We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Cost of golf

We are fortunate to have a comfortable income (after 20 years of busting my @$$ and scraping by, haha), no credit card or student loan debt and we both drive Hondas and don’t spend much on them.

So we do have some discretionary income but I choose to keep the golf spending pretty low. I belong to a small club that costs $400 a year for all the golf I want. I’d guess I probably spend more than that annually on beers while I’m at the club... ok let’s not start adding in beer to the calculation :)

All in, including rounds at other clubs and a vacation or two I don’t think my annual golf expense is more 2%-3% of our income. I don’t buy new gear unless something breaks so that helps.
 
Yes, golf is expensive. I don't need to go into the details. They're already laid out well and if anyone new is reading we've scared them off. But then there's this for new players.

1) I think public courses that have dress codes need to ditch them. Private courses can do what they want. Public courses? If we want to grow the game and get more people interested in the game for the future?

2) Club fitting: Most people will end up with a set of irons in standard length and standard lie in R shaft. I've seen used 6 year old Mizuno irons on e-bay in good shape 5-GW for $250. Yes, "out of date" but good enough for a beginner. From there they just need a 56 degree wedge which I've seen a Vokey for around $40. A 5W that they can find at the local golf shop - last years or two year old model for a sale price. And a cheap putter. You don't need a Scotty to start. My first putter I got when I was 14 years old was a MacGregor I remember was $1 with cereal box tops or something like that and I was deadly with it. Because my dad wouldn't buy one for me. I wish I still had the thing. It would get some laughs at the golf course, and I'd get some laughs after the ball went in the hole. That piece of **** won me $100 back in 1971.

3) Play 9. Courses need to have Play 9 rates. Also 3 or 4 hole rates for people who just got off work and want to get a few holes in before sundown.

4) Lessons: there are group lessons that are less expensive for beginners. Everyone sucks. Experience the suckage as a group. Meet people at your level.
 
InTheRough said:
Yes, golf is expensive. I don't need to go into the details. They're already laid out well and if anyone new is reading we've scared them off. But then there's this for new players.

1) I think public courses that have dress codes need to ditch them. Private courses can do what they want. Public courses? If we want to grow the game and get more people interested in the game for the future?

2) Club fitting: Most people will end up with a set of irons in standard length and standard lie in R shaft. I've seen used 6 year old Mizuno irons on e-bay in good shape 5-GW for $250. Yes, "out of date" but good enough for a beginner. From there they just need a 56 degree wedge which I've seen a Vokey for around $40. A 5W that they can find at the local golf shop - last years or two year old model for a sale price. And a cheap putter. You don't need a Scotty to start. My first putter I got when I was 14 years old was a MacGregor I remember was $1 with cereal box tops or something like that and I was deadly with it. Because my dad wouldn't buy one for me. I wish I still had the thing. It would get some laughs at the golf course, and I'd get some laughs after the ball went in the hole. That piece of **** won me $100 back in 1971.

3) Play 9. Courses need to have Play 9 rates. Also 3 or 4 hole rates for people who just got off work and want to get a few holes in before sundown.

4) Lessons: there are group lessons that are less expensive for beginners. Everyone sucks. Experience the suckage as a group. Meet people at your level.
Click to expand...
I agree. I was out with the local pro one day and there was a guy playing shirtless. He called in to have the marshal come out to tell him to put his clothes on or leave. I think we should embrace topless play... especially for attractive females, but that's another conversation altogether.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Golf doesn't have to be expensive. The last time that I bought a club was 2015, and I see no reason to purchase new ones anytime soon, I bought a new bag this year only because three of the seven pockets on my old bag had broken zippers I play an inexpensive municipal course at a local state park or pick up "Hot Deals" on GolfNow. I feel like a glutton since I bought my wood, wedges, putter, and iron set individually; my friends have boxed Wilson sets.

It can get expensive if you have to play at more expensive courses or if you are the kind of person who enjoys collecting the most modern equipment. There is nothing wrong with those things. I don't find enjoyment from them. I enjoy shooting 85-95 with my friends.

The largest expense I have is a series of six or eight lessons annually which comes to around $275-300.
 
I always say there is no limit to what people will consider disposable income. Unfortunately for those in place people with more of it live (the coasts for example) it can be overwhelming for people that don't have the money. Great thing about this country you can move somewhere else. Of course that may mean sacrificing other priorities, living close to work or family.

I live in a rural City. Golf course are $30-40 on weekends for 18 & a cart. Movies are around $6 at a recently renovated theater. I don't like traffic, have family close by and a job I like.

Of course the drive or flight to an ocean is significant time and cost. Plus there are too many damn people in those places anyhow... :curse:
 
CobraX51 said:
What's more satisfying...

Sandy Par from the Bunker...Or converting a 7-10 split.
Click to expand...

7-10 unless it started as a 6-7-10

I have personal experience of this
 
It got to where I was spending a lot of money for my addiction. I had to tell my wife how much I spent each month. I would try to slip it in there, "yeah I mowed the lawn, washed the dogs, spent $ 389 on golf and washed the car and put gas in today" wife :"whoa there cowboy, wait a minute, go back to how much you spent on golf ?"

I umpire softball and referee basketball at night and use that money for golf, so she should not say a thing....but she does.

This year I bought a golf pass for $1,800. it includes 5 courses and all the golf you can play for 365 days. It is all walking, carts are extra, but I hardly ever take a cart. I will come out in the black in this deal as I played 212 rounds last year and I am up to 81 as of today.

Screw it, I'm 57 years old and I'm going to play golf whenever I can, to hell with the consequences.
 
I fall between $4k and $5k per year: club dues, assorted greens fees, balls, gloves, shoes, clothing purchases, random club(s) purchases, etc...

I keep costs low by telling the Mrs another number.

Works.
 
Last edited:
The problem is for people who don't have a guide of sorts to get them started, borrow clubs from, get advice on where to buy clubs get lessons etc. They could end up spending thousands with very little return and/or enjoyment
 
alexped2393 said:
The problem is for people who don't have a guide of sorts to get them started, borrow clubs from, get advice on where to buy clubs get lessons etc. They could end up spending thousands with very little return and/or enjoyment
Click to expand...

That's why there is THP!
 
5150 said:
We are fortunate to have a comfortable income (after 20 years of busting my @$$ and scraping by, haha), no credit card or student loan debt and we both drive Hondas and don’t spend much on them.

So we do have some discretionary income but I choose to keep the golf spending pretty low. I belong to a small club that costs $400 a year for all the golf I want. I’d guess I probably spend more than that annually on beers while I’m at the club... ok let’s not start adding in beer to the calculation :)

All in, including rounds at other clubs and a vacation or two I don’t think my annual golf expense is more 2%-3% of our income. I don’t buy new gear unless something breaks so that helps.
Click to expand...

I wish I could find something I could golf all I want for $400 bucks a year. $400 bucks would get me a dozen rounds of golf where I play. And that is for walking not riding a cart. There is a program at two courses about 30 miles from me where I can pay $100 bucks a month for unlimited golf on weekdays. But my playing partners are only available on weekends.

I do save on the equipment. I buy used clubs at Global Golf and they work fine for me. I do the research and figure out what clubs and shafts work best for me and buy them from GG. I drive to a golf shop about an hour from here and do some swing testing on clubs but I don't buy them there. I'll buy a box of balls and a glove just to buy something so they don't think I'm just there for the testing. Then I wait check GG. Sometimes they aren't always available so I have to be patient and keep checking. Eventually they become available. I love the Cobra King driver I bought from them last year. Best driver I've ever used and got it for under $200.
 
Last edited:
charley48 said:
I wish I could find something I could golf all I want for $400 bucks a year. $400 bucks would get me a dozen rounds of golf where I play. And that is for walking not riding a cart. There is a program at two courses about 30 miles from me where I can pay $100 bucks a month for unlimited golf on weekdays. But my playing partners are only available on weekends.

I do save on the equipment. I buy used clubs at Global Golf and they work fine for me. I do the research and figure out what clubs and shafts work best for me and buy them from GG. I drive to a golf shop about an hour from here and do some swing testing on clubs but I don't buy them there. I'll buy a box of balls and a glove just Sometimes they aren't always available so I have to be patient and keep checking. Eventually they become available. I love the Cobra King driver I bought from them last year. Best driver I've ever used and got it for under $200.
Click to expand...

There are at least three options in my area for golf in that price range. Maybe not $400/year but more like $600-$700 a year for all you want to play (walking). One of the three is truly awful. Not sure I even consider it a golf course as much as a place that once was a golf course and now they mow the grass when they get around to it. The other two are perfectly reasonable places to play the game, albeit with maintenance that's so-so most of the time and occasionally worse than so-so.

I played that type of course for a long time after taking up the game. And on some days I wish I'd never started spending 10x that much on private country club golf. The experience is just worlds better, of course, but if the day ever comes I can't afford the fancy courses I'm not sure I could re-adjust. What's the old saying, it's hard to keep them down on the farm once they seen the big city? That's me in a nutshell, alas.
 
Et Tu Brute? said:
There are at least three options in my area for golf in that price range. Maybe not $400/year but more like $600-$700 a year for all you want to play (walking). One of the three is truly awful. Not sure I even consider it a golf course as much as a place that once was a golf course and now they mow the grass when they get around to it. The other two are perfectly reasonable places to play the game, albeit with maintenance that's so-so most of the time and occasionally worse than so-so.

I played that type of course for a long time after taking up the game. And on some days I wish I'd never started spending 10x that much on private country club golf. The experience is just worlds better, of course, but if the day ever comes I can't afford the fancy courses I'm not sure I could re-adjust. What's the old saying, it's hard to keep them down on the farm once they seen the big city? That's me in a nutshell, alas.
Click to expand...
Farm > city. I get what you're going for in this conversation and that is a completely different topic, but I just wanted to put that out there.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
OGputtnfool said:
Farm > city. I get what you're going for in this conversation and that is a completely different topic, but I just wanted to put that out there.
Click to expand...

To some people the "City" where I live probably seems like a farm. I remember one time a good friend who grew in the Bronx and has spent his entire life in New Jersey came to visit and we played at my club. It's a nice club with a good course but he wandered around the whole time saying, "Wow. Do you have any idea how much money you'd need to be a member of a club like this that's not out in the boondocks?".
 
Et Tu Brute? said:
To some people the "City" where I live probably seems like a farm. I remember one time a good friend who grew in the Bronx and has spent his entire life in New Jersey came to visit and we played at my club. It's a nice club with a good course but he wandered around the whole time saying, "Wow. Do you have any idea how much money you'd need to be a member of a club like this that's not out in the boondocks?".
Click to expand...
Where's that?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
So, we're almost 3/4 of the way through this year. I've spent A LOT so far. I have a spreadsheet tracking it all and I just tallied up some numbers. I'm not gonna talk dollars just yet (might never, but I will convert to a % of my yearly income to keep things somewhat private and relative).

So far, as a percentage of my total spent so far this year, I've spent...

10.3% on accessories (this likely includes some shafts, grips, etc.)
40.8% on clubs, shafts, grips, adapters, etc.
0.8% on gloves and shoes
5.5% on balls
29.7% on greens fees, cart fees, and tee time fees
1.0% on eBay fees to sell clubs
7.9% on postage to mail the stuff I've sold here and on eBay
3.9% on range balls

I've managed to sell enough to cover 24.5% of the total. I still have some stuff I'm gonna try to sell this year so hopefully, I can take a chunk out of the net expenditures.
 
I just did a back of the napkin for this year.

Including travel events, tournaments, membership at my club, north of $10k

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 
The city course nearby costs 10 bucks for 18 walking. I'll hit this place once per week for about 35 rounds. Give / take a few. A membership for someone who lives outside city limits is 150-200 more per year so not worth it. So, about 350 bucks/yr.

After this place closes then its Winter pricing at other courses from November on. So 15 bucks for 18/cart or 10 walking. We mix it up so $12.50 avg. say 10 weeks depending on weather. That is another 125$

Total this up and add in a visit to 25$ course as a whim and I'm looking at about $500/ year for green fees. So, 10 bucks a week, roughly. Depending on weather as well for this season as this could be lower or higher.

From last Christmas until this week I've purchased:
Driver (Bio Cell) for $60 new
FlyZ 2/3 hybrid free (Rock bottom Golf trade in)
Black Ogio Hauler Bag ($55 rest was amazon gift card)
50 Noodle Ball assortment from e-bay $17 shipped
2 bags of tees $10
Bio Cell 7,8,9,PW heads $55 shipped (this will incur more for shafts/grips)
FlyZ 3/4 hybrid $29 shipped

This comes to $276. I probably bought a few packs of balls earlier in the year and then I find a ton walking. So $300 seems fair here so far.

The green fees cost of 500 bucks is basically accurate since I'm out weekly.
The equipment cost of 300 bucks is variable as I don't buy stuff all the time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top