Pro Details Fascinating Q-School Cost Breakdown (And It’s Expensive!)

Golf pro and popular social-media personality Hannah Gregg recently took a giant step towards fulfilling her dream as an LPGA Tour member by earning playing rights on the Ladies European Tour for the 2024 season.

Gregg secured a valuable LET card through Q-School, reaching the final stage at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech in Morocco after squeezing through on the number at Pre-Qualifier Rotana just a week prior.

And although she wasn't able to earn a full calendar of guaranteed starts on the LET by ending inside the top-20 and ties, the fact that Gregg reached the season-ending tournament at all means she will be able able to take advantage of far more playing opportunities in the coming year.

But while many of her peers were celebrating making the next step in their golfing careers, only six players at the final stage of Q-School earned any money at all from the 10,000 euro total prize purse - with winner Nataliya Guseva scooping 5,000.

Gregg has spoken to Golf Monthly before about the financial strain women - in particular - are under when attempting to forge a career in the professional game, stating she has known several people who have been forced to give up ahead of what is widely considered to be the most expensive event of the year - Q-School.

The former Symetra Tour player said that her annual fees - simply allowing her to tee it up in competition - used to come in at about $50,000 and she would have to rely on support from family or sponsors in order to keep going at times.

Speaking in 2021, Gregg said: “My annual expenses cost on average $50,000, and if you look at the purses on the development tours like the WAPT (Women’s All Pro Tour) – which is the highest-paying feeder tour – the average winner walks away with $5-$7,000.

“Expenses for a cheap tournament are generally $1,500-$2,000, so unless you finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd in every single event, you’re not going to make a profit."

Following her 138th-place finish in Morocco recently, Gregg shared a fascinating video on her Instagram breaking down the costs involved in that one week alone. In it, she revealed that the entry fee was $1,500 - meaning that all but two of the 151-player field in the final stage of Q-School would have made a loss already.

Taking into account flights, hotels, transfers, paying a caddie, entry fee, miscellaneous costs, and food, it is possible - according to Gregg's analysis - that not a single player, including winner Guseva, would have emerged having made any money whatsoever.

In the video, Gregg shared that flights for both her and boyfriend Fred Lindblom cost $1,040 return and their hotel room (with a discount) for two weeks added up to $980 - although that did include breakfast and gym access.

The shuttle to and from the golf courses came out to about $200 for their entire trip, while the entry fee made up a significant chunk of the total cost. Gregg did say that all of her practice rounds and a yardage book were included in the price and that is not always the case, depending on where she plays.

Given her boyfriend, Lindblom - who works with Gregg as a content creator and a coach - is able and willing to travel with Gregg to events, the LET player revealed she saves between $1,500 to $2,000 dollars on paying a caddie. Something that most of her competitors would not have the luxury of.

Gregg said the price of lunch and dinner for the fortnight was estimated to be circa $450, while other miscellaneous costs - such as a taxi from the airport, snacks, laundry fees, and medicine - was claimed to tally up to between $300 and $350.

The final cost Gregg revealed must be accounted for is the $1,250 all players must pay as part of their membership fee when they actually reach the LET. That brought her total up to $4,452. For most players, the total cost of playing both pre-qualifying and the final stage of Q-School would be somewhere close to $6,000.

Gregg said previously: “Lots of girls stop playing because they can’t afford Q-School, which is the most expensive event of the year. If you don’t play in that then you have no Tour status and are left with very few events to play in. You get phased out and others just lap you.”

A bonafide influencer and aspiring top talent, Gregg has long suggested the biggest issue stunting the growth of women's golf is the small purse sizes.

“It’s very frustrating because everywhere I go, people are interested to learn and watch what we do, and I have tons of supporters across social media.

“But when it comes to making purses bigger and getting donations from sponsors, everyone has an excuse.

“I always hear ‘well the women aren’t fun to watch’, but I’ve never understood that. The men weren’t popular to watch compared to the scale they are now. It takes years of marketing and people engaging with women’s sports for them to have a chance to succeed and grow.

“If people really want to help, we should start building up women’s sports and acknowledging that there is a quality product there. Help us raise money when you can, spread the word and find players that you like to watch and then follow their careers.

“All of us love knowing that people out there are enjoying our journey and it makes even the struggles that much more enjoyable.”