Chasing the PGA Tour Isn't Such a Glamorous Life

This story originally appeared on VICE Sports Canada.

Mackenzie Hughes was walking alone on the 8th fairway of Hylands Golf Club in Ottawa last Wednesday.

A small carry bag slung over his shoulders and his sunglasses on, the 24-year-old from Dundas, Ontario, played in the Pro-Am for the National Capital Open to Support our Troops, hoping to earn a few extra dollars before the tournament began Thursday. He would eventually go on to tie for 10th.

At the eighth event on the 12-tournament schedule on Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada, Hughes, like more than 150 others, was trying to catch lightning in a bottle and help secure his future, his life, and his job for next year. Like many of the young golfers on the Mackenzie Tour, Hughes stayed with a host family—as he's done for every event this year—in order to save money. Some of his fellow golfers stayed in a hotel downtown, four guys to a room. Some of them are driving across Ontario for this final stretch of tournaments and the back of their cars have clothing racks across it—making it more like a mobile apartment than a vehicle.

But, such is life as you chase your dream. The carrot is always looming, ready to be snatched. Making it into the top five on the money list on the Mackenzie Tour gives you the opportunity to make it to the Web.com Tour, just one level below the PGA Tour (or simply, 'The Tour' as its known by Mackenzie Tour members). It's the big show, and everyone wants a starring role.

Hughes, who captured the money list title on the Mackenzie Tour in 2013, spent 2014 on the Web.com Tour and struggled. He's back on the Mackenzie Tour in 2015 with a renewed sense of purpose.

"If I'm patient and positive and stay level, that's when I play the best golf. It sounds simple, but there are days where you're human and you want to break an 8-iron or a putter," he explained. "You don't, but you want to."

Although Hughes is on the starting blocks of his career, the thing about professional golf is that it truly is a marathon, not a sprint. Even with a few false starts, you can always go back and try again.

Take Seann Harlingten. The 28-year-old was once dubbed a 'wunderkind' after being the youngest player to make a cut on the Web.com Tour when he was 16. But a wrist injury sidelined Harlingten for more than six years when he was in his early 20s, right when he was supposed to be mixing it up with the best players in the world.

He quit golf. He had surgery. To this day, Harlingten doesn't really hit balls on the driving range because of his injury. He admitted not being able to properly warm up may cost him a couple of shots, but it's what he has to do. And, he'd much rather be on the golf course than a stockbroker, which is what he was before getting back to golf full time.

"I don't like desk jobs," he said from Ottawa, laughing.

The stock market drove him to want to come back to golf, and now he's playing the odds with a handful of guys much younger than he. It's his second year back in professional golf, and he enjoys every minute of the grind. Harlingten finished tied for fifth in Ottawa, his best finish of the season.

"It's great to be back," he said. "I have a lot of friends from British Columbia here, and we all travel together. It changes the vibe out on the road. I love it."

From Hughes' first chance to Harlingten's second chance, there's Danny Sahl, who is taking what might be his final chance to chase his dream.

Once a fine player himself, the 36-year-old has been on the bag for Mike Weir, caddying on the PGA Tour, for the last four seasons. When Weir decided to take an indefinite leave of absence from golf in July, Sahl thought about his own playing career, and giving it one more try. He received a sponsor exemption to the ATB Financial Classic in Calgary, Alberta—an event on the Mackenzie Tour—and finished second. Now, he's basically exempt for the rest of the season, and has a legitimate shot to get to the next level.

"I'm going to go full tilt until the end of the year and see what happens," he said. "My game is as good as it's ever been. I'm kind of hitting my prime right now, hitting it just as far as I was when I was 21. Why not give it one more go?"

And, what about what his old boss thinks?

"Mike would understand if I wanted to play again," Sahl stated. "It's not like I've been away from the game, I've been around the best players in the world. I know I'm closer than I think I am, and maybe that's given me a little jump in my step, knowing I've still got it."

So, nearing 40, Sahl is trying one more time to get to the promised land. At 28, Harlingten is enjoying the ride again. And at 24, Hughes is excited to get his career going. The ages are different, but the goal is the same.

Craig Barlow, a former Tour professional, once told Golf.com that the difference between guys playing on the PGA Tour and any of the minor leagues is "steps, not miles." Being just two steps away from their ultimate goal is what's keeping the players on the Mackenzie Tour going.

"I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'm still chasing the dream," said Hughes. "And I love every minute of it."