Q-School:The toughest 108 holes in golf

Back to school kids. And grownups, for that matter.

Sharpen those pencils and clean those grooves. Make sure your mom packed a lot of lunches and don't forget the Advil. I might want to mention sleeping aids as well, because at this school, sleep is underrated. It's gut check time and a question of your will, passion, and most importantly, your heart. Starting this week, hundreds of young men, grizzled vets, and rookies embark on their journey to follow their dreams of becoming members of the PGA Tour. Two words gentleman: God's Speed.

Each year, the cruel golf gods chew up and spit out the ones that don't belong. For the rookies, just getting to the qualifying tournament is a success in itself. Now, you have to prove your worthiness to play this game on a high level that few actually can. For the veterans, it can be a very humbling experience. I know most of us with a dream to play on tour, including myself, would love to be in that position of being "humbled." Just ask Mark Brooks, Notah Begay III, Chris Riley and John Huston, just to name a few. Yes, that Mark Brooks, who won the 1996 PGA Championship. Chris Riley was on the 2004 Ryder Cup team. All of the aforementioned have won on the PGA Tour and all have experienced the grind of q-school more than they'd like to admit.

So you passed the first stage of q-school? Good for you. Now go do it again in stages two and three. Wait, what? You're telling me I have to do this again? Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Don't get too comfortable because your journey is just a third of the way over. Getting to stage three almost guarantees you some kind of status. Depending on how you finish, you'll have status on the PGA Tour or the Nationwide Tour. Now I say 'status' lightly because just like in any other profession, there is a pecking order. The order you finish in q-school almost mirrors the pecking order you'll have on tour. Finish high, and you get into the better events. Finish low, and you'll find yourself as an alternate each week or playing the Nationwide Tour. Not to say the Nationwide Tour is a bad thing, because it certainly isn't. Many Nationwide graduates have found great success on the PGA Tour. Some names include, Jim Furyk, Tom Lehman, Zach Johnson, and Stewart Cink. All major championship winners. Not too shabby of a tour, eh?

For those with weak hearts, lack of ball striking skills and poor putting, you need not apply for this school. There is no "recess" and "zero hour." Just a bunch of knee knocking three-footers for par and the never ending question, "How much to the hole?" Like I said before, God's Speed gentleman and if I'm being honest, and I am, I'm jealous of every one of you.

Ryder Cup & The Fall Series

It's all about passion and putting. Two ingredients the U.S. lack when this decorated event comes around every two years. Now, a lot of you would argue with me and say that the U.S. actually has passion when they play on their home turf. But the stats say otherwise. Since the miracle at Brookline in 1999, the Americans have only won once. That being the victory at Valhalla in 2008. They got their brains beat in the two previous meetings losing by nine points on both occasions. And think about this: their win at Valhalla came without Tiger Woods.  I don't want to bore you with all the equations that allow that to happen, so you do the math. A truth about the Ryder Cup that no one can argue with is that it brings excitement, camaraderie, teamwork and the unforgettable pressure. Ah, the pressure. Don't remind Hunter Mahan about pressure. In the end, the Americans gave it their all but they came up one point short. One lousy point. 

The fall of leaves always indicates that summer is coming to an end and winter is shortly around the corner. Don't tell that to all the rookies on the PGA Tour. To some of them, this is their make or break it season. I can't speak from experience but the fall series is a great opportunity for rookies and grizzled vets to make enough money to retain their cards for the next year. All the big boys are on their yachts and on vacation for golf's "silly season." Doesn't seem so silly to me as there is $21.6 million dollars up for grabs in the season's final five events. It may be football season, but there is still a lot of golf to play and money to be made. It's gut check time for the rookies and a question of the heart for the veterans.