Lanny Is Putting Everyone On Blast Today!

[Darth Putter]

from the other end of the scale comes this isolated data point...

 

#100 in 1980 was Jim Nelford with $33,769 (or about $100,000 in 2016 money)

 

#100 in 2016 was Adam Hadwin with $1,067,809

[Darth Putter]

I thought Lanny did have an interesting take when asked about the "toughness" of his era v. today's era.

 

Having to win to make any kind of money then compared to the earnings a player makes today for a top 25

never mind a win. You could see how that might make a player less hungrier, grittier...call it what you want.

 

I think it has already been established that 1) The money those guys were making in the 70's and 80's was pretty good, and 2) You could make very good coin in that era without winning.

 

Here is an interesting little aside: the last golfer to rack up 20 or more top 10 finishes in a PGA TOUR season was Tom Kite, with 21 in 1981. He won only once that season, but he won the money title.

 

If you convert that lone Tom Kite victory in 1981 into a runner-up finish, he likely still wins the money title, but if he doesn't, he certainly finishes no worse than 2nd or 3rd on that season's money list, and I'm sure he had no problems paying his bills.

 

By the way, that's a reference to a ridiculous assertion Lanny Wadkins made on national TV.

 

If Tom finished 2nd at Inverrary, Ray Floyd would have won the money title. What's odd is that Tom did not play in one of the more lucrative tournaments of the year, the TPC. I don't remember why, I would assume illness.

 

Even more odd is the Canadian Open having the second largest purse on tour and the LA Jet Classic in Texas having a larger first place check than any of the majors.

 

The player that finished fifth on the money list and had the most wins with four wound up as Player of the Year, Bill Rogers.

[dlygrisse]

It's easier to win now since Tiger is out and not dominating like Jack did.

 

For heaven's sake people, billiard table courses with cryogenically built, gyroscopically balanced, low spin super balls with Titanium forged, trampoline faced, NASA designed heads on filament wound shafts built with technology learned from crashed alien spacecraft at Roswell are waaaay different than tiny, manly wood on steel and balata balls on courses that modern pros would turn their noses up and have their tasseled loafer media manager craft a social media post to whine about.

 

Haha. That should rile a few more Millenials up.

 

So true! You are so right. You've just tapped into the Legends' mindset. That was a perfect post to demonstrate the folly of the bluehair way of thinking. Kudos, bru!

 

Except even after all the advancement scoring isn't all that much lower. Byron Nelsons all time scoring record stood till Tiger broke it over 50 years later and it still hasn't been re-broken.

 

Courses are tougher today.

 

drn92

 

Yep. So it's all relative. The equipment and the courses even the whole thing out in my opinion.

[dlygrisse]

from the other end of the scale comes this isolated data point...

 

#100 in 1980 was Jim Nelford with $33,769 (or about $100,000 in 2016 money)

 

#100 in 2016 was Adam Hadwin with $1,067,809

 

That's unbelievable. 1/10 of the money adjusted for inflation. They should all thank Tiger every time they cash a check.

[cdnglf]

from the other end of the scale comes this isolated data point...

 

#100 in 1980 was Jim Nelford with $33,769 (or about $100,000 in 2016 money)

 

#100 in 2016 was Adam Hadwin with $1,067,809

 

That's unbelievable. 1/10 of the money adjusted for inflation. They should all thank Tiger every time they cash a check.

 

Every sport saw similar increases.

 

1980 MLB average was $143K ($411K in 2015 dollars, according to the inflation calculator)

2015 MLB average was $4.2M

[Shilgy]

But endorsement money was minuscule then compared to today. Heck, guys just getting through Q-school make more money in endorsements before they ever tee it up in their first tournament than guys on tour did in 5 years.

 

Amana paid a whopping $50 to some select players to wear their hat.

 

There were only 60 spots exempt into tournaments in Lanny's day. I remember the rabbit days of driving from Monday qualifying to Monday qualifying every week. If you made it through the qualifying but missed the cut, you may not eat that week.

 

There was no Web.com / Hogan tour then. You played mini tours (like Goosey's space coast), hustled, or drove to Monday qualifiers.

Hmmm, maybe that is why there are so many more quality players chasing the dream today.

[Shilgy]

It's easier to win now since Tiger is out and not dominating like Jack did.

 

For heaven's sake people, billiard table courses with cryogenically built, gyroscopically balanced, low spin super balls with Titanium forged, trampoline faced, NASA designed heads on filament wound shafts built with technology learned from crashed alien spacecraft at Roswell are waaaay different than tiny, manly wood on steel and balata balls on courses that modern pros would turn their noses up and have their tasseled loafer media manager craft a social media post to whine about.

 

Haha. That should rile a few more Millenials up.

 

So true! You are so right. You've just tapped into the Legends' mindset. That was a perfect post to demonstrate the folly of the bluehair way of thinking. Kudos, bru!

 

Except even after all the advancement scoring isn't all that much lower. Byron Nelsons all time scoring record stood till Tiger broke it over 50 years later and it still hasn't been re-broken.

 

Courses are tougher today.

 

drn92

 

Yep. So it's all relative. The equipment and the courses even the whole thing out in my opinion.

Absolutely they do. Which proves the depth of field talk. The top players scoring average stays about the same. But the sheer number of players that average under 72 is vastly different today.

[cdnglf]

from the other end of the scale comes this isolated data point...

 

#100 in 1980 was Jim Nelford with $33,769 (or about $100,000 in 2016 money)

 

#100 in 2016 was Adam Hadwin with $1,067,809

 

That's unbelievable. 1/10 of the money adjusted for inflation. They should all thank Tiger every time they cash a check.

 

Every sport saw similar increases.

 

1980 MLB average was $143K ($411K in 2015 dollars, according to the inflation calculator)

2015 MLB average was $4.2M

 

Sometimes, even bigger increases.

According to this site, Wimbledon paid 20000 pounds to the men's champion in 1980 and will pay 2.2M this year. And here I thought tennis was "dying"...

 

http://www.totalspor...on-prize-money/

[Ashley Schaeffer]

But endorsement money was minuscule then compared to today. Heck, guys just getting through Q-school make more money in endorsements before they ever tee it up in their first tournament than guys on tour did in 5 years.

 

Amana paid a whopping $50 to some select players to wear their hat.

 

There were only 60 spots exempt into tournaments in Lanny's day. I remember the rabbit days of driving from Monday qualifying to Monday qualifying every week. If you made it through the qualifying but missed the cut, you may not eat that week.

 

There was no Web.com / Hogan tour then. You played mini tours (like Goosey's space coast), hustled, or drove to Monday qualifiers.

Hmmm, maybe that is why there are so many more quality players chasing the dream today.

 

Nope. Can't be. Golf is the only sport in the world where players have gotten worse. Because, uh, they make too much money and hit it too far to be truly great. Back in the day, restaurants literally denied you meals if you missed a cut. Guys had to wear the same underwear for an entire tournament. If they didn't win, they had to fire up a burn barrel to keep warm. They had no choice. There were no options to get a job and buy a four bedroom house in the suburbs for $12,000. They were hungrier for wins. Nowadays, these guys don't even want to win. I know because Lanyard Wilcox said so.

[Shilgy]

from the other end of the scale comes this isolated data point...

 

#100 in 1980 was Jim Nelford with $33,769 (or about $100,000 in 2016 money)

 

#100 in 2016 was Adam Hadwin with $1,067,809

 

That's unbelievable. 1/10 of the money adjusted for inflation. They should all thank Tiger every time they cash a check.

 

Every sport saw similar increases.

 

1980 MLB average was $143K ($411K in 2015 dollars, according to the inflation calculator)

2015 MLB average was $4.2M

 

Sometimes, even bigger increases.

According to this site, Wimbledon paid 20000 pounds to the men's champion in 1980 and will pay 2.2M this year. And here I thought tennis was "dying"...

 

http://www.totalspor...on-prize-money/

Evidently American recreational participation is not the only thing that matters. Like the golf stats mentioned earlier in this thread.

[Roadking2003]

from the other end of the scale comes this isolated data point...

 

#100 in 1980 was Jim Nelford with $33,769 (or about $100,000 in 2016 money)

 

#100 in 2016 was Adam Hadwin with $1,067,809

 

PGA Tour purses have been increasing 200% - 300% per decade since 1960.

[Roadking2003]

from the other end of the scale comes this isolated data point...

 

#100 in 1980 was Jim Nelford with $33,769 (or about $100,000 in 2016 money)

 

#100 in 2016 was Adam Hadwin with $1,067,809

 

That's unbelievable. 1/10 of the money adjusted for inflation. They should all thank Tiger every time they cash a check.

 

Not quite. The rapid increase in prize money started 30 years before Tiger arrived.

 

For example, PGA Championship purses went up 218% during the 1960s.

[Dpavs]

And who has been footing the bill for all these extravagant tournament purses? If you are not sure yet, take a look in the mirror.

IMHO, if all these athletes want to thank someone, perhaps they need to look no further than "Joe Sixpack" the fan. Granted, great athletes draw more fans, but collectively, we end up paying the check.