Golf
Scottie Scheffler earned over 62 million this year. He earned 25 million at the tour championship yesterday. His caddie earned 2.5 million this weekend alone.
How much do golf pros pay out of pocket to participate?
Is the PGA a steward of the sport? Do they look out for the best interest of their golfers/sponsors? Do they have a vision? How much has the sport changed in the past 5 years?

Bass Fishing
Jacob Wheeler is the top-ranked bass pro in the world right now per BassFan. His career earnings are 3.8 million.
How much do bass pros pay out of pocket to participate?
Is Bass/MLF a steward of the sport? Do they look out for the best interest of their anglers/sponsors? Do they have a vision? How much has the sport changed in the past 5 years?

Comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges, but dang.

PGA tour players don’t pay an entry fee. They have to pay the clubs a 100 locker fee.
If you are good enough to be on the top pro tour you make lots of money regardless of whether you place in the top 50 or not.
The lower pga qualifiers have entry fees like Corn Ferry tour.

It's apples and cheeseburgers. Not even both fruit. To compare the two doesn't make any sense at all.

You don't need a bassboat and a truck to compete in golf tournaments. I think the startup costs might affect participation a bit too.

It's beyond that, there is widespread interest in golf. Golf gets real network deals, Golf generates a ton of money in ticket sales, suites, etc at the top level. There are plenty of people who have never played a single round of Golf who will watch the masters. It's just different, it's a true competitive sport. It's world wide. At the end of the day competitive fishing is a tiny sliver, it's terrible for spectators, generates no ticket sales and is only a viable marketing tool for a very specific set of companies. You may as well compare fishing to the nfl, nba, MLB the comparison is equally as ridiculous.

Contrary to what some think, pro and recreational bass fishing is a drop in the bucket compared to other sports.

No no no this can’t be true- we’ve been told otherwise…😆🤦🏼

Those are some great points. I'm curious about the ticket sales aspect. I'm sure this has been tried, but why can't a boat/tackle show be held in conjunction with each Elite like the Classic? Is there that little interest?

Bass fishing is very niche…mostly the south…they routinely get bigger and more fun to catch in the south and California.

In the northern states; most people prefer to fish for muskie, pike, trout, salmon, walleye, sturgeon…and bass are considered by many a trash fish.

Then in coastal areas; people will prefer to go inshore/offshore for saltwater fish.

Nobody will show up, it's free and nobody shows up to their stuff now

People should be lining up for miles to enjoy the good humor and camaraderie of the bass fishing community.

I dont think people would pay to attend the Classic or Classic Expo much less pay to go to a regular season event. Charging for that would probably be the bail in the coffin.

And that tells you all you need to know about it.

I think some people keep trying to make it a bigger deal than it really is or make it more mainstream but I question if it ever will be. It's 50 years into this who pro fishing thing and it's still a niche activity. I wonder if the 2 leagues would just focus on doing what they do best and not trying to mainstream it all if the game wouldn't be better off. You don't always have to have worldwide domination. Just be the best at what you do and make a successful and profitable business.