Cost of a Pro Golfer

Germerican

AngryYankee
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Came across this video on YT and found it to be very interesting. I learned a few t hings that I thought was different for pros.

 
That was interesting, thanks for posting.
 
Was talking about this with yesterday with one of the guys I played with. We were disucssing the difference between pga and lpga money, caddie lifestyle and costs. 150th person on pga tour last year made over $600k while 150th lpga player made just over $11k. The caddies IMO have even a harder time making money when not a big name players bag on lpga or when working on web.com or LET
 
One thing to keep in mind about PGA tour players. They get sponsorship dollars in the neighborhood of 400k once they make it on tour. This money helps offset the expense of travel.
 
Who pays their entry fee?
 
Very interesting.
 
That was a great watch. I have a friend that tried making it on the tour and was always broke.
 
Who pays their entry fee?
Players.

Keep in mind, PGA exempt players only pay $50 in tournament fees and that's a locker room fee. Non-exempt players pay a little more, think around $200-$400 since they need to qualify. So the fees aren't all that high, unless you're struggling with your game.
 
the video starts to put things in perspective and there are additional costs not mentioned. If you are a Monday Qualifying, you also have to pay to play in the qualifying event. I saw an entry form for the LPGA Kingmill championship a few years ago and it was a tiered system based on your status. I wish I could remember the amounts, but I remember thinking that if you were Monday qualifying it was a pretty expensive way to make it on tour. I know the lower tier players will room together at hotels to save money and instead of taking flights they drive from tournament to tournament.
 
That was a good watch. Forbes wrote an article in 2012 about Ben Martin when he was playing on the mini tours. The article does a really job of laying out the costs.
 
It's an expensive journey for sure and the odds of getting your PGA Tour card and keeping it are much lower than making it in the NFL, NBA, or MLB. There are about 1,950 Americans playing in the NFL and only about 100 that get their PGA Tour card each year. The sad thing to see is many of the college players are completely focused on golf and just trying to keep their GPA above a 2.0 so the can keep their scholarship. I just had this conversation yesterday with my neighbor whose son is a great player(+3 index) and is a freshman on a golf scholarship at the University of California -Davis. He wants to go to med school so college golf is secondary to him but most of the guys on his team all want to play on the PGA Tour. So many stories of great players that don't make or can't keep their card for more than a year or two. It takes a truly special player to become a fixture on the PGA Tour.
 
Great little video article. Thanks for sharing.
 
golf never was a poor mans game. This topic is something I was aware of a long time ago as for all paying their own way. This isnt the 50's, 60's, or 70's anymore and just like anything else we do its expensive. Though none of this really makes me feel sorry for the players.

And to be honest, what is so admirable about what Andrew Parr did by asking for community sponsorships? basically asking for money so he can continue. I went to his "join team parr 2014" campaign website. Surly I can feel for his early age suffered stroke situation. But I know plenty worse stories than that, I don't understand how any of what he was doing (if that is even still going on) was so admirable nor what anyone other than himself really got out of it. Unless I am completely missing some info or misunderstanding something they make it sound like he's taking a different and noble approach to the sport or something, or is he really just asking for money so "he" can (at the time) live the golf life? I really don't know or I just honestly don't get it and am missing something.
 
One thing to keep in mind about PGA tour players. They get sponsorship dollars in the neighborhood of 400k once they make it on tour. This money helps offset the expense of travel.

What about 'lower tier' players who are signed with Nike? Surely they're not making the same endorsement money as Rory or Brooks.
 
Thank GOD that golf is the ultimate test that performance is the key.
No guaranteed money is the best thing in sports.
The way it should be.
 
I knew it wouldn't be cheap to play on the tour..only a few can make it a career. That's why the PGA slogan is... "These Guys Are Good"
I have a friend who has played professionally but never made it to the PGA. He was sponsored by TM and Cleveland and others, getting into tournaments and equipment.
 
What about 'lower tier' players who are signed with Nike? Surely they're not making the same endorsement money as Rory or Brooks.

Considering Rory is making ~20-25 mill per from Nike. I think Tiger is the only Nike Golf athlete even remotely close to it.

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Considering Rory is making ~20-25 mill per from Nike. I think Tiger is the only Nike Golf athlete even remotely close to it.

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When you put it like that $400K in endorsements isn't that much, but there have to be more players getting around that amount than the guys like Rory and Tiger.
 
Interesting video, thanks for sharing.
 
Very interesting video.


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When you put it like that $400K in endorsements isn't that much, but there have to be more players getting around that amount than the guys like Rory and Tiger.

Speith would be in that area if you combine clothing and clubs. Not many making that much from a single company though. Not many companies have the money like Nike and UA.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
One thing to keep in mind about PGA tour players. They get sponsorship dollars in the neighborhood of 400k once they make it on tour. This money helps offset the expense of travel.
Is most of that clubs?
 
Is most of that clubs?

No and it varies with the rank and file players. The guys I know have or had nice sponsorship contracts with mortgage companies, insurance and other like business. Their club deals were nice as well but not as large outside sponsorship
 
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