Not a fan of golf but when the Ryder cup starts i can't get enough of it!

I too felt a great affinity with those 14 plucky multi-millionaires knock a ball around in the name of my geographic region.

What has what their wealth got to do with it?

Now in English please.

I find their pseudo beatification nauseating. Simple as. Elitist, horrible sport, they supposedly represent an entire continent(? - not in my name) and whinge for 3 days about pressure when no one made them do it. They should try doing a hard day's graft on the tools before they start bleating.

They've got their multi-millions by being damned good at what they do
Take away the sponsorship deals of the really decent golfers, most pro-golfers don't earn that much.
And don't forget (bar sponsorship), golfers AREN'T paid. They earn.
If footballers play crap, they still walk away with tens of thousands PER WEEK.
If golfers play crap, they go home on a Friday night, with nowt.
If they play crap for a season, they lose their "card", and go back to flogging Mars bars and golf gloves at their own course.
Yes, fantastic golfers get paid extremely well, but the majority earn the amounts of a Championship 2 footballer

I imagine you wont feel any affinity to people who get paid a quarter of a million pounds per year to pass a rugby ball, in the name of YOUR geographical region, on Saturday night, eh, Mr Cynical?

Complete 5h1te

Fair enough if you don't like golf, but you specifically referred to their wealth. As stated above, top level golfers have made their money in perhaps as pure a meritocracy as you'll find in sport. Besides, world class exponents of vastly popular sports are, almost by definition, going to be wealthy. What's the big deal?

And as for their 'bleating' about pressure, I don't think that making reference to the pressures involved in such a high level sporting event is unique to golfers. You'd hear the same from footballers in the World Cup, or cricketers in the Ashes. Though of course it's a matter of opinion whether or not this can be construed as 'whinging'.

They deserve every penny they get.

I wouldn't go out in public, let alone be seen on tele, in white shoes, peaked cap, tartan pants and a checked jumper for any amount of money.

Might have turned up at a few player of the year awards in similar but that was a long time ago.

You Sir are almost like Oscar Wilde in your reposte.

If I need to de-contruct your ramble (maybe as an exercise in helping you contructing a written response)

1) What is the difference between being paid and earn?
2) I never mentioned footballers, you did.
3) They don't lose their card - it's not as simple as you make it seem. I am friends with a European tour journey man.
4) Championship footballers. I refer you to 2).
5) I will feel affinity to the Wire winning but I'm confused my post was I don't feel any affinity to Ryder Cup golfers but then you went off on one widening the argument to football, rugbyleague, the difference bewteen earning and being paid. Then your subsequent post showed your intellect for what it is.

I have no real interest in golf however it is an absolutely huge global industry. The people that play it generally have high incomes and can play for much longer than people can play other sports. So there's a large market of people spending money on membership fees, food and drinks at the courses and golf equipment. It also generates tourism, especially to historic courses. Golf's worth about 13% of the UK's sporting economy.

People often bring up "Golf Management Studies" as an example of a mickey mouse degree but the golf industry is something that gets rich people from all over the world spending money in the UK economy.

At the top end, golf, like football, has a huge TV market not only for selling the broadcast rights but also for advertising space because the target audience is wealthy. Whether or not you think what they do represents hard graft, the elite players create value just by being there. This value boomed when Tiger Woods came around which is why the whole sport was worried when he got into trouble a couple of years back and why they are desperate to make a lot out of Rory McIlroy. Much as we would like RL players to get better paid for what they do, they do not create that much value.

Most people that are employed in the golf industry will not make that much money, pretty much all the benefit of the value the elite players create, goes back to them in earnings. But that is fair really.

Wires 71 on top form.

Outstanding return after a couple of seasons in the doldrums.

I love playing golf.... i can watch the majors and the ryder cup... but the smaller events hold no interest for me.

I certainly don't hold a grudge against the sport because of how much money it makes the top players... that would just be silly.