My Story
From Clueless golfer to Full Time Professional in 3 Years
I started my golf journey in 2020. At the time, I’d played less than 30 rounds of golf in my whole life.
I was just a few months shy of my 37th birthday.
I had no consistent training with golf. No background or family member that I learned from through the years.
But within a year I was flirting with scratch
I was hitting BOMBS! My drives were going as far as 350 yards. My Instagram blew up as I shared my journey to get to the PGA Tour.
By my 3rd year I was playing Monday Qualifiers! Getting closer and closer to my dream of playing the PGA Tour.
I published “The Small Book of Million Dollar Golf Tips” teaching others how they too could see rapid improvements in their golf game.
As you can see, my journey is still in its early stages. My goal with my blog, my books, and my social media on this journey is to give you everything you need to reach your own golf goals no matter what setbacks you are experiencing.
My hope is that you join me now, in the beginning, and can celebrate with me as part of my community when we make it to the big show.
For now, let me tell you a little more about me so you get to know me better.
1983
I was born in Croatia. I’m 100% Croatian. There’s not much golf in Croatia.
My grandfather carved a stick into a golf club, little did I know. I had no idea what it was or what sport it was. He gave me that stick that I realize now looked like a putter and a little wooden ball.
I dug a hole in the front yard and I would hit this little wooden ball towards the hole until it would go in. Those are my first memories of a game I had no idea about.
When I think of Croatia I think of my grandparents, the ocean, and how I had a severe case of asthma where I needed to be in the hospital on a ventilator almost every single day.
I didn’t really know my parents at that time. My dad wasn’t around and my mom had left to work in Libya.1989 - Libya
I had been living with my grandparents until I turned six and my mom sent for me to come live in Libya.
Libya was amazing. My asthma miraculously cleared up there.
Every day I could I spent in the sea or by the ocean. My step dad was a big windsurfer. He would let me and my step siblings hang onto the back of the board as he took off. We’d let go before we got dragged too far. It was a fun game I couldn’t get enough of.In Libya I Was Graced with Golf for the Second Time
My step dad Larry gave me an actual golf club and small balls. I would hit them back and forth down a sand beach Seve Ballesteros style, still not knowing the sport I was playing.
I just knew it was a stick that could hit the ball far.
That was probably the last time I touched a golf ball until I was living in Canada and much older.1995 - Canada & Skateboarding
The Libya days came to an end and we headed back to my stepdads home in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
I took up skateboarding.
I wore baggy pants, baggy shirts. I played street hockey with my friends and skateboarded with my friends.
There were no cell phones back then so we spent our time being outside and being active.
I Started Doing Bigger Tricks like Grinding Handrails Down Large Sets of Stairs
I was around 18 and had just started playing some volleyball at the time and had already broken some bones skateboarding. I realized skateboarding could mean the end of volleyball.
So I chose volleyball and scaled back on my skateboarding antics. My wrist still bothers me to this day from a scaphoid fracture that wasn’t set right.
Do I reget it? Heck no.
I’ll still throw out a kickflip here and there.
But Volleyball Became my First LoveI didn’t start great. I barely knew how to play, but I had a great coach in college named James Bradley.
I still remember him coming up to me after thinking I couldn’t do a skill properly and him saying if I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t say anything.
He must have seen something I didn’t at the time because he molded me into an All-Canadian OCAA player of the year in Ontario. And CCA player of the year for all of colleges across Canada.
That was a big deal for me because I was just the second person from Ontario in history to get that award.
Then I Went to the Netherlands to Start my Professional Volleyball Career
I felt really alone.
Everything was different and I didn’t have anyone to turn to at the time.
I made friends at a local college my coach worked at.
I ended up getting kicked off my team because of it.
He didn’t think players should party. I was 22 years old at the time in Europe.
Of course I was going to party. But I never even got a warning. I was kicked off the team on a whim.
That hurt.
And made me a little less trusting.
I Played for Teams All Across the World After Than
I played in Croatia, Lebanon, Indonesia, Thailand, Czech Republic, Germany, Lebanon, Canada, and the US. I also played a season of beach volleyball on the FIBV world tour.
What I loved most about playing in all of these different countries was experiencing each individual culture, their history, getting to know the locals and more.
Oh yeah, and the food.
I just love food.
But Every Place Had One Thing in Common
People were so loving and kind to foreigners and would open up their door for people they didn’t know.
When I played in Lebanon, I would sit and have fresh juice and coffee everyday and somehow I would have a full conversation with the locals. I spoke no Arabic and they spoke no English really. It was funny that we could sit there and laugh and enjoy each other’s company without speaking each other’s language.
In Germany we were treated like family. Our local teammates would invite us into their homes knowing we were far from our families.
2020 It Was Hard to Say Goodbye to Volleyball, but it Was Time
I was playing a practice game at our home gym in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany and I went up to hit a ball from the back row.
The way I took off, something didn’t feel right. It felt like something had stabbed me in the bottom of my arch and I couldn’t put any weight on the bottom of my foot.
I subbed myself off the court, pretending like nothing happened so I could shake it off.
It Was the Last Jump I Would Ever Take in My Volleyball Career.
A week later, our season got canceled as the Covid pandemic swept across the world.
I had to fly home to Canada before all international flights were halted.
I knew I had to figure out something.
It took a week or so of downtime before I decided I was going to make my journey into golf.
I felt excited but also lost.
I didn’t know where to start.
I Knew I Had to Get a Coach But Who?
Everyone has their own different teaching style so I asked around and people directed me to Jeff Overholt.
I worked with him for a couple months before I transitioned to a swing coach.
There were great days and bad days.
Golf is one of those sports where you just want to get everything instantly but sometimes it takes your body a little while to catch up to your mind.
I also saw a documentary and decided I needed to go Vegan.
I blame marketing. I didn’t do my own research outside the documentary.
That was a learning year for sure.
Here’s pictures of me far, far too skinny.
It Wasn’t Much Later I Started Playing Real Golf
I still remember my very first professional tournament.
My name got called and I stepped to the tee.
And all I could think about was…
DONT shenk this shot.
My heart was pounding.
When I think back to that moment I think WHY?
Literally no one was watching.
What was I afraid of?
It was the excitement of competing again and knowing THIS is my future now.
And sure enough…
I CRUSHED that Drive
But that round quickly got away from me as I shot somewhere in the low 80s.
That first year of professional play I had a lot of ups and downs.
There were moments on the course when I felt like I had lost my swing. I’d get in my head and spiral down from there.
The more competitions I played, the more I got used to hitting certain shots. You start shaking things off faster and regain your focus quicker because you’d already been there.
I remember playing an event early this year for the Toronto Players Tour.
I caught a couple really bad bounces early into the round. Usually, that’s right where I’d lose focus and the round would get away from me.
But not this time.
I told myself NOT TODAY.
I forced myself to stay patient and shrug off what had just happened.
And It Proved to Be One of the Best Lessons I’ve Had to This Day
A couple bad bounces or bad shots don’t have to define you.
I think I ended up having four birdies on the back nine and totally recovered my round.
The Ups and Downs Don’t Just Happen on The Course
When you’re on the road, feeling relaxed is everything.
You need Airbnbs and hotels with good beds, hot water and where everything is ready to go.
The last thing you want is to finish a five hour round to show up to an airbnb and the power’s shut off.
But that’s exactly what happened to me one time.
We’d splurged for a place in Toronto for 6 weeks so my girlfriend who works from home could have a nice, comfortable set up while I was out for golf.
The place was still under construction. The power was off when we got there. The home turned out to be a converted garage looking directly into another home.
There was no water in the bathroom upstairs and the refrigerator broke on the second day.
Second day you ask? That’s right. We wanted to give the owner a fair shot to make things right.
After several days of things going more south, my girlfriend tried to work something out with the owner. She sat down and said basically
“Look we paid a huge amount for this luxury airbnb and this isn’t what was advertised.
Not to mention we don’t even have a working fridge. If you want to give us a deal, we can talk about staying here. Otherwise, Airbnb can relocate us somewhere else.”
The owner refused any sort of deal. He said he would rather not get a cent that lower his prices.
I’ll never understand people like that.
Our Airbnb nightmare was just beginning.
Trying to get out of that place turned into a 4 day airbnb runaround. Each time we contacted Airbnb they transferred our case to the new shift and we started all over.
What an experience.
Another place we showed up to was in trouble with the mortgage. We were met by a representative outside the house to try and get information out of us.
I Can’t Make This Up
We laugh about it now.
But making the PGA Tour is so much more than just being good at golf.
You have to be great at stretching a dollar.
Most of the guys I’m out competing with aren’t sponsored. They don’t get to train free anywhere, and don’t have family friends helping support their journeys. But they are great golfers and if they can make it through the rough patches, they will absolutely be on the PGA Tour.
Thankfully, the ups are more than the downs.
My First Winter in Florida 2022
At the time, I was living off what I had earned that summer building homes in Toronto. Money was tight. I was stretching every dollar to get as much training as I could. I was volunteering at Osprey once a week so I could train for free, and I was renting a single bedroom for $700 a month from a volleyball coach in the area.
One of the Rounds I Played at Osprey, I was Paired up with a Couple, Bill and Pam
We had a fun day of golfing. They were such a genuine and kind couple. I happened to play pretty well. I think I had 7 birdies that day.After the round, I was graciously thanked by both and told I was the sweetest gentleman to play with.
That made my day.
I thought nothing of that meeting.
Just that it was a fun round with some great people.
The next round while practicing Bill happened to come over to me.
I recognized him from the day before.
“You’re back for more?” I teased.
He laughed.
He asked if I did this everyday.
“You mean practice?” I said.
Yes.
“I do.” I responded. And told him how I volunteered at Osprey to work towards my dream of playing on the PGA Tour.
He told me he had wanted to help a golfer and that he and Pam were impressed that I never complained out there during the slower play.
That made me laugh.
Then he said something I still can’t believe.
“I’d Like to Help you Out Jasmin.”
“I don’t have much money but I have $5,000 I can give you.”
I was speechless.
I didn’t know what to say. I stood there awkwardly trying to find my words because no one had ever offered support like this to help me in my dreams, not even family.
Bill will never truly know how much his generous act meant to me.
At a time when I had so little, he made me realize I was on the right path and to just know that the right things will fall into place as I keep working.
That summer I went home and often thought about Bill while playing my first full season on the Toronto Players Tour. I did okay, making it as high as fourth place at the end of day one.
It was the next 12 months that I’m really proud of though.
That’s the year that brings us to now.
2023 The Dream is Getting Closer
I played my first Monday qualifiers for PGA Canada.
I missed getting into my first event by two or three strokes. At first I was disappointed. Then it dawned on me just how far I had come.
Being out at those qualifiers really lit a fire under me.
I’d only been playing three years and here I was having the privilege missing a PGA Canada qualifier cut by a few strokes.
It was clear to me that putting will take me to the next level in my game.
So that’s where I’m turning my focus.
You can learn with me in my daily email. You’ll also get to see some pretty cool stay and play golf destinations I review while I’m out training and playing across the world.
I Want to Take a Moment to Thank You for Being Here
Before I leave you today, I just want to say THANK YOU.
I deeply appreciate every relationship I get from this blog. I respond to every email and want to hear from you.
I want to create a safe community where new and experienced golfers can collaborate, provide motivation, and learn together. Since we’re all golfers, we need to band together, build each other up, and celebrate our wins.
Just remember, no matter where you are on your journey, I know you can do it!
