Pro-Am
A pro-am is a golf tournament that puts one professional golfer and a small group of amateur players on the same team for a round. The name is short for “professional-amateur”.
What is a pro-am?
The word combines the two types of players who tee it up together: a pro and one or more amateurs, or “ams”. In the most common setup, a single touring or club professional is grouped with three or four paying amateurs, and together they post a team score. At the same time, the professional usually keeps an individual score too, so a pro-am can hold two competitions at once: the pro against other pros, and the amateur teams against each other.
Pro-ams show up at every level of the game. Most fans first meet the term watching a PGA Tour telecast, where celebrities and business leaders play a round with the stars before the real tournament begins. But the format is far more common at the local level, where clubs, charities and regional PGA sections run pro-ams all year. The idea dates back to 1937, when entertainer Bing Crosby paired amateurs with pros at his “Clambake” in California, the event that eventually became the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
How a pro-am works
A pro-am is built around pairing rather than a single fixed format. Organizers decide how many amateurs join each pro and which scoring system the teams use, so no two events run exactly alike. The professional almost always plays their own ball from the back tees, while the amateurs play from forward tees and get handicap strokes, so a weekend golfer can still help the team.
Scoring usually runs through one of a few team formats:
Scramble: everyone tees off, the team picks the best shot, and all players hit again from that spot until the ball is holed. One score per hole.
Best ball (four-ball): each player holes out with their own ball, and the team takes the lowest score on the hole.
Shamble: a hybrid where everyone tees off, the team plays on from the best drive, then each player finishes the hole with their own ball.
Because amateurs receive handicap strokes and often only the best scores count, team totals run low. Winning scores well under par, sometimes into the mid-50s, are normal.
The number of pros can vary too. Pebble Beach famously pairs one pro with one amateur as a two-player team over several days. On the PGA Tour, some weekly pro-ams now use a “nine-and-nine” setup, where one pro plays the front nine with a group and a second pro plays the back nine, so the amateurs get time with two professionals in a single round.
Types of pro-ams
Pro-ams sit on a wide spectrum, and the gap between the top and the bottom is mostly about access and cost rather than the format itself.
| Type | Who plays | Typical cost | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tour / celebrity pro-am | PGA, LPGA or Champions Tour pros with executives, celebrities and elite amateurs | Five to six figures per spot, often invitation-only | Sponsor hospitality, charity, TV exposure |
| Local / charity pro-am | Club professionals or mini-tour players with recreational golfers | A few hundred to a couple thousand dollars | Fundraising, community events, member outings |
At the tour level, the price climbs fast. Golf.com reported PGA Tour pro-am foursomes around $31,000, with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am running into the tens of thousands per player and available only by invitation. Local events are where most golfers actually get to play, often for the price of a nice tee time, with the proceeds going to a charity.
Pro-am vs. scramble
These two terms get mixed up constantly, but they describe different things. A pro-am is a type of event, defined by who is playing: at least one professional grouped with amateurs. A scramble is a format defined by how the team scores. A pro-am can be played as a scramble, but it can also use best ball, a shamble, or other formats. A scramble, meanwhile, is often played among amateurs only, with no professional involved.
| Pro-am | Scramble | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An event type | A scoring format |
| Defining feature | A pro plays with amateurs | Team plays the best shot each time |
| Can it use the other? | Yes, often played as a scramble | Yes, but usually amateur-only |
It also helps to separate a pro-am from a regular professional tournament. In a standard event, every player competes individually for the purse. A pro-am adds the amateur team layer on top, which is why the atmosphere is more relaxed, and the amateurs play a supporting role in a fun, lower-pressure competition.
Why pro-ams exist
The reasons are as much commercial as sporting. For tournaments, the entry fees are a major source of revenue: the money helps fund the event and its charity partners, and charitable giving is built into how PGA Tour events operate. For sponsors, a pro-am is a way to reward clients and guests with a round they could never buy on their own.
Professionals get something out of it as well. A pre-tournament pro-am doubles as a practice round on the course they are about to play for real. At many events, playing in the pro-am is also part of a pro’s expected commitments, so the round is often less optional than it looks from the outside.
Related Golf Terms
- Qualifying school — The series of tournaments players use to earn tour status.
- Shotgun start — A format in which all groups tee off simultaneously from different holes.
- Teaching pro — A golf professional who specializes in giving lessons.
- Tour card — The credential granting a player full membership and playing rights on a tour.
- Member-guest — A club event pairing members with invited guests.
Frequently Asked Questions
When are pro-ams played?
At professional events, pro-ams are usually held on the Monday or Wednesday before the tournament starts. Monday events tend to feature lower-ranked pros and cost less, while Wednesday events draw bigger names.
Can amateurs win money in a pro-am?
Under the USGA Rules of Amateur Status, an amateur can accept prize money up to $1,000 in a scratch competition. In a handicap competition, that $1,000 limit applies only to non-cash prizes such as gift cards or pro-shop credit.
Do pro-am scores count toward the pro’s ranking?
No. Pro-am results do not affect Official World Golf Ranking points, and the amateur team competition is separate from the official professional tournament that follows.
How much does it cost to play in a pro-am?
It depends entirely on the level. Local and charity pro-ams can cost a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars, while a tour pro-am spot can reach five or six figures, with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am among the priciest and offered by invitation only.
Do professionals have to play in pro-ams?
Often, yes. Many tours treat pro-am participation as part of a player’s obligations to the tournament and its sponsors, though pros may also be compensated for taking part.
Sources
- United States Golf Association. “Rules of Amateur Status FAQs.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/amateur-status/faqs.html - United States Golf Association. “Golf’s Modernized Rules of Amateur Status Published.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2021/10/golfs-modernized-rules-amateur-status-published-usga.html - Golf.com. “PGA Tour pro-ams: What they cost and whether they’re worth it.” Accessed July 2026.
https://golf.com/lifestyle/pga-tour-pro-ams-cost-worth-it/ - GolfPass. “Want to play in a PGA golf pro-am?” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/articles/golf-tournament-pro-ams-explainer - Golf News Net. “What is a pro-am in golf? Explaining the popular tournament format.” Accessed July 2026.
https://thegolfnewsnet.com/ryan_ballengee/2023/01/04/what-is-a-pro-am-in-golf-explaining-the-popular-tournament-format-127853/ - Sportskeeda. “How does AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am work?” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/golf/how-att-pebble-beach-pro-am-work-celeb-tournament-format-explained - Wikipedia. “Pro-am.” Accessed July 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro%E2%80%93am
