PGA Players Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, host Aaron Goldberg welcomes Brendan von Doehren, Vice President at the PGA Tour and Executive Director of PGA Tour University, for an in-depth conversation about the evolution of PGA Tour U and its transformative impact on the pathway from college golf to the pros. Brendan shares insider stories and expert perspective on the program’s origins, the new talent pipeline, and the innovative Accelerated Program that fast-tracks rising stars. With personal anecdotes and data-driven insights, this episode reveals how PGA Tour U is changing the game for athletes and reshaping the future of professional golf. Whether you’re a player, coach, or fan, you’ll find plenty of reasons to tune in and learn about golf’s newest gateway to the PGA Tour.

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Chapters
(00:04) Origins and Vision of PGA Tour U
(02:16) Influence of Other Sports and Draft Models
(04:40) Building a Transparent Pathway to Pro Golf
(06:03) Global Impact and International Player Opportunities
(07:46) Expanding Membership Benefits and Player Transition
(13:23) Introduction and Impact of the Accelerated Program
(22:57) PGA Tour Leadership Support and Business Evolution
(28:48) Coach and University Feedback on PGA Tour U
(31:13) Alumni Success Stories and Lasting Influence

This year marks the inaugural PGA Tour University class that will have immediate access to the Korn Ferry Tour and Mackenzie Tour. Like with any new system there have been lots of questions, plenty of conflicting thoughts, and some incorrect information swirling, that may influence players decisions whether to turn pro or come back for one more year of college golf. We decided to go straight to the source.  

Senior Director at the PGA Tour and creator of the PGA Tour University, Brendan von Doehren, joins us to walk through the genesis of PGA Tour U, how the system works, and clarifies some of the questions and misconceptions we have been hearing on the ground. If you are a player, coach, or part of their inner circles you do not want to miss this episode. 
 

Episode Highlights

• (1:58) How was PGA Tour University created?
• (5:23) Who had input and was consulted?
• (8:42) Benefit to the players and the Tour?
• (11:32) Who is eligible in the rankings?
• (13:16) How do the rankings work?
• (14:00) What events count and why?
• (17:44) What access to Korn Ferry and other tours is available?
• (26:48) How much movement in the rankings is expected the last couple months?
• (31:23) How will the rankings look next year?
• (34:29) Ho will players in the rankings this year who come back, fit in to next year’s rankings?

As a professional golfer you have been given an opportunity to lead by example. Many athletes use their platform to lead in different ways. Giving back to charities and foundations can be a big part of leading your community. I highly encourage you to get involved, whether financially, with your time, or both.

When making donations, raising funds, or starting a foundation make sure that you know the keys to success and how to maximize your impact. Being strategic with how you donate and are financially involved can have a bigger benefit for the places you support and create more savings on your taxes. Be the best in every element of your world!

Episode Highlights

• The importance of giving back (00:01)
• Figuring out who to support and how to support (00:54)
• Should you consider tax deductions with giving? (01:46)
• Starting a foundation, donor-advised funds, and direct giving (02:47)
• Donating shares of stock (04:31)
• Things to consider before starting a foundation (05:41)
• The goal of maximizing your net worth (7:30)

As a professional athlete, you are presented with all sorts of investment opportunities. Is buying into an IPO a good idea? What do you need to know before investing in a company that has just gone public? Are you compensated for the added fluctuation in price with higher average returns?

Let’s look behind the curtain and understand what risks we are taking that may not be obvious. We will also discuss opportunities to possibly invest in companies before their IPO to increase potential returns. Lastly, and most important, where should you be financially before you even think about investing in start up companies, whether through an IPO or Venture Capital.

Episode Highlights

2:02 – Door Dash's stock price was up 80% from it's IPO price on day 1, who made all the money?

4:06 – Where is Door Dash’s stock price 1 month later

5:30 – How do IPOs do in the long run?

6:48 – How to get in before the IPO, going from $22/share to $182/share

8:00 – What money should we use to invest in higher risk investments like IPOs

10:42 – Who to talk to about investing in an IPO or new venture

Though you travel all over the world during the season, where you spend time in your off weeks can impact your taxes. There can also be a lot of bad advice when it comes to your permanent residence that you might receive that typically does not work and can end up coming back to bite you later. There is also a lot of bad advice out there when it comes to what matters when proving where your state of residence is, that typically does not work and can end up coming back to bite you later.

In this episode, Aaron breaks down a framework of the two biggest questions to ask yourself when deciding where you want to live, the differences between how your on-course and off-course earnings are taxed, and shares some of the implications to your taxes and your game that you may not have considered before.

Episode Highlights

• The two big questions to consider when deciding where to live in the off season (00:56)
• The differences between on-course and off-course earnings (1:50)
• The important considerations in filing for residency (3:32)
• The details states look for when determining your residency (5:08)
• If you have kids – everything else with residency goes out the window (5:51)
• Why you shouldn’t determine residency just on tax savings alone (6:04)
• The questions to consider when determining your permanent residence (7:30)

As a professional golfer, tax optimization is one of the most important areas of your wealth to address. While investments are a crucial part of growing your overall net worth, the savings you could see on tax optimization could completely blow out of the water any of your annual investment returns.

In this week’s episode, Aaron is joined by Super Bowl champion, 8-year NFL veteran and AWM colleague Zach Miller to discuss some of the strategies for professional athletes to optimize their tax situation, and weigh the pros and cons of a SEP IRA vs an Individual 401(k). Make sure to listen to find out the one thing to look for to see if your financial advisor is tailoring your plan like a pro, or treating you like the general public.

Episode Highlights

• The importance of taxes (1:38)
• Investments are a great part of your financial picture and we want to do our best on the investment side, but we're paying 50% in taxes in most places…If we can optimize those taxes, that's going to completely blow out of the water any investment returns.” – Aaron Goldberg
• SEP IRA vs Individual 401(k) (2:36)
• The 3 reasons why you’d want to use an Individual 401(k) (3:16)
• Zach’s experience with endorsement income (7:56)
• What professional athletes should consider to have tax savings in the future (11:46)

One of the first pieces of advice many pro athletes hear, regardless of the sport, is that they should set up an LLC or corporation although the reasons given for doing this can range anywhere on the spectrum of the plausible to absurd. Our job here at the PGA Players’ Podcast is to demystify the amateur advice and instead provide the professional advice you deserve.

There are certainly advantages to making this move for the right athlete. Specifically, having an LLC set up can help protect you from unforeseen liabilities and can also help you avoid or reduce some of your taxes.

Join Aaron Goldberg, CFP®, and business partner and AWM Capital co-founder Erik Averill, CFP®, CPWA®, CKA® as they discuss this topic and more including:

• The two main advantages to setting up an LLC (1:05)
• How the PGA is different than other sports like MLB or NFL (2:03)
• The importance of protecting against liabilities (3:03)
• Piercing the corporate veil (5:01)
• 1099 vs W2 income (6:47)
• “From the tax point of view, this is where golfers are so unique compared to other athletes.”
• When it can be beneficial to not be taxed as an S corp (9:03)
• Ongoing tax planning: It’s all about your financial structure (9:28)
• Name, Image, Likeness: The important steps for college golfers, agents, and family members (10:15)
• Advanced planning (11:18)
• Keeping income in the household, lowering tax liability (12:53)
• 401k or Roth 401k: Why you need a personalized, customized solution (13:31)

With the PGA Tour calendar wrapping up this week and players are heading into the off-season, now is a pivotal time to take advantage of potential tax planning opportunities for this year and dive into financial planning for 2021 and beyond. 

As you’re setting up your off-season plans with your swing coach, trainer, and on-course team, now is also the time to check in with your wealth management team. You’re making plans to set yourself up for success on the course next season; why not take the time to review your financial plans as well? 

In this week’s episode of the PGA Players’ Podcast, I discuss the important steps you should be taking in the off-season to wrap up this year and prepare yourself financially for the New Year, so you are free to focus on what really matters: winning PGA Tour events.

Key Topics Discussed:

• (1:11) the importance of year-end planning for pro golfers
• (1:35) The equation for high end performance
• (1:53) Tax planning at end of the calendar year including retirement plan contributions, corporation filings, and more.
• (3:21) Setting yourself up for financial success next year
• (4:53) Communicating personal expenses and goals
• (5:49) How much are you spending? Building a sustainable lifestyle
• (7:12) Leaving a legacy through charitable planning
• (8:38) Human capital and maximizing sponsorships
• (10:45) Putting together an off-season financial plan

As a professional golfer, your financial situation is complex: you’re in the highest tax bracket, you only receive 1099 income as opposed to W2s, you have a public financial status, and you play and are taxed in multiple countries throughout the year – just to name a few.

Your situation is unique, your solution should be, too. That’s the inspiration behind the PGA Players’ Podcast – where each week, former Korn Ferry and PGA Tour golfer turned private wealth advisor, Aaron Goldberg, CFP® will discuss the most important questions you should be asking, the nuances to your situation, and how to make sure you are able to build wealth and create a lasting legacy.

In this week’s episode, Aaron is joined by co-founder of AWM Capital and former professional baseball player Erik Averill, CFP®, CPWA®, CKA® to discuss some of the ways athletes financial situations differ and some of the most important questions to be asking.

Key Topics Discussed

• Who is qualified to be your financial advisor? (1:59)
• What makes your financial situation unique as a professional golfer? (2:24)
• The implications of being in the top 1% of earners (3:04)
• Where should players be getting financial information? (6:22)
• “But if your parents aren’t professional athletes, they’re financial advisor is probably not right for you because they don’t know what to look for” (7:15)
• “What I think is almost equally dangerous is the mediocre advisors, the ones that don’t know what they don’t know.” (7:18)
• Your job as an athlete is to perform on the course – not to know everything that goes into your financial world (7:54)
• “when you hire people that have had that experience with other athletes, whether it be baseball players, whether it be football players, whether it be golfers, they know the pitfalls that come up and the ways that we can maximize net worth for our clients by capitalizing on their human capital and making sure that we take advantage of every opportunity that they have” (7:58)
• How different are golfers when it comes to taxes? (9:55)
• “You are the business, your game is the business. You're going to be the biggest driver of your financial future as a player” (11:29)
• What’s the most important question I should be asking of my financial advisor to see if they’re qualified? (13:29)

Professional Golfers have one of the most unique tax situations of all individuals. We tend to see the same mistakes made over and over when we review new clients previous tax returns. It typically comes down to a lack of knowledge and expertise in how to work with athletes. Your team should be doing everything possible to keep as much money under your control now and minimize your tax liability over the long haul as well.

In this episode we will discuss the three most common Mistakes that we see when it comes to taxes. There are different strategies that professional golfers should be utilizing in high tax years and low tax years, and there are some foundational planning items that should be in place year-round. Why pay more in taxes than you have to?!

Episode Highlights

• (1:10) The two things we see wrong with quarterly estimated taxes
• (3:49) Why your tax planning should be a 365 day per year endeavor
• (4:30) Not taking advantage of retirement plan contributions
• (5:13) SEP IRA vs individual 401k
• (8:37) Actions in a low tax year
• (10:31) Mistakes with residency days

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