“I stay mostly at Marriott hotels” – Michael Kim gives insights into PGA Tour pros and caddies’ travel between events

PGA Tour pro Michael Kim recently shared some insights into how golfers travel during tournaments. He talked about golfers' and caddies' travel arrangements in his recent social media post.

The American golfer revealed that most of the time players pay their rent unless they are playing in limited field International tournaments. He added that most of the players share rooms in a hotel. However, Kim prefers to live alone.

Kim shared a post on his X account, saying:

"I stay mostly at Marriott hotels. The 4pm late check out is great for Sundays when I can finish my round and go back for a shower before I leave for the next tournament. Yes, we pay for our own travel unless it’s a limited field international tournament like the Zozo coming up. The tournament covers the cost of flights and hotels for those."

He went on to talk about how people think all the Tour players travel privately. However, there are only 12-14 players who travel on their own, as a lot of golfers receive discounts on flights.

Adding to his statement, Michael Kim wrote:

"Some people think all tour players fly private all the time. There are maybe 12-14 players on tour that fly private all the time. Yes, lots of golfers have the Netjets and Wheels Up logos but the deals mainly give you a nice discount and the companies, for the most part, don’t just give you free hours. It costs anywhere from 3k for the prop planes to 6-8k per hour for jets. It is so so much better than flying commercial but it is crazy expensive as well."

Michael Kim also spoke about how caddies manage their travel expenses. He said that most of the caddies have roommates and sometimes golfers also stay with their caddies.

"Caddies generally have one roommate for a hotel room or a group of 3 or 4 at a house. Some players stay with their caddies as well but not a ton. We spend enough time with each other on the golf course and both is us need time away from each other," he concluded.

Fans jumped into the comments section of the post to ask more questions. One user questioned:

"Why don’t groups of 3-4 ppl just buy jets together? would be very economical, especially if playing in many of the same tournaments."

Kim responded, saying:

"Owning a jet is mind bogglingly expensive. There is no such thing as economical when it comes to PJ."

Another fan asked:

"What I’m curious about is the percentage that you guys actually clear after everything is paid. For example, a player makes 1.5 million in on course earnings. How much do they clear after taxes, caddies, agent, travel expenses, etc…I’m guessing around 150-200k max."

Michael Kim answered:

"Prob closer to 30%."

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Michael Kim's career

Kim was born on July 14, 1993, in Seoul South Korea. However, he holds American citizenship and currently lives in Houston, Texas.

Michael Kim played collegiate career while studying at the University of California, Berkeley and won the Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Month.

He qualified for the US Open in 2013 and tied for 17th place as an amateur. He started his professional career in December 2013 and has won one event so far.