A number of years ago I read an interesting book by John Paul Newport.
Newport was a scratch golfer in his mid-thirties who wondered how good he could be at golf if he quit his job and dedicated a full year to the game.
His plan was to get the best lessons, practice a lot and play competitively on some of the pro mini-tours over the course of a year in a bold effort to see if he could make it through the PGA Tour's Q-School.
Newport documented his journey in "The Fine Green Line" which was published in 2001.
 |
| Source: https://www.amazon.com/Fine-Green-Line-Adventure-Mini-Tours/dp/0767901177 |
Newport defines the "fine green line" as the subtle divide between top professional golfers who succeed on the PGA Tour and those who fall just short, despite substantial talent and hard work.
The fine green line represents the razor-thin margin of mental, technical, and emotional precision required to cross from amateur or journeyman status to sustained professional success.
In the book Newport draws parallels to life's broader challenges in realizing potential on other endeavors as well.
It goes without saying that Newport fell short despite all that he put into his year's effort.
Newport was capable of shooting in the 60's with his buddies at home.
He even posted some decent scores in some of the mini-tour events he played in.
However, when he got to the first stage of Q-School he found that the fine green line was an even larger divide than he could have imagined. He shot 91-88-81.
Yes, the game of golf does require mental and emotional precision like no other.
I was reminded of "The Fine Green Line" as I looked over the final statistics for the recently concluded PGA Tour season.
The Fine Green Line does not only exist between PGA Tour golfers and the rest of the world.
It also exists among those who play on the Tour.
I am sure that even those of you who have no interest in golf know the name Scottie Scheffler.
He just completed the recent season ranked #1 in the world, won five times during the year including two major championships and has earned close to $100 million in on-course winnings over the last two years. He also finished in the Top 10 in 16 of the 19 Tour events he played in 2025.
On the other hand, only the most hard core golf fan has heard of Rico Hoey who is the same age as Scheffler.
Hoey just finished the 2025 PGA Tour season ranked 106th in the season long FedEx Cup rankings.
He has never won a PGA Tour event.
He has won less than $4 million in 8 years as a professional golfer.
If Hoey cannot elevate his FedEx ranking into the Top 100 by the end of the Fall Season that begins this week at the Procore Championship in California he will lose his fully exempt status to play on the PGA Tour next year.
However, let's compare the statistics of Hoey with Scheffler during the 2025 PGA Tour season.
In Strokes Gained Off The Tee, Hoey ranked #2 on the Tour just behind Scheffler. Hoey ranked ahead of Rory McIlroy who many consider to be the best driver of the ball on Tour.
Excellent read! As an avid golfer, bordering on an unhealthy obsession :) I too am amazed at how small the gap is in between a great round and a mediocre one. I oscillate between an 8 and 9 handicap and find the difference boils down to no more than 1 or 2 bad decisions or shots in an entire round. I went to a Q School event years ago ago and was amazed the “visible” gap in the quality of swings between these guys was nonexistent.
ReplyDeleteMy index hovers around 10.... I plateaued a long time ago. Great read and amazing stats.
ReplyDeleteThe guy still won close to $4 Million?
ReplyDeleteIn 8 years...
DeleteThat's still half a million a year which isn't too shabby!
ReplyDeleteAfter expenses he would have made more money as a plumber.
ReplyDelete