We've launched the new forums! Read more here

How do you afford golf?

$275/yr for unlimited range. I try to go 2-3 times a week. Local public courses are $15-25 April - September. I usually play once a week. When the snowbirds come to Florida, the price triples. Then I go to the range more and play less. I play almost 20 yr old irons that I have tried to replace, just keep going back. CPO for hybrids and driver and 3 wood. Just scored a PM grind wedge on THP.
 
Found a crazy good under 40 membership with no initiation. Pay $200/mo includes all range balls and walking/pushing. Cart rental is $15 and they gave me a punch card for 12 free carts. Ends up being cheaper than GolfNow in the summer and gives the fiancee 12 clay tennis courts and a nice pool for the hot Columbia summers. Otherwise, it was all GolfNow specials for me prior to this deal.
 
I got a great idea from a show i really like. I use my extensive chemistry background to manufacture a very high quality methamphetamine. I get by okay.


On a serious note, I keep things simple. No debt other than my car payment and no credit card payments. I don't live beyond my means so I can play golf when I have the time. Although i just got a promotion thats going to completely flip my schedule for the foreseeable future. So things might get hectic for me soon.
 
Golf now and living social have good deals.
 
I have a golf membership at a course that is 5 minutes from my home. Since I retired, I play a LOT of golf (at least 3-4 times per week, but no weekends). I figured out that my membership comes out to about $15 per round, including cart, USGA membership and unlimited use of their practice range.
 
Being in college and broke I have a hard time affording to play regularly. Luckily I have a part time job, I use golfnow all the time, My University doesn't have a course but they do give discounts to nearby courses to college students. I also have a friend who works at a golf course so I can play for free with him.

I buy all my clubs used or on the marketplace, or Christmas!
 
A nice 36 hole public course not too far from my office actually has a very good deal but it requires up front payment. For $4800 annually, you get unlimited green fees, cart fees and range balls. Without range balls or if you want to not pay for cart and walk...even cheaper. It is not hard to get tee times unless you want to play between 7:30 and 10am on Saturday. Weekend pace of play is usually 4-1/2 to 4-3/4 hours. Rest of time, you can usually play in 3 or less.
Looking at cost to play 1 round on weekend and 1 round during the week, you would need to play 50 weeks for it to pay for itself.
If a person plays 1 round on weekend and twice during week, then you have to play 40 weeks to come out.
When I played there, I generally played twice on weekends and twice during the week and some afternoons I would go play 5, 6 holes or maybe even 9 holes but no additional cost. It payed for itself.
I would recommend wherever you live, see if you can find something like an annual pass or some membership and do the math. That is how one can afford to play more golf. Once you have already paid for it...you tend to play more because it is not costing you more.
 
Canadan said:
We find a way. Give up fancy dinners and crazy trips that cost thousands - But I always argue it's better to have something for 52 weeks than it is to have something for 1 week.

Lessons are sporadic. Clubs can be had very cheap if I buy decent barely used previous year. With the amount I play, it's actually cheaper to belong to a course.
Click to expand...

I agree on all points. We spend a lot on golf (wife and I) but we both work hard and we save for golf (membership) and even for clubs. We get great discounts as well at our home course and that helps with club purchasing.
 
No kids.

God bless.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I married a sugar daddy. :alien: Seriously, we are both retired from government jobs and both of us took a 40% cut in pay when we retired so we had to make serious adjustments to our lifestyle. We drive older cars, downsized our house, and joined a course that has a reasonable monthly family rate with cart fee included. I travel to a different course about once a week but it usually only costs about $26 in the league I'm in because we get a discounted amount. Golf is more of a priority to us than luxury items.
 
We pay $208.00 per month for our membership which includes unlimited cart fees, range balls and family membership. Pretty good deal considering the course we left a little over a year ago was over twice this much. My wife and I both love and play golf and this is our only hobby so we put our money into this course which is pretty nice.
 
I quit smoking, don't pay alimony, drink about a 6 pack a week, have no debt, and buy new irons about once every 10 or 12 years and a new driver about once every 3 or 4. Leaves plenty of cash to go and actually play golf with! If I could give up fast food, I could join a country club! :D
 
I tend to buy clubs from the last year, or used from reputable sources. As far as getting out on the course, I'm very lucky in having a number of decently priced courses near me. My home course is a 9 hole that's $15 walking during the week, $20 walking on weekends. There's a nice 18 hole course that's fairly easy to walk nearby that's $27, my son and I like a local par 3 that's $23 for us both to walk 9. No, they're no high end courses, but for me, they're perfect in that they're local, reasonably priced, and I can take my 9yo out with me.
 
I've spent $500 on clubs his year. Prior to this year, I hadn't spent a penny (other than grips) in nearly 6 years. I play cheaper courses in the area, or get on with a friend at his club for a reasonable rate. I am thinking about joining a local club which is currently running a deal for greens fees and range for $180/mo, carts are $15. I'd make my money on range balls alone. Otherwise, I'm going to do a range plan next spring.


Give 'em hell!
 
I work two jobs 100+ hrs a week, we have no kids, only debt is my wife's new car and mortgage plus a rental(land contract) that covers itself plus.

I play when I can and where I want because I bust my hump for that ability. I pay my instructor for yearly lessons plus range membership. I budget for trips and set back monies here and there for them because I'm a tight a$$.

I don't upgrade equipment often and I buy balls from lostgolfballs.com.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
One of the reasons I don't get a cart is the extra 18 bucks and basically adds to an extra couple rounds fees for every 5 I play and walk I can play 7. I keep it all at my county courses, no expensive private courses and to be honest my county tracks are plenty nice tracks :)

My last set of clubs I used for like at least 12 or more years and my latest set will probably do the same for me. I by balls on line and/or when on sale in the box stores. I buy my clothes on sale and with coupons etc. And its all still expensive. If I was able to, I'd probably golf 5 times a week. But I cant so I don't.
 
I end up playing once every 2 weeks, just based on how much it costs to play.

I try and put as much time into practice as I can, as it ends up being less costly.
 
I'm pretty lucky. I am semi-retired but own a chunk of my last company (I retired from the CEO position). I am doing consulting half time that pays me more than what I made when I ran a company and I now have some time to play golf (constrained by not abandoning my wife) and reasonable means to do so. I generally average less than $500 a month golfing but will often splurge (TPC Sawgrass, a long weekend in Scottsdale in the winter...). This week we're at our NYC home so I am golfing Wednesday @ Trump Ferry Point and I have a tee time there this Friday AM too. You only live once but if you pay attention, there's a payoff for working hard for 35 years and being wise about money.
 
kvarilek said:
We are really fortunate in that in our area there is a deal called GreatLife where you pay $49 a month and get unlimited golf at 2 courses in town plus almost every local course within 30 miles is free. Access to a few different fitness clubs is also included. My wife also gets a discount through work so we actually get a family membership for the price of a single. Can't beat this!
Click to expand...
This sounds ridiculously amazing. This would be a golfers dream, wish this existed in the pacific northwest!

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
 
I use one of the best deals in the Pacific NW, there is a tight, short local course mixed in a retirement community that gives unlimited golf March to october for $299. I think I spend more buying golf balls than I do for the golf...my cost per round is down to just over 5 bucks and I still have 2-1/2 months to go...makes it very affordable and combined with discounts from the golf show, groupons, hot deals on golfnow, I can play a lot, mix in a few different courses and keep it "cheap"*


** your definition of cheap and mine may vary. Except extremely rare special occasions I will not pay more than about 40 bucks a round, though I would have doubled that to play the Pacific NW get together and will pay more than that in Scottsdale this September...but keeping my regular golf "cheap" lets me afford the splurges
 
No debt, no kids
 
darthweasel said:
I use one of the best deals in the Pacific NW, there is a tight, short local course mixed in a retirement community that gives unlimited golf March to october for $299. I think I spend more buying golf balls than I do for the golf...my cost per round is down to just over 5 bucks and I still have 2-1/2 months to go...makes it very affordable and combined with discounts from the golf show, groupons, hot deals on golfnow, I can play a lot, mix in a few different courses and keep it "cheap"*


** your definition of cheap and mine may vary. Except extremely rare special occasions I will not pay more than about 40 bucks a round, though I would have doubled that to play the Pacific NW get together and will pay more than that in Scottsdale this September...but keeping my regular golf "cheap" lets me afford the splurges
Click to expand...
Where is this deal at?

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
 
1. Single
2. No kids
3. Golfnow, groupon, etc...
4. Twilight
5. Winter. As much as I despise it, it sure helps the wallet
 
I do not play much, I am a once a month golfer or so. I average 12-17 rounds a year so I save money there. I do practice the short game quite a bit which is free at the local course,hit the range once a week or more. I am slowing down on buying clubs as well so that helps a bit.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
 
I use a lot of 2fore1 or Bunkered vouchers which means a friend and I can both play for the cost of one green fee. Luckily up here in Scotland there are no shortage of amazing courses, but with Aberdeen being an 'oil' city, the price of everything is ridiculously inflated. I'm quite lucky that with my work I have a lot of contacts that offer corporate days, so I have St Andrews to play next Friday and then Gleneagles the Thursday afterwards. Is certainly good for bragging rights!
Other than that, I tend to buy all my equipment including balls second hand and a couple of years old meaning I never pay full price. Only gloves and grips I buy new, and the occasional (very very occasional) new shirt/shoes. I don't earn a lot of money so have to be fairly careful with what I spend.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top