The Business of Being a Professional Golfer with Hannah Gregg
In this episode of the podcast T-Time, host Tori is joined by professional golfer Hannah Gregg and her fiancé Fred to discuss the business side of being a professional golfer. Hannah and Fred provide insightful perspectives from their experiences grinding on mini-tours, qualifying for the LPGA, and building their brand Short Game Gains.
Turning Pro and Funding a Golf Career
Hannah discusses how she prepared to turn professional by studying communications and building a social media management agency that allowed her to make money remotely. She highlights that one of the hardest parts of being a professional golfer is funding travel and event expenses after you qualify. Most people think opportunities will come if you're good enough, but in reality, you need to properly prepare and have funding in place.
Fred emphasizes the business perspective - treating your golf career like a startup company and realizing there is more to it than just practicing and playing. You likely need to find sponsors, investors, or another source of funding if you don't come from a wealthy family. Building an audience on social media can make you more attractive to potential sponsors as well.
They both started side businesses not only to make money but also to be able to afford the early expenses of their golf careers. Financial preparation is key before obtaining status on a major tour.
Mental Game and Overcoming Adversity
Hannah tells a story from Q School where she played impressively for the first few rounds but then struggled at the end. Fred helped coach her mentally on the final holes to refocus, avoid negativity, and finish strong to ultimately earn her tour card by the skin of her teeth.
This showcases the mental resilience required in golf, on top of skill, as well as the importance of having a strong team around you. Hannah and Fred frequently deal with bad stretches and consider quitting, but remind themselves it's temporary and make changes to get back on track, whether swing changes, coaching, equipment, etc.
Amateurs go through the same struggles, and hearing how the pros handle adversity can provide motivation to keep perspective and persevere. Golf is incredibly hard even for the best in the world; expecting otherwise will only lead to frustration. Progress requires loving the process during ups and downs.
Building a Brand and Business
Hannah and Fred saw firsthand the power of their brand influence when they promoted a friend's CBD company, leading them to start Short Game Gains. They fell in love with creating products to help people practice more effectively after seeing how few amateur golfers use aids compared to professionals.
However, building a brand brings many business challenges - designing products, finding manufacturers, optimizing logistics and shipping, marketing, building an audience, etc. They have learned a ton through research and trial and error. Hannah's studies in communications and Fred's relationships with tour players helped significantly in establishing traction.
Now their goal is to keep innovating products and expanding Short Game Gains to fund their playing careers. Many pros start side businesses for financial stability while grinding to make it in golf.
Peak Performance and Expectations
Fred notes even the best players in the world only peak for a short period of the year - maybe having 4 exceptional weeks out of 52. So amateur golfers should adjust expectations and not be discouraged by inconsistency.
Hannah discusses the "rule of thirds" - expecting to feel good roughly a third of the time, peak performance a third, and struggle a third. If you exceed peak periods by much, you likely have a chance at the hall of fame. Tiger Woods is the anomaly winning 30% during his prime.
Bouncing back quicker from rough patches and making the most of hot streaks differentiates the greats. But every player inevitably goes through highs and lows with this volatile game.
Growth Mindset and Overcoming Social Media Negativity
Early in Hannah’s career, inappropriate comments on social media really bothered her and made her question if she was good enough. She developed thick skin over time as her results improved and she qualified for the LPGA tour.
Seeing no successful people in golf actually criticizing her made Hannah realize the negative comments come from unaccomplished people hiding behind keyboards. Focusing on constructive feedback from her coaches and community enabled her to brush off the online negativity.
Both Hannah and Fred discuss how common it is for even the top-ranked golfers to receive hate online. Having a growth mindset to block out the noise and continually learn/improve is critical whether just starting out or at the pinnacle of the sport.
Conclusion
Pursuing golf as a career requires skill but also business savvy, mental fortitude, resilience, and sensible expectations. Hannah and Fred provide an insightful insider perspective into these elements beyond pure golf ability. They exemplify turning adversity into opportunity thanks to a passion for the journey, work ethic, and support of each other. Their wisdom and stories can motivate any golfer dealing with frustration or uncertainty along the path to greatness.
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