Tour Player Sponsorships - $$??

[wannabe]

Anybody know what the typical going rates are these days for PGA Tour player sponsorships? Are they more lucrative than the winnings? Do the sponsorships basically give the players their incomes, and the winnings are just gravy, or is it the other way around? Just curious about how tour players' incomes are put together. On the surface, seems like all the sponsors these guys have would keep most of them floating along pretty smoothly, if there are $ involved with all of them.

[Boyder]

I do not know a lot about the golf sponsorship arena, but I know the fishing industry very well and am told there are a lot of parrelels. It all depends on your record, your marketability and your work ethic. Most pros in the fishing realm start with "product" deals, perhaps with a few entry fees tossed in ... and work their way up from there. Very few make enough on endorsements alone to make a living, so many work as guides (for fishing) or instructors (for golf), sales reps, etc. within the industry. If golf is anything like the fishing industry, getting a good paying sponsorship is way more about what you can do to increase that company's sales than how well you play week in and week out ... but the 2 do go hand in hand for the most part.
To learn more about the trials and tribulations of becoming a golf pro, check out http://www.lifeintherough.com ... Mike has a very informative site and tells it like it is ...