Then there's no guarantee of a return on the investment. Missing cuts make it a costly exercise.
Of course, the rewards can be considerable but, for every player who banks $1 million for a week's work, countless others are left almost penniless.
"I've had to re-mortgage my house three times to fund my career," Lower Hutt professional Gareth Paddison says. "It's a privilege to be doing what we are but the financial risk and reward is a very false front.
"In the last four years, I've been quite lucky because I've made money from the game but I don't feel financially secure."
The 34-year-old Paddison, who turned professional in 2001, played in Australasia briefly before playing full-time in Europe from 2003 but lost money each year between 2005-07 as he battled on the second-tier Challenge Tour.
The left-hander enjoyed some success with a full European Tour card in 2008 but wasn't able to hold on to it as his coaching and caddy fees skyrocketed - a caddy costs about $1600 per week.
Now based in Melbourne, Paddison has won three times on the PGA Tour of Australasia in the past three seasons, collecting about A$18,000 for each win.
Kiwi veteran Mark Brown is in the third stage of his professional career.
The first included a mixed spell playing in Canada, Asia and Australia before he spent four years on the European Tour from 2008-11 and he's now carving out a decent living in Australasia.
"When I first started out, it was often three-to-four guys to a motel room," he recalls. "Three guys in a rental car, all crammed in to a little Hyundai Getz, or something like that. It's got to be harder to play well when you're living like that."
Brown's victory at the 2008 Johnnie Walker Classic in India netted more than $400,000, which also gave him considerable status on the European and Asian tours as a tournament winner.
"I was lucky enough to win and get some starts on some pretty major tours and it definitely makes it easier," Brown says.
"But when you're teeing off and guys know they're $100,000 behind for the year, that's a pretty big mental thing to get over."
Waikato professional Mathew Perry, who is based in Melbourne and plays on the PGA Tour of Australasia and PGA Tour China, is still waiting for his first big payday.
"It's something you can't help but think of when you're playing week by week and trying to survive," Perry says. "It obviously doesn't help your performance any more or less but you've just got to put it to the back of your mind and let the process and the things you practice do the work for you."
Perry has made around $4500 this year across the Australasian and China tours, although earnings from pro-am events are harder to track.
"Any money I have won, it's gone straight out of the account on flights or entry fees," Perry says.
"I'm lucky I've had the support of my parents to help me out the few times I haven't been able to support myself financially.
"But that's obviously something I don't want to rely on and, for others, they might not be lucky enough to have that assistance when push comes to shove."
When Lydia Ko announced earlier this month she would no longer take any funding from High Performance Sport New Zealand, people questioned why the 17-year-old was entitled to it in the first place given she had earned more than $600,000 this year.
One insider speculated that Ko would not have a quarter of that in her hand now, given her expenses, as she sets herself up as a professional.
"I'm certainly not crying poverty," Brown says. "The money is essential because of what it actually costs to do it. Until you get to the point of being top 50 in the world, most of the guys, probably 98 or 99 per cent of them worldwide, are struggling to make ends meet."
Brown's expenses have come down by playing in Australasia but his bills amounted to $150,000- $200,000 annually in Europe.
New Zealand Golf have a rookie professional assistance programme in place, which is in its third year, and offers players financial aid to help get started on a pro tour.
It's managed on a case-by-case basis but generally entitles a player to have their flights and their expenses covered as they secure their status.
Australian rookies get more funding, given they have stronger philanthropic backing, which can see players receive up to $50,000 for three years as they look to establish themselves.
"We'd love to be in a situation where we could do more for them for longer," New Zealand Golf's high performance manager Gregg Thorpe says. "We are not there yet but we'll keep working on that."
Paddison says at his stage of his career a $250,000 winner's cheque would be "life-changing" and, while it's tough, he isn't ready to quit.
"I've thought about it," he says. "But then I've thought, 'what else do I do?' I left school at 16. I don't have many options."
Annual expenses
Mark Brown
• (PGA Tour of Australasia, OneAsia Tour, PGA Tour China, member of the European Tour and holds status on America's Web.com Tour)
• Flights: $30,000
• Hotels: $11,000
• Qualifying school entry fees: $4500
• Tour membership fees: $4000
• Sundry expenses (caddies, rental cars and food): $5000
• Total: $54,500
• Brown also pays coaching, management and physical training fees.
Mathew Perry
• (PGA Tour of Australasia and PGA Tour China)
• Travel and entry fee to 12 tournaments in China: $31,000
• Club membership: $2000
• Coaching, physio, sports pyschologist, biomechanics specialist and statistician: $7000-$20,000, depending on specialist requirements.
• Total: Up to $53,000
• Perry's expenses for Australian tournaments are tougher to track given differences in flights and accommodation.
