Miles Bennett
Professional golfers travel extensively, and their lives are often perceived as glamorous, with exotic locations, flights, and hotels. However, the reality is quite different, with golfers constantly on the move, living out of suitcases, and managing tight budgets. They spend a lot of time travelling by air, road, or both, and their schedules are packed with tournaments and events, leaving little downtime. While some golfers may bring their families or larger teams, others travel alone or with just a caddy, and the associated costs can be high. This insight into the life of a travelling professional golfer sheds light on the challenges and misconceptions surrounding their globetrotting careers.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Nature of travel | Constant travel, with little downtime |
| Transport | Flights, cars |
| Accompanying persons | Caddies, family, significant others, children |
| Accommodation | Hotels, host housing |
| Budget | Varied, some on a tight budget |
| Entertainment | Reading, thinking, viewing |
| Equipment | Golf clubs, equipment changes |
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What You'll Learn
Travel companions
The life of a professional golfer involves a lot of travel, and it is often thought that this travel is luxurious and glamorous. However, this is not always the case. While some golfers do fly by private jet, others are driving long hours to save money instead of flying.
Professional golfers can spend a lot of time travelling alone, but they may also be accompanied by a caddy, swing coach, trainer, personal assistant, physio, personal chef, or their significant other. Some golfers with larger families may bring their children, but this is not common due to the strain of travel on family life.
Some golfers have shared travel hacks to make their journeys more comfortable. PGA Tour pro Tyler McCumber shared a hack to create a personal TV mount using a throw-up bag to hold a phone in place for entertainment on older planes without screens.
Despite the frequent travel, professional golfers maintain strict routines, with early morning starts and a focus on physical activity and practice.
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Transport methods
The life of a professional golfer involves a lot of travel, with a packed schedule of tournaments and events. While it may sound glamorous, it can be tough and exhausting, with players constantly on the move and living out of suitcases.
Air Travel
Professional golfers often fly to tournaments, especially when travelling long distances or coming from another tournament. While some golfers fly privately, others opt for commercial flights. Flying privately offers flexibility and comfort but comes at a high cost, so it is usually reserved for special occasions or when time is a factor.
Ground Transportation
When travelling to nearby locations or moving within a tournament's vicinity, golfers may opt for driving or using a rental car. This can be more cost-effective than flying, especially for shorter distances.
Accommodations
Professional golfers may stay in hotels during their travels, but those on a tight budget might prefer host housing if available. The constant travelling can be challenging, and golfers often have to adapt to living out of suitcases and spending limited time at home.
Support Team
The size of a golfer's support team can vary. Some golfers may travel with a larger entourage, including a caddy, swing coach, trainer, personal assistant, physio, and personal chef. In contrast, others might only bring their caddy or significant other, especially if they are on a tighter budget.
Equipment Transportation
Golf equipment manufacturers usually provide support during tournaments. They may have a tour van on-site for equipment changes and coordinate directly with players regarding adjustments or fixes to their clubs.
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Accommodation
While professional golf is often viewed as a glamorous sport, the reality of life on the road is quite different. The life of a professional golfer involves a lot of travel and a packed schedule, with little downtime. Golfers' incomes can vary widely, and they have many expenses to cover, including travel, accommodation, caddie fees, and tournament entry fees.
Rent Like A Champion is a company that connects professional golfers with local homeowners, providing golfers with a quiet, private rental home near the course. This option allows golfers to stay close to the tournament without the cost of a hotel. It also offers an opportunity for homeowners to earn money by renting out their properties and knowing that their homes will be taken care of.
For those who can afford it, there is the option of bringing a larger entourage, including a personal chef, who can cook for the entire house for the week. However, this is not a common occurrence and is usually only feasible for the biggest tournaments or a handful of times a year.
Professional golfers' busy schedules and frequent travel mean they often have to become accustomed to living out of a suitcase and learning how to do laundry on the go. While the life of a professional golfer may seem glamorous from the outside, it involves a lot of hard work and can be challenging.
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Travel hacks
Professional golfers are often on the road, travelling from city to city and airport to airport. It can be a tough life, with little downtime and a lot of time spent in transit. So, what are some travel hacks that can make life easier for golfers on tour?
One issue that golfers often face is in-flight entertainment, or a lack thereof. PGA Tour players spend a lot of time in the air, and sometimes there are no TV screens in the back of the seats. Tyler McCumber shared a hack to solve this problem:
> "If you’re on an older plane, they won’t have screens. So when your tray goes up, there’s a little notch. So what I do is I take my phone, and I take my case off. I take the throw-up bag, and you put it in your phone case, and put your case back on. So you can hold your phone up, essentially, and then you put the bag [in between the notch and the tray]. That’s how you watch TV. [...] No one likes to hold their phone up for five hours. So you’re looking up and you’ve got your headphones in and pretty much your own display monitor."
Another challenge is doing laundry while travelling. One golfer recommends bringing a travel packet of Tide Detergent to wash clothes in the sink in the hotel bathroom.
For those on a tight budget, driving long hours instead of flying can save money. When host housing is available, take advantage of it.
Finally, it can be helpful to arrive at the tournament location a day or two early to practice and get acclimated to the environment.
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Schedule
The life of a professional golfer is one that is always on the road, with a busy schedule of competing and travelling. A typical week for a PGA Tour player involves flying into town for a tournament, usually arriving 1-2 days early to practice and get accustomed to the environment.
A golfer's schedule is often dictated by their tee times. If they have an early tee time, they will wake up 3 hours beforehand and arrive at the course 2.5 hours before their scheduled start. After the game, they will work on their technique at the range, eat, and then have some downtime to relax and reflect on their performance.
The schedule of a professional golfer can be relentless, with tournaments and events spanning several weeks and requiring constant travel. For example, a golfer might go from Denver to Arizona, to Hawaii, home for a day, then Dallas to Ohio to New Mexico, all within a month. These trips are not vacations, as the golfer needs to focus on recovering their body between games.
Some golfers have a set routine, which can include a regular workout schedule to keep up their strength, stamina, and flexibility. This may involve bringing their coach to tournaments for access to quality coaching during practice rounds. Others may bring a larger entourage, including a caddy, swing coach, trainer, personal assistant, physio, and personal chef. However, this depends on the player's budget and preferences, as some golfers prefer to travel alone or with only their caddy.
While the life of a professional golfer may seem glamorous, it can also be challenging and tiring, requiring dedication to their sport and a well-planned schedule to manage their busy lives.
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Frequently asked questions
Professional golfers are almost always on the road, travelling from one tournament to the next. This means they rarely get to spend time at home.
It is a common misconception that professional golfers travel luxuriously. In reality, they often have to drive long distances to save money instead of flying. They also have to pay for their own travel expenses.
Most golfers travel with their caddies. Some of the bigger names might bring their families, while others travel alone.
Golfers often spend their downtime recovering from the tournament and preparing for the next one. They also work on their course stats and practice their short game at the course.
