United Kingdom. Professional golfers from these countries are quite often from poor backgrounds and start their careers as caddies, for example, Ángel Cabrera of Argentina, and Zhang Lian-wei who is the first significant tournament professional from the People's Republic of China. In various countries, Professional Golfers' Associations (PGAs) serve either or both of these categories of professionals. There are separate LPGAs (Ladies Professional Golf Associations) for women. Rules Under the rules of golf and amateur status, except for hole in one prizes, the maximum value of a prize an amateur can accept is £500, or $750. If an amateur accepts a prize of greater than this they forfeit their amateur status, and are therefore by definition a professional golfer. Professional golfers are divided into two main groups, with a limited amount of overlap between them: The great majority of professional golfers make their living from teaching the game, running golf clubs and courses, and dealing in golf equipment. In golf pro refers to individuals involved in the service of other golfers. The senior professional golfer at a golf club is usually referred to as the club professional, but at a large golf club or resort with several courses his job title is likely to be director of golf. If they have assistants who are registered professional golfers, they are known as assistant professionals. A golfer who concentrates wholly or nearly so on giving golf lessons is a teaching professional, golf instructor or golf coach. Most of these people will enter a few tournaments against their peers each year, and occasionally they may qualify to play in important tournaments with the other group of professional golfers mentioned below. Many club and teaching professionals working in the golf industry start as caddies, or a general interest in the game, finding employment at golf courses and eventually moving on to certifications in their chosen profession. These programs include independent institutions and universities, and those that eventually lead to a Class A golf professional certification. Note that the USGA defines "instruction" strictly as teaching the physical aspects of golf. Instruction in the psychological aspects of the game is explicitly excluded from this definition. A much smaller but higher profile group of professional golfers earn a living from playing in golf tournaments, or aspire to do so. Their income comes from prize money, and sometimes, even endorsements. These individuals are referred to as tournament pros,