The Ryder Cup ticket price controversy, explained
Have the people been priced out of “The people’s country club?” That is the general worry on social media after ticket prices for next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, revealed earlier this year, went viral. Golf Twitter can be a tough crowd, yet this wasn’t just a few amplified voices manufacturing a controversy, as the subject became one of the trending topics on both X and Google trends Monday. We do our best to sort the Ryder Cup mess out below.
Wait, what Ryder Cup controversy?
It all started when No Laying Up’s Kevin Van Valkenburg posted a screenshot of the daily badge prices for the 2025 Ryder Cup. He amplified it by writing: “I would like to go on the record now and say that if Europe wins the Ryder Cup at Bethpage on account of crowds being quenched into a polite inertia like the crowds at the Los Angeles Country Club by steep ticket prices, it will be the biggest own goal you have ever seen.” That would be a reference to last year’s U.S. Open, when small greens and an unfriendly membership asked the grounds only a scarce number of open tickets to fans and was easily one of the quietest major championships in the last few years. This time however it may not be the topography or the club that has the public locked out, but the price. The minimum price of $750 for one person cover entry to participate in any of the event’s presence in three days of competition and the practice days are at $255.
Correct. It does come with unlimited food and non-alcoholic-drink vouchers, although we suppose you’d have to be Joey Chestnut to see savings on the food end of the deal.
That, uh, seems high?
Also correct. Using last year’s Ryder Cup as context, general admission tickets into Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy were between €50 ($52.97) and €60 ($63.56) for the practice days, €250 ($264.83) for Friday and Saturday tickets and €260 ($275.42) for Sunday. Yes, New York is a big market, but it’s not like Rome is a particularly small town.
How does that compare with other golf events?
It’s on the expensive end of the spectrum. Masters badges—inarguably the gold standard for golf tournament experiences in the United States—cost $140 per tournament day and $100 for practice rounds. The USGA is charging $60 to $85 for practice-round tickets at next year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont, with general admission on tournament days ranging from $150 to $200. Last year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon averaged around €100 for tournament days. As for the PGA Championship (which, like the Ryder Cup, is run by the PGA of America), next year’s tickets for tournament days clock in at $219, although that does include food and drink.
Hasn’t the PGA of America been accused of price gouging before?
Yes, very recently in fact. During the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, there was “Beergate.” For those of you with lives, “Beergate” started when a photo of the concession prices at the Tulsa course went viral. Those prices included $15 for a Kona Golden Ale, $18 for Michelob Ultra and $19 for Stella Artois. Wine was a steal for $13, but a seltzer or cocktail ran you $19. Even Justin Thomas, who went on to win the championship, ripped the price gouge, with the PGA of America brass defending the charges, citing them as comparable to what you’d see at a stadium or arena. Although, as one who lives outside New York City, these aren’t exactly Yankee Stadium or Madison Square Garden prices as much as the type of dollar signs you’d expect to see at a trendy bar located on the moon.
This will only reignite the Ryder Cup’s player-payment debate, won’t it?
Absolutely. It was just last year that reports surfaced that American players questioned whether there should be payment for participation in the event (currently, players don’t receive money for competing but each is given $200,000 to donate to charities of their choosing). In the wake of Xander Schauffele reportedly being threatened with dismissal from the U.S. team over issues with the player benefit agreement, his father Stefan Schauffele said the topic of payment for players was worth having a “meaningful conversation about.” Considering major golf events are run by a free workforce of volunteers and the changing landscape of name, image and likeness usage in American sports, the 2025 ticket prices will only give more fodder to critics that the PGA of America may need to start sharing the massive amounts of profit its make from the biennial match.
What has been the response about the ticket prices?
Not great, to put it lightly. It is not the money which is important but what that money symbolizes. That sort of coin costs to play at Bethpage, one of the few municipal courses in the United States with a championship level course, just seems counter to why Bethpage is important to golf. There is also the context of the previous three years of civil war, selfishness, and self-anything in the professional golfs players’ world, a split that made several fans feel they were left out and eclipsed while the game’s main performers pay little attention to where all their actions are leading them. The Ryder Cup prices, then, could be viewed as another continuing insult to the ordinary punter. Add to that the fact the Ryder Cup is allegedly the one competition that is not motivated by money … well, you get the idea.
What’s the defense?
As you may see up to this point, the PGA of America hasn’t said anything regarding the prices, which became an issue lately. If we had to make an argument (and to be clear, it’s not one we are taking) there is demand for something that happens in this country once every 4 days overall, 3 of which happen in a single day. Of course, the Ryder Cup is a costly affair compared to any other golf tournament but comprehensively comparing the Ryder Cup to other premium events such as the Super Bowl or Taylor Swift Concert the prices are not particularly exorbitant. Of course, the Super Bowl attracted 130 million viewers last year against the Ryder Cup’s 3.4 million so perhaps not the best example.
