Why Do Golf Events Have Big Prize Funds? – Is Golf a Highly Paid Sport?
Golf, a sport where people hit balls with clubs over a lovely patch of grass, if available. Not all golf courses have a lot of grass, some are in deserts. But, golf is a highly paid sport, right? On the top 100 paid athletes in the world, five of them are golfers. Does that mean that the prize money for golf tournaments is huge? Is a million dollars a large prize for being the best at a sport? Horse racing lovers, for example, wouldn’t agree (however, for those we have a place where they can read more about the upcoming races: https://ridemagazine.com/cheltenham-festivals-three-biggest-shock-winners/). Be as it may, most sports offer huge prize pools like that. The money from golf doesn’t really come from the prize pools, but rather, other sources. Here is how golf gets its money.
Prestige and History
Golf is a sport which has been played for leisure for a couple of centuries, by rich people, to put it bluntly. Dukes, lords and various nobles had access to golf courses, because who else could finance building and maintaining huge areas which have no other purpose than being used for leisure?
But, once golf started being a competitive sport, people started looking at it a bit more seriously, not just as a leisure activity. Given its origins, it attracted attention, specifically from the richer parts of society. That alone gave it the coverage it needed.
Golf Became Mainstream
Once golf was televised, people loved every bit of it. Golf, as a sport, became popular. When a sport is popular, people want to watch it, to watch TV, or go and purchase tickets for live events. That being said, the more popular a sport is, the more money there is to be gained from broadcast companies, as well as manufacturers. Golf manufacturers really made it once the sport became widespread and available to everyone.
Endorsements – Sponsor Deals
With a prize pool of a million dollars, winning a couple of tournaments nets you how much, a couple million dollars? Let’s say you purchase a house and start living a bit more expensive of a life. How long would that last you? Not very long.
This is where sponsors and endorsements come in. the more you play and succeed, the more money you have from sponsors. Even Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo receive at least half of their hundred million dollars from sponsors and endorsement deals. The world of golf is not that different in that regard.
There’s Also Not That Much Money
A basketball player warming the bench earns around 30 million per year. A PGA player not playing is not earning anything. Only a couple of select golf athletes earn lots of money, and those are usually the top five to maybe top ten athletes. The rest of the list doesn’t earn that much money, not as much as you would’ve earned running a small business or being a relatively experienced developer.
The world of golf is often viewed in a very unrealistic fashion. It does not offer tons of money, but rather a lot of money to only a select few athletes. The rest get crumbs.