Too much?

[bobmac]

As we all know, Ben Crane won the Young Farmers monthly medal yesterday (or what ever it's now called).
$954.000 thank you very much. (almost £600,000)
This is almost double the first prize Tiger won in 1999 ($486,000).
Are the rich getting too rich and would you rather see all the extra money go somewhere else in golf?
I ask this question about the European Tour as well.

 

[KeefG]

Where else could the money go?

Lets be honest, the facilities for us amatuer golfers arent exactly shabby, and in all aspects of the game you get what you pay for.

If you can afford to shell out £600 or whatever for your yearly subs to a club then so be it, on the same note paying around £100 a year for your kids junior membership is hardly going to give the bank manager heart attacks!

And on the same note again, your average golfer who doesnt belong to a club and lives his golfing life paying visitor green fee's everywhere he visits isnt exactly treated badly either.

I fail to see how taking some of the money off the pro's winnings (however excessive they are becoming) can make 1 iota of a difference to the grass roots of the sport.

Unless pro's fancy subsidising kit for us amatuers, in which case i'll have a nice new set of Mizzy MX-300's please

 

[bobmac]

I was thinking more to encourage youngsters into the game.
The pros could apply to the governing bodies for grants to spend on junior clubs, more balls, time to teach them etc after all, who taught todays stars???
I'd say give some money back to the grass roots(sorry)where tomorrow's great players are being taught.

 

[bobmac]

And no, you can't have a nice new set of Mizzy MX-300's

 

[Robobum]

To be fair the USPGA is one of the highest "givers" to charity work, particularly their 1st tee programs that they run.

 

[KeefG]

I still disagree Bob!

Golf, when I was in my teens, wasnt even in the top 100000000 hobbies/pastimes of things i'd like to do to keep myself amused because it wasnt popular then.

Due to the Tiger factor now, golf is becoming ever more popular within schools/colleges etc, to the point my son chose his school becuase it is a designated sports college and has a golf team, his old school also had a golf team....golf teams were unheard of when I was at school!!

Grass roots golf, in my opinion, is doing just fine and is progressing along nicely.

 

[Mike_j_golf]

thats why all the top europeans play in America as well McIlroy was playing in portugal last year first prize around 200000 and he is looking at the US tour the same week 3 times the prize pool and no one in the worlds top 20 playing, I think it is too much money and I think we will see a shift to fewer touranaments and small prize pools in the next couple of years Can both tours continue to get prize money for 50 touranaments a year with those sort of prize funds I think in the future there they will end up with 25 events on each tour with a lot of cross over it can't continue as it is when the next TV contract comes up i'd say it will tell the tail if Tiger is not back bringing in the crowds the money could fall out of the US tour very quickly.
Mike

 

[bobmac]

I know they do alot and the European tour are also promoting golf all over the world, but it still leaves loads of money left over.
I'm also aware that alot of players give back alot in their golf foundations etc but thats their own choice.
I just see the rich kids playing for more and more money every week and the local pro who helped them get there being laid off or having to sit in the pro shop listening to the winging members and having to price match with the internet.
Before anyone thinks I'm bitter and twisted, I'll just say I'm not a club pro in that situation, but I know alot who are.

 

[bobmac]

Thats good to hear Keef, it sounds like someone is doing a good job in your area.
Unfortunately, it's not the same everywhere and so much is having to be done by volunteers.
I guess it's the same with Junior football being run by parents while Ashley feckwit tears around in his Lambo

 

[Robobum]

Today's shop pros are undoubtedly suffering because of superstores and internet stores. However they are also paying the price for the shop pros who went before them who never had this competition and basically sold the gear at top whack and screwed the members because they knew there was nowhere else.

 

[KeefG]

Ok, so lets just imagine said club pro was better at golf and was out on the tour with his card earning the mega bucks, he wouldnt be complaining then would he?

Its the same in all walks of life Bob, those talented enough to make it at the top earn a fortune, whilst those not quite as talented have do make do with the left overs.

Football being a prime example....take Rooney or Terry's wages at £100k+ per week, even your bog standard prem player will be on £30k+, then look at Chamiponship & league 1 players!

 

[drawboy]

Thing is chaps we,the average golfers don't need pro golf. If prize money was cut by 50% it wouldn't have any effect on the golf. Pro's need the tour to make a living and very good it is too. If they did cut the money what could they do, say stick it then I'm off to work at B&Q or a building site. I don't think so, they would still play as it is still more money than the average person would ever see in a lifetime. In this months GM Graeme McDowell is moaning about having to pay excess baggage FFS, pull yourself together you live a life most of us dream of and when you retire you will still be earning far in excess of most of us. Unbelievable.

 

[Faldo_Fan]

Further to this and another thread about pro's happily playing for places rather than the win.....why not keep first prize the same but make the rest less.....2nd place paying out $10k instead of $4/500,000.00. That might produce more players going for the win?

 

[Faldo_Fan]

Thing is chaps we,the average golfers don't need pro golf. If prize money was cut by 50% it wouldn't have any effect on the golf. Pro's need the tour to make a living and very good it is too. If they did cut the money what could they do, say stick it then I'm off to work at B&Q or a building site. I don't think so, they would still play as it is still more money than the average person would ever see in a lifetime. In this months GM Graeme McDowell is moaning about having to pay excess baggage FFS, pull yourself together you live a life most of us dream of and when you retire you will still be earning far in excess of most of us. Unbelievable.

And he was moaning about un-named carriers and the poor service. I read somewhere that he shares a private jet with Rory Mac......hard life GMac.....i'm gutted for you...not!

 

[HRC99]

Top professionals are always going to earn a lot of money if there is demand/interest in their skills - no matter what field they are in.

You could even argue that the amount of money, the fame and exposure encourages more people to take up the game in the first place.

 

[SammmeBee]

I was thinking more to encourage youngsters into the game.
The pros could apply to the governing bodies for grants to spend on junior clubs, more balls, time to teach them etc after all, who taught todays stars???
I'd say give some money back to the grass roots(sorry)where tomorrow's great players are being taught.

Not thinking about yourself at all here are you Bob........?

 

[bobmac]

Not thinking about yourself at all here are you Bob........?

As I said previously

Before anyone thinks I'm bitter and twisted, I'll just say I'm not a club pro in that situation, but I know alot who are

 

[SammmeBee]

I know Bob....there are some Pros who would advocate such 'funding' for their own means...

The problem is with sport/life in general....people tell companies that they need £x million to put on an event and the companies stump up said millions.....Chelsea and Man Utd find enough people to pay silly prices for football to fill the ground, these are the same people who say football is too expensive but still go; people will pay £285 to play Wentworth this year....

It probably is wrong for them to win so much - I have no problem with the winner getting well paid, unfortunately people with some skill (see Tim Clark on another thread) get very well paid for coming second, eight, making the cut each week....but if there are idiots out there who want to sponsor these things and pay out the money, you can't blame them for taking the cash while they can.....

It's called capitalism isn't it?

 

[SammmeBee]

So if you paid less they wouldn't turn up?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Its becoming the chicken and egg scenario. Sponsors want the best field to make the most of their investment and so have to offer a lucrative purse to entice the better players to attend. Therefore prize purses increase and apre proportionally split down the field. Its true that you can make a very good living by being a good journeyman but I'm guessing in a few years Michael Sim will look back and regret not having a go especially if he nevers gets into a similar position again

At the other end of the spectrum its sad that pros, many of whom are happy to serve their members and offer exceptional custmer service (not just on kit or lessons) are struggling to compete. I guess its the old corner shop v Tesco argument where big business (AG and the internet) have taken old fashioned values and costed them out of existance. Maybe something needs to be done by the PGA to safeguard some of thes roles but where would that revenue come from?