Q School vs Development tours

[neophyte]

Has anyone compared the whether the Q School or Development tours (Nationwide or Futures tours) are better at predicting and preparing golfers for success on either the PGA or LPGA?

[Shorty]

Has anyone compared the whether the Q School or Development tours (Nationwide or Futures tours) are better at predicting and preparing golfers for success on either the PGA or LPGA?

It's pretty obvious that you don't know what Q School is.

Q School doesn't "prepare" players for the PGA Tour. Nor does it "predict" success. Michael Sim, for example didn't need to go to Q School this year and he was very successful on The Nationwide Tour. This is more to do with him than that Tour. Whether he succeeds or fails this year will have nothing to do with how he made it onto the PGA Tour this time around. In addition to this, some players play on the Nationwide Tour AND go to Q School. Also, Q School has in the past even included Major winners. Duval last year, for example. Consequently, your question doesn't really make sense.

[JetFan1983]

Here's how the whole system works. Everyone knows about the PGA Tour. But how does one get there? Well, there are a few ways.

1) Finish in the Top 25 on the money list of the Nationwide Tour. The Nationwide Tour is like the minor leagues in baseball. If you have a good year, you get an automatic card on the PGA Tour next season. If you win three events in the same season on the Nationwide Tour you get an automatic promotion to the PGA Tour (known as a Battlefield Promotion). 2) If you do not finish in the top 25 of the money list you can still make it to the PGA Tour by making it through Q-School, which always takes place in the Fall. It is separated into four stages: 1) Pre-Qualifying Stage 2) First Stage 3) Second Stage and 4) Third Stage or "Final Stage." Per wikipedia:

Pre-Qualifying Stage: Five tournaments held in September, all in warm-weather locations in the United States. Each is played over four rounds. This stage was introduced in 2006 with four tournaments (six in 2007, four in 2008). In each tournament, roughly 35 to 40 players, plus ties, advance to the next stage. First Stage: Thirteen tournaments held in October (compared to 14 in 2005, before the introduction of Pre-Qualifying, 10 in 2006, 12 in 2007, and 11 in 2008), also in warm-weather locations in the United States. Each is played over four rounds. The participants are a mixture of Pre-Qualifying Stage winners and players who were exempted from Pre-Qualifying. Roughly the top 25 players plus ties in each tournament advance. Second Stage: Six tournaments in November, also in warm-weather locations and each played over four rounds. Like the First Stage, certain players receive exemptions to this stage. Roughly the top 20 plus ties in each tournament advance. Final Stage: One tournament played over six rounds in late November-early December. The field consists of Second Stage winners and players who received exemptions into the Final Stage. The top 25 players, plus ties, earn PGA Tour cards for the following year. Their priority ranking for purposes of tournament entry is 24; this ranking enables them to enter most full-field events on the PGA Tour, but not more prestigious stops on the tour unless a substantial number of players in higher categories skip the events. For example, the top 125 players on the previous year's money list who are not otherwise eligible are at priority 19; sponsor's exemptions are priority 11; and winners of PGA Tour events in the previous two years are priority 9. The next 50 players plus ties after the top 25 earn Nationwide Tour cards for the following year.

I'm not sure what your handicap has to be to make it to pre-qualifying stage. But you do have to prove that you've played competitive golf somewhere recently to get in. Over the years the tour has become adept at rooting out hackers with a dream and never letting them set foot near a Pre-Lim tee box. The cost of entering Q-School is I believe $5000.

To quote John Feinsten: "There are no bad players at first stage." *** So in summation, the Nationwide Tour is a season long thing. Other developmental Tours like the Hooters Tour for example are below the Nationwide Tour in status, but you have to be a professional to play on them. All of these fringe tours though have no affiliation with the PGA (The Nationwide Tour does). Players on these tours can make it to the Nationwide Tour through Q-School or: "Winning a tournament on the tour after gaining entry to it through its qualification event or as a sponsor's invitee. Tiger Woods secured his PGA Tour card by winning the Las Vegas Invitational in October 1996 as a sponsor's invitee, and went on to win another event two weeks later. " Wikipedia A fun fact: At PGA Tour Qualifying School 32% (9-28) of those players who earned their 2009 PGA Tour card played on the Hooters Tour. People come from all over the world from various Tours to get to Q-School so they can take their shot at the ultimate job in golf. I hope that helps....Oh yea, everyone who doesn't finish in the top 125 on the money list for the year on the PGA Tour has to go back to Q-School but they get to go directly to Final Stage. So to put it simply: Getting to the PGA Tour is pretty darn difficult.