"A major winner tells the difference between a good agent and a bad one"

by McLaren Fri May 09, 2014 5:41 pm

It seems Kwini was correct and the undercover pro is in fact a different golfer every time. Here Mr.X admits to being a major winner and talks about agents.

Mr.X (undercover pro) wrote:

I've won a major. Most would say I'm in the prime of my career, but more and more I wonder what I'll be doing 10 years from now. That's why I'm paying stricter attention to business. The value of my brand has gone up, so I'm no longer content to have an agent who keeps me in the dark financially.

When I first turned pro, I signed with one of the major management firms. My agent took care of everything, so I had no worries other than playing golf. He helped me get into tournaments because the firm also represented several star players, and so he'd leverage their appearances to get me inmake us a package deal. But the attention I received from my agent was directly related to how I played, like I was a number. When I made the move to a smaller firm, it was comfortable knowing I was their guy no matter if I was in a slump or on a streak.

My current agent is a perfect fit. He books my flights, hotels and airport pickups. That's little stuff, but week in and week out it can wear you down. At tournaments, he or one of his associates is with me almost always. When you're a marquee player, you need someone to fend off media and everyone who wants to shake hands or take a picture. I'm not good at saying no. Not to sound like a jerk, but Tuesday and Wednesday are preparation days, and I need two to three hours outside the time I spend on the course. I've got to register, go to the equipment truck to get my gear tuned, and put in practice time.

I crunched the numbers. Last year all my sponsor events, photo shoots, media interviews, dinners and charity outings added up to a full month. A conservative estimate, because this doesn't include travel time. This year I'm cutting back on corporate activity by a week. Still, I like that my agent constantly brings me stuff to turn down. That tells me he's working hard.

The agents who don't work hard are sometimes the same guys seen at every tournament. A mid-tier player more likely needs his agent back in the home office, not sipping lemonades on the club veranda. The market has changed. Companies aren't happy just to throw a patch on your sleeve anymore. The days of players looking like NASCAR drivers are on the way out, so agents must be more aggressive and creative at striking deals. A good agent gets all the details buttoned up before he pitches anything to you. A bad agent blows smoke about all the money he'll get and then doesn't deliver. A bad agent burdens a phenom with a lot of sponsor obligations early with little care for his long-term development.

Lots of agents have no formal business or legal education. They were a player's childhood friend or college teammate. These aren't the guys preparing sophisticated presentations for companies about why your worth is larger than your position in the FedEx Cup.

Then again, there's something to be said for making a pal your agent. If you're going to spend a lot of time with someone and give him or her plenty of coin for not doing a whole lot, might as well be someone you enjoy. And of course, there are players who just like having an errand boy around to massage their egos.

There's no such thing as a standard deal. Fifteen to 20 percent of endorsements to the agency is common, but that number goes down to perhaps 6 to 9 percent for more marketable players. Some guys simply pay a manager a flat fee of $50,000 a year to handle travel.

The other week after he missed a cut, a buddy joked he was going to quit golf and "turn agent." He already knows everybody, so he'd probably make a fine one. But the truth is, you play out here long enough, you get to the point where you sell yourself.

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2014-06/undercover-pro-on-agents

Who do we reckon it is this week?

And what do you make of what this player has to say?

by hend085 Fri May 09, 2014 6:10 pm

McLaren wrote:It seems Kwini was correct and the undercover pro is in fact a different golfer every time. Here Mr.X admits to being a major winner and talks about agents.

Mr.X (undercover pro) wrote:

I've won a major. Most would say I'm in the prime of my career, but more and more I wonder what I'll be doing 10 years from now. That's why I'm paying stricter attention to business. The value of my brand has gone up, so I'm no longer content to have an agent who keeps me in the dark financially.

When I first turned pro, I signed with one of the major management firms. My agent took care of everything, so I had no worries other than playing golf. He helped me get into tournaments because the firm also represented several star players, and so he'd leverage their appearances to get me inmake us a package deal. But the attention I received from my agent was directly related to how I played, like I was a number. When I made the move to a smaller firm, it was comfortable knowing I was their guy no matter if I was in a slump or on a streak.

My current agent is a perfect fit. He books my flights, hotels and airport pickups. That's little stuff, but week in and week out it can wear you down. At tournaments, he or one of his associates is with me almost always. When you're a marquee player, you need someone to fend off media and everyone who wants to shake hands or take a picture. I'm not good at saying no. Not to sound like a jerk, but Tuesday and Wednesday are preparation days, and I need two to three hours outside the time I spend on the course. I've got to register, go to the equipment truck to get my gear tuned, and put in practice time.

I crunched the numbers. Last year all my sponsor events, photo shoots, media interviews, dinners and charity outings added up to a full month. A conservative estimate, because this doesn't include travel time. This year I'm cutting back on corporate activity by a week. Still, I like that my agent constantly brings me stuff to turn down. That tells me he's working hard.

The agents who don't work hard are sometimes the same guys seen at every tournament. A mid-tier player more likely needs his agent back in the home office, not sipping lemonades on the club veranda. The market has changed. Companies aren't happy just to throw a patch on your sleeve anymore. The days of players looking like NASCAR drivers are on the way out, so agents must be more aggressive and creative at striking deals. A good agent gets all the details buttoned up before he pitches anything to you. A bad agent blows smoke about all the money he'll get and then doesn't deliver. A bad agent burdens a phenom with a lot of sponsor obligations early with little care for his long-term development.

Lots of agents have no formal business or legal education. They were a player's childhood friend or college teammate. These aren't the guys preparing sophisticated presentations for companies about why your worth is larger than your position in the FedEx Cup.

Then again, there's something to be said for making a pal your agent. If you're going to spend a lot of time with someone and give him or her plenty of coin for not doing a whole lot, might as well be someone you enjoy. And of course, there are players who just like having an errand boy around to massage their egos.

There's no such thing as a standard deal. Fifteen to 20 percent of endorsements to the agency is common, but that number goes down to perhaps 6 to 9 percent for more marketable players. Some guys simply pay a manager a flat fee of $50,000 a year to handle travel.

The other week after he missed a cut, a buddy joked he was going to quit golf and "turn agent." He already knows everybody, so he'd probably make a fine one. But the truth is, you play out here long enough, you get to the point where you sell yourself.

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2014-06/undercover-pro-on-agents

Who do we reckon it is this week?

And what do you make of what this player has to say?

my money is on GMAC

by super_realist Fri May 09, 2014 6:28 pm

I reckon it is complete rubbish if I'm frank.

An agent/manager is completely unnecessary if you have a) half a brain and are b) organised.
It's not like golfers haven't got bags of time on their hands to do this sort of stuff themselves.

Much more important is a coach that takes your game in a positive direction for the stage of the career you are at.

by incontinentia Fri May 09, 2014 6:32 pm

Was going to say Fielding Brewbaker but he hasn't won a major yet. Darren Clarke?

by super_realist Fri May 09, 2014 6:41 pm

It's probably an American, given that he mentions NASCAR so could be someone like Jim Furyk, Dufner, Bradley or Glover or Jesus Simpson.

by incontinentia Fri May 09, 2014 7:55 pm

The other golfers must be pretty peeved when Simpson hits in the water hazard, only for the waters to mysteriously part, allowing him to play the shot without penalty.

by super_realist Fri May 09, 2014 7:58 pm

Seems like most of them think the same way though Inco, amazing that "the almighty" seems to do his best for all of them though isn't it?

by Diggers Fri May 09, 2014 8:11 pm

It's probably Poultry counting his RC exploits as a major.

by pedro Fri May 09, 2014 8:32 pm

Furyk and Clarke hardly in the prime of their career...
The Nascar reference makes it an American, or somebody who has spent a lot of time there. Gmac did change agency together with Rory, right?

by incontinentia Fri May 09, 2014 8:50 pm

Probably Dufner

by Diggers Fri May 09, 2014 9:06 pm

Not exactly a shortage of one major winners who are based in the States. Rose is another possibility, he seems bright with enough self awareness to write something like that

by beninho Fri May 09, 2014 9:50 pm

Im Thinking Ogilvy. He seems bright enough, and been in USA enough to mention nascar.

by super_realist Fri May 09, 2014 10:16 pm

I don't think this article strikes me as someone particularly "bright" Ben.

by kwinigolfer Fri May 09, 2014 10:22 pm

Good call ben, I was thinking Immelman. Or even Martin Kaymer.
Regardless, most likely an international golfer (or golferess) as Americans would more automatically be having the annuity known as the Champions Tour on their radar.

The spoiled brat bemoaning Medical Extensions is almost certainly an American but I would've thought the majority of the Undercover Golfers are non-Americans.

by SmithersJones Fri May 09, 2014 11:20 pm

I thought GMac too - use of the word 'pal'.

Super, you obviously didn't read it - he said his corporate commitments amounted to a full month last year, so contrary to your assertion it's exactly '..like golfers haven't got bags of time on their hands to do this sort of stuff themselves.'

by super_realist Fri May 09, 2014 11:39 pm

Smithers, I did get it. His corporate commitments require his presence whether he's got an agent or not. I'm not sure I get your point.

by SmithersJones Sat May 10, 2014 12:57 am

He hasn't got time to do his own admin and so on because he's doing corporate gigs, practising, playing etc.

Is that really that hard to grasp?

by Diggers Sat May 10, 2014 1:06 am

I think its a really well written piece, lucid and articulate. Whoever wrote it is certainly bright IMO and quite a good writer as well. Certainly a cut above most of the stuff on here, not that I'm setting the bar too high there.
I'm not sure why on earth a major winner would want to do their own admin to be honest, firstly why would you bother and secondly I'm sure there are plenty of people who can do it better...like say those who do it for a living.

by super_realist Sat May 10, 2014 1:11 am

I imagine it was written by a ghost writer Diggers, even then there is some poor grammar in there: ""why your worth is larger than your position in the FedEx Cup"

Smithers, I mean it in the way that in the way Paul Scholes didn't need an agent, I'm not sure why the majority of golfer do, judging by the amount of time many spend eating, it seems they have ample time.

by kwinigolfer Sat May 10, 2014 1:37 am

s_r,
You left out their time in the pews.
I've never seen a league table showing it, but we'd surely be amazed at the sums some Tour Players "tithe" to their churches. Partly helps their tax deductions of course, it's not all altruistic.

Thought you'd be watching the cricketers tucking in to their cucumber sarnies . . . . . . ?

by super_realist Sat May 10, 2014 1:47 am

kwinigolfer wrote:s_r,
You left out their time in the pews.
I've never seen a league table showing it, but we'd surely be amazed at the sums some Tour Players "tithe" to their churches. Partly helps their tax deductions of course, it's not all altruistic.

Thought you'd be watching the cricketers tucking in to their cucumber sarnies . . . . . . ?

I thought about it Kwini, It's just along the road, but it was raining until about 2 so I imagine the covers are only just coming off.

by super_realist Sat May 10, 2014 1:55 am

Interesting point on that though Kwini. If those special Fairytale clubs actually paid the tax they should do, how much better off would the US economy be? Always baffled me how they get exemption. Wouldn't make much difference in the UK as we're a bit less gullible that way and hardly anyone goes to these imaginary jewish zombie clubs, but in America, they must be missing out on Billions in tax.

Can I start my own fairytale club and not pay tax on the tithes I pay to it?

by beninho Sat May 10, 2014 2:06 am

I think Paul Scholes did have an agent, a quick google search states Harry Swales, same guy as Ryan Giggs.

Sorry for being picky.

by kwinigolfer Sat May 10, 2014 2:14 am

s_r,
It's a huge deal that most Americans turn a blind eye to, plus "charitable non-profits" with CEO's raking in $gazilion salaries, "faith"-based schools, hospitals etc, etc.
Probably the most inequitable tax system in the world; not surprising corporate America doesn't want universal health-care, all their executives' health-care plans are largely tax-deductible.

by super_realist Sat May 10, 2014 2:16 am

Indeed, pretty disgusting stuff. Tax the f**kers.

by pedro Sat May 10, 2014 4:37 am

super_realist wrote:

Can I start my own fairytale club and not pay tax on the tithes I pay to it?

Yes, I guess you can.

by pedro Sat May 10, 2014 6:17 am

PS. Ogilvy hardly at the peak of his career...

by kwinigolfer Sat May 10, 2014 7:05 am

But age-wise he should be.
Perhaps he'll peak twice??!!

by George1507 Sun May 11, 2014 7:50 am

"Plenty of coin" is a British expression.

Maybe the pro is a Brit or maybe whoever wrote it is a Brit.

by Davie Sun May 11, 2014 9:19 am

If that is a Brit expression then it must be localized to a fairly small part of Britain .. it's not a phrase I've ever heard used and I've lived in quite a few parts of England if not Britain

Maybe to you it's a "brit expression" as in "gor blimey" or "luvva duck" as made famous by those famous brit artists like Dick Van Dyke?

by lorus59 Sun May 11, 2014 8:28 pm

These golfers play all over the world. I wonder how complicated it is getting visas in all the different countries. I don't imagine a top golfer would fancy doing that themselves.

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