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Cost of golf

threeboysdad said:
That’s easy, try motocross with two kids riding....Golf is much much cheaper.


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Also...try skiing for an expense. Especially if not local to a resort where season passes are practical and also going on weekends. Honestly its only a few days a year that its affordable not to mention the equipment and outerwear. Travel, food, lodging, etc....
 
threeboysdad said:
That’s easy, try motocross with two kids riding....Golf is much much cheaper.


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This is so so so true. Friends are parents of Justin Bogle and they broke down what their costs were when he was young, was crazy.
 
Beekeeping may outpace golf, too, at the rate my wife is finding swarms right now.
 
Jman said:
This is so so so true. Friends are parents of Justin Bogle and they broke down what their costs were when he was young, was crazy.
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Yep, we actually know Justin but also know the Wharton’s and a few others. I was not even in their league of the cost they have spent!


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I have zero desire to know how much I've spent. My wife has never said anything about it but I've committed to watching my spending because I know it's been a stupid amount the last couple of years.
 
I'm probably around 5% of yearly income. Depends mostly on how many golf trips I manage to squeeze into the year, if any.
 
Spend a ton on your passions, scrimp in other area's you don't care much about.
 
I'm calculating mine now. It's not looking pretty. When they recommend budgeting 30% on your mortgage, I think I thought they meant golf.

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I have no reason to count. There was a time in my life that golf wasn't feasible, and I refuse to let it happen again.

If I have to start counting dollars again, I'll stop playing for good. Until then, ignorance is bliss lmao
 
I spend less than I want to spend. But more than I probably should.
 
No car payments, no credit card debt, 401k maxed for both my wife and I each year, and a healthy savings account means I budgeted properly and I can have my fun money. I am lucky with my household earnings but it also took many years to get there. I don't track down to the penny how much I spend on golf but I know when I can and can't do a golf trip or buy new clubs.

No kids helps that too. I talked to some of my friends and what the pay for baseball, soccer, softball, martial arts, hockey, or equestrian sports is crazy. If I had a kid in sports I would not be golfing.
 
TheDoctor said:
Considering I don't buy clubs a lot, it isn't really that much for me

Thinking back to last year, if I total up the membership costs, a couple of golf weekend trips, consumables (balls, tees, gloves, etc) and lessons it probably equates to around 1.5 months of my salary, and that is for both myself and Jen

This year will be considerably more expensive as I am going through a full bag fitting, but once I have those clubs they will be in the bag for a good few years, and depending on how much Jen improves this year I have also said to her about getting fitted for a set but she needs a bit more consistency in her swing first
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I’m someone who loves to try different equipment, so I’ve definitely spent a good deal of money there, but I 100% agree with you that it doesn’t have to be expensive. You can join a neighborhood club or muni, play with the same clubs for 5+ years, and shop for good deals on consumables.
 
SlightDraw said:
I'm curious what other sport you could play that would be equally expensive
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Fishing from your own boat has been mentioned. A modest used 27 foot fishing boat for the ocean easily runs over $100k. We were at the lake on our boat last weekend like many Minnesotans and you’d be surprised how many late model wake boarding/surf boats were on the lake. Those boats and many pontoon boats are over $100k new, in fact I saw a few pontoon boats on the lake with dual 300 outboards which would push the price up over $150k. Fuel on the lake was $4.79 per gallon and Saturday I went through 35 gallons in our pontoon boat. 4th of July week we can easily go through 300 gallons.

Snow skiing can certainly be more expensive than golf. The lift ticket prices at a place like Vail are now $200. For our family of five a ski trip with lodging, food, and airfare can easily run $2500 per day. SCUBA Diving would be another one because of the obvious travel costs.

The beauty about golf is it can be very affordable. When I was in my 20’s my membership was $795 for the summer and I averaged over 130 rounds. I played the same set of irons for 19 years because I couldn’t justify the cost of new ones. There are city courses here that you can still get an annual pass for about $1100 that includes unlimited play at all of them. Smaller cities are cheaper for sure. When our kids were little I played mostly twilight at public courses and my average round was about $20 so my annual costs with balls and equipment ran only about $1200.
 
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Cost of golf

I try to be reasonable And honest to myself with this game.

It’s the golfer, not the equipment that makes you play better and I do not need the latest and greatest gadgets to play. If I can find a driver and be happy with it, I’m good for 5-6 years with it. Irons for me maybe every 7-10 years. Putter I recently got fitted and plan to keep it for a decade. Wedges I’m happy with and can last at least 5 years. Shoes every 3-4 years.





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threeboysdad said:
That’s easy, try motocross with two kids riding....Golf is much much cheaper.


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Agreed racing motocross was a nightmare for my family financially. I admit I was blessed at the time, but idk how my parents pulled it off.

Once I was on my own I couldn't afford to race let alone get hurt, which put more pressure on finances since I had to work..

My golf expenses don't even compare, and I rarely buy anything new. Walking, instead of riding, and also lack of courses near me helps me keep costs down. The only time I splurge is when I go on travel. But that is what overtime and per diem are for.

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2 words: TOO MUCH!!!!!

However, for me it is the only thing my doctors allow me to do in the sports arena. If you have the funds, spend it as I am obsessed with the game now.
 
Jman said:
This is so so so true. Friends are parents of Justin Bogle and they broke down what their costs were when he was young, was crazy.
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Just the average family racing at a local track is expensive, racing on an elite level for a kid is crazy how expensive it is. Families mortgage their future on the kid making it.

Golf can be expensive, if you want it to be, but it doesn't have to be. To me it is in the more affordable realm of adult hobbies I enjoy. My previous loves of motocross and water-skiing are definitely more. I would really love to get into auto racing but that is sky high as well. Fishing, mountain biking, hockey, none of these are cheap either.
 
Cost of golf

Putting in a golf sim last year didn’t help. My wife thinks I’m nuts.
 
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I started to do this back in the '90s, just out of curiosity. I stopped after about two months because it was making me ill.

Add me to the list of people advising - don't do this to yourself.
 
My bank has it set up to categorize my transactions when I look at the website for budgeting purposes. I never ever plan to summarize the golf category.

It's my only hobby at this point so I spend a good amount of money on it. Part of the fun for me is finding ways to save money on it, whether it's hunting for ball deals or working trades, but I'm not afraid to indulge in a nice round either.

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I wouldn't even try to figure out what I've spent over the past 55 years on golf, but it reminds me of an old joke between a husband and wife. We can substitute "golf" for "beer."


WOMAN: _DO YOU DRINK BEER?_

MAN: _YES_

WOMAN: _HOW MANY BEERS A DAY?_

MAN: _USUALLY ABOUT THREE_

WOMAN: _HOW MUCH DO YOU PAY PER BEER?_

MAN: _$5.00 WHICH INCLUDES A TIP (THIS IS WHERE IT GETS SCARY!)_

WOMAN: _AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DRINKING?_

MAN: _ABOUT 20 YEARS, I SUPPOSE_

WOMAN: _SO A BEER COSTS $5 AND YOU HAVE THREE BEERS A DAY WHICH PUTS
YOUR_ _SPENDING EACH MONTH AT $450. _

_IN ONE YEAR, IT WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY $5400 CORRECT?_

MAN: _CORRECT_

WOMAN: _IF IN 1 YEAR YOU SPEND $5400, NOT ACCOUNTING FOR INFLATION, _
THE__ __PAST 20 YEARS PUTS YOUR SPENDING AT $108,000 CORRECT?_

MAN: _CORRECT_

WOMAN: _DO YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU DIDN’T DRINK SO MUCH BEER, THAT
MONEY_ _COULD HAVE BEEN PUT IN A STEP-UP INTEREST SAVINGS ACCOUNT AND
AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR COMPOUND INTEREST FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS, _

YOU COULD HAVE NOW BOUGHT AN AIRPLANE?_

MAN: _DO YOU DRINK BEER?_

WOMAN: _NO._

MAN: _WHERE IS YOUR AIRPLANE?_
 
Mine is about 10% of my yearly income. I used to spend a lot more but I recently dialed back my equipment purchases. I now only buy no-name clubs (Pinemeadow and Wilson Harmonized mostly, along with Nitro balls) and dont switch out clubs every time I have a bad round. Beyond that, I just chalk it up to cost of a hobby.
Compared to some of the hobbies I used to have, golf is cheap for me. I used to be big into hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, cars, motorcycles, ATVs, etc, etc. Now those are REAL expensive hobbies.
 
Quick estimations would have me around 3% of my annual income. Add in my wife's income and that drops even more. I like new and shiny, but also cut back on my membership this year by joining a course that was half of what my previous course cost me.
 
tahoebum said:
Fishing from your own boat has been mentioned. A modest used 27 foot fishing boat for the ocean easily runs over $100k. We were at the lake on our boat last weekend like many Minnesotans and you’d be surprised how many late model wake boarding/surf boats were on the lake. Those boats and many pontoon boats are over $100k new, in fact I saw a few pontoon boats on the lake with dual 300 outboards which would push the price up over $150k. Fuel on the lake was $4.79 per gallon and Saturday I went through 35 gallons in our pontoon boat. 4th of July week we can easily go through 300 gallons.

Snow skiing can certainly be more expensive than golf. The lift ticket prices at a place like Vail are now $200. For our family of five a ski trip with lodging, food, and airfare can easily run $2500 per day. SCUBA Diving would be another one because of the obvious travel costs.

The beauty about golf is it can be very affordable. When I was in my 20’s my membership was $795 for the summer and I averaged over 130 rounds. I played the same set of irons for 19 years because I couldn’t justify the cost of new ones. There are city courses here that you can still get an annual pass for about $1100 that includes unlimited play at all of them. Smaller cities are cheaper for sure. When our kids were little I played mostly twilight at public courses and my average round was about $20 so my annual costs with balls and equipment ran only about $1200.
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Although I don't have a boat any longer as Tahoebum mentions skiing and scuba diving can be expensive. We usually go on 2-3 family trips per year to local (3-4 hours) mountains. Then MANski trip out west for easily over $1500 per person yearly. Scuba diving not yearly but try to go every other year. So golf is not too bad. I am good on equipment, try and at least play 9 every week or twice a week with an 18 thrown in every other. Walk the 9 cart the 18. Don't know how much it all adds up to. But I like to go and kinda manage money ok, although spending is so much more fun than saving.

Kids are expensive and was gonna go this weekend but I got no money so might just wait unless I put it on the card.
 
With three youth golfers, we play a lot of rounds on 25.00 courses otherwise we couldn’t afford to go more than a few times a summer.

Also outfitting them all isn’t cheap. Going forward it will be easier as they all have a perfectly good fit for them full bag, with the exception of my little guy. Ive bought the last set that I’m getting the older two, with the exception of as presents if that’s what they want for bday or Christmas.

I would conservatively put last years number at 12k. That much won’t ever happen again unless I hit the lotto, lol. Just the basics, balls tees, and a round a week (average over the year) I’m looking at 5-6k. But it’s our main form of entertainment, and sharing special memories with them, I can’t put a price on how valuable that is to me. I’ll never have a chance to golf with my kids at this age again so if I have to overspend a little out my price range, I’ll do it for the next couple years.
 
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