Going Pro

Nate Gahman

By Sunni Zemblowski

Photography by Christie Joiner

Nate Gahman, a senior marketing major, turned pro in 2013 and, this year, has joined the National Golf Association (NGA) tour. Founded in 1988 by Rick Jordan, the series was originally known as the Jordan Tour. Renamed in 2011, the NGA is an independent developmental tour. It is the third largest after the PGA Tour, and its developmental version, the Web.com Tour.

The NGA tour has several different series, but Gahman will be playing in the Pro Series this year. The Pro Series events are quite similar to those of the PGA Tour. Each event is a four-day walking event, with a cut that occurs after the second round of play. The NGA Pro Series, which has nineteen events, runs from March till October. The first event was held at Stonebridge Golf Club in Albany, Ga.

Gahman is feeling confident about his ability.

“I know that I have the talent to compete on the tour; it is just a matter of putting in the hard work and making it happen,” he said. “If it doesn’t happen, at least I know that I gave it my best effort.”

The top members of the Pro Series season will have the opportunity to have their Web.com tour qualifying school fees reimbursed. The Web.com tour qualifying school, also called the Q-School, is an annual tournament that once awarded PGA Tour playing privileges, commonly called “Tour cards.” However, last year, this route changed and the Q-school now grants cards only to the Web.com tour, the new route to gain one’s PGA Tour card.

There were many lessons learned throughout my four years at GSW and they have shaped me into the golfer that I am today.

“My future goals are to compete on the money list on the NGA Tour this year and next. Hopefully, I will be able to try out Q-school and get my Web.com Card,” Gahman said. “Ultimately, I hope to achieve my dream of being on the PGA Tour.”

Gahman was born in Americus, Ga., but resides in Leesburg, Ga. As a child, he was very athletic and involved in various sports. However, he did not discover golf until right before attending high school.

“I always played any sport but golf; I played mainly baseball from four to 14 years old. As you can imagine, when I was a kid I dreamed of playing baseball for a living,” Gahman said. “In high school, I got tendinitis in my pitching arm, so I found golf to be a better alternative and the hand eye coordination carried over to golf pretty naturally.”

While attending Georgia Southwestern, Gahman played on the GSW golf team. During his stay on the team from 2009 to 2013, Gahman won various titles, including 2013 PING All American Team, 2013 PBC First Team All Conference, and 2013 Southeast All Region Team.

“My time on the GSW golf team was a huge experience that you cannot put a price on,” Gahman added. “There were many lessons learned throughout my four years at GSW and they have shaped me into the golfer that I am today. Without the team and the great staff in the Athletic Department, I most likely would not be playing golf today.”