By: Katie Gomez

People say money is the root of all evil, but is it rather our relationship to it that is our downfall? Money can incentivize us to become the best, most talented, ambitious, and hard-working versions of ourselves, but it can also bring out the worst in us, stripping away our drive. 

Stock traders know more than anyone how much money can impact your well-being. The constant push and pull of effort and patience, wins and losses, is a rollercoaster not everyone is tall enough to ride. The market and the money it offers can be tantalizing, but they can also break us down. 

However, trading is like competing, it makes us work for every win, allowing us to develop more resilience, patience, and a stronger work ethic in the end. The market can offer one-time handouts for the lucky, but the most significant rewards for those who keep working. The worst thing to happen to a new trader is a giant windfall of luck. You lose your competitive edge if you begin to rest on your laurels and just coast on your winnings. Traders who get dealt a lucky hand and make too much too fast start to feel entitled and uninterested in refreshing their knowledge, and we are seeing the same thing happen right now with some of the best golfers. Since it’s golf season, I wanted to dissect a similar mentality seen in some professional golfers’ careers regarding their relationship with money and competition. 

LIV vs PGA 

While golf is often seen as just an expensive hobby or country club sport, it is filled with some of the most competitive and determined champions any sport has seen. That is, until LIV started sucking the competitive spirit out of these champions. 

For over a century, the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) has fostered and inspired a competitive spirit and work ethic in golfers everywhere, not just with a multi-million dollar cash prize, but with the tools and skill sets you learn from it to take with you in the game of life. However, since LIV’s split from the PGA in 2023, money has taken over the value of the game, and golfers have forgotten why they began playing in the first place, once given a taste of it.

The PGA tournament has been the pinnacle for golfers for over 100 years, encouraging ambition & drive in each player lucky enough to be there. However, LIV is stripping away the work ethic this sport is known for by paying players just to show up. For reference, while PGA tournament players earn money based on performance (the winner takes home $3 million), in Liv’s last tournament, 52 of the 68 players earned more than $1 million just for showing up.

LIV golfers receive substantial guaranteed contracts regardless of how they perform in tournaments. Some top players have reportedly received nine-figure deals just to join. LIV has spent hundreds of millions on big golfers like Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka just to play. This guaranteed payment structure represents a significant departure from the traditional PGA Tour model. Additionally, LIV’s “team competition” component creates a different competitive environment that dilutes the head-to-head individual competition that has defined professional golf for decades.

When players are already assured millions regardless of their performance, it removes the incentive that has traditionally driven competition in professional golf. However, these “participation trophies” or cash handouts do not make exceptional golfers, just as lucky streaks don’t make exceptional traders. Money is a fantastic incentive to work toward and compete for, but when it’s just handed to you for showing up, you’re not left with pride or joy, but rather complacency. Especially for younger golfers with a plethora of motivation, these participation bonuses can easily sway their focus and diminish their competitive edge to improve. 

The parallels between professional golfers and traders’ relationship with money offer powerful lessons about maintaining competitive drive and long-term success. Here are some insights traders can apply:

The Danger of Guaranteed Money

Without the pressure to consistently perform at their highest level, golfers and traders see their skill set crumble. Just as LIV golfers receive these guaranteed payments regardless of performance, traders who achieve early success might become complacent when they no longer feel financial pressure. The most successful traders understand that sustainable performance requires maintaining hunger even after achieving financial security.

When traders prioritize protecting wealth over continuing to develop their edge, their skills deteriorate. What if Warren Buffett closed out his portfolio after his first big win instead of using it to build his $340 billion legacy, Berkshire Hathaway? Or what if Tiger Woods (winner of 82 PGA tour titles) decided to retire after receiving his first PGA tour win check at 20 years old? Guaranteed money puts both traders and players at risk of inhibiting their growth to soar like these icons. 

Lessons of Long-Term Goals

Both the market and the game of golf teach their players the value of delayed gratification and long-term goals. However, they are both constantly tempted by the immediate gratification of short-term wins. Golfers who joined LIV may have secured immediate financial windfalls, but many sacrificed the competitive cauldron that forged their abilities in the first place. Similarly, traders who chase quick profits through shortcuts or abandon proven methodologies for trendy strategies often discover they’ve sacrificed long-term development for short-term gain.

The Necessity of Meaningful Competition & Continued Learning 

Competition is healthy, whether in grade school basketball or PGA tour cuts. While participation trophies may make your kid feel better about getting cut from the team, these prizes in adulthood only inhibit you from learning valuable lessons of resilience and growth. PGA Tour events force golfers to make cuts and prove themselves against the best. Traders similarly need to regularly test themselves against challenging market conditions and take risks outside their comfort zone to maintain their edge.

That said, continued learning is also a constant in both golf and trading. Top golfers who stayed with traditional tours cite the continued evolution of their game through regular competition against emerging talents. Great traders similarly understand that markets constantly evolve, requiring perpetual learning and adaptation. The moment you believe you’ve “figured it out” is precisely when the market prepares to teach you humility.

Legacy vs. Short-Term Rewards

Many established golfers declined LIV’s massive offers because they prioritized their legacy and the respect of their peers over immediate financial gain. The trading parallel is clear: building a sustainable career based on skill and integrity ultimately creates more value than chasing shortcuts or compromising principles for quick profits.

The most valuable lesson may be that true mastery in both golf and trading comes not from avoiding difficulty but from embracing it. The competitive drive that pushes you to improve daily (even when financially unnecessary) is what separates those with careers spanning decades from those who briefly shine before fading away. You can write someone a check, but teaching them to consistently perform under pressure creates value that compounds over a lifetime.

The pursuit of excellence, whether in trading or golf, ultimately transcends financial rewards alone. True mastery requires continual refinement, embracing discomfort, and valuing the journey of improvement over immediate payouts. While substantial wealth may seem like the ultimate goal, it’s actually the hard-earned skills, resilience, and competitive spirit developed along the way that create lasting success. Those who maintain their hunger for growth even after achieving financial comfort are the ones who build legacies rather than merely collecting paychecks. The choice remains yours: Will you take the check and risk complacency, or will you embrace the challenge of continuous improvement, knowing that your competitive edge, once lost, is far more valuable than any guaranteed sum?