St. Paul native Jamie Sadlowski is known for his amazing driving range in the sport of long driving. Holding a personal best at 445 yards and winning two RE/MAX Long Drive Championships in 2008 and 2009, Sadlowski is no stronger to the sport of golf in all respects.
Last week, Sadlowski announced that he has decided to take his career on a new path, officially retiring from long driving, to pursue a career on the pro tour as a golfer. After his announcement, he made the trip home to take part in the St. Paul Golf Course Club Championship, winning the overall men’s category for the sixth time.
“I think that I have more to give when it comes to the game of golf. With long drive, you train for two months for that one competition per year,” says Sadlowski.
He feels his skills and accuracy in long drive should stand him in good stead in his pro quest, saying, “I have something that a lot of people don’t have, having the ability to put the ball that much closer, and I’m using a sand wedge or a nine-iron when other people are using a six- or seven-iron. Being able to get that much loft gives me an advantage.”
So far in his golf career, Sadlowski has made the cut in three of the four web.com Tour events that he has participated in over the years, and has made the cut in one out of two Canadian pro tour events he has participated in. Sadlowski says that his successful performance in those events were part of his inspiration to pursue the pro tour.
“When I played in those tour events, the only practice I got was a couple days leading up to those events. I was up against guys who play golf for a living and I was managing to make the cut, so it makes me curious and provides an incentive for me to pursue the pro tour,” said Sadlowski.
He will be participating in tour events and practicing full-time to tweak all of the different parts of his game. Sadlowski’s main strength is no doubt hitting the ball far, and while he’d like to improve other aspects of his game, it’s already at a solid level.
“Driving is so important in the game nowadays. If you can get that ball in a good position to put yourself on the green, the game isn’t all that hard. It’s something I’ve never actually practiced full out,” he said. “Putting can never be good enough; you watch the pros on TV that putt and chip the daylights out of it, so that’s a big part of it.”
Although St. Paul is still his hometown, Sadlowski now resides mainly in Scottsdale, Arizona, and he says it will become his base of operations.
“I’ve been around professional golfers and some of the best players in the world at my club in Scottsdale, and they’re always telling me that I have to try to go pro. They say, ‘If you can use that length and sharpen up the rest of your game, you could play golf for a living.’ That’s where I’m going to practice and work on my game in between events.”
Sadlowski has been doing corporate outings over the past nine years, and he says he will “never complain” about his job, but he feels that he could be doing more.
“I need a change and I need something that is going to drive me to work harder, something competitive. I want to strive to be better. With long drive, you get judged off of that one event, when I’d rather be judged by my results on the PGA tour schedule.”
Sadlowski will be travelling to Pittsburgh to the Oakmont Golf Course where the U.S. Open is played on Sept. 8 for an event, and from there he will go to Phoenix and practice for the next couple of months, followed by international travel to places like Indonesia and China for tour events.
Sadlowski has played golf all over the United States, but taking part in rounds overseas is a different experience.
“It’s completely different. My agent will come down for a couple days while I’m out there to hang out with me, but you have to get used to do doing things on your own with no help and just have to go out and play golf.”
Sadlowski is heading down his new career path with his head held high. He sees the work that’s ahead of him, but he knows what he can achieve in the sport.
“I’ve seen that I have talent, and if I work hard, winning events in the tour is definitely attainable.”
