Do The Pros Earn Too Much?

It always amazes me the amount of money that golf pros earn. I mean these guys earn money doing the thing I love to do and have to pay for! So the question is do golf pros earn too much?

I guess at the end of the day it is all relevant and whoever pays them must feel that it is a good investment and that they get a good return on their money.

Let's be honest that winning a tournament and pocketing a couple of hundred grand is not money earned from "one day's work" - far from it. To get into the tournament, or just to be a successful pro requires a lot of effort and skill.

Bill Haas earned $10,000,000.00 (gotta love those zeros!) for winning the Fedex Cup last year. That's more than his father Jay, a successful player in his own right, earned in his career. It just seems wrong doesn't it?

I mean if I earned $10,000,000.00 (I just couldn't resist writing them out again - those zeros I mean) I would give up work - but then golf isn't work to me.

What I would like to know is how do Fedex get a return on their investment?

I can understand golf manufacturers, such as Titleist, sponsoring a player. But Fedex? I don't exactly rush out to the post office to send something by Fedex but I will go into a golf shop and look at certain brands of product.

And sponsorship, for the top players, exceeds their winnings in most cases! So you can bet your bottom dollar that Bill Haas earned more than $10,000,000.00 (love it!) with the endorsements he will have picked up.

Maybe what Fedex do is get a whole lot of retainers from golf companies and use these funds to sponsor the Cup. By this I mean go to Titleist, Bridgestone, Callaway, Cleveland, Nike etc. and offer to ship all their products for a specified period of time for an upfront fee!

This way Fedex have upfront money, a guaranteed amount of business and the ability to fund the Fedex Cup.

So what are your thoughts? Do the golf pros earn too much?

It does seem a bit gross when there are millions starving all over the world - including very good golfers struggling to make a living.

Would the money be better spent if it was more evenly spread?

On the other hand take a look at some other sports, such as basketball, football and the like where players are earning hundreds of thousands a week. Is that "fair"?

At the end of the day these earnings are paid for by consumers, as is every single dollar in the world - including your (and my) income.

I guess it all boils down to the return on investment! So long as we keep playing golf and buying gear the top players will continue to make the sort of money we can only dream of.