What Does a Professional Golfer Mean?

Like in any other sport, there is a absolute gap between professional players and the amateur ones. However, in golf, this differentiation is more severe than in other sports. For example, if an amateur accepts to play for money, even for one single game, he will permanently lose his amateur status and therefore will be shut out from any other tournament for amateurs. A professional player will most likely never get back the amateur status.

The rules of golf seemingly state that an amateur will not win more than 250-500 dollars / tournament (according to USGA and R and A). If he neglects this regulation and accepts more money as prize, he will lose his status and will advance to professionals.

There are two main groups of professional golfers:

1) the first category consists in professional golfers that act as golf teachers, golf equipment dealers or golf clubs owners. At a golf club you will most likely find a person that has the title of club professional while at a golf resort he goes under the name of director of golf. In both cases, the person in charge is a senior professional player. Any certified golf professional that works as an assistant will be called an assistant professional. Of course, there are some golfers that concentrate on giving golf lessons others. They are called either golf instructors or golf coaches.

2) a second category of golf players has a much higher profile and incorporates professional players that actually practice golf as a way of earning their living. Their main income sources are golf tournaments and several endorsements that they sign with different companies. These players are usually known as tournament pros or pro golfers.

There has been a absolute distinction between professionals and amateurs since the beginnings of this sport. Social class was the principal criteria for differentiating the players into the mentioned categories. For example, two centuries ago in Britain, golf was a game played only by rich people for their own entertainment and recreation. A professional player came frequently from the working class and earned its income from several golf activities such as clubmaking, greenkeeping, caddying or even playing challenge matches against other golfers. At the end of the 19th century, golf was brought to America where it instantly gained an exclusive status. However, during those times it was almost impossibly to actually earn your living from playing golf. It was only during the 20th century when golf players began to earn enough money from golf tournaments. Many think of Walter Hagen to be the first pro golfer to achieve this.

Nowadays, the class differentiation does not apply anymore. Golf can be enjoyed by any category of people, rich or poor, without any obstacles.

Though, becoming an elite tournament golfer is a very difficult accomplishment. An elite player will also be a very prosperous person, so in a sense it is understandable. The best example in this case is Eldrick "Tiger" Woods. The wealth he gathered from winning various tournaments and signing different endorsements contracts is approaching the sum of 70 million dollars over the last 11 years.