championships with 36 holes played in one day were not suitable for the chronologically challenged. Secondly, I am hoping that my golf design business will gain momentum outside of Ireland if I achieve a high profile through playing in tournaments.

Now, my main ambition is to retain my card by winning enough money in official tournaments. A top 50 place would be acceptable but a top 25 would be ideal in that it would allow me to play in pre tournament pro ams.

The Senior Tour starts on May 8th with the Turkish Senior Open in Antalya and is followed by the Irish Seniors Open a week later. To prepare myself, I decided to spend three weeks in the US where I did intensive practice and also had the opportunity of looking at my golf equipment.

I discovered that a tour card certainly opens doors towards acquiring proper custom fitted clubs but all golfers should get good professional advice prior to selecting new clubs.

During practice for tournaments in the States, I observed several experienced players checking the lie of their irons. They do this on a regular basis and anomalies are corrected on the spot. Unfortunately, these facilities are not widely available in this country.

Generally, the practice facilities through the US are superb and are extensively used by golfers of all agegroups, both by day and night. Practising on the ranges at senior tournaments was available to new comers to the pro ranks and all of the competitors I met made me feel more than welcome.

The interest in Irish golf is huge over there. I spent a lot of time advising people about itineraries etc and I felt I did a good PR job. I was interviewed on television at tournaments at Beaumont and Houston in Texas and it gave me the opportunity of explaining the difference between typically Irish and American courses. Most of the American ones are tree lined and never present views or vistas. It is difficult for designers to create variation in holes, especially where there are no natural features or contours.

The typical senior pro in the US uses a suburban four wheel drive and carries neatly arranged slacks and shirts in the rear.

The countless minitours in the US help to explain why that country produces so many great golfers. Vast numbers play the game in delightful weather, especially in the south. Intensive coaching and a keen competitive attitude among the players are also key factors.

I discovered that all "friendly" fourballs involve side stakes of quite a few dollars. But the use of carts can have its drawbacks. I got involved in a fourball nine days ago (April 20th) and my partner and one of our opponents had the round almost completed before they realised they had been next door neighbours in the late 1980s.

During my stay over there I tried my luck at qualifying for three senior events. One of them was the Southwestern Bell Dominion in San Antonio, which was won by David Graham. The Monday qualifier for this had 140 playing for four spots and four alternates. I shot 74 with a six on the last to be three strokes outside the mark.

Qualifying for the Senior Series events at Beaumont and Houstun did not present the same difficulty but I still managed to blow it at Beaumont with a run of four bogeys in the middle of the round.

In another Senior Series event, I shot 73 to get through the qualifying. The mark was 77 and the course was like concrete, with a strong wind blowing. Then, two rounds of 76 left me outside the cut on Friday.

Among the difficulties I encountered in competition were the compulsory use of carts, the grain on the greens and the five foot collar of rye grass around the greens.

From the fairways, I found it difficult to predict the flight of the ball from irons off the Bermuda grass. I wasn't sure if some of this may have been attributable to the drier air in the southern states. Either way, I didn't shoot enough birdies to offset my errors. On the credit side, however, my short putting was better than many of those I played with. I have always found that a tight grip with the upper fingers of the left hand (higher) has kept me steady over the ball.