Too much?

[RGDave]

I think the prize pots are getting crazy. As to what to do about it, I don't know. The affluent countries are chucking money left, right and centre at everyone and everything which is the "top of the tree". It runs through sport/business/media etc. I call it market forces gone mad.
Bottom line though is *someone" is paying for it all, either the man in the street or those less fortunate around the globe.
I have an insurance policy with one of the worlds leading insurers (it's the only one available) and they waste £millions on Formula one. I'm sure the folk at the top think they're very clever and deserve their grotesque salaries. I'm sure they also think F1 represents money well spent.
t.b.h. I'd rather have my policy for £40 less per year.

 

[bobmac]

Homer, I see your point about Tesco V the corner shop but what I'm saying is without the corner shop, you can still have Tesco. Without the teaching pros, who's going to teach tomorrow's superstars?

I understand all about market forces and the public paying out all their lolly to see their favourites as they are the best in the world, but..........
How much do you need?

The Farmers Insurance Open had a prize fund of $5.3m (about £3.3m)
That would pay 168 nurses £20,000 each for a whole year, and thats just one tournament's prize fund.
Thinking about what's happened on the other side of the world, it just doesnt sit right to me.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm totally with you Bob. Its not just the club pros but what about the assistants on minimum wage struggling tomake a living especially while doing their exams. Whats their motivation to carry on and become tomorrows club pro.

 

[bigbiffa]

surely its all about supply and demand though. we the punter pay our 50 quid a month so we can watch the golf on sky tv, then the tv companies pay big bucks to the tours.The big sponsors pay big bugs to the prize funds of the big events that are on tv, to pull in the big players....phew, did someone say chicken n egg earlier,lol!

 

[RGDave]

I understand all about market forces and the public paying out all their lolly to see their favourites as they are the best in the world, but..........
How much do you need?

The Farmers Insurance Open had a prize fund of $5.3m (about £3.3m)
That would pay 168 nurses £20,000 each for a whole year, and thats just one tournament's prize fund.
Thinking about what's happened on the other side of the world, it just doesnt sit right to me.

The trouble is you are a thinker and a carer, so you see the daft-ness in these things. I empathise.
I can't speak for the US, but one can only imagine if a farmers insurance company in the UK spent this kind of dosh on a sports event when everyday farmers are going bankrupt....you understand, I know....

 

[Herbie]

Well I think Golf has always been a rich mans sport in the arena being discussed in this thread, I now belive the divide between the rich and the less well off in golf is as massive as the divide between the rich and poor in the country as a whole.

You may be able to argue for the poor kid from skid row comming through the ranks at a local Golf club after starting as a boot boy and Caddy, but most kids in golf today are massively funded and promoted by parents, often with little success I might add but still take up resources simply because they can afford it, but the few who show tallent (and good luck to them) are the ones who make their mark by being able to practice as much as they wish, buy whatever they need, go wherever they need to play at the drop of a hat etc with no financial worries at all.

That has been the history of golf for as many years as I can remember, you will find it so very very hard to find a top golfer who came from very poor backgrounds. The amount of money in Golf today at even the lowest levels of competition is grotesque.

Without the feeling of having really earned something of value, then it is of no value and I have seen this in the attitudes of some young golfers who almost show contempt at their winnings sometimes, all they want to do is get on the big money and big fame circuit as soon as possible.

I dont think Bobmacs comments are in any way dummy spitting, I think he is spot on, in fact hasnty gone far enough with his post.


Note* I have not used the language of the inclusive by suggesting ALL are involved, nor do I believe that being rich is bad for the game. Its all about how wealth is used, influences the game at all levels and how it devalues golf.

 

[SammmeBee]

surely its all about supply and demand though. we the punter pay our 50 quid a month so we can watch the golf on sky tv, then the tv companies pay big bucks to the tours.The big sponsors pay big bugs to the prize funds of the big events that are on tv, to pull in the big players....phew, did someone say chicken n egg earlier,lol!

If you put all your thinking the opposite way round then you might be nearly right...

 

[rickg]

I guess it's the same with Junior football being run by parents while Ashley feckwit tears around in his Lambo

Haha...not anymore...the monogomously challenged one got a 4 month driving ban the other day for doing 104 in a 50 zone.

And get this..... he asked for (and got) 21 days to pay the £1000 fine......he only earns £100k a week!!!

 

[RGDave]

Without the feeling of having really earned something of value, then it is of no value and I have seen this in the attitudes of some young golfers who almost show contempt at their winnings sometimes, all they want to do is get on the big money and big fame circuit as soon as possible.

It's an interesting take.

I see youngsters on both sides of the wealth divide trying to get on in life. Those that have to fight for it appreciate their success, those that have it handed on a plate are often less than gracious.
C'est la vie, as much as it riles.
What really gets on my wick is the sheer arrogance of those that have had endless cash/coaching/support bestowed upon them.

 

[bobmac]

Last week, the prize fund was a pitifull $5.3m. This week it's a healthy $6.4m and if you wait a few weeks its a bumper $8.5 at the Accenture.

 

[didsbury_duffer]

For what it is worth, my take on the subject is that there is far too much money being paid out in prize money and sponsorship deals, not necessarily to the detriment of grass roots junior golf, but definitely to the detriment of the golf courses that you and I play on each week. As a result of the recession it is well documented that numerous clubs throughout the country are in financial difficulty. Following a period of rapid expansion in the nineties, there is now an oversupply of courses in the UK. Added to that, players like JezzE are deciding to give up club membership, and are taking up the option of green-fee golf, because it suits their lifestyle and time demands. I fully expect a number of clubs to 'go under' over the next 6 to 12 months, however, I now feel it is high time that the authorities in the UK (R&A, European Tour..etc)did something to assist the very clubs upon which our sport was based. I believe that a certain percentage of the total purses should be hived off, to then be used as grants to struggling UK courses for purposes such as new machinery, repairing machinery, clubhouse repairs, website creation and improvement, practice ground work. I realise that I live in cloud cuckoo land, and that it will probably never happen. I also realise that even though the authorities may think this a good idea, getting the sponsors and the pro players to accept it is a completely different, and probably insurmountable, problem. However, if we don't alter the way golf is managed in the UK, then some of the courses that spawned the Westwoods, McIrloys will no longer be there for future generations.

 

[viscount17]

I don't mind the winner getting good prize money, it's being able to make good money without really challenging that sticks. (sounds a bit odd that.) essentially should you make the same coming 2nd by playing safe as the guy who goes for it but fails to win?
but cutting the prize money will not guarantee it getting it down to where it's needed, too many sticky hands en route. too, if it's not going to the prize pot why should/would the sponsor cough up the extra?

the problem at 'grass roots' hit my club last month with the loss of one one of our playing/teaching pros - and he had a couple of wins last season. he's off to be an electrician, working for his dad so whether he will still be able to play tour games, who knows.
(tbh, I've long wondered how the pro shop could support three full time pros, even though they charge a lot for lessons.)

 

[freddielong]

Last week, the prize fund was a pitifull $5.3m. This week it's a healthy $6.4m and if you wait a few weeks its a bumper $8.5 at the Accenture.

For me prize money is not the whole problem, its the fact they get paid for turning, up rumour has it Tiger charges 3mil and the other top pro's on 1mil before they receive there sponsorship.
With the average 1st place being close to 1mil there is no incentive to win.

 

[TRS30]

I will agree that top level golfers do get paid way too much but unlike other sports, ie. football, they do not demand a massive weekly wage and do not have a contract. If they don't play they don't get paid (excluding off course earnings). While they can pick the tournaments with the highest prize money they have to perform to get paid. If they miss the cut they are unlikely to cover their expenses.

Don't get me wrong, I am not defending the money the top guys make but at least they don't demand it or get it regarless of how they perform or even if they don't play at all.

 

[bobmac]

(tbh, I've long wondered how the pro shop could support three full time pros, even though they charge a lot for lessons.)

There has to be 3 staff in a shop to keep it open all day.
That way, when one is on holiday or off sick, the others share the day as you cant ask someone to work a 10 hour shift without any breaks

 

[AuburnWarrior]

(tbh, I've long wondered how the pro shop could support three full time pros, even though they charge a lot for lessons.)

There has to be 3 staff in a shop to keep it open all day.
That way, when one is on holiday or off sick, the others share the day as you cant ask someone to work a 10 hour shift without any breaks

Can someone tell my boss that please??

 

[viscount17]

(tbh, I've long wondered how the pro shop could support three full time pros, even though they charge a lot for lessons.)

There has to be 3 staff in a shop to keep it open all day.
That way, when one is on holiday or off sick, the others share the day as you cant ask someone to work a 10 hour shift without any breaks

bob, there are/were three full time pros, one almost full-time assistant and three part time 'assistants'.

 

[bobmac]

There has to be 3 staff in a shop to keep it open all day.
That way, when one is on holiday or off sick, the others share the day as you cant ask someone to work a 10 hour shift without any breaks

bob, there are/were three full time pros, one almost full-time assistant and three part time 'assistants'.

Thats definitely a bit OTT
Thats why I said "3 staff"
They dont all have to be pros.

 

[USER1999]

I don't care. It isn't my money. If accenture put up 8mill, it isn't going to impact on me.

As long as RBS don't sponsor an event, because then it is my money.

I object to Cilla Black getting paid 8 mill a year by the BBC though. She is rubbish.

 

[pokerjoke]

I object to Cilla Black getting paid 8 mill a year by the BBC though. She is rubbish.



8 million for what avnt seen her for years.

[/QUOTE]