A lot of folk naively believe that writing for a living consists of day-upon-day of gushing, prolific creativity and joyous thrashing at a keyboard as words spew forth with the kind of unhindered, projectile abandon usually associated with the winter vomiting bug.

Remember the opening credits to that erstwhile Sunday night staple Murder She Wrote, in which Angela Lansbury tinkled away at a typewriter with a self-satisfied look on her face as she battered out a leather-bound novel?

Well, in no way at all did that resemble the creaking industry of daily dispatches. Most of the time, you're sluggishly crumpled in front of the computer, your hands wearily pawing at the keys as your mind toils to form words, let alone sentences, and the sound of a boiling kettle provides yet more scope for rampant procrastination.

Literary ingenuity can't be turned on like a water-heating contraption. We need the right mood … and that mood tends to be last-minute panic as deadline looms with all the menace of a pack of drooling wolves.

Humming and hawing is par for the course in this mind-melting game of golf. There are decisions to be made and for Lydia Ko, the latest bright young thing of the women's scene, it seems she has made the big one. The 16-year-old, who has already won four professional titles as an amateur with two of them on the main LPGA Tour, has confirmed her next appearance in a professional event will be as a pro.

In Ko's case it was always going be when, not if, she would make the plunge. Her achievements over the past couple of years have raised the bar as far as golfing teenage prodigies go and now we await to see how smooth the transition will be.

Given her record, and the fact she is well used to performing under the glaring spotlight of scrutiny and with the burden of heightened expectation on her shoulders, it should not be overly rocky.

Then again, as she herself has acknowledged, golf can become a completely different ball game when you're playing for a living and every shot has a price tag attached to it.

The carefree approach of the nothing-to-lose amateur may just tighten up a bit. With the LPGA's rule requiring members to be at least 18 years old, Ko has already petitioned the tour's commissioner, Mike Whan, asking for a waiver.

Such requests have been granted before. Lexi Thompson, who won on the LPGA circuit in Malaysia on Sunday, got a waiver when she was 16 two seasons ago while the likes of Morgan Pressell and Jessica Korda were both granted tour membership at the age of 17.

Whan has always harboured concerns about giving these talented teens too much too soon, of course.

"I didn't want to create this worldwide phenomenon where 14-year-olds are sitting in their living room and thinking, 'high school or pro?' It didn't feel like the right thing to do," he said a couple of years ago.

The dilemma for the LPGA top brass is where to draw the line. In Ko, however, there is a compelling case for inclusion.

The New Zealander, who finished the year at the top of the world amateur rankings, has been as high as fourth on the global professional order. Her exploits this season - which have included a successful defence of her Canadian Women's Open title and a second place finish in the final major of the campaign at the Evian Championship - would have earned her almost $1m in prize money had she been a pro.

Having played a largely professional schedule in 2013, Ko has shown great maturity and a remarkable sense of composure and mental resolve. She's a young girl in an adult world but, so far, she has handled it all impeccably and it seems those in her backroom team have guided her with cautious, effective consideration.

In a women's game which tends to produce rapidly rising stars, there will possibly be another 13, 14 or 15-year-old somewhere who is waiting to burst on to the scene. The LPGA Tour may have concerns about opening their doors too early to these young guns but Ko has set a formidable standard. The next golfing prodigy will have to produce something quite extraordinary.

And another thing . . .

You have to feel for those scrambling for survival on the European Tour. The last thing you want after a long, gruelling season of growing anguish is an expensive, body-clock shattering trek to Australia for the final event of the campaign.

Chris Doak's timely tie for eighth in the Portugal Masters on Sunday took him into the safety zone of the leading 110 on the money list but the Scot is still heading Down Under for the Perth International to put the tin lid on affairs. Meanwhile, Scott Henry, like others around him, needs a huge result to hoist himself up from 123rd.

In these tough times, the European Tour has to go where there is potential for expansion. But asking players who are battling for their cards - and are probably both mentally and physically drained - to get from Portugal to Perth in just a couple of days and try to prepare for a potentially career-changing contest, is a daunting demand.