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VOL 25, NO. 2
FALL/WINTER 2015
Top Senior Amateurs Talk about Life as a “Competitive Amateur Golfer”
By Richard J. Skelly
Golf, once known as a sport of the gentry, has evolved since the early 1900’s from a sport played by an elite few at private golf courses to where it is today in America, played by millions of people on affordable public courses. However, the business of financing amateur golf -- where players are in it for the sheer joy of competition with no prize money -- remains a careful balancing act for most amateurs who play in national competitions. For some, money is not an issue, but for most, they have to strike a conscious balance in their lives between work, family, practice and setting aside enough money to play in amateur tournaments throughout the golf season.
decades. Marucci, the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur champion, was a guest speaker at Hidden Creek Golf Club in Galloway Township, NJ recently, where he and other top amateurs will vie for the U.S. Men’s Senior Amateur Championship in late September. Marucci was candid and forthcoming in his comments.
Philadelphia-area amateur, George E. “Buddy” Marucci has been involved in national amateur golf events for more than four
Over the years, Marucci sold cars and insurance -- actual products -- and found the financial brokerage business a tough one to be
“For me, the best way to go, was having my own business,” he explained on the patio at Hidden Creek, “I had the chance to go into the family business as my father had an accounting firm. But I found out selling time wasn’t the way to go, nor was selling billable hours of accounting time wasn’t the way to go. I realized I had to sell a product.”
in while still keeping up his frenetic pace as an amateur. Marucci was born and raised in suburban Philadelphia and lives in Villanova, Pa. He played collegiate golf at the University of Maryland, and is now also a golf analyst on FOX Sports. “From a financial standpoint, it’s not easy,” he continued. “I don’t know if it’s more difficult now or not. One of the things that’s better now than in the old days which we didn’t have, we couldn’t get free equipment. Nowadays you can get equipment and let’s face it, equipment can be costly. With caddie fees, tournament entry fees, hotels, rental cars and airplane tickets, competing on the national level is expensive,” he added. “One of the things that’s changed in golf is people don’t necessarily have to be of means to be able to play the game competitively,” he pointed out. “Yet, at the end of the day, golf does require time and it does require resources and it’s just a matter of do you sacrifice other things? I know, at the beginning, I did that.” continued on page 3