I was talking with a buddy about this and whether golf is the most expensive sport. Between clubs, balls, gear, lessons, greens fees, range time, etc., it has to be up there with the most expensive hobbies in general (excluding folks who collect and repair cars, watches, and that kind of stuff).

Even excluding equipment and lessons, just playing a round of golf semi regularly costs me about $200 a month, if not more when you add in drinks and food. I can really only get out there on the weekends, so that's part of my problem.

For the folks that are playing 20+ rounds a year, how much do you spend on average on the course? Are you playing weekdays and twilights?

Probably about on average $300 a month ($100 per round at 2 rounds a month plus $100 on misc drinks, lunch, etc). More if I play an extra round or less when I can get on and walk at a cheap muni.

To cut down the cost I'll walk when the weather is nice and bring a few snacks and a couple beers stuffed into the golf bag. Twilight is a good option in the summer when the days are long enough.

It sounds like a lot but when compared to other hobbies like hunting and fishing where you're talking about boat maintenance, storage, gas, lease fees, etc etc it's not that bad.

Majority of my golf is after work in the summers, but all winter long I play twice a week.

Winter 18s cost me 22$ a round, so 44$ a week.
Summer 9s cost me 12$ a round, so 60$ a week.
Monthly is 85$ dues.


That's 880$, 1920$, and 1020$ if you split up the seasons and fees. The total is 3820$, but I don't include meals/drinks. If I'm out at brunch/movies/bowling or whatever, I've got to eat. Club food isn't some premium price over what I normally eat/drink.

Skiing is pretty damn expensive these days.

I volunteer at my local course for for 8 hours a week during the season and 4 hours when open in the winter. It's pretty easy work just setting up the range, filling water buckets, and picking/washing range balls. In the winter it basically drinking coffee and BS'ing. In exchange I can play 18 for $5 and take a cart for $5. I'd say last year I played 60 rounds there. I do give a lot of the savings back to the bar.

NColoradoAG said:

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Skiing is pretty damn expensive these days.

I volunteer at my local course for for 8 hours a week during the season and 4 hours when open in the winter. It's pretty easy work just setting up the range, filling water buckets, and picking/washing range balls. In the winter it basically drinking coffee and BS'ing. In exchange I can play 18 for $5 and take a cart for $5. I'd say last year I played 60 rounds there. I do give a lot of the savings back to the bar.

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Ahhhhh skiing is a good call. Did not think about that one when discussing it.

Thought i read a breakdown where Hunting is the most expensive hobby / sporting activity.

Was going to say the same thing. A yearly membership at the local course for me would be the price of an expensive gun but if you need a lease to hunt that's where it gets expensive and probably more than golf for the avg. course. Fishing is high too, doesn't take much to have a $50k boat

9 holes $22/-. 25 rounds = $550
18 holes $80/- 8 rounds = $640

About $1200/- per season ( April thru October)


Can't justify a club membership based on how much golf I play.

I think I need to investigate more half rounds late in the day compared to always trying for 18.

MW03 said:

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I think I need to investigate more half rounds late in the day compared to always trying for 18.

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bro, last on the course, play a few balls. Heat is down, and you can walk to enjoy a wind down.

Favorite time of year

I play a lot so joining a club was best for me. Probably 8-10 rounds a month and pay $432/mo. Fully private course and can get tee times when I want. Understandably this isn't the best option for a lot of people.

Now, my bar tab every month... can we not include that? Ha

TJH_16 said:

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Was going to say the same thing. A yearly membership at the local course for me would be the price of an expensive gun but if you need a lease to hunt that's where it gets expensive and probably more than golf for the avg. course. Fishing is high too, doesn't take much to have a $50k boat

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Depending on what you are hunting, Tags can be expensive. Quads, dogs, ammo, gear......man it gets up there fast.

between dues and usually one golf trip a yr, prob $25k a year.... ouch.

MW03 said:

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I think I need to investigate more half rounds late in the day compared to always trying for 18.

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Spark Golf league is perfect for that. Tee times start at 5pm, two person teams, best hole score format.

https://www.spark.golf/golf-leagues/all-cities

Gonna spend all my money on golf...

But not on SDR

This is great, just signed up in Houston!

Not enough.

Just golf or the gambling too?

Flying followed by boating/deep sea fishing followed by skiing and then hunting would be my guess as to expensive hobbies. If you count polo, it would be probably around boating and maybe even flying.

I had a good buddy join a nice big STX deer lease a couple years ago. For just their lease fee they pay $15k/year.

When I scoffed at that he tried to say 'Well when you think about it that's what most people spend on golf per year'.

I laughed my ass off. I'm sure some spend $1250/month but it's certainly not most and definitely not how much I spend on golf.

Flying is a good call for number 1. Annoying with horses is another solid guess. I've seen the bills paid from someone who rode dressage and it was nuts.

khaos288 said:

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Flying is a good call for number 1. Annoying with horses is another solid guess. I've seen the bills paid from someone who rode dressage and it was nuts.

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A buddy of mine had two daughters doing equestrian. He said it was $40k per year for the kids to do it. I guess there is a reason why a lot of the A&M team comes from rich suburbia and not the farms and ranches.

Kansas Kid said:

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khaos288 said:

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Flying is a good call for number 1. Annoying with horses is another solid guess. I've seen the bills paid from someone who rode dressage and it was nuts.

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A buddy of mine had two daughters doing equestrian. He said it was $40k per year for the kids to do it. I guess there is a reason why a lot of the A&M team comes from rich suburbia and not the farms and ranches.

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That doesn't surprise me at all. The transport rig alone I knew of was well over 100K

Kansas Kid said:

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khaos288 said:

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Flying is a good call for number 1. Annoying with horses is another solid guess. I've seen the bills paid from someone who rode dressage and it was nuts.

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A buddy of mine had two daughters doing equestrian. He said it was $40k per year for the kids to do it. I guess there is a reason why a lot of the A&M team comes from rich suburbia and not the farms and ranches.

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Good lord.

I was talking with a guy that ranched as a hobby. He said he was getting out of horses and going to ATVs and ATVs to handle his cattle. When I asked him why, he said, "I've woken up in the morning to find a $30,000 gator dead in the barn for no good reason." When I asked him if a working quarter horse was really that much money, he said that was for a "cheap" one. Blew my mind.

I found this article. I should have remembered competitive cheer. That runs 5 figures according to my old admin who had a daughter doing it.

The most expensive kids sports. Golf is relatively cheap by comparison.



https://myfirstnestegg.com/articles/most-expensive-sports-to-play-kids/

Surprised that fencing is that high on the list. But if your kid competes in all 3 weapons, yes, it could be very expensive. On the bright side, my coach insisted that it was the best way for girls to get athletic scholarships to Ivy league schools.

I would never have guessed fencing is expensive. What drives the cost so high?

At least $250/ month for dues. I don't eat or drink much from the course (usually bring my own). No cart plan, I walk 95% of my rounds at my club. Then there's a golf trip/vacation golf costs. That will range to either $500- $2000+ depending on the year. Club replacement every year or so (driver here, new wedge there). I'm probably a little low on this ($200-$300). Then there's random golf at other courses when my club is closed or I get random invite. Scrambles, balls, and clothing is generally afforded via being a golf coach. I find so many balls during the course of a girl's hs golf tournament simply by helping them find theirs.