There is a widely-preached and passionately-embraced philosophy that young professional golfers need to always ask themselves: “Am I getting better? Am I making progress?”
It demands honesty and John VanDerLaan concedes he hasn’t been shy about facing the truth. Fortunately, he has been able to answer in the affirmative – “My confidence keeps building,” he said – and so his journey will continue.
“I feel that I’ve been solid since turning pro,” said the native of Southbury, Conn., who signed on for the play-for-pay lifestyle in 2018 after graduating from Florida Southern.
When the 2023 calendar arrives, VanDerLaan will hit the ground running for his third year on the Korn Ferry Tour. While that may sound a little repetitious, as if the 26-year-old hasn’t made progress, to find the truth one has to keep in mind the zaniness of the pandemic and the way it impacted the KFT.