As we hurtle towards 2025 and a Ryder Cup year for golf, there’s already plenty of discussion about the event and some of it is not so positive.
News this week of the surging ticket prices – around $750 – has caused quite the stir in the game.
Indeed, the PGA of America has also moved to defend those prices, likening the event to the Super Bowl or the World Series to justify their hike in pricing.
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Of course, we know players don’t get paid for playing, albeit there are suggestions each American player will get $200,000 to put to a charity and also contributions to pensions.
Still, the pricing has not been well received in the main and according to former player Smylie Kaufman, the PGA of America have created a fresh issue for themselves now.
Smylie Kaufman highlights fresh Ryder Cup problem after ticket pricing complaints
Speaking on the latest episode of his Smylie Show podcast, Kaufman got onto the subject of the ticket prices at the Ryder Cup and the subsequent lack of pay for players competing.
And according to Kaufman, charging so much without paying the players could cause an issue.
“I saw the reasoning but he basically equated or tried to say that the Ryder Cup is a bucket list event for a lot of people. Yeah it is. But at a time that we are trying to grow the game it seems silly to me that we are this high up for ticket prices,” Kaufman said.
“The biggest issue with have from a player’s stand point is that you know where I stand on whether players should get paid or not. I do think players should get paid for playing the Ryder Cup.
“I still feel like you can toe the I’m playing for my country but it’s such a revenue generator. If you are charging $750 a head, how are you supposed to say to the players come on down, we are putting on a great event and you are not going to get paid a dollar.
“I know every single player would do anything in the world to play in this event. They don’t need the money. But it’s hard to say. They are making so much money, what is giving a player 100 grand in cash going to do? It’s not going to change their bottom line too much.”
Golf pricing out the average fan
The powers that be can say all they want about it being a premium event and comparing it to other world-renowned sporting spectacles.
But the fact remains here that they are simply pricing out the average golfer from being able to attend what for many is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
The pricing of the tickets is absurd and for them to come out and defend shows how out of touch some really are at the top level of certain sports.
Sure, they’re entitled to charge a good fee and will want the event to make money.
But with golf played by millions around the world from all walks of life, this feels like a step back to when golf was considered a sport for the upper-classes only.
In terms of own goals, this is right up there.
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