Nationwide Tour vs European Tour

[JaY_B]

Ironically, calling a post a typical American post is also ignorant, just because that particular opinion that Americans tend to be offensively patriotic and unbelievably ignorant is universally accepted, it only takes a smidgen of common sense to realise the inaccuracy of the comments, you must remember every one has their own opinions regardless of the reputation their home country suffers from, not all Americans are obnoxious and ignorant in the same way not all Europeans are obnoxious and ignorant.

[thegrayteam]

They are different - the Nationwide Tour is a feeder for the PGA Tour - a wealthy group of golfers who follow the weather throughout the US. Dominated by corporate life and a showcase for a particular format of golf.

European Tour is far more diverse - in terms of geography, quality of courses and the financing of the game. It has its own stars, money is comparative at times, ranking points only occasionally

Golf wouldn't have the money it has if it wasn't for the US Tours, it wouldn't have the reach around the globe if it wasn't for the European Tour(s). We need both for the game to continue to grow and should embrace both

There is no mileage in the constant comparison - enjoy the game for what it is, for you and for a great variety of people.

[geezer]

  JaY_B said:

Ironically, calling a post a typical American post is also ignorant, just because that particular opinion that Americans tend to be offensively patriotic and unbelievably ignorant is universally accepted, it only takes a smidgen of common sense to realise the inaccuracy of the comments, you must remember every one has their own opinions regardless of the reputation their home country suffers from, not all Americans are obnoxious and ignorant in the same way not all Europeans are obnoxious and ignorant.

It is also worth noting that people obn web forums take things far too seriously, and (due to the lack of verbally communicated sublties) cannot recognise when someone is joking.

[mikelz]

  r7 425 said:

I had a discussion with a guy who wanted to know which Tour is better as far as depth goes. I really do think that the Nationwide Tour has better players than the European Tour from top to bottom. You always see Nationwide Tour players winning on the PGA Tour-it happens more than European tour guys on the PGA Tour. What do u guys think

We see a lot of former Nationwide players win on tour. Most pros don't go right from college or high school to the tour. We see a lot of former Triple-A ballplayers in the MLB All Star game. Most baseball players aren't ready for the bigs when they are young either. I think the Nationwide tour is AAA pro golf. The European tour is major league. That's why we can't win the Ryder Cup all of the time. I would look this up but I'm too lazy. Check out the number of European, Asian and Australian winners on the PGA tour since about the time of Seve Ballesteros. It might make you sick.

[ganjagolfer]

  mikelz said:

That's why we can't win the Ryder Cup all of the time.

all of the time? just try and win it

2006: Europe 18.5, U.S. 9.5 2004: Europe 18.5, U.S. 9.5 2002: Europe 15.5, U.S. 12.5 1999: U.S. 14.5, Europe 13.5 1997: Europe 14.5, U.S. 13.5 1995: Europe 14.5, U.S. 13.5

[mikelz]

  ganjagolfer said:

all of the time? just try and win it

How dreadful of me. I'm so old that I have memory hangover from when the US never lost.

[JaY_B]

  geezer said:

It is also worth noting that people obn web forums take things far too seriously, and (due to the lack of verbally communicated sublties) cannot recognise when someone is joking.

What I said wasn't directed towards you, just a general comment on the situation the thread could find itself in

[mikelz]

  JaY_B said:

What I said wasn't directed towards you, just a general comment on the situation the thread could find itself in

Wow. This certainly got heated. I think the original question was legitimate. The questioner may not have been informed enough for some of you. Maybe that's why he asked the question. Anyway, I'm glad to see that we have homers all over the planet. Without homers, how could we argue about sports?

[pjsnyc]

  mikelz said:

We see a lot of former Nationwide players win on tour. Most pros don't go right from college or high school to the tour. We see a lot of former Triple-A ballplayers in the MLB All Star game. Most baseball players aren't ready for the bigs when they are young either. I think the Nationwide tour is AAA pro golf. The European tour is major league. That's why we can't win the Ryder Cup all of the time. I would look this up but I'm too lazy. Check out the number of European, Asian and Australian winners on the PGA tour since about the time of Seve Ballesteros. It might make you sick.

Not that it matters when it comes to this thread, but I figured I'd chime in about the baseball analogy - AAA is filled with good players, yes...but recently it is shifting more towards current Major Leaguers going back for a rehab session or 40+ players that are trying to prove to their Major League teams that they can play in the big leagues.

AA seems to have the best young talent and many jump right from AA to the majors. Just my two cents :)

[mikelz]

  pjsnyc said:

Not that it matters when it comes to this thread, but I figured I'd chime in about the baseball analogy - AAA is filled with good players, yes...but recently it is shifting more towards current Major Leaguers going back for a rehab session or 40+ players that are trying to prove to their Major League teams that they can play in the big leagues.

Good observation and I think anytime is appropriate to talk about baseball.

Oh, go Tribe

[stuartaustin]

I have to say the European Tour simply because they have a few more better players than the Nationwide Tour. I mean, look at Paul Casey and Monti, both have more than enough tallent to play on the PGA tour.

[JaY_B]

I would assume in America your coverage of the European tour is fairly limited, where you get to watch a lot of PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour golf, and as a result are obviously going to presume the European Tour is the weaker of the 3, Us in Europe get Coverage of the European Tour and the PGA Tour, but not the Nationwide so our view will be biased as well.

How ever it is widely recognised that the two tours - PGA and European - are the two main tours, where the best players are (and in fact lots of big names on the PGA Tour are now committing themselves to the European Tour for a varying amount of reasons, further adding to the strength of the European Tour).
The Nationwide Tour and European equivalent of the Euro Pro Tour are recognised as developmental tours, and will as a result never be as strong, or on the same level as the PGA and European tours.

[mikelz]

  stuartaustin said:

I have to say the European Tour simply because they have a few more better players than the Nationwide Tour. I mean, look at Paul Casey and Monti, both have more than enough tallent to play on the PGA tour.

I hope that was sarcastic. Our international friends have a right to go off on that statement.

[hawkeye]

If Nationwide Tour players could make it on the European Tour - why wouldn't they?

Richard Johnson 2007 Top 25 NW tour number 1 - $445,000
Justin Rose 2007 European Tour OOM number 1 - $4,322,000


You would be placed 89th in the European Tour OOM with $445,000

A monetary example - travelling on the European Tour might be more costly (Europe, Middle East, Africa, South East Asia, Australia etc) but if you had the game to make a living (that is make the top 125 in the OOM, to retain your tour card without winning)

[TourSpoon]

The PGA Tour and the European Tour are the two tours with the most talent. The Nationwide Tour has some great players but like most have said, it is not top tier.

I think with the development of the Nationwide Tour, it has become an attractive alternative to traveling around the globe looking for experience (even though they are traveling more now). I have known guys that have played the circuits in South Africa, Canada and Asia to get experience and then played Nationwide when it started to form (aka: Hogan Tour, Nike Tour). These same guys would have gladly played either the Euro or PGA Tours if they had qualified.

What the Nationwide Tour has done is to push the envelope of the mini-tour mentality into a legitimate forum for some serious golf. They are giving the opportunity of providing these guys with a way to make a living while providing the fans with some quality events. I am not sure what is going on in the rest of the world, but I do know that the Nationwide is not the same tour it was 18 years ago. The events are larger, have more support, more fans, and provide a stepping stone to the PGA Tour.

[mikelz]

  TourSpoon said:

The PGA Tour and the European Tour are the two tours with the most talent. The Nationwide Tour has some great players but like most have said, it is not top tier.

I think you nailed it again.

Oh, I am never making definitive statements again. Everything now will be IMO, IMHO, I think, maybe it's, could be and so on. I can't stand the reaction from the crowd. See you later, Mike

[TourSpoon]

  mikelz said:

I think you nailed it again.

Thanks for the positive rep on my last post...

[mikelz]

  TourSpoon said:

Thanks for the positive rep on my last post...

IMHO, You deserved it.