It was an easy decision in the end for Coletta.
After the euphoria of his maiden victory in last month’s Isuzu Queensland Open died down, Brett Coletta had time to think about making the decision to turn professional. Fortunately for fans of Australian Amateur Golf, he’s taken what he believes is the smart step and will remain in the amateur ranks for a little while yet.
The emotion of winning was quite excessive,” Coletta said. “There was a lot of noise, and a lot of people asking about it right after I won.
“Since then, I’ve had a couple of weeks to enjoy my win, and when the time came we had a meeting, and I made my decision to stay amateur.”
Despite the temptation to turn Pro immediately, Coletta sat down, listened to the advice of his parents, his coach Martin Joyce, the Golf Australia High-Performance team and his circle of friends, including 2015 NSW Open Champion Ben Eccles, who faced a similar decision last year.
“Ultimately, it was my decision,"he said.
“There was a lot of factors that were brought up; A lot of behind the scenes stuff had to happen to turn pro, not just flick the switch.
“Ben and I train together. We had a couple of chats about turning pro and what he has learnt from his 12 months on the road.”
“The logical thing was to turn (professional). I’ve got the next few events to play in; I could rack up some cash if I play well enough.
"But I see a better plan for myself moving forward by not turning professional right now.”
Coletta's plan will continue in next week’s NSW Open at Stonecutters Ridge Golf Club followed by the Emirates Australian Open at Royal Sydney. He's looking forward to the intense competition. “From the list of entries I’ve seen there’s a lot of very handy players,” he added.
The 20-year-old’s schedule extends beyond this Australian Summer of Golf and into 2017. It includes most of Australia’s major amateur titles in January and early February before heading to the United Kingdom and the United States mid- year for tilts at the big Amateur crowns.
He’s got a few Tour starts in the pipeline also.
“I’ve got a good schedule laid out for next year with a few Tour starts.”
Coletta is however under no illusion about how much tougher the competition is on Tour from week to week.
Getting a Tour start as an amateur, you get to see what you're in for in the future; it’s tough, there’s no substitute for it,” he said.
And as a freshly minted tournament winner, Coletta is beginning to know what his future will hold. To followers of golf around the country, that future is very bright indeed.