PGA Tour player Ben Griffin recently took to TikTok to share what it’s like being a professional golfer.

In one of his latest videos, Griffin gives fans some insight as to the expenses involved in being a PGA Tour player.

In a recent sitdown with Griffin, I asked him about his activity on TikTok and why he decided to begin sharing on the platform.

Speaking to GolfWRX, here’s what he had to say:

“A lot of this year, with the help of my girlfriend Dana, we’ve kind of entered the TikTok space a little bit just because a lot of players haven’t. You see Min Woo Lee posting his swing videos, but we kind of use TikTok as an opportunity to show kind of an inside look at what it’s like to be a PGA Tour player.

“We did a lot of day-in-the-life videos throughout the summer and last spring, and a lot of people liked them. And I’ve kind of made it a mission for me to use TikTok as a way to give people just an inside look.” 

“I had some friends ask me about what it’s like traveling on Tour, what the different experiences are, what’s given, what’s not, and I figured why not put it into a TikTok.”

The 27-year-old’s videos have gotten plenty of views, but none of them have gotten as many as the video where he breaks down the expenses of being on tour. Griffin wanted people to realize that being a professional isn’t all the glitz and glamour that it appears to be at times.

“This week is everyone flying together on a private jet going over to Rome and competing. And for some players, that’s kind of how it is on a week-to-week basis. Other players are kind of on their own and figuring things out. And I am obviously in a very privileged place to be able to play on the PGA Tour and have access to certain things. But I’m a business owner, and I’m trying to be as smart as I can with my money and try to save as much as I can, even though I can write off a whole lot of stuff being a golfer.

“I created the ‘player expenses’ kind of TikTok to showcase what my expenses are every week, whether it be how much I pay my caddie, how much hotels are, we go to some of the nicest places in the US primarily, and we’re at the peak seasons at each of these cities and destinations we go to.”

The former North Carolina Tar Heel concluded that most golfers are spending a minimum of $6,000 a week in order to compete on Tour. The expenses include paying caddies, tipping, hotels, airfare, and food.

“So, hotels are always expensive more than generally, and as a player, we kind of face that on our own. Now we get to play for a lot of money, and there’s a lot of really good times, but sometimes you might miss a few cuts and you kind of feel it in your pocket, so it really helps to, I’m very fortunate to have sponsors and people that believe in me and have supported me, and I’m in an awesome position financially to be able to afford some of these things, and I’m very blessed.

“But the reality is that guys on tour are spending at least five, $6,000 a week, and a lot of guys are a lot more. I’m pretty much, I don’t have a family. I don’t have kids or anything like that, so it cuts costs down for me a little bit, but other guys are having their physical therapists with them every week, and prices can kind of go up from there.”

“When players are fighting for their livelihood on a week-to-week basis, there’s undoubtedly a great deal of stress on the players who aren’t yet established financially. Griffin agreed that it can be “very stressful” and said that “when you’re struggling, you can kind of feel it a little bit.”

“I mean, it can be very stressful and, especially at the bottom level below the PGA Tour because the Korn Ferry Tour, it’s not like they’re going to super remote areas. They do sometimes, but they start off the year going to the Bahamas and other places.

“And on that Tour, you’ve got guys that literally have $0 in their bank account, and they’re trying to figure out how they can get to the Bahamas. And you mentioned it being a vacation. Yeah, you’re paying for your vacation, but you’re also paying for your caddie’s vacation, in a way.” 

“A lot of the events that are on islands are more expensive. Players are generally giving their caddies more money to cover those expenses, so you’re paying for that and, on top of that, girlfriend, wife, family. So, it can get very expensive quick, but that’s the thing about the sport, it’s high reward, but also when you’re struggling, you can kind of feel it a little bit.”

Griffin has an incredibly unique story. He chose to step away from golf in 2021 to be a loan officer in North Carolina. Just a few years later, he qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs and finished 24th at the FedEx St. Jude.

“It was more different then. I was really at the bottom level. I mean, I wasn’t even on the Korn Ferry Tour. I had my card for a little bit in 2019, but 2020 was all mini-tour golf, and it started in 2021.

“I wasn’t having to pay for a caddie because at that level of golf when you’re below the Korn Ferry Tour, you don’t even pay for a caddie. You kind of carry your own clubs. At most tournaments, they don’t require you to, and they almost have to because if you had to have a caddie on the mini-tour level, it’d be impossible to cover expenses or make any sort of money.” 

“So yeah, I’d say back when I was working, it was more just a little bit of burnout. There was definitely financial strain, and that comes from being at a minor league of professional golf being many tours, and you see it in other sports too…”

After a great rookie season on the PGA Tour, Griffin will be looking to build off of his success and capture his first PGA Tour win. He’ll be teeing it up in the fall series and is set to play at this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson.