The Dream is Alive for the World’s Best Virtual Golfer

The paint on the Weber family barn had faded away long ago. Despite the barn's growing number of holes and cracks in its aging wood planks, it provided some shield from the wind and snow of winter. The two broken windows came from an unlikely source. Inside, Jordan Weber had built his own personal driving range with a piece of carpeting from the house and a few giant round bales of hay. Ball after ball would stick in the side of the bale; some would not, which accounted for the broken windows. 

That barn is where the best simulator golfer in the world (yes, that's a thing) honed his game. His play in the virtual world of golf has rekindled a lifelong dream of playing on the PGA Tour. 

Jordan Weber grew up on his family's 150 cow dairy farm in Bernard, Iowa, a place so small the Weber's cows outnumbered the town’s population by 53. Like most family farms, everyone had a job, so starting at 6 years old, Jordan was bottle-feeding the calves. As he got older, he started milking cows, and after getting kicked more than 20 times, he decided farming wasn't for him. 

As a teenager, he got a job at the local 9-hole course called Fillmore Fairways. He instantly fell in love with the game and quickly improved, winning multiple junior events in Iowa. 

However, Weber didn't travel to any national junior events; those are expensive for a lot of families – dairy farmers included. Because of that, only one tiny college in West Virginia offered Weber a scholarship.

His dream at the time was to play for the Iowa Hawkeyes, with Iowa City just over an hour south of his hometown. But with a limited national resume, the coach only offered Weber a walk-on tryout. 

Weber turned his attention to the University of Northern Iowa in nearby Cedar Rapids. Although the school didn't offer golf scholarships, Weber was guaranteed a spot on the team. It would prove to be a smart decision. 

While pounding balls into the hay bales, pro golf was always a dream of Weber's. The opening round of the Kansas Invitational during his sophomore year was the first time Weber thought the pro game was a real possibility. In that round, he fired an opening round 66 to beat a long list of nationally ranked players. 

His decorated college career still stands as the best in UNI history; it included a win at the Depaul Invitational, a first-round lead at the University of Texas Invitational, a field filled with future Tour members, and a trip to NCAA regionals in Weber's senior year. That was the only time an individual from the school has qualified. The day he graduated, Weber turned pro. 

Weber raised $26,000 from family and friends, which is very little in the mini-golf world where some weeks cost $3,000 or more with entry fees and travel costs. Throw in a $5,000 entry fee to Q-school and that money disappears quickly. Weber needed to play well fast, and he did precisely that. He won two mini-tour events in his first three years and in 2010, his strong play on the Moonlight Tour – a small Florida Tour – gave him enough confidence to think about Q-school for the first time.

But while playing a Carolina Mountain Tour event before Q-school, something happened that would change the course of his career. After lagging a 40-foot putt to just 18 inches, Weber went to tap it in and the putt didn't touch the hole. "That felt like a shock went through my body," Weber says.  Jordan Weber had the yips. 

Though the yips didn't reveal themselves consistently, the possibility was always in the back of Weber’s mind, and at the first stage of Q-school, they reared their ugly head at the worst time. Weber hit it great but "yipped probably four or five putts a round." He shot 74 or worse in each of the rounds.

Although he would play some mini-tour events the following season, Weber couldn't cure the yips. He tried everything: read books, went to coaches, and even drank tea that was supposed to help cure the yips. Nothing worked. The money he worked so hard to save was gone, and Weber took a job at a Chiropractic office. He worked there for six months before yearning to play professionally again. 

The yips returned with him, and Jordan Weber's pro career ended. Or so he thought. 

Weber continued working on his game after regaining his amateur status in 2014. He went to a broomstick putter, and the yips disappeared. He married his wife, Carly, and they have two kids. He went to work for Carly's family auction business, and the family settled into a nice routine. 

In some extra space in the back of the auction business warehouse, the family decided to work on opening a simulator business. It was there that Weber really found his game again. 

He played in a simulator league with multiple events each week and won seven times. That tour created a world ranking points system for virtual golf, and Weber ascended to become the number one-ranked player.

There, he found the Next Tour (yes, they are a sponsor of Monday Q Info). The large purses and a new challenge enticed Weber to enter. The family purchased a second simulator – this time a Trackman – to put in their retail simulator space. 

Weber became focused on learning the intricacies of the Trackman simulator and the strategy paid off. 

In his first event, Weber didn't finish in the money but fared better in the next two, earning just over $300 each. In the fourth event played (virtually) at PGA West, Weber snap-hooked his opening tee shot and made an opening bogey. From there, he made eleven birdies to shoot a 10-under 62, and won a scorecard playoff. The $30,000 check was the biggest of his career. It came 12 years after his last win on the Dakotas Tour. 

The following week on the Next Tour, Weber again tied for the lead, but this time, he lost in the scorecard playoff, finishing T2. Now, with two events left, Weber can win the Order of Merit and earn an exemption into two Challenge Tour events and a DP World Tour event. 

Weber dreams of playing in a PGA Tour event but doesn't see himself playing full-time again. He may try his hand at a few mini-tour events and Monday Qualifiers later this season.

His dream started in an old family barn while hitting balls into bales of hay. Today, that dream is still alive in the back of an auction warehouse. 

The dream is still alive. 

Mark Baldwin did a full pod with Weber:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jordan-weber-is-the-worlds-best-virtual-golfer/id1513701906?i=1000645339268

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6fiCY55XWBHh6jEXCJaGh2