QUOTE: Jack @ Dec 11 2005, 06:56 PM
I reckon there would be many more dud horses that pro's -
provided you invest in the right one of course you should be a
reasonable chance of getting your money back.
Things like this have been around for ages. Bruce is right. They
rarely break even. What you have to remember is rather than just
worry about whether the pro makes it big or not, is how it is
structured. Most pros won't hang off backers for long once
they are earning, so the bulk of the backing is done when they
can't support themselves. By the time they are earning
$20-30,000 more than they are spending, they ain't renewing
and will go with conventional sponsorship opportunities. So even
when these things win, they'll hang on long enough
(hopefully) to give value to those who supported them and no
longer. This doesn't go close to paying for those you might
back that never make it or when the deal never returns in the
positive. I'll bet my last dollar Bruce has seen this too
over the years almost exactly as above.
I think the best ones are just when some members who love their
club back a young up-and-comer as a philanthropic thing. If a
handful of members don't have to dig in for a huge sum each
if there are enough of them and yet it still helps out and the
player eventually maintains ties with their club and their
fondness for it after becoming successful, that is all warm and
fuzzy in the good sense.
Another one I like is when the members encourage their pro to
play. One Sydney club pro was an ex-Tour player who at his best
did well but got sick and never looked like being able to play
again. When he did, it was a for a few weeks off per year and
wasn't ever going to become a permanent thing, but the
members kept pushing him to have a crack if he wanted to. I
remember after the '89 Aus Open at Kingston Heath, he was
very grateful for their support and thought he'd play a bit
and see how it went. Now, Peter Lonard is probably thankful the
club didn't let him resign himself to starting Saturday
fields and giving lessons.