Golf is NIL’s best kept secret.
And it shouldn’t be.
Amateur golfers have more opportunities for exposure than they are given credit. Sponsors have greater visibility in golf than they may realize, and the industry’s student-athletes are an untapped resource for promoting brands, especially those in golf.
The NIL Landscape
To better appreciate why amateur golf quietly sits in a class of its own, it helps to understand the current NIL landscape.
According to Opendorse, nearly two-thirds of all NIL partnerships occur through social media posts and content creation. Brands boost their exposure by teaming up with athletes. Players are compensated in exchange. It’s a mutual win-win.
The approach works well because social media is one of the easiest ways for a player to get behind the brand and for the brand to gain traction with a new or broader audience.
With NCAA rules that, as of today, prevent players from wearing personal NIL brand partner logos on team gear during competitions (a prime opportunity for exposure), social media is an ideal solution.
A Walking Billboard
Each year, amateur golfers make it to the professional stage in various ways, including qualifiers, exemptions, and rankings.
Because of the coverage these events receive over multiple days, the potential exposure for these young players is unlike anything else. Added to it, their ability to showcase sponsor logos on apparel and gear offers an unparalleled opportunity for brand partners.
When it comes to NIL, this is a game changer.
Florida State junior Luke Clanton is a prime example. With starts in seven PGA TOUR events, posting three top 10s, and missing just one cut, Clanton has proven he's a standout talent. For his apparel partners, Union Home Mortgage, Good Good Golf, and The Battle's End, the appearances have one clear benefit from his performances: increased visibility.
Only further amplifying the opportunity for amateurs? Access to golf’s majors and the ability to rep NIL brands while in competition.
“We've seen college athletes on television in events like football or the NCAA Tournament, but the opportunity to have brand deals in place and represent them in competition against the professionals on the biggest stage? This changes the metric,” NIL expert and sports attorney Luke Fedlam told Golf Digest.
Amateur’s Hour
The opportunity to compete in the pros is about more than just the visibility these players create for their sponsors. It's a way to showcase their talent against the industry's best.
FSU's Lottie Woad made quite an impression with a T23 finish in her major debut at the Chevron Championship this past April. Four months later, the world No. 1 upped the ante with a top 10 finish at the AIG Women's Open. Both events experienced their highest-rated viewership in over a decade, giving Woad valuable exposure for her personal brand.
Another example of how golf sets itself apart? Top college amateurs gain even more exposure with PGA TOUR University and PGA TOUR University Accelerated, two fast-track membership programs.
Throughout the college season, the PGA TOUR regularly spotlights these amateurs, often using social media to promote their rankings, performances, or appearances in collegiate events—promotion that only helps boost each player's visibility even more.
No other professional league is promoting college amateurs quite like this.
Both programs also help the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour better align themselves with top college talent, offering players a direct path to the pros while helping sway them from competitive options like LIV Golf.
A year ago, Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent made history as the first player to earn his PGA TOUR card through Accelerated. He decided to defer his status to finish his senior season. Meanwhile, Clanton and Auburn sophomore Jackson Koivun are on track to lock up their TOUR cards this school year.
Golf Branding 101
Lifestyle brand sponsorships are up for grabs among all sports, but golf has a significant advantage with the vast number of golf-centric brands looking to gain exposure and grow their customer base.
Golf fans aren’t just spectators looking for entertainment. They’re often players on the hunt for products to raise their own game.
By teaming up with college athletes, golf brands connect with influential individuals who embody their products. In turn, amateur golfers gain partners who help create a financial stream and resonate with their fanbase.
“Brands that have partnered with college athletes are seeing increased consumer attention,” Scout Sports & Entertainment’s Ben Foreman told the Sports Business Journal. “That can lead to more brand engagement and preference with fans.”
Throw in golf’s surging popularity, adding more than $100B to the U.S. economy (up 20% from 2016), and it’s even more reason to invest in the game’s future greats.
Clanton, Woad, and Sargent are just a few examples of why amateur golf deserves more attention. Their stories illustrate the potential of NIL and golf.
They're also examples of today's strong amateur fields (see Nick Dunlap) and how far we've come in just a few years, rewarding top-ranked golfers with more than just trophies and bragging rights (see Ludvig Åberg).
They remind us that there's still room to achieve what the greats before them haven't (see Koivun) and that history can happen at any age (see Miles Russell and Rianne Malixi).
The value golf brings to NIL should not be overlooked.
It’s time to let the secret out.
This article was originally published on February 20, 2024, and updated on October 14, 2024.
