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Golfing Gossip

by Iain Carter - Five Live golf correspondent (U7103772) 23 May 2007

When you have more money than you will ever need, what do you else do you want? The answer, if you are a professional golfer, is more cash.

There’s one thing that makes the golfing world go round and that is money. Yes, I know, that’s not exactly groundbreaking news but Vijay Singh has offered a refreshingly honest insight into the psyche of the professional game and its love of lucre.

Speaking ahead of the European Tour’s flagship BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, Singh admitted that money is the motive for already filthy rich world stars. He says it has become the driving force of a season and decides which tournaments they play and what clubs they use.

The American season culminates in the FedEx Cup which offers a first prize of $10 million. Singh said: “The FedEx Cup thing has overshadowed the world rankings in the States.”

By the way – and I swear this is true – I was just about to continue with his quote and went to hit the speech mark key on my keyboard just now and accidentally hit the “£” sign – so it’s catching.

Anyway on with what Singh was saying. “They hardly talk about the World Ranking anymore. It is so lopsided in the fact that if you play a lot more tournaments, you lose points, guys do not care about that anymore.”

Singh is saddened that more Americans haven’t followed his example of crossing the Atlantic to play at Wentworth this week. So what would it take to get them here?

“They are so spoiled in the fact that they have so many tournaments over there. The tournament they are playing this week, The Colonial, it’s a huge tournament. The prize fund is almost equal or even bigger than the one here.”

So what’s the figure that might change their minds and play at Wentorth? “I don’t know, make it a $10 million tournament,” Singh admitted.

More astonishingly the man who banked a record $10,905,166 on the PGA Tour in 2004 revealed that players are prepared to let lucrative contracts with club manufacturers have an adverse effect on their game.

“There’s so many new drivers coming out, manufacturers want you to use the latest driver. You get comfortable with one driver and then they come up with a new model and that’s what they are promoting, that’s what you’ve got to use.

“It happens with everybody. I think every guy out there is in the same situation. No matter who you look at they have their manufacturer’s top driver.

“Unless it’s not in the contract then you have to use what they want you to use.”

Singh is one of those with such a deal. He justifies it by saying that the new product might benefit his game. “You never know if it’s better than the one you have already got. We are very greedy; you want the best out of the club.”

But he acknowledges that on many occasions it can backfire in the tournament arena. “Last year I had problems all year with the ‘HiBore’ and at the end of last year I went back to playing with what I used to use and played better with it.”

It’s extraordinary that a player, who has been world number one, has won major championships and record prize money, can be so beholden to a contract that decides the tools of his trade.

But as Singh says, he is no different from his peers. Ultimately they are part of a multi-billion pound industry where the bottom line is all important.

The balance sheet seems to take precedence over the scorecard – that’s the way of the golfing world.

Yet golf is at its most exciting and enthralling at the Ryder Cup. It’s an event that generates vast sums of money for the game but the catalyst is raw competition.

And it’s well worth remembering the players’ jumpers and caps are logo-free and there’s no prize fund. It’s a rare and essential instance where sport trumps business and the game is richer for it.

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comment by AlistairSD (U8441288)

posted May 23, 2007

It may be true for Cleveland but VJ's comment about players being pressured to use the "latest" clubs is simply not true for other manufacturers. I have been at the Titleist test site (Oceanside, California) many times and witnessed players testing new and different clubs - they are under NO pressure to use a certain model - the club fitters look at the metrics and advise the players which club is giving them the best results. That being said; technology is advancing so quickly that the majority of players are choosing the newer models (especially drivers)

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comment by Super-England-4Eva (U5411767)

posted May 23, 2007

'''''''''''''''

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comment by gondwana007 (U3566806)

posted May 23, 2007

Most infamous was Mickelson before the 2004 Ryder Cup, changing his sponsor and clubs two weeks before to pay off gambling debts!!! "Show me the money! Show ME the Money! Show me the MONEY!!!"

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comment by paulmac94 (U8448317)

posted May 24, 2007

Of course Tiger follows the money. The only 'regular' tournaments he plays are the one's involving his sponsors, or else foreign tournaments where he gets a couple of million to turn up. A couple of years ago, when asked about the difference between the Ryder Cup and and World Golf Championship event that was on the week before, he answered "about $1 million".

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comment by Aldermoorkid (U2497305)

posted May 25, 2007

On the subject of equipment ,,, I have been using my 'unlimited' Cobra driver for years now with great success and feel agrieved that I now need to change to a new driver as mine will be illegal come 2008.I'm now on my 3rd attempt at replacing it with a legal one ... cost so far? nearly £500 as far as try before you buy goes, I tried 2 and they seemed fine until a couple of rounds in competitions showed otherwise, anyway hopefully number 3 driver will do it? we'll see.My point at the end of all this is that just why were these drivers banned for club players anyway? .... all it has done is line the pockets of the big club manufacturers and cost everyday club golfers both money and inconvenience.

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comment by bazcrane (U5973174)

posted May 26, 2007

There is important point everyone, or at least most have missed. If we stopped buying golf equipment then manufacturers would lose their strangle hold, for it is they that dictate the game now, and that is wrong. Golf pro's are far too pampered, best set up courses, perfect greens, raked bunkers, best of everything. Lets see them play on a really typical course, like we have to. I bet they would not do quite so well. Let people talk round them, take photos, anything we have to accept, then lets see how well they do.

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comment by littlestevie7 (U6755227)

posted May 26, 2007

Bazcrane, how often do you have people taking photo's of you when you play? I agree with your point though, also, more importantly, the pro's have people to find their ball, a luxury we could all benefit from. Imagine how much time that would take off a round of golf. I think you're wasting your breath trying to stop people buying new golf equipment though, it's the amateurs that need the technology. What I would like to see is the pro's all having to use the same equipment. How about a tournament where everyone had to use old technology like woods actually made out of wood.....imagine!

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comment by miafrika (U2326616)

posted May 27, 2007

don't take this too seriously ... we can see why idiots rule. it's patented clubs for golf, exagerated useless technology for f1 and steriods for bicycle riders. most of us know this ... just people who would otherwise goose-step march up and down on military parades ... it makes me laugh i see how ridiculous these sports people are..... funny thing is and the real sad part is that ... no one is racing to patent and distribute the 5th generation wind mill that is not play play like the many wrong engineering design models i now see being installed in europe ..... it is time for real engineering to sweep across all corners of the world that would benifit all and no more concentrating on monkeys on sport's fields.
returning to golf gary player of south africa has a long time ago spelt it out ... and sense of it all is normality in design of sports equipment and decent dress code. on a personal note when i watch athletics nowadays one is forced to notice genitalia and body parts like a parade of big steroid goons. what more can i say ....... do we have to take this sporting world seroiusly ? and now we also have to see london revamped for what .... why do olympics have to be a business of climate change.... when in honourable fashion we could use the sports facilities that we have already. was rome 60 not good enough ?

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comment by golfermelsmith (U8477514)

posted May 27, 2007

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comment by gullygull (U3792219)

posted May 27, 2007

I won the gold medal at Episkopi Golf Club (Cyprus) today and can't find details anywhere on the BBC website. You'd think they'd cover the major sporting events wouldn't you.

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