Expense Breakdown: How Much Do Top PGA Tour Players Spend a Year (2024)

There is a very famous proverb, “You need to spend money to make money.” And the PGA Tour pros live this maxim as they spend money to make more money. However, the life of a tour pro isn’t easy as there are plenty of dynamics and things affecting their money.

Moreover, there are plenty of expenses with the kind of lifestyles they live. Hence, every professional golfer wants to make the cut to keep some cash flow going. However, for a top player on the PGA Tour, a win or a top 10 in a prominent event is a must, or their expenditures could take a severe blow.

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Breakdown of the expenditure of top players on the PGA Tour

Recently, Golf.com revealed the expenditures and the cost of doing business for a top player. Moreover, the expenses are estimated to be in seven figures, approaching $2 million. So here’s a breakdown of all the estimated expenditures.

1.Tips: $5000

There are locker room attendants, baggage handlers, housekeepers, and keeping them happy can sometimes create a vacuum in one’s wallet. The tips which they receive from golfers are around $200 a week on Tour.

Expense Breakdown: How Much Do Top PGA Tour Players Spend a Year (6)

2. Private chef: $25,000

Few elite players have full-time private chefs with them. They travel with players around the world to prepare food for them. Meanwhile, these services go up to $3,000 to $5,000 a week and are reasonably expensive.

3. Trainer: $1000,000

Previously, there was nothing like training involved in golf. But the way this game is evolving, it has become imperative for top players to maintain their physique, for which they need a qualified trainer.

4. Physio/massage therapy: $150,000

When you grind it out at the range or give your 100% on the course during a tournament, recovery is very crucial. Hence, players need a good physio who can help them stay limber.

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5. Coach: $150,000 – $200,000

At the highest level, there are different kinds of coaches like swing, short game, mental. Moreover, nowadays, even data or analytics has a coach. And to rectify mistakes and improve upon them, a player requires a coach who can help him out with his game.

6. Accommodations: $2000,000

The price range of rental homes and hotel suites vary from one Tour venue to another. But players don’t often stint in lodging, which makes these stays quite expensive.

7. Travel: $150,000 – $400,000

Top-level players don’t travel in coach. They try to avoid commercial planes as much as possible. But even on a commercial airplane, a first-class ticket isn’t cheap. However, their first preference is always a private jet and then a first-class in a commercial plane to travel around the country and world for tournaments annually.

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8. Caddie: $500,000 – $1,000,000

Expense Breakdown: How Much Do Top PGA Tour Players Spend a Year (7)

Most of the caddies who carry the bag for top players earn a base fee of $2,500 a week. However, they even get 10 percent of prize money if they win, 8 percent on a top-10 finish, and 6 percent on the remaining.

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Hence, these are a few expected expenditures of a Tour pro. And if you calculate everything, it goes up to around $1.88 million to $2.08 million a year, which is astounding.

Expense Breakdown: How Much Do Top PGA Tour Players Spend a Year (2024)

FAQs

Expense Breakdown: How Much Do Top PGA Tour Players Spend a Year? ›

And if you calculate everything, it goes up to around $1.88 million to $2.08 million a year, which is astounding.

What are the expenses of a PGA Tour player? ›

Budget crunching: Here's how much top-tier PGA Tour players spend a year (hint: a lot)
  • Tips: $5,000. ...
  • Private chef: $25,000. ...
  • Trainer: $100,000. ...
  • Physio/massage therapy: $150,000. ...
  • Coach: $150,000-$200,000. ...
  • Accommodations: $200,000. ...
  • Travel: $150,000-$400,000. ...
  • Caddie: $500,000-$1,000,000.
Sep 30, 2021

How much does it cost to break even on the PGA Tour? ›

For a full year, the consensus is, it costs $30,000 to $45,000 to break even.

Do players who miss the cut get paid? ›

The cut is a predetermined score that separates the top-performing golfers from those who do not qualify to continue playing. Golfers who make the cut usually receive a share of the prize money, while those who miss the cut do not.

What is the average up and down percentage on the PGA Tour? ›

Here is the year 2019 for the PGA Tour, which shows that the average tour player got up and down 59% of the time. Here are some factors that might affect the scrambling statistic. Green speeds and undulation - It is very difficult to get up and down when playing on fast, undulating greens.

Who pays caddies expenses on PGA Tour? ›

First, the caddie receives a regular base salary to work for a player, usually between $1,500 to $3,000 per tournament. This is important because most PGA Tour caddies pay their travel expenses, including lodging, food, etc. The caddie is making financial investments in each tournament played, just the like the player.

Do pro golfers pay travel expenses? ›

Yes, they do. And it can be pretty expensive. Some estimates place the annual expenditures on travel (including room and board) at upwards of $200,000 for a golfer who plays in events worldwide. In addition, pro golfers also have to pay their caddies each week.

How much does the worst player on the PGA Tour make? ›

What about the lowest-paid players? The lowest-ranked PGA Championship contestant generally takes home around $19,000 for the tour, although the most recent last place Championship finisher, David Muttitt, received just a $3,000 payout.

How much does Waste Management pay for golf tournament? ›

The 2023 Waste Management Phoenix Open prize money payout is from the $20 million purse, with 66 professional players who complete four rounds at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Ariz., earning an official-money paycheck this week.

Can you replace a broken club on the PGA Tour? ›

A player is not allowed to replace a damaged club, except when it is damaged during the round by an outside influence or natural forces or by someone other than the player or his or her caddie.

Do caddies get paid if player misses cut? ›

Yes, caddies still get paid even if their player misses the cut. Typically, caddies and their players agree on their base pay for the week. If a player does earn a check, caddies receive between 8-10%.

How much of their winnings do golfers keep? ›

After accounting for these deductions and expenses, golfers may retain anywhere from 50% to 75% of their winnings, although this varies from player to player.

Do PGA players get paid if they don't win? ›

There are some variations and potentially more 'no cut' events to come, but the top 65 and ties in most regular PGA Tour and DP World Tour events make it through to the final two rounds and get paid; the rest earn nothing.

What percentage of 10 foot putts do pros make? ›

At 10 feet, tour professional only make 40 percent of their putts. At 20 feet, a 90's shooter isn't half as good as a scratch golfer, but the difference between a scratch player and a tour pro is a mere 1 percent.

How far down does the PGA pay? ›

PGA Tour Payout Percentages
Finishing Position% of Purse
118.000%
210.900%
36.900%
44.900%
61 more rows
Jun 18, 2023

What percentage of 4 foot putts do pros make? ›

On average PGA Tour pros make 99% of 2-foot putts, 96% of 3-foot putts, 88% of 4-foot putts and 77% of 5-foot putts according to strokes gained pioneer, Mark Broadie.

Do PGA members pay dues? ›

In accordance with tax rules applicable to 501(c) 6 not-for-profit organizations, the PGA of America must collect annual dues.

Do PGA caddies have to pay their own expenses? ›

Minister: In 99 percent of caddie cases, we pay all of our expenses. On a normal week, we have to fly to the event, get to the airport and rent a car. We stay in hotels or rented condos/ homes.

How do PGA Tour players pay taxes? ›

PGA Tour withholds taxes and reports on all income, where required by law.” Golfers and their accountants and advisers know full well that they, too, must mark down the right numbers on the scorecard.

Do PGA players get appearance fees? ›

RELATED: What would a PGA Tour player shoot at your course? Unlike the DP World Tour—where tournaments have dished out seven-figure sums to stars to play in their events—the practice of appearance fees is prohibited by the PGA Tour.

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