Oh, the “where does my money go” argument.
Well, the numbers should almost always work out. But there are many many many things that people forget about that are costs involved to run an event. For example, here are some common costs I run into when running events that have to come out of the total payout.
OB Paint / Rope / Flags
Paper for scorecards
Paper for leaderboard cards
Ink to print scorecards / leaderboard cards
Ice / Water on the course
Course / Park Rental
Shipping of merchandise ordered
It adds up quickly.