Ryder Cup Appearance Money

[PaulMdj]

I don't think players should be paid to play in it. Give it 20 or 30 years and it will all be about the money a player can earn by making the team rather than the unique experience. The players benefit in other ways just now. They'll get loads of commercial opportunities from being a RC player, especially on a winning team.
Someone mentioned the volunteers paying to "volunteer" at the RC, are they mad. Imagine how big a hit they would take in prize money every week if volunteers decided they wanted paid for their efforts. For one week out of every 104 do it for the joy and the glory.

I “volunteered” at Medinah in 2012, planned the trip before hand, applied for tickets through every channel I could find, failed in every avenue.
US PGA site had a link asking for volunteers, I tried that and was successful.

So instead of paying $150.00 per day on average, I paid $100.00 for access for 5 days, “worked” 2 hours each day (apart from first day) for 4 days, “working” involved standing on 16th tee box making sure spectators didn’t go under the ropes.

The remaining 8-10 hours at the course I could go and watch the golf or have a beer etc.

We were given $20.00 per day food vouchers, I got a Cap, 2 Polo’s, a pair of trousers and a jacket, all branded with Ryder Cup logo etc.

Fair enough the $100.00 “paid” towards all this, but I have to be honest it’s still one of the best things in my life outside of family.

The $100.00 to volunteer was money well spent and worked out way cheaper than going as a spectator, being in Marshall Uniform and having a pass meant you could go anywhere on the course and indide the ropes, no jostling for space or standing at the back of a 10 - 15 deep crowd trying to see the action.

Gleneagles in 2014, I don’t remember what we paid as volunteers, but again, for the access, clothing and lunch vouchers was well worth it.

I’d say anyone who had an opportunity to attend a Ryder Cup on the cheap and instead paid the day ticket prices would be mad.

 

[D-S]

Wouldn’t it be easy for the PGA Tour and DWP Tour to have a Ryder Cup Foundation into which they pay all the higher than normal ticket revenue and broadcasting money as well as any excess profits and monies that are ‘Player Wages’.
This could be used in various ways to ‘grow the game’ and help disadvantaged groups.
A public dedicated programme would show what good the Ryder Cup is doing for the game and be a major plus for the brand and positively link the Cup to good works.
Also players demanding money would be taking it out of the Foundation pot so it would be a more difficult thing to ask for and grumbles about pricing are not as easy if it’s going straight to good causes.
Making charitable works very public can only be a good thing.

 

[PaulMdj]

Wouldn’t it be easy for the PGA Tour and DWP Tour to have a Ryder Cup Foundation into which they pay all the higher than normal ticket revenue and broadcasting money as well as any excess profits and monies that are ‘Player Wages’.
This could be used in various ways to ‘grow the game’ and help disadvantaged groups.
A public dedicated programme would show what good the Ryder Cup is doing for the game and be a major plus for the brand and positively link the Cup to good works.
Also players demanding money would be taking it out of the Foundation pot so it would be a more difficult thing to ask for and grumbles about pricing are not as easy if it’s going straight to good causes.
Making charitable works very public can only be a good thing.

They already have The Ryder Cup Development Trust which funds, amongst other things, Golf at grassroots level.

There are also a couple of other Ryder Cup charities and I believe the money “paid” to European players is so the players can donate it to the Charity of their choice.

Could they do more? Probably, but we musn’t forget the Ryder Cup has been donating and looking after some charities for years now.