As Tom Petty might say, amateur golf is heading into the great wide open.
Starting on Jan. 1, the USGA and R&A will implement new Rules of Amateur Status that reflect the modern game better. Under this new structure an amateur can receive money to cover expenses with no restrictions, can earn prize money up to $1,000 in “scratch” competitions and could profit without limitation from his or her name, image and likeness.
It draws a distinct line between the definition of a professional and amateur player.
Essentially, every golfer is an amateur outside of the abundantly obvious. You can’t play golf competitions as a professional, make a living as a club pro or maintain membership in a professional golf association. With some exceptions, giving a golf lesson for money is also prohibited.
The only other way to cross over the amateur lines is to accept a prize beyond the new limits, but those limits are far more relaxed than in the past.
Cash prizes aren’t allowed in competitions that use handicaps, but us weekend hackers are satisfied with our pair of golf shoes we get at a member-guest. This really doesn’t affect the recreational golfer in the slightest.
However, for all other tee-to-hole competitions, players have gone from only being able to accept prizes valued at $750 or less to being able to accept cash prizes up to $1,000 and any other type of prize that is valued beyond that.
Want to go to your local restaurant and sign a partnership that says you will sport their logo in exchange for your travel costs to be paid for? It’s a possibility.
There is also no limit to earning money or other prizes in long-drive competitions, a hole-in-one contest where the hole is at least 50 yards long, gambling at your home club or anything else of that nature.
There’s little to no ambiguity left between amateurs and professionals. In keeping with that theme, players will no longer be able to show up at an event as a professional, miss the cut and then show up at their next event as an amateur.
If you enter an event as a professional, even if you don’t earn money, you will have to wait at least six months to be reinstated for amateur golf. That is down from the one-year minimum that used to exist if you turned pro by earning money in an event. This is mostly a nod to ex-club pros or those who only briefly entered professional golf. For other players who spent more time competing as a professional, they still will need to go through their personal waiting period until they can be reinstated.
That’s about it. There’s fine print you can find here, but the rules have eliminated the lion’s share of confusion that used to linger with amateur status.
It’s wide open now. Want to go to your local restaurant and sign a partnership that says you will sport their logo in exchange for your travel costs to be paid for? It’s a possibility. And wouldn’t that be nice if you are a mid-am who, in some cases, has to pay several thousand dollars to go to the U.S. Mid-Amateur or another week-long national tournament.
Want to operate an amateur event where you try to lure the top players by taking care of all expenses while also awarding a full purse where $1,000 goes to the winner? That’s on the table.
To gain a better sense of what these changes will mean, Global Golf Post interviewed a variety of stakeholders in the amateur game. The unanimous opinion is that this decision was necessary and provides much-desired clarity, but the ultimate effects are still far from known.
“This is an appropriate response to a changing landscape and it’s a natural progression of the game,” said Sunnehanna Amateur co-chairman John Yerger. “But the question is, where does this end? And I don’t think anyone fully understands where it’s going to go.”
What’s clear is that the elite amateur game will be impacted the most.
The rule changes largely align with the NCAA lifting name, image and likeness bans this past July. The USGA allowed NIL opportunities for college golfers beginning this summer in anticipation of this announcement, and several participants came to the U.S. Amateur, for example, sporting logos from sponsors.
Stanford sophomore Rachel Heck, the reigning women’s NCAA champion, has already announced a signing with Excel Sports and well-known agent Mark Steinberg so she can explore NIL opportunities.
That is one near-certain effect: High-ranking amateurs likely will sign with agents earlier than they once had.
“I think this will just accelerate the process top players will go through to pick management,” said Stanford men’s golf coach Conrad Ray.
But there are major questions in the NIL space as the governing bodies have officially stepped out of the way to let the free market reign.
What role will manufacturers play? College players typically play the equipment of their choosing even if their school has a relationship with a specific equipment manufacturer. Many players have promotional arrangements with brands starting as juniors – this has been accepted in the past based on golfers of “skill and reputation” being able to accept free equipment.
These relationships can be fruitful. TaylorMade’s long-lasting bond with Collin Morikawa since he was 14 years old has journeyed from his junior days through his college career and into his pro pursuits as a two-time major champion. The brand similarly signed Haskins Award winner John Pak earlier this year based on another long relationship.
But now, the door is open for manufacturers to pay players in actual cash. TaylorMade chief executive officer David Abeles has signaled that his company will be aggressive in this space as his brand wants to establish even stronger ties. TaylorMade already is paying NIL money to a few top amateurs in the game.
Those interviewed said that, overall, equipment companies have yet to make a major splash in the NIL department to this point, but it’s something to watch for.
This will need to be monitored for an important reason: Many schools already have relationships with a specific manufacturer, and the thought has crossed more than one person’s mind that those companies could sign junior golfers with the intent of persuading them to a college program they endorse, similar to the way AAU programs have funneled players to a college basketball program that shares the same apparel sponsor. The personal preferences of golf equipment may prevent that from becoming a common practice, but it is still a valid concern.
Meanwhile, one of the other avenues for NIL may not be as explored as one would think.
Brand logos on apparel – a standby in golf marketing for ages – will happen, but it seems to be limited to the summer amateur schedule or sponsor exemptions during professional tournaments. Although college golf continues to get more broadcast airtime, a company’s logo is generally not permitted on college apparel because of licensing issues. The same issue holds true for the Walker Cup and the Curtis Cup, two of the rare televised amateur events that have set uniforms.
So, during the college season, NIL deals may be more limited.
“Right now, the way it stands is (our players are) Stanford student-athletes who can’t really capitalize on NIL until you’re playing summer golf, other than maybe social media endorsements,” Ray said. “But people want their logo out there too, so it’s kind of this weird time when you’ll change uniforms from a Stanford uniform to being out there with company logos on your sleeve.”
The future of that dynamic could change. One case being followed is BYU football’s relationship with Built Bar, a protein bar company that is paying full tuition costs for walk-on players while also entering into a relationship with all other players on the team. Players who sign wear the company’s logo on their helmets during practice and help the company with other promotions.
The athletic department itself helped set up the deal with Built Bar, which already was a sponsor of the program before the new NIL rules. This arrangement would be illegal in some states, but NIL laws are incongruent at the moment. Only slightly more than half of states have passed NIL laws. Utah, where BYU is, does not have such a law. In those cases, the NCAA has asked schools to come up with their own policy as long as money isn’t used as a recruitment inducement.
It is easy to see complications. How schools get involved in NIL could be the biggest factor for college golf – meaning team-wide deals with sponsors – but that is still yet to play itself out.
“The reality is that if you go play a high-level amateur schedule, most tournaments are providing amazing free meals and housing and a bunch of transportation anyway.”
Conrad Ray
Without team-wide deals it’s tough to tell if only the most elite amateurs will profit from the new NIL arrangement or if benefits will reach more college golfers. JC Deacon, the head men’s golf coach at the University of Florida, says he hasn’t seen activity with his players yet but he’s imploring them to market themselves in creative ways.
“It’s going to help prepare them for professional golf if they have responsibilities with companies or sponsors,” Deacon said. “They get to put a little cash in their pocket during a time in life when they are so busy playing golf and going to school that they don’t have a lot of time to make money. … When I played pro golf and I made mistakes that started costing me money, that’s when I really started learning. So, this can help my guys, too.”
How much each of these factors impact the college game is uncertain. Many believe players will stay in school longer because there could be less financial stress if they have a revenue stream that reduces travel expenses. In recruiting, the rich could get richer. If the Oklahoma States of the world have players establishing NIL deals, that’s just one more incentive to play there.
Beyond NIL, there are more fascinating aspects to the new Rules of Amateur Status. One of them is the opportunity for amateurs to earn prize money in amateur events.
Undoubtedly it will happen. Jeff Magaditsch, the executive director of the Florida State Golf Association, even suggested the potential for some Allied Golf Associations to investigate an amateur golf cash series open to the average competitor – but don’t expect the flood gates to open where every tournament is offering cash prizes.
“Someday that may happen, but I don’t think it will happen anytime soon,” Yerger said.
“The tournaments quite frankly, we’re looking to use the limited funds we have, and is that what we’re going to devote them to? Or are we going to devote them to issues like travel and getting player expenses down? We’re going to air on the side of the latter, not the former.”
Ray made the point that amateur tournaments are already supporting players financially and don’t need to pay players.
“The reality is that if you go play a high-level amateur schedule, most tournaments are providing amazing free meals and housing and a bunch of transportation anyway,” Ray said. “That adds up pretty quick. There’s definitely $1,000 worth of benefits coming people’s way already. It is a change, but from my scope and seeing what the top college players deal with, I don’t think it’s majorly significant.”
There is an assumption that most junior golfers come from wealthy families, but it’s simply not the case. Rose Zhang, the sensational Stanford freshman, and Maxwell Moldovan of Ohio State both won AJGA Player of the Year honors recently while being ACE Grant recipients who needed help with funding to play events.
Keeping travel costs down is a major factor. The AJGA is reducing membership and qualifier costs to make its tournaments more accessible, and the ACE Grant program has surpassed $5 million for expense assistance. A total of $500,000 will be going to 220 kids this year alone.
“If we’re reducing revenues, it’s going to be difficult to start thinking about cash prizes,” said AJGA chief executive officer Stephen Hamblin.
Hamblin noted that there is no age limit on the new rules, so the hope is that the change can help reduce travel expenses for players beyond the ACE Grant program. Just like there are banners of family-run businesses in the outfield for a Little League game, a junior could have similar sponsorship opportunities that give them enough money to travel.
This is particularly an issue when you consider some countries have national programs that provide travel, equipment, and other resources. For those not on those teams, there is not the same access.
What a young player can earn back thanks to the relaxed rules may only be a fraction of what national team members get, but at least it is something.
“I think they’ve addressed some things that have been an issue for a while and that’s the inequity you have with certain countries having national teams and providing funding for their teams, covering costs and expenses,” Hamblin said. “My initial take on this is that it kind of levels the playing field for an individual who may not be on a national team. We don’t have one in the U.S., so that’s very applicable to us as a country. Now kids can earn a few dollars and help cover a variety of expenses to play national-level golf.”
How it all will play out remains a mystery. But there appears to be broad agreement that it could make the game better.
Steve Melnyk, the former U.S. Amateur champion, remembers growing up and not being able to play much high-level amateur golf because finances were an issue. Back in 1970, he asked for a meeting with the USGA and had about 10 other players backing him. They wanted to challenge the amateur rules, hoping to get help with travel expenses so the playing field could be leveled.
“I never felt so stupid in my life to try and make an impassioned plea to a group of guys who wouldn’t listen to me,” Melnyk said.
It took a long time to get there, but they are listening now and the amateur golf community is free to say what it wants.
What type of sound it makes is still up for interpretation.
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