Opinion & Analysis
How much does it cost to chase the dream of playing pro golf?
The 30-and-under crowd is taking over a sport which once represented a very different demographic.
This particular age group, also affectionately referred to as millennials, tend to show a strong enthusiasm for the occupation of “entrepreneur.” Could this be why so many golfers are now pursuing the dream of playing professionally? The lifestyle closely mimics that of a budding startup–though instead of laying the groundwork for a business, you are marketing a more personal product: your own game.
Not unlike the life of an entrepreneur, there are many expenses associated with the first few years of growth. Life on the mini tour is expensive and doesn’t guarantee returns; if your score isn’t in the red, your bank account most definitely will be. So how much must a player invest in order to chase their dream? The odds are slim, but for those who achieve status as a professional player, the rewards are abundant.
One example of this is Boris Stantchev, a California native who began his professional golf career in 2014. Finances are often a source of anxiety, especially when your income relies heavily on consistent performance in a game that is so often unpredictable.
“I’m currently looking for a sponsor,” Stantchev said. “It’s important to be around the right people when chasing your dream, but those that don’t have a sponsor do what they can to play in as many events as they can afford. I work outside service at the golf course down the street and rely on tip money to help pay for tournaments. It’s a decent way to save money and play some events in the summer months, but it’s not enough income to fund a full schedule.”
Let’s assume our player has a 30-week schedule planned, as well as Qualifying School. We have to factor in memberships to each mini tour that she (or he) plans to join–membership isn’t required, but the price break per tournament is significant. With that in mind, we’ll account for a tournament every other week within our 30-week calendar. Tournament fees range from $250-$850, so 15 tournaments at about $550 a pop sets our budget at $8,250.
Tack on Pre-qualifying, which is the first phase of Q-school. This costs between $2,700 and $3,500 depending on when you sign up, so we’ll be optimistic and plan for the former fee. This brings our total to $10,950. If our player isn’t one of the three percent that will advance through all four stages this year, s/he’ll have to pay the same entry fee on his/her next attempt (ouch).
We’ve paid for our schedule at this point, but what about other living expenses? Rent, food, and access to a gym are a given; so at about $1,000 a month, these bump our budget to $18,450.
Let’s assume that our player gets to practice at a facility free of expense–we need to factor in flights to and from each event, as well as travel fees while they are there. About $250 per flight, plus a car to and from the course, adds up to $5,250. If you have a couch to crash on for half of your events, you need a hotel for the other half — toss in $1,500 for that as well.
When all is said and done, we’ve reached $25,200 for the minimal expenses. Making the cut at most events gets you a check for about $1,400–so your scores need to be consistently solid to break even. The high cost of tour golf doesn’t stop players from pursuing the dream, even if only for a short time. In 2013, 420 players attempted the first stage, and that number continues to grow.
Not to be forgotten are the expenses that are measured through intangible currency: the sacrifice of a life on the road, the emotional stressors that come along with professional athletics, and the choice to be absent for many a family event. Though this paints a rather pessimistic portrait of chasing the tour, there are still many who join in hopes of becoming the next big player.
The beginning of Boris’s journey reflected this dynamic.
“First year was rough, a good wake up call,” Stantchev said. “I was playing my best but what really got me was how competitive it is even out here in the mini tours. I definitely felt underprepared compared to the guys that were constantly around the lead.”
The opportunity to play with the best comes with just as many opportunities for disappointment. According to Boris, the players who succeed are the ones who look past those obstacles and have a short memory of the difficulties they encounter.
“You can shoot 69-70 and miss the cut by a couple of shots in some of these events, that’s just the way it goes,” Stantchev said. “The patient guys are the ones that have the best chance at success…You just never know with this game. If you play well at the right time, it can change your life. It’s important to trust your practice and just go out and keep it simple.”
As the editor-in-chief of this website and an observer of the GolfWRX forums and other online golf equipment discourse for over a decade, I’m pretty well attuned to the grunts and grumbles of a significant portion of the golf equipment purchasing spectrum. And before you accuse me of lording above all in some digital ivory tower, I’d like to offer that I worked at golf courses (public and private) for years prior to picking up my pen, so I’m well-versed in the non-degenerate golf equipment consumers out there. I touched (green)grass (retail)!
Complaints about the ills of and related to the OEMs usually follow some version of: Product cycles are too short for real innovation, tour equipment isn’t the same as retail (which is largely not true, by the way), too much is invested in marketing and not enough in R&D, top staffer X hasn’t even put the new driver in play, so it’s obviously not superior to the previous generation, prices are too high, and on and on.
Without digging into the merits of any of these claims, which I believe are mostly red herrings, I’d like to bring into view of our rangefinder what I believe to be the two primary difficulties golf equipment companies face.
One: As Terry Koehler, back when he was the CEO of Ben Hogan, told me at the time of the Ft Worth irons launch, if you can’t regularly hit the golf ball in a coin-sized area in the middle of the face, there’s not a ton that iron technology can do for you. Now, this is less true now with respect to irons than when he said it, and is less and less true by degrees as the clubs get larger (utilities, fairways, hybrids, drivers), but there remains a great deal of golf equipment truth in that statement. Think about it — which is to say, in TL;DR fashion, get lessons from a qualified instructor who will teach you about the fundamentals of repeatable impact and how the golf swing works, not just offer band-aid fixes. If you can’t repeatably deliver the golf club to the golf ball in something resembling the manner it was designed for, how can you expect to be getting the most out of the club — put another way, the maximum value from your investment?
Similarly, game improvement equipment can only improve your game if you game it. In other words, get fit for the clubs you ought to be playing rather than filling the bag with the ones you wish you could hit or used to be able to hit. Of course, don’t do this if you don’t care about performance and just want to hit a forged blade while playing off an 18 handicap. That’s absolutely fine. There were plenty of members in clubs back in the day playing Hogan Apex or Mizuno MP-32 irons who had no business doing so from a ballstriking standpoint, but they enjoyed their look, feel, and complementary qualities to their Gatsby hats and cashmere sweaters. Do what brings you a measure of joy in this maddening game.
Now, the second issue. This is not a plea for non-conforming equipment; rather, it is a statement of fact. USGA/R&A limits on every facet of golf equipment are detrimental to golf equipment manufacturers. Sure, you know this, but do you think about it as it applies to almost every element of equipment? A 500cc driver would be inherently more forgiving than a 460cc, as one with a COR measurement in excess of 0.83. 50-inch shafts. Box grooves. And on and on.
Would fewer regulations be objectively bad for the game? Would this erode its soul? Fortunately, that’s beside the point of this exercise, which is merely to point out the facts. The fact, in this case, is that equipment restrictions and regulations are the slaughterbench of an abundance of innovation in the golf equipment space. Is this for the best? Well, now I’ve asked the question twice and might as well give a partial response, I guess my answer to that would be, “It depends on what type of golf you’re playing and who you’re playing it with.”
For my part, I don’t mind embarrassing myself with vintage blades and persimmons chasing after the quasi-spiritual elevation of a well-struck shot, but that’s just me. Plenty of folks don’t give a damn if their grooves are conforming. Plenty of folks think the folks in Liberty Corner ought to add a prison to the museum for such offences. And those are just a few of the considerations for the amateur game — which doesn’t get inside the gallery ropes of the pro game…
Different strokes in the game of golf, in my humble opinion.
Anyway, I believe equipment company engineers are genuinely trying to build better equipment year over year. The marketing departments are trying to find ways to make this equipment appeal to the broadest segment of the golf market possible. All of this against (1) the backdrop of — at least for now — firm product cycles. And golfers who, with their ~15 average handicap (men), for the most part, are not striping the golf ball like Tiger in his prime and seem to have less and less time year over year to practice and improve. (2) Regulations that massively restrict what they’re able to do…
That’s the landscape as I see it and the real headwinds for golf equipment companies. No doubt, there’s more I haven’t considered, but I think the previous is a better — and better faith — point of departure when formulating any serious commentary on the golf equipment world than some of the more cynical and conspiratorial takes I hear.
Agree? Disagree? Think I’m worthy of an Adam Hadwin-esque security guard tackle? Let me know in the comments.
@golfoncbs The infamous Adam Hadwin tackle ? #golf #fyp #canada #pgatour #adamhadwin ? Ghibli-style nostalgic waltz – MaSssuguMusic
Episode #16 brings us Cliff McKinney. Cliff is the founder of Old Charlie Golf Club, a new club, and concept, to be built in the Florida panhandle. The model is quite interesting and aims to make great, private golf more affordable. We hope you enjoy the show!
Last week, I came across a reel from BBC Sport on Instagram featuring Scottie Scheffler speaking to the media ahead of The Open at Royal Portrush. In it, he shared that he often wonders what the point is of wanting to win tournaments so badly — especially when he knows, deep down, that it doesn’t lead to a truly fulfilling life.
View this post on Instagram
“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport,” Scheffler said. “To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point?”
Ironically — or perhaps perfectly — he went on to win the claret jug.
That question — what’s the point of winning? — cuts straight to the heart of the human journey.
As someone who’s spent over two decades in the trenches of professional golf, and in deep study of the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the game, I see Scottie’s inner conflict as a sign of soul evolution in motion.
I came to golf late. I wasn’t a junior standout or college All-American. At 27, I left a steady corporate job to see if I could be on the PGA Tour starting as a 14-handicap, average-length hitter. Over the years, my journey has been defined less by trophies and more by the relentless effort to navigate the deeply inequitable and gated system of professional golf — an effort that ultimately turned inward and helped me evolve as both a golfer and a person.
One perspective that helped me make sense of this inner dissonance around competition and our culture’s tendency to overvalue winning is the idea of soul evolution.
The University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies has done extensive research on reincarnation, and Netflix’s Surviving Death (Episode 6) explores the topic, too. Whether you take it literally or metaphorically, the idea that we’re on a long arc of growth — from beginner to sage elder — offers a profound perspective.
If you accept the premise literally, then terms like “young soul” and “old soul” start to hold meaning. However, even if we set the word “soul” aside, it’s easy to see that different levels of life experience produce different worldviews.
Newer souls — or people in earlier stages of their development — may be curious and kind but still lack discernment or depth. There is a naivety, and they don’t yet question as deeply, tending to see things in black and white, partly because certainty feels safer than confronting the unknown.
As we gain more experience, we begin to experiment. We test limits. We chase extreme external goals — sometimes at the expense of health, relationships, or inner peace — still operating from hunger, ambition, and the fragility of the ego.
It’s a necessary stage, but often a turbulent and unfulfilling one.
David Duval fell off the map after reaching World No. 1. Bubba Watson had his own “Is this it?” moment with his caddie, Ted Scott, after winning the Masters.
In Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, reflecting on his 2011 Super Bowl win, Rodgers said:
“Now I’ve accomplished the only thing that I really, really wanted to do in my life. Now what? I was like, ‘Did I aim at the wrong thing? Did I spend too much time thinking about stuff that ultimately doesn’t give you true happiness?’”
Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
Eventually, though, something shifts.
We begin to see in shades of gray. Winning, dominating, accumulating—these pursuits lose their shine. The rewards feel more fleeting. Living in a constant state of fight-or-flight makes us feel alive, yes, but not happy and joyful.
Compassion begins to replace ambition. Love, presence, and gratitude become more fulfilling than status, profits, or trophies. We crave balance over burnout. Collaboration over competition. Meaning over metrics.
Interestingly, if we zoom out, we can apply this same model to nations and cultures. Countries, like people, have a collective “soul stage” made up of the individuals within them.
Take the United States, for example. I’d place it as a mid-level soul: highly competitive and deeply driven, but still learning emotional maturity. Still uncomfortable with nuance. Still believing that more is always better. Despite its global wins, the U.S. currently ranks just 23rd in happiness (as of 2025). You might liken it to a gifted teenager—bold, eager, and ambitious, but angsty and still figuring out how to live well and in balance. As much as a parent wants to protect their child, sometimes the child has to make their own mistakes to truly grow.
So when Scottie Scheffler wonders what the point of winning is, I don’t see someone losing strength.
I see someone evolving.
He’s beginning to look beyond the leaderboard. Beyond metrics of success that carry a lower vibration. And yet, in a poetic twist, Scheffler did go on to win The Open. But that only reinforces the point: even at the pinnacle, the question remains. And if more of us in the golf and sports world — and in U.S. culture at large — started asking similar questions, we might discover that the more meaningful trophy isn’t about accumulating or beating others at all costs.
It’s about awakening and evolving to something more than winning could ever promise.
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D
Mar 28, 2018 at 12:24 pm
Not even in the ballpark with a ~$25k estimate. You need have at least ~$50k to start each year and that’s if you can keep living costs at an absolute minimum by living with family etc. Which could add another $20k onto your costs.
DW
Mar 28, 2018 at 12:09 pm
7 years mini-tour experience
50k-60k minimum costs. Anything less is a pipe dream.
leo vincent
Mar 26, 2018 at 5:42 pm
The expenses in the article were for a 15 tournament schedule.Not really enough to be fully prepared.Fought this grind for many years back when the Hooter’s tour was big.Throw in some monday tour and Web.com qualifiers and expenses $5000 a month bare minimum living with 3 other guys in a cheap house.A lot of fun and adventure but no fortunes were being made.There is still Champions tour q school to look forward to. Some dreams never die they just run out of time
Ben
Mar 23, 2018 at 6:32 pm
I need to know where this guy is living in California if he’s getting living expenses etc for $1k
Michael
Mar 22, 2018 at 6:17 am
In my job, I meet guys from mini tours once in a while trying to help them with their equipment. Most of the time, it takes just one session to know, if they can make it or not. In Europe, the expenses for playing the Pro Tour (Mini Tour compareable to e.g. Latina America Tour) are already pretty high, since travel cost will kill you. You have to fly to different countries, get used to different food, and you make next to nothing, even if you make the cut. Only top 5 finishers make a reasonable amount and only top 2 will have enough to cover their expenses for the tournament week.
It’s a tough life and you better be prepared to go that route. It can be rewarding in the end, but you need talent, mental sanity and money to cover you.
Best of luck to all of those who give it a shot.
Todd Richards
Mar 19, 2018 at 1:20 pm
Who’s getting rent, food and living expenses for $1,000 a month? lol Not in California for sure…and not even in the sticks of central Florida I can vouch for that!!
stephenf
Mar 10, 2018 at 8:56 pm
I wasn’t aware that anybody really did this without a sponsor or group of sponsors. Without that, and without a good player-sponsor agreement to allow for significant time out there — how could that be less than at least two or three years? — I don’t know how anybody does this.
ual to airfare estimated.
Mar 10, 2018 at 11:52 am
First off, you left out the cost for a caddy throughout the timeframe you based the costs on. Also, the estimated costs for travel and travelre=lated expenses are very low. I would guess the real number is close to double even being conservative. Even if a person drives to events during the off week there would be expenses much higher than your low airfare estimate.
Gary
Mar 10, 2018 at 8:46 am
Money isn’t what stops dreams of PGA Tour level golf, it’s skill. What is the lowest score you ever posted on a course without a clown’s mouth? If it isn’t in the low 60s you must get better. Golf becomes your job so your enjoyment of it will go down and the frustration it causes will explode. Add in the financial pressures and there better be some success just to keep your sanity. Playing in the best amateur events you can will help you see where the top talent is. I’m too old now but 20-25-30 years ago my handicap was low single digit and about once a year I entered one of those serious amateur events and got my butt kicked. It’s the guy who wins the state amateur tournament who has a shot. It’s the guy who shoots 66 on a course set up for tough tournament golf who has a shot. My opinion, chase the dream when you’re young and work at it but be realistic about your chances. You will need to win events, not just be top 10, win. Every sport tells players if they can make it as a pro. Golf is no exception.
stephenf
Mar 12, 2018 at 10:30 pm
You’re right in most cases, but to see this as absolute would’ve kept Tom Kite off the tour, and at one point he was the leading money-winner in history.
It has to do with type of game as much as how many times you’ve shot in the low 60s. Some, like Kite, didn’t shoot a lot of mega-low scores but had the kind of 69s and 68s that would travel. And boy, did they.
But your overall point about it having to do with skill rather than money is mostly true. It’s hard to find examples of guys who were legitimately good enough but who never got a chance because the money wasn’t there. It’s all about sponsors. I don’t think anybody really does it even at minor-league level for any amount of time without sponsors.
Craig
Mar 18, 2018 at 7:41 pm
While the ability to shoot low/mid 60’s is a prerequisite, there are a lot of players who could do that and have been chewed up and spat out. There are so many factors, from opportunity, luck, work ethic, mental toughness.
tim
Mar 9, 2018 at 9:15 pm
knew an instructor in Florida that spent 70k a year on the mini tours and after 2 years had to call it quits with 140k in debt.
Axel
Mar 9, 2018 at 6:56 pm
You’re unfortunately way conservative in your estimates. I had to make 60 grand per year to cover myself. I never had a sponsor, but if I did, I would have needed much more than 50 grand per year. You don’t need this pile of money at once, but you’ll spend that much by December. If you want to live with your parents forever, then maybe a bit less. Meek some cuts and build up that bankroll.
GolfCodeWeekly.com
Mar 9, 2018 at 5:00 pm
It must be seriously hard to give up
I play golf still and think tomorrow I will play just a little better, for these guys just a little better could mean their lives taking a totally different trajectory if they can build on it. Fact is most cannot, there is simply not enough room at the top.
I am glad I have never been good enough to be as close to the PGA Tour as peope who you are writing about, their lives must suck telling people no i am not rich each time they say they play golf for a living
Please let me know what you think of our blog (30 days old~)
Jon
Mar 9, 2018 at 11:18 am
Also, many of those mini tour players are playing in many Web.com Monday qualifyiers at $500 a pop
Jon
Mar 9, 2018 at 11:16 am
Most mini tour events (that you are making $1400 if you make the cut) are $1000 to $1600 entry fees. I think your numbers are way off
JM
Mar 9, 2018 at 6:01 am
You also forgetting the additional $2,500 after you make it past pre-qualifying. You can’t go to first stage without paying the other half of Q-school.
Zac
Mar 8, 2018 at 4:15 pm
Adams tour events are $1,000. And $1,300 if you’re not a member of that tour. I think $850 for winter series events.
baddomes
Mar 8, 2018 at 10:42 am
Where is Rent/Food/Gym membership only $1,000/month?
Rick
Mar 8, 2018 at 11:56 pm
if you dont have to commute locally for work you can get a cheap one bedroom apartment way out in a suburb or just a standalone small town for very cheap. There is also no requirement to live in an expensive state if, again, your “job” is all over the place. $1000 is easily doable, but you won’t be living in a luxury loft on main street.
emil
Mar 8, 2018 at 8:16 am
Playing the game of golf full time stunts one’s intelligence. It is not an activity that will grow your brain for a real job. We see all the successes earning million$$$, but not the many who have failed and remain childish and empty.
Axel
Mar 9, 2018 at 7:01 pm
Sounds like someone’s jealous of others. If you have the balls, tee one of them up. You never know what’s on the other side.
James T
Mar 7, 2018 at 4:35 pm
Way to ruin the dream Hannah! Actually a good, realistic article. You’d better be dam good and mentally mature at the same time to even consider a pro tour golf career. When I was a kid in St. Louis and the #1 player on my high school golf team I had this same dream. After graduation I picked up and moved to Miami so I could play year ’round. I played or practiced every day, hooked up with some very good players, lost some bets. Discovered my limitations. But at least I can say, when I become old, that I gave it a shot. Nobody can take that away from me. Nevertheless I went on to play college golf on a full athletic scholarship and am now an amateur with a 2.8 handicap. Life is good.
kevin
Mar 9, 2018 at 9:38 am
i think a large majority of guys trying to make it know deep down they’ll never make it and it doesn’t take long for them to figure it out, but they simply want to be able to say they gave it a shot. no regrets.