Professional golfers

We are enjoying watching the British Open....what awful weather though, and this is summer!! Can someone answer a question which we have wondered about for some time. Do the players who don't make the cut get any money? Also, why do caddies have to carry those heavy bags? Why can't they use a golf buggy? It's a wonder the "work safe" spies have not cottoned on to them. Caddies must suffer with back problems later in life . Maureen

No cut ......No money.

Don't know about the buggy (cart) thing but golf was made for walkin'

What the dawg said. You're only in the money if you make the cut, and it's a 'history of the game' thing. Golf started out as a walking sport. So the pros have to play it that way.

I might be wrong, but I am not sure caddies are even actually required to be used by the pros with regards to the rules of golf. It is just an accepted practice, that started years ago. I know they are not required on some the lessor tour trails.

As for using a push, or pull cart, I just don't know. I would think that if these types of carts were allowed , no self respecting caddy would use one anyway. To big a blow to their ego, and the history of caddies in the game. That being said, due to health issues, i would not be surprised to see them used sometime in the future on the pro circuits.

Athletic Insight - The Golfer-Caddie Partnership: An Exploratory Investigation into the Role of the Caddie

It would be interesting to see how todays professionals would golf if they had to carry their own bags in the various tournaments they play in. Stamina would play a much greater roll in their games. GJS

I suspect it comes down to just aesthetics, golf carts or buggies or even pull carts leave marks and tracks on the course. Most high level courses that spend extraordinary amounts on greens keeping that manicure their course for play have outlawed buggies on them, not just the pro course, even the private courses, so that pretty much leaves carry bag. If you were a pro would you want to be disadvantage of being run down after 15 or so holes compared to you competitor, so they have to go along. Would interesting to have a tournament where everyone had to carry their own with no caddie...lol..like to see that match.. The seniors are allowed to have buggies, but they still have caddies...lol...go figure..guess after all those years of playing they still haven't figured out how to tell yardage on their own.

Thanks for all the replies, and particularly to GJS for the link to the role of the Caddie. I found that to be very interesting reading. I guess the caddies really earn their money and although it is expected that they carry those big golf bags with all the paraphernalia, I wonder how their backs will hold up as they get older.

Those caddies make a pretty good living carrying those bags. I would trade them anyday. I do think if the pros carried their own bags they wouldnt be quite as big as they are now. As far as their backs go.........they are all golfers too so their backs wont be in to good a shape anyway.

Can you imagine Tim Herron carrying his own bag for 18 holes...?

If you check out the link below you will see that even the guy finishing last got some prize money.

Not bad for two lousy rounds of golf!

http://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/upload...rize_money.pdf

Cheers,

Steve N

But that didn't show what they spent to get there, the cost of the hotel, and the entrance fee, me thinks them guys that didn't make the cut are still losing money..lol

Oh forgot the caddie, still gotta pay him, not sure what the opens entrance fee is, but most pro tour events run around $2000 US to enter, gotta believe any of the majors are north of that figure.

Interestingly, as best as I can make out from the entry form.....follow link below to view......the entrance fee was only 115 pounds.

http://www.opengolf.com/pix/pdf/EntryForm2007.pdf

Assuming they were exempt from qualifying, and shared a room with their caddy in a cheap hotel.....you never know they might just have made enough to buy that new club they have always wanted!

As I have never read a big tournement entry form before I had a general read and on another issue I noted that there is a clause concerning drug abuse (clause 7) .....has anyone ever been tested? I often wonder about painkillers, I know without them I wouldn't perform well!!!

Cheers,

Steve N

Well back in the 70's when I was a very young man..lol...I had the idea I might want to turn pro, I was told then, don't know if it has changed, but I needed then proof that I had at least $50,000 in the bank or in a sponsor that was willing to cover that figure (with a contract of course, taking a percentage of your winnings) before I could even attend "Q" school. The idea being, they didn't want any storys about starving pros or taking a card from someone and not being able to complete the year. Back then they considered that figure to be enough to make it through the year for travel, hotel, entrance fee etc... even if you didn't win anything. So without that finacial backing in place, they were not going to waste a tour card on you. I never went to Q school, went into the Navy instead...lol..came out much better I think, still got to see the world, and since I retired, they are still paying me. I have to believe that figure has gone up allot. Just Q school alone I believe last I heard was around $4,000, and I have no idea what kind of contracts these young guys have to agree too.

Hello:

There have been a few interesting books published that clearly outline the costs and payouts incured by touring pros. One of my favorites is by US PGA player Carl Paulson. In this book he describes his personal trials, tribulations and triumphs playing on the US PGA Tour through the eighties and nineties. Carl would be considered a "rank and file" player and certainly not a superstar.

One thing to consider is that all card carying player members receive susbstantial payouts from a wide variety of sponsers that are performance driven including bonuses. The players all receive monies for wearing shoes, shirts and hats with sponsers logos. In additional the players receive a stipend to play certain clubs and balls as well as receiving free clubs bags and balls. Oddly, there are mini contracts that can run week to week for a player using a specific driver for example. For a player like Paulson these payouts added into the tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands during the course of a year. Again, Paul was just a QSchool grad but that guaranteed money was there.

Still. the pro touring golfer is a self supporting business venture. All travel expenses and entry fees are incured as these are subcontracted employees. These costs add up significantly even though the players do receive free food at the tournaments and usually courtesy cars (with gas) that make things easier financially.

Also, there is a very interesting sub category of pensions available by the tour to it's players as a long term financial platform. It is based on tournamemts played, cuts made, top tens etc..etc... This has been a hot topic of late especially with headlines of some of the poor planing by other pro sports entities for past players in the NFL, NHL, NBA for example.

As stated in this thread, the caddies are also self contractors but do receive gauranteed pay for each bag they tote at a tournament cut or no cut made. There are varying bonuses for all prize money, top tens wins etc... but they also pay all of their expenses. In the old days, caddies had to fend for themselves, but since the "Tiger" era, the caddies have it a little better with on course perks such as free food and sometimes cars as well. There have also been some very interesting and "spicy" reads published concerning this very unique job that the caddy holds. They are nomadic in their existence but certainly a very storied and colorfull part of the tour. I always get a kick out of hearing that Fluff Cowan (former Tiger bagman and currently Jm Furk) is a member of Congressional CC which is without question, one of the most prestigious clubs in America. Some of the caddies, obviously do OK.

As with all businesses, there is a lot going on behind the scenes including quite a bit of politics, cut throught tactics and salesmanship. The PGA tour is no exception.

would any of that stuff be tax deductible or whatever. gas, food, hotel expenses, paying your employee(caddy).


and for the caddies driving carts IF this ever happened i would assume they would be restricted to the cart paths. carts kill grass and mat down the rough. just not going to happen, not having access to any possible club in your bag, imagine a caddy walking 50 yards back and forth to the bag/cart. think about around greens where the cart path is sometimes pretty far from the green, say hes just off the green not sure what club he wants, sure would slow down play.

but what i really dont understand is, why the hell do they need big heavy staff bags.